Looking for small plex client

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.
P

pricklypunter

Well-Known Member
Nov 10, 2015
1,709
517
113
Canada
Hey guys,

I'm looking into small Plex clients. I have looked at the Roku, Chrome thingies etc, but just don't feel the love. Maybe it's because they are all trying to be your all encompassing "multimedia" box rather than doing one thing well.

I have my home Plex server, the content of which I'm happy to watch, and I can always add some channels to it if I want or feel the need to. What's missing though is a dedicated Plex client, something small enough to tuck behind the TV and use CEC for control. In essence, I want to preserve the normal TV experience as far as I can.

My main screen is an 18 month old 60" Sony LED that, although when working properly, does a stellar job of playing back my content, requires going through the opera store etc to load the Plex client which I loathe having to do every time I turn the damned thing on. Then there's the client crashing whenever it chokes on something it doesn't like, poor audio, a glitch in the video stream etc, forcing me to go through the same steps to reload it. In any other player I have, including a couple of Sony Bluray players, the content is both watchable and enjoyable.

I am currently leaning towards the Pi 3 with RasPlex, but before I commit, what else is there out there that can be dedicated to the single task of running the full blown Plex Client?
 
E

Evan

Well-Known Member
Jan 6, 2016
3,346
598
113
N3700 based NUC, they even have a version with 32gb emmc storage and 2gb memory (upgradable to 8g) installed.

Bit pricy but can run what ever distro or Windows you want.

Just to add the only device that gets used in my house is the Apple TV, new version I think has the plex app released now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gigatexal and pricklypunter
P

pricklypunter

Well-Known Member
Nov 10, 2015
1,709
517
113
Canada
Thanks for the suggestion, I would love a NUC, but it's complete overkill (and expensive) for just simply watching TV with. I won't be playing games or browsing the web etc, I have other devices for that sort of thing, all I need is a reliable way to run a full blown Plex client without all the faff of having to go and load up a store front from the web, then load their client, then have to do so ad-nauseam each time it crashes or whenever I power up the TV. Another benefit I see of having a standalone client is that I can choose when to apply an update or upgrade. All too often I have had Plex clients load up that are full of issues, some times taking weeks to fix :)

I'm aware that some of my media is probably not compatible with native playback on the Sony, although I do have plenty of content that should be, but strangely isn't, and I haven't worked out why yet. Either way, VLC, Media Player etc all play my content fine, as do all the Linux based players I have tried.

I find it hard to believe that there aren't better ways to do this, or that Plex themselves haven't gotten in on the act yet by supplying a dedicated device.
 
K

Keljian

Active Member
Sep 9, 2015
428
71
28
Melbourne Australia
I have had a huge amount of success with the amlogic s905 based TV boxes, thoroughly recommend them (eBay amlogic s905- they are very inexpensive)

The specific model I have been "deploying" is the mini mx
 
  • Like
Reactions: pricklypunter
A

abundantmussel

Member
Jan 30, 2016
36
7
8
37
I have 5 raspberry pis here at home one in each bedroom and one in the living room, all are now running kodi but previously they ran rasplex and it worked perfectly did exactly what you wanted. It's the pi2 I use. I would say get a pi2 and if it's not for you it's always something you can use for something else and the cost is so low it can be written off as an experiment even.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pricklypunter
rubylaser

rubylaser

Active Member
Jan 4, 2013
846
236
43
Michigan, USA
Keljian said:
I have had a huge amount of success with the amlogic s905 based TV boxes, thoroughly recommend them (eBay amlogic s905- they are very inexpensive)

The specific model I have been "deploying" is the mini mx
Click to expand...
How do you run Plex on these (I assume Plex app in Android)? Do you auto launch the app? How well does the remote work, etc? These are a great price for a Plex client.
 
