5 ms·

Plex and similar software are pretty popular. Not to mention most phones can 'cast' to all those devices. Both my smart tv's even have USB ports.

• untog 7y ago
  It's kind of funny the number of people responding with Plex. I've used it for years, and it's an effective piece of software but it requires running a server in your house, managing storage, etc. etc... there's no way the average user is interested in doing that.
  • joecot 7y ago
    > it requires running a server in your house, managing storage, etc. etc... there's no way the average user is interested in doing that Which is why my family, my girlfriend's family, and all our friends just use my Plex server
  • tbyehl 7y ago
    Plex is just an application. My start, back when it was still Mac-only, was to run it on my Macbook Pro. When the drive got full, I deleted content that I'd already watched. For a decade now, Plex runs on any Windows / Mac / Linux device. It'll run on a Raspberry Pi. NVIDIA Shield. Western Digital's My Cloud NAS products (from $139 w/ 2TB). QNAP. Synology. The main obstacle for "average" people is just knowing that Plex exists.
    • untog 7y ago
      It isn’t just an application, it’s an application that runs on your always-on computer. Which most people don’t have. Nor do they have a Raspberry Pi, QNAP or Synology NAS. Knowing that Plex exists is certainly one thing. But you still need to run it somewhere.
      • tbyehl 7y ago
        What's the argument here, that average people are too dumb to know that their computer needs to be on to access something running on it? That they're too dumb and poor to find and buy another device to run their Plex server if they don't want to use their PC? I think you underestimate people a bit too much.
        • untog 7y ago
          "Too dumb" feels overly emotive. But yes, I'm saying there is a significant gulf between the average user's current setup (a Roku, Apple TV, whatever) and a server that costs several hundred dollars (if you want anything approaching plug and play) and has to be on all the time, both financial and tech knowledge wise. It's not that users are "too dumb" to do it, it's that it is an inconvenience people are more than willing to pay to avoid. "You use your remote to choose the show you want to watch, and you watch it" is worth $10-15 a month to people when it's compared to "You buy a server, plug it in and leave it on all the time, maybe be responsible for software updates on a regular basis, and also set up some kind of torrenting system to request the shows you want in advance".
          • tbyehl 7y ago
            My experience around average income non-tech-enthusiast parents is they have a binder stuffed with $2 pirated DVDs and a USB drive full of stuff they've torrented / exchanged with friends. Running Plex with whatever computer they've got isn't a stretch.
  • 29083011397778 7y ago
    A Plex server will reach out even if you don't open the port it wants. It doesn't require you manage storage, just have a bit of space on a HDD. Same with a server; it needs a desktop, which only needs to be on when you want to watch something.