ReadyNAS as a Plex Media Server : NETGEAR ReadyNAS Community

ReadyNAS as a Plex Media Server : NETGEAR ReadyNAS Community

June 8, 2011 by yoh-dah  
Filed under How-To's, News & Events, Yoh-dah

Every now and then, a cool app makes its way to the ReadyNAS, and when that happens, you know I have to share that with you.  Last month (May 2011), the Plex team introduced the Plex Media Server support for the ReadyNAS.  For those of you unfamiliar with Plex, it’s a project built on the XBMC core and allows for super-cool presentation of movies, videos, music, and photos.  Here’s a screenshot of how the Plex app looks on an iPad with movie trailers hosted on the ReadyNAS.


So I thought I’d make a little demo video on how you can get started with Plex on the ReadyNAS.  I downloaded several HD movie trailers just to show you Plex capability to transcode one media format to another on the ReadyNAS.  You’ll see how I setup the ReadyNAS to run the Plex Media Server add-on and play a HD trailer on the iPad running the Plex app.



For convenience, the Plex add-on can be downloaded here.

The Plex app gives you the option of setting up the bit-rate and display quality based on the speed of your network, and the speed of your ReadyNAS.  Local and remote settings allow you to setup different bit-rates if you’re on a slower remote wi-fi or 3G service.

 

To access the videos remotely, all you’ll need to do is forward port 32400 on your router to the ReadyNAS IP.

Lastly, keep in mind that I used the ReadyNAS Pro 6 for the demo which I recommend if you will be transcoding HD.  Because Plex Media Server will do real-time transcoding, you will need to run it on a super fast CPU, and there’s no faster desktop NAS to do that than the ReadyNAS Pro 6.

What do you think?  I’d love to get your feedback – tweet me @yohdah or follow me if you want the latest ReadyNAS tips and tricks.
All the Best,

Yoh-dah
“Your Resident ReadyNAS Jedi”

(*) A big thanks goes to the Plex team for coming up with the ReadyNAS port and our ReadyNAS community developer, “WhoCares?“, who took the port and within 24 hours, turned it into a brand new shiny ReadyNAS add-on.  How cool is that?
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