PLEX - and im not talking about as DLNA - I mean REAL PLEX

warkus · October 05, 2015, 02:45:14 AM

I got PLEX working on the skippa tonight, and I mean REAL PLEX with PLEX PASS and all the meta data and goodies to go with it...

Not just accessing it as a DLNA server, which is slow and definitely NOT on par with the real PLEX experience...

I'm watching Jurassic Park 3 at present off my Plex Server - not through the MEDIA section of the Skippa, but through PLEX in the Opera TV store - and it is fast, smooth and in sync, and working a treat with all the metadata and goodies to go with it.

I'm very excited as you can tell...

Would anyone else like me to detail how this is achieved?

:)

Mark

PS, No its not as simple as just opening the Plex App in the Opera TV store, because it isn't there! hehehehehehe

Mantorok · October 05, 2015, 08:19:32 AM

Quote from: warkus on October 05, 2015, 02:45:14 AM
Would anyone else like me to detail how this is achieved?

Yes please! ;D

stretch4x4 · October 05, 2015, 08:19:58 AM

Ah you tease!!!

I don't use plex but tell us anyway, might be handy for another app and I am sure someone else will ;)

warkus · October 05, 2015, 10:59:27 AM

Sorry I was going to type it up last night but ended up going to sleep...

THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START
--------------------------------------------

* The Plex app is normally available for Opera TV, it has been since late last year and on some devices even before this.
* The app disappeared off the Opera store for a lot of Sony devices and others devices also (apparently) not all that long ago. Who knows it might have had something to do with the major upgrade they did recently, I don't know the reason why it's no longer in the store.
* There are a fair few people complaining right up to mid September (on Plex forums that I saw) about the Plex app disappearing from their devices Opera Store.
* This is a WORKAROUND ONLY and was suggested for those that could no longer access the Plex app in the store directly, to use this approach until it returns.
* Apparently they are working hard to restore the Plex app to the Opera TV store but not sure how long this will take.

LIMITATIONS
---------------
There are only 2 that I'm aware of.
* I cannot seem to find "view by folder" in the app, which is a bummer for a lot of people that have a lot of media without metadata.
* You MUST unfortunately have a paid Plex Pass to use it in this way, sorry, it's not my app so don't shoot the messenger...

Ok...

Go to the opera store by pressing the APP button on remote
Move across from ALL to the right until you get to TOOLS
Select URL LOADER
Add it to "My Apps" for future easy access
Open the app
In the URL bar, after the http:// type in "plex.tv/web/tv/opera" exactly like that with no www
Select GO
Plex will load
You will be requested to enter a pin into your browser at this point
From another device on the same network, PC, laptop, iPad etc, open an Internet browser
Go to "http://plex.tv/pin
Log in using your Plex Pass credentials
Enter the code you see on the Skippa screen
Done, the Skippa will now be linked to your Plex Pass account
The screen on the Skippa will dissappear and your servers and content will load up at this point
Happy days!

MORE INFORMATION YOU MAY NEED TO KNOW
-----------------------------------------------------
* Any Plex servers you have on the same network as the Skippa need to be logged in with the SAME Plex Pass credentials that you just linked your Skippa to - make sure that's the case before you link your Skippa to your account via the PIN above otherwise you will have to keep repeating this step over and over until your servers are found with matching credentials.
* Once you have successfully logged into Plex using the URL LOADER, the link will be saved below the URL type bar, so you do not need to keep entering it every time you want to load Plex, you can just select it rather than have to re-enter it. If URL LOADER is in "My Apps" it's very easy to start it up each time.

Hope this helps people as it has me, enjoy!!!

zoszos68 · October 05, 2015, 11:25:45 AM

Thanks Mark I will try it now (assuming a Plex Pass does not cost me too much).

Kevin

warkus · October 05, 2015, 11:28:19 AM

Try for a month @ $4.99 US

Otherwise a year is iirc about $40US and lifetime is about $150US but I'd definitely be trying the month plan first to see if your happy with it befor going down that path. Remember I have no ETA as to when Plex will return as an app to the store...

Mark

zoszos68 · October 05, 2015, 11:31:22 AM

Quote from: warkus on October 05, 2015, 11:28:19 AM
Try for a month @ $4.99 US

Otherwise a year is iirc about $40US and lifetime is about $150US but I'd definitely be trying the month plan first to see if your happy with it befor going down that path. Remember I have no ETA as to when Plex will return as an app to the store...

Mark

I just signed up for the yearly pass.
Hopefully if Plex works ok I will not need to return my Skippa due to slow locking up on Media browsing.

Kevin

zoszos68 · October 05, 2015, 12:30:37 PM

I got it working via Windows 10 for now but have found it is loosing connection to my pc at times so will now investigate.
And then I will install it on my nas to see how that preforms.

Oh and can it play flac files as my
Led Zeppelin high resolution files wont play.
They are 24bit 96khz.

Kevin

zoszos68 · October 05, 2015, 06:45:57 PM

I have it working on my Skippa but it says my server on my nas not powerful enough to transcode.
It only affects videos music that is supported plays ok.

