Jordan O'BrienThere’s now no longer a need to install a dedicated media server in order to store thousands of TV shows and movies in future home cinema installations. That’s because Plex Cloud is officially rolling out to everyone, as long as they have a paid Plex Pass subscription.
Plex Cloud is pretty self explanatory. It’s a media server that doesn’t require any physical hardware to be installed. Instead, users can simply upload their media to an online cloud storage solution, such as Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive, and access their media from anywhere in the world.
There are many advantages to using Plex Cloud over a dedicated media server. Firstly it means installers needn’t find space for a dedicated server, which is not always possible in some of the most compact installations. Secondly, there’s no need to have a physical device drawing power 24/7, allowing consumers to save on their electricity bills. Plex Cloud also allows end-users to run their very own Netflix-esque server, giving access to all their favourite content from anywhere in the world on just about any device.
Unlike some dedicated media servers, Plex can be used on any device. While most installers will work with media servers in home cinema installations, Plex allows users to enjoy content no matter where they are. That’s especially useful when a client has multiple properties and wants to access the same content, as well as seeing what they have watched and haven’t watched at all their properties.
In addition to accessing Plex anywhere in the word, the media server solution is also accessible on a range of devices. Set-top boxes such as the Nvidia Shield TV, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV have a dedicated Plex app, while it’s also available for download on Raspberry Pi, Android, iOS and numerous other devices users will likely own.
Plex Cloud is not without its downsides. Some users who are concerned with storing their content on remote servers are unlikely to be enamoured with the concept. Thankfully the standard version of Plex is still available to those users. The other drawback is the monthly cost associated with Plex Cloud. While installers integrating a dedicated media server will charge a consumer a one time fee for the hardware and labour costs, Plex Cloud requires users to pay for storage on either Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive. Prices for those start from £7.99 a month for 100GB of storage, with prices only growing from there.