TheBigDave

A common question about Roku is whether you can use it to view your own media files (videos/audio/photos) that are stored on your computer. The Plex Channel was just added to the Roku Channel Store this week. This new app makes it real simple.

http://elan.plexapp.com/2012/03/27/p...-now-official/

First, go to the Plex website and download the Plex Media Server for Win, Mac or Linux.

http://www.plexapp.com/getplex/

When you start it up, it'll open a window in your browser. Let it know which folders contain your files. It'll scan the folders and create a library (might take a couple minutes). This runs in the background on your computer and sends the files to your Roku box.

Next, go to the Channel Store on your Roku and add the new Plex Channel. It should automatically recognize your Plex Media Server. If not, you may have to add it in the settings. Once it's connected, all your files should be listed and ready to watch.

I've only been playing around with it for a little while. But so far, it's very simple to set-up and works well.

Dan

Cool. I have yet to try this out, but I've been looking for a solution like this. Thanks.

Dan

I finally got around to trying this out and it seems to work really well so far. Thanks again!

kefrank

I should probably just research this myself, but what protocol does Plex use? Is it secure?

TheBigDave

I don't know the answer. But here's some links that might help you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plex_%28software%29
http://forums.plexapp.com/
http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/Main_Page

jdslater1

Will any Roku do?

TheBigDave

I believe it works on any Roku model. I have the 2XS and LT models, and it works fine on both.

Here's the Roku section at the Plex Forum. You can probably get better info there.

http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/...aming-players/

TheBigDave

The official Roku blog has some tips on getting set-up with Plex:

http://blog.roku.com/blog/2012/05/22...the-week-plex/

argh923

IMO, Plex has a ways to go before it's a completely viable option. I have over 300 video files, and scrolling through them is a nightmare. The fast forward feature is clunky at best (although this could be because you're streaming from an actual file over a network), and I've had 2-3 of the 6 files I've tried so far freeze during loading or never load at all.

Plus, you should be able to share multiple folders to Plex and not have it throw all the video files in together.

That being said, when it works right the quality is oustanding. Very impressive. It has promise, but the interface just needs to be cleaned up.