I have a Thecus N2310 which has an Arm processor which may be the problem.
What I need to know is how to tell the NAS to just play the video files as they are without transcodeing (and yes I know some formats will not be supported in Plex).

Kevin

warkus · October 06, 2015, 11:26:23 AM

To transcode or not to transcode, that is the question?..

This is gonna be an interesting test for the Skippa that's for sure...

I believe but cannot confirm this just yet, these options are on the Plex Server install itself, go into the web interface on your actual serve, go into settings and you should see a settings option for WEB and SERVER, it will be one of the options IIRC under SERVER.

Hope that helps. I can confirm it later on once I'm back in front of my install.

Mark

zoszos68 · October 06, 2015, 06:00:51 PM

Quote from: warkus on October 06, 2015, 11:26:23 AM
To transcode or not to transcode, that is the question?..

This is gonna be an interesting test for the Skippa that's for sure...

Mark

I was trying the settings on my nas last night and did see the server setting for streaming bandwidth but nothing to tell it to not transcode.
No matter what streaming rate I set it to I always got the "this server is not powerful enough to transcode video"message.

When i tried my desktop Windows 10 with an I7 3rd gen CPU it played all I could throw at it straight away with no buffering.

I do know the nas can play my videos via dlna servers like Twonky and wmp via my T-Box (now packed away) and other Windows 10 pcs here at home.
Oh and it can do it on The Skippa via Media but the browsing is so slow it as good as useless.

So what i need is to get my nas with Plex server set so it wont transcode (as its an arm CPU which can't transcode) so if you see the setting on your setup and can tell me what i should try I would be grateful.

I was originally hoping that using dlna in The Skippa would work ok (most of my media is tagged correctly) and would still like to know why the browsing is slow but I will ask IceTV about that and see what there response is.

Kevin

ozgreg · October 07, 2015, 09:38:56 AM

Plex will only transcode when the client indicates that it cannot play the relevant codec naively.. For example my Samsung TV does not like the Apple Movie trailers so my NAS transcodes (or tries to very badly)...

If you turn on detailed logging on the plex server you will see exactly what is happening and why it is trying to transcode..

Great tip on the URL

Here is the FAQ for Plex ->https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/sections/200640416-FAQ-Plex-for-Smart-TVs

zoszos68 · October 07, 2015, 03:05:43 PM

Quote from: ozgreg on October 07, 2015, 09:38:56 AM
Plex will only transcode when the client indicates that it cannot play the relevant codec naively.. For example my Samsung TV does not like the Apple Movie trailers so my NAS transcodes (or tries to very badly)...

If you turn on detailed logging on the plex server you will see exactly what is happening and why it is trying to transcode..

Great tip on the URL

Here is the FAQ for Plex ->https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/sections/200640416-FAQ-Plex-for-Smart-TVs

My nas cant transcode as it has a Arm CPU which is not powerful enough.
I will turn on logging later in my nas and Windows 10 desktop as I know the desktop Plex server will let The Skippa play them and am wondering if it is transcoding them or not.

Do you know what file format videos will play in Plex or do you know a link to a file I can try that should work in Plex without transcoding as that will help narrow down why my nas is not allowing videos to play.

Kevin

warkus · October 07, 2015, 03:40:13 PM

Honestly, You may be better off taking this up with the helpful people on the Plex forums, they are more likely to have the answers regarding this.

That's how I found the information out about the URL Loader, I'd suggest they will have a lot better idea of what file formats works and don't work and how to deal with the trans-coding issue.

I'm sure people here do too, but as you now have a paid sub - they offer pretty good support over there at Plex, id ask over there as well... At least that way you have answers coming from both places...

As for file types, I've thrown a few at it, mostly AVI, but i will try several more shortly and test for you what works and what doesn't.

I have a heap of MKV, AVI, TS, MP4, of various different varieties, so i will run a heap through its paces shortly and report back, not sure exactly when i will get to it but today for sure.

Mark

Dave at IceTV · November 04, 2015, 12:29:53 AM

Quote from: warkus on October 05, 2015, 10:59:27 AM
* The Plex app is normally available for Opera TV, it has been since late last year and on some devices even before this.
* The app disappeared off the Opera store for a lot of Sony devices and others devices also (apparently) not all that long ago. Who knows it might have had something to do with the major upgrade they did recently, I don't know the reason why it's no longer in the store.
* There are a fair few people complaining right up to mid September (on Plex forums that I saw) about the Plex app disappearing from their devices Opera Store.
* This is a WORKAROUND ONLY and was suggested for those that could no longer access the Plex app in the store directly, to use this approach until it returns.
* Apparently they are working hard to restore the Plex app to the Opera TV store but not sure how long this will take.

LIMITATIONS
---------------
* You MUST unfortunately have a paid Plex Pass to use it in this way, sorry, it's not my app so don't shoot the messenger...

It looks like the Plex app is getting closer to a return to Opera TV store as you no longer need a Plex Pass subscription to access Plex via the URL Loader. Just sign up for a free Plex account and you're good to go.