Plex is a multifaceted service that ties together your own personal media library with various sources from across the web. While paying for a Plex Pass subscription gets you hardware-accelerated encoding and other media server features, there are a bunch of other features that make it well worth the money.
1 Use Plex to Watch and Record Live TV
If you’re not totally familiar, Plex is both a streaming aggregator and a server that lets you essentially build your own streaming service. You can use all the functionality mentioned above without a Plex Pass. That said, with this optional subscription that starts at $5 per month, you get a ton of extra features, including the ability to act as a DVR for over-the-air (OTA) TV signals.
While this functionality requires Plex Pass, that’s not all you need, as you’ll also need the right hardware, which means you need a supported DVR tuner. Once you’ve got your hardware and the Plex server set up, you’ll be able to pause, rewind, and record OTA TV shows and movies. Supplement this with Plex’s built-in live TV streaming over the internet, and you’ve got an ultra-affordable cable replacement.
2 Skip TV Intros and Credits Netflix-Style
One of the handiest features a Plex Pass adds to Plex is skipping intros and credit sequences for TV shows, exactly as you’d find on a service like Netflix. This is handy on its own, but Plex has added extra customization options to help you tailor these settings to how you prefer to watch TV.
Tired of hitting the Skip Intro button? You can configure Plex to skip intros, credits automatically, or both. On the other hand, if you want to see each and every credit every single time, you can instead choose always to show credits, and to hide the Skip Credits button entirely.
Similarly, if you’re using the Plex DVR functionality also enabled by Plex Pass, you can skip ads, just as you would with a traditional DVR.
3 Support for Multiple Editions of the Same Movie
If you’re using Plex to store your personal movie library, you’re probably at least some sort of movie buff. Assuming that’s the case, you might have multiple versions of the same movie, like a theatrical cut and a longer director’s cut. With Plex Pass, you get full support for multiple cuts of the same movie.
Each edition gets its own unique entry, so you can easily choose which video to watch. These editions also get their own watch state, so if you watch half of the theatrical cut and then realize you want to switch to the director’s cut, for example, they’ll retain their own playback position.
Even if you’re dealing with your own meticulously curated library of media, deciding what to watch can be tricky. Fortunately, another Plex Pass extra for movie lovers helps make your decision easier. Plex will automatically source trailers for nearly any movie you add to your library, even relatively obscure titles.
In addition to trailers, Plex will automatically attempt to source extras for movies in your library. This isn’t as consistent as the trailer support, but it’s always a nice treat to spot a few extras that Plex Pass has added to your library when you’ve just finished watching a movie you love.
5 Better Music Playback With Sample Rate Matching and Smart Mix Builders
As Plex grows in scope, it makes less sense to cram all its functionality into a single app, so the service is breaking out into breaking out into multiple apps. Plexamp is one of those, and it’s a great app if you like to manage your own library of music. On supported operating systems, you even get sample rate matching.
Plexamp includes great features like Loudness Leveling and Sweet Fades by default, but add Plex Pass and you get a host of smart mix builders. These can build playlists by genre, mood, or even sonically similar tracks. As someone who frequently uses these mixes (I’m listening to one as I write this, for example) I’m regularly impressed by how smartly constructed these mixes can feel.
Whether you opt for Plex Pass or not, Plex is constantly evolving, as the aforementioned Plexamp and similar apps show. While the subscription is far from essential to enjoying Plex, there is more there than you may initially expect. If you’re going to spring for a Plex Pass subscription, make sure to keep an eye on the Plex Blog for updates and new features.
