Media management service Plex has announced that its Plex Media Player app is now free to everyone. Previously only available to Pass subscribers, the Plex app for Mac is a home theater-style media browser and player for content stored in personal media libraries.

Plex Media Player (which is distinct from the Plex Media Server client app) now features a fullscreen desktop interface where it integrates online files and metadata to present users' media, including artwork and, optionally, movie subtitles. In the latest update, the Player also allows users to queue up movies and music.

plex-media-player-tv-macbook-1600x958

Maybe you pine for stuff like Plex Media Player’s silky smooth playback, complex subtitle rendering, and lightning fast seeking on your desktop. Maybe you have a lower-powered NAS server that doesn’t like to transcode. Or maybe you’d just like to rock out to some FLAC while you work. Until today, your only option was to find some place to stash a little baby Media Player window and muddle through the TV UI to queue up your background music of choice.

Well, no more: we’ve harnessed our incredibly powerful Web app and wrapped it up inside our lovely Plex Media Player shell to give you a full-fledged “desktop mode” experience right out of the box. With Plex Media Player running in a window, you can now use your mouse and keyboard as nature intended, and switching to the TV UI is as easy as going full-screen.

In addition to making Plex Media Player a free download, Plex also announced the long-awaited Plex for Kodi add-on. Kodi is a fully extensible, community driven software media center with wide support for playing a range of media content. Exclusively for Plex Pass members, the Plex add-on brings users' Plex-processed media libraries to the Kodi interface for the first time.

You can download Plex Media Player on this page by clicking the 'Get an app' button (third option).

Post updated for clarification.

Tag: Plex

Top Rated Comments

dannys1 Avatar
dannys1
74 months ago
Huh? I have always had the free player (Plex Home Theater)...Confused by this.
PHT was killed off about a year ago to be replaced by PMP (this) which has been in beta since then (for plex pass only). It's totally rewritten from the ground up and future proofed.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
St0rMl0rD Avatar
St0rMl0rD
74 months ago
Huh? I have always had the free player (Plex Home Theater)...Confused by this.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lionel77 Avatar
lionel77
74 months ago
Plex Media Player is still missing a ton of Plex Home Theater's features and settings. Fortunately, there is an open source fork of Plex Home Theater called OpenPHT (https://forums.plex.tv/categories/openpht), which improves upon the now retired Plex Home Theater.

I switched to OpenPHT a few months ago and have been very happy with it since.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
timmyh Avatar
timmyh
74 months ago
Sorry guys. To clarify, the Plex Media Server has always been free for Mac users. It's a background client for serving media to your other devices, but it also lets you play media from Plex within a browser.

Plex Media Player is a different thing - a standalone media center app, as described above. You can download it from this page, by clicking on 'Download a Plex app': https://www.plex.tv/downloads/

Confusing, I know!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
corfio Avatar
corfio
74 months ago
I used to love Plex. Loved how it works seamlessly between my server/desktop/phone/tablet. But after I found out how people behind the Great Wall of China using the internet, I gradually phased out the Plex setup and start doing the same thing. Now I have a Mac Mini with 8TB HD connected to my TV doing nothing.
Can you please elaborate a little more? What do you use instead of Plex then? I have found that Plex works seamlessly and mostly flawlessly for average streaming needs.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
YegorH Avatar
YegorH
74 months ago
I still don't like the PMP, prefer Plex Home Theater, the development of which was dropped by Plex, but fortunately it continues to exist, check out OpenPHT.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

cook sept 2020 event

Gurman: Apple Preparing Pre-Recorded iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 Event

Sunday August 7, 2022 6:13 am PDT by
Apple has "started to record" its virtual September event, where it's expected to announce the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 8, and a new "rugged" Apple Watch model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says the event, which is expected to take place in the early part of September, is already under production, implying...
Read Full Article • 128 comments
iPhone 14 Lineup Feature Purple

Color Options for All iPhone 14 Models: Everything We Know

Monday August 8, 2022 3:59 am PDT by
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models are rumored to be available in a refreshed range of color options, including an all-new purple color. Most expectations about the iPhone 14 lineup's color options come from an unverified post on Chinese social media site Weibo earlier this year. Overall, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro's selection of color options could look fairly similar to those of the ...
Read Full Article • 40 comments
ios 16 beta 5 battery percent

iOS 16 Beta 5: Battery Percentage Now Displayed in iPhone Status Bar

Monday August 8, 2022 10:43 am PDT by
With the fifth beta of iOS 16, Apple has updated the battery icon on iPhones with Face ID to display the specific battery percentage rather than just a visual representation of battery level. The new battery indicator is available on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models, with the exception of the 5.4-inch iPhone 12/13 mini. It is also available on the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, XS and XS Max, and...
Read Full Article • 342 comments
iOS 16 battery percentage

Apple Limiting iOS 16 Beta 5 Battery Percentage Display to Select iPhones: Here Are the Supported Devices

Tuesday August 9, 2022 2:51 am PDT by
Apple this week brought back one of the most highly requested features from iOS users since the launch of the iPhone X in 2017: the ability to see your battery percentage directly in the status bar. Ever since the launch of the iPhone X with the notch, Apple has not allowed users to show their battery percentage directly in the status bar, forcing them to swipe down into Control Center to...
Read Full Article • 130 comments
ios 16 battery indicator 2

Everything New in iOS 16 Beta 5: Battery Percentage in Status Bar, Find My Changes and More

Monday August 8, 2022 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the fifth beta of iOS 16 to developers for testing purposes, introducing some small but notable changes to the iOS operating system. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up everything new in the fifth beta below. Battery Percentage in Status Bar The battery icon in the status bar now displays the exact battery percent, a feature that ...
Read Full Article • 108 comments
iphone 14 pro max camera bump compared lipilipsi 16 9

Bigger iPhone 14 Pro Max Camera Bump Shown Alongside iPhone 13 Pro Max

Monday August 8, 2022 4:33 am PDT by
The camera bump on the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro Max is expected to be the largest rear lens housing Apple has ever installed on its flagship smartphones, and a new photo offers a rare glimpse at just how prominent it is compared to Apple's predecessor device. iPhone 14 Pro Max dummy (left) vs iPhone 13 Pro Max All iPhone 14 models are expected to see upgrades to the Ultra Wide camera on the...
Read Full Article • 129 comments
airpods pro black background

Beyond iPhone 14: Five Apple Products Expected to Launch Later This Year

Monday August 8, 2022 9:43 am PDT by
While the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 are expected to be announced in September as usual, there are several more Apple products rumored to launch later this year, including new iPad and Mac models and more. Beyond the iPhone and Apple Watch, we've put together a list of five Apple products that are most likely to be unveiled by the end of 2022. Second-Generation AirPods Pro Apple...
Read Full Article • 45 comments