K

Keljian

Active Member
Sep 9, 2015
428
71
28
Melbourne Australia
rubylaser said:
How do you run Plex on these (I assume Plex app in Android)? Do you auto launch the app? How well does the remote work, etc? These are a great price for a Plex client.
Click to expand...
1.Plex app on android
2. I don't find clicking down on the remote 3x and then clicking ok to be a big deal, but it can be done, these are Jailbroken by default
3. The remote is "loud", gives a definite click when you press it, but it works well - note it does not come with batteries, you need to supply 2xAAA batteries

They do have h264 and h265 hardware that can decode at 4K/60hz and a reasonably quick ARM quad core (2.0ghz/A53).

They also have gigabit ethernet(albeit Realtek based) which was a selling point for me.

There is an openelec build in the works too, but I have stuck to android to keep it simple

I am considering selling my mac mini media centre Pc and swapping for one of these in the near future
 
Last edited:
zer0sum

zer0sum

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2013
849
474
63
I have tried quite a few small clients and the best I've found yet is the Roku 2/3/4 wired into my network.

It has proven to be the best performing and most stable device out of Tivo, appeltv, android devices, etc. and I've even found I occasionally use the headphone jack on the remote to listen to shows and not bother anyone else in the house :)
 
P

pricklypunter

Well-Known Member
Nov 10, 2015
1,709
517
113
Canada
Cheers for that guys :)

That little Amlogic MX looks really interesting as an option, probably on par with a Pi money wise by the the time you buy a case/ supply etc. I'm not sure if it handles CEC natively, but I'm guessing it's a possibility if I doctor it with a Linux image etc.

The WeTek hub device looks like an updated Amlogic MX with dual boot capability! I guess it could work for me too though if it can do CEC.

Ahh, confirmation the rPI works the way I was hoping with rasPlex, then there's the geek factor...although I'm trying really hard not to let that tempt me, but I'm tempted :)

I think I'll buy one of the new rPI 3 starter kits and an Amlogic MX and try them both out, see which sock fits my feet best, I have to start somewhere, right? :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Keljian
K

Keljian

Active Member
Sep 9, 2015
428
71
28
Melbourne Australia
The Pi will likely be more customisable(due to software support) but the amlogic box will be more powerful when it comes to formats/overall speed

The amlogic box will also be cheaper than the Pi, once you factor in power supply, case, remote, IR sensor, sd card.

Please note that the wetek stuff is typically based on s8xx chips vs the newer s9xx chips, the newer chips support more playback formats, and are faster.
 
Last edited:
K

Keljian

Active Member
Sep 9, 2015
428
71
28
Melbourne Australia
GuybrushThreepwood said:
Interesting. You have deployed some right? Does it support Dolby Digital, DD+, DTS and DTS-HD?
Click to expand...
Seems to, especially with Openelec: "I am glad to report that latest Openelec build: OpenELEC-Amlogic.arm64-MiniMX-7.0-devel-20160311231246-r22293-g8448589.img
solved all optical audio pass-through problems and I was not able to found any bug it this release :)"

Note openelec builds can be downloaded from links on the following forum (registration required):
Login
 
Last edited:
K

Keljian

Active Member
Sep 9, 2015
428
71
28
Melbourne Australia
I jumped the gun, sorry the new wetek boxes do run the s905, and will be better supported than the mini mx, however they are nearly double the price.

With a little fiddling you may be able to get the wetek hub firmware on the mini mx though, and that opens possibilities
 
gigatexal

gigatexal

I'm here to learn
Nov 25, 2012
2,913
607
113
Portland, Oregon
alexandarnarayan.com
Evan said:
N3700 based NUC, they even have a version with 32gb emmc storage and 2gb memory (upgradable to 8g) installed.

Bit pricy but can run what ever distro or Windows you want.

Just to add the only device that gets used in my house is the Apple TV, new version I think has the plex app released now.
Click to expand...
yep -- appletv in my room and roku2 in the living room (will either get another appletv or a roku3 4k)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom