Jordan O'BrienSonos supports just about every single media streaming platform on the planet, whether it’s Spotify or Apple Music. One major omission from its list of supported services however was Plex, the media server software that is available on the majority of all major platforms…. until now.
Plex has announced that Sonos users can now enjoy their Plex media library on the company’s range of multi-room speakers. In fact, Sonos users needn’t even launch the Plex App to get up and going, with everything being entirely controllable from within the Sonos App.
While Sonos has always supported various network attached storage devices, as well as local sources, the company has recently pivoted to focusing on streaming options for its customers. Despite that, Plex is still firmly in the local storage category – as users still need to load up all their content onto a dedicated Plex Media Server.
Unlike many local sources however, Plex content can be enjoyed outside one’s own home, as long as the server remains on. That will still be true for Sonos users, who can access their Plex media libraries whether they’re 5ft away from the server or 100 miles.
One advantage for Plex over the likes of Spotify and Apple Music is the fact that Sonos users can get the most out of their speakers using lossless FLAC media files – something Plex supports. That means users are free to rip their entire vinyl collections to their Plex media server and enjoy them from anywhere in the world and on any Sonos speaker.
Plex is available now to Sonos users but only as a beta. That means to access the service users will need to ensure they join the Sonos beta programme (http://www.sonos.com/en-gb/beta/screen) and then navigate to ‘Add Music Services’ in the Plex App.