Quick Links
When streaming services first came into the spotlight, what they promised was easy access to all your favorite movies, TV shows, and other content – at first, it really looked like that. However, fast-forward a few years, and it’s only technically still true. While nowadays, you’re able to find everything you love watching online, you’d need dozens of subscriptions fromDisney+toMaxto have access to it all, bankrupting you in the blink of an eye.
That’s why physical media, and by extension, having your own library of files, is making a comeback after being deemed dead only a few years ago. If you have your own versions of movies and TV shows, there’s nothing stopping you from watching them whenever you want, free of charge.
The best video streaming services for on-demand movies and TV
After using dozens of video streaming services, I hand-picked the best ones for watching popular movies and critically acclaimed TV shows.
The only limiting factor in that case is access to these files. While you can stream movies anywhere in the world, your files are stored only on physical media, which often limits where you can watch them. You have to always remember to bring your USB stick or an external SSD to be able to watch movies on the go.
That’s where Plex comes in. Thanks to this software, you’re able to change your library of movies and TV shows from local-only to your own, personal streaming service, available everywhere you wish to go. With your own files that you can access as freely as any other streaming service’s library, Plex seems to offer the best of both worlds.
Best DVD players: Great disc players for your old movie collection
Are you looking for the best DVD player that’ll play back your older discs and keep things simple? Check out our top picks here.
What is Plex?
Your one-stop multimedia shop
Plex is a multipurpose piece of software, but it’s mainly popular thanks to two of its stand-out features. It’s simultaneously a streaming service and a client-server media player. The client-server media player essentially lets you create your own streaming service with all your media files (movies, TV shows, music, and photos), so that you can access them on-the-go via Plex media player apps and web browsers on almost any device.
Aside from these core functionalities, Plex has some more aces up its sleeve. The media server can also organize your media, and it even adds useful information like posters, reviews, and subtitles to your library. To add to all that, you also have Plexamp. It is the company’s free custom music player that allows you to stream your own music and has diverse customization options.
Plex introduces new features to make it the one-stop streaming app
Plex has changed and morphed over the years, from a platform to stream your own media files to a hub for all-manner of digital content.
What can you watch on Plex?
Your files or mine?
Even though Plex is best known for its media server capabilities that allow you to stream your own content, for a few years now it also offers its own streaming service to rival giants such as Netflix. The company claims it has over 20,000 on-demand titles and over 200 live TV channels available worldwide – in the US, it claims to have over 600 live TV channels. What’s more, you can stream movies and TV from a range of interesting studios, such as A24, AMC, BBC Studios, Bloomberg, Lionsgate, MGM, NBC News, Paramount, Reuters, USA Today, ViacomCBS, and Warner Bros. You can check out the full list of Plex content partners on thecompany site.
10 best movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix right now
From the new Netflix original Damsel, to old classics like Gilmore Girls, here’s the best movies and TV shows to check out on Netflix for March 2024.
What is the Plex Media Server?
Be your own Netflix
Let’s now get to the main reason that Plex is so popular and interesting – its media server functionality. As we mentioned, the software lets you create a server where you can store your personal media library. However, that’s a part of the functionality that many other solutions offer. Where Plex excels is the ability to stream your personal files from the server to the Plex app or website, essentially creating your own streaming service with your own movies and TV shows available everywhere in the world.
Apart from streaming your content, Plex also excels at organizing it, and adding metadata such as cast, reviews, subtitles, etc. This lets you not only watch your favorite movies and TV, but also have them neatly organized and always full of trivia and other helpful information.
How to watch all the Star Wars movies and shows in order
Disney+ is expanding the Star Wars Universe. So it’s never a bad time to start a rewatch the entire series.
What is Plexamp?
Your own music, everywhere
How I discover and transfer music for my Walkman in 2024
Find and download music without the help of algorithms.
How much is Plex?
You really don’t have to pay
With all the features and possibilities that Plex offers, you could expect it to be quite a pricey service. However, it couldn’t be farther from the truth, as you can easily make the best out of the platform for completely free, with some optional payments available.
To note, Plex Pass does not offer any additional streaming content to users – the exact same content is available on the free tier. It will also not get rid of the ads while streaming, so if you’re using Plex as your streaming platform of choice, getting a Plex Pass is not that useful.
How to get Apple Music for free
Free Apple Music subscription deals are few and far between, but I’ve found a few actually decent offers available so you may start listening today.
