Plex Inc.

Last updated

Plex Inc.
Company type Private
FoundedDecember 2009;14 years ago (2009-12)
FounderElan Feingold, Cayce Ullman, Scott Olechowski
Headquarters Campbell, CA, U.S.
Key people
  • Keith Valory
  • (president and CEO)
Products Client–server software, streaming media
Number of employees
≈ 100 (2019)
Website plex.tv

Plex Inc. is an American software company that runs its namesake ad-supported streaming media service that provides television shows and movies to users worldwide, and further provides a platform to discuss and discover content across all major subscription streaming services. Plex also develops media server software and a series of apps that enables users to stream their personal media collections from their servers to their various devices. Plex Inc. is based in Campbell, California. [1]

Contents

History

Plex began as a freeware hobby project in December 2007 when developer Elan Feingold created a media center application for his Mac by porting the media player XBMC (since renamed Kodi) to Mac OS X. [2] Around the same time, Cayce Ullman and Scott Olechowski—software executives who had recently sold their previous company to Cisco —were also looking to port XBMC to Mac OS X, and noticed Feingold's progress in the XBMC online forums. They contacted him and offered support and funding, and they formed a three-person team in January 2008. [3] [4]

The team released early versions of the port, called OSXBMC, [5] intended for eventual full integration into Mac OS X. [2] The developers continued collaborating with the Linux-based XBMC project until May 21, 2008. Due to different goals from the XBMC team, they forked the code that became Plex, and published it on GitHub. The OSXBMC code was kept roughly in sync with the upstream XBMC code. [6] In July 2008, the project was renamed Plex, which the developers said was chosen because "it evokes 'cineplex' and the suffix means 'comprising a number of parts'". [7]

In December 2009, Plex, Inc. was incorporated with Ullman as CEO and Feingold as chief technology officer. [8] [9] [10] [11] At that time, Plex had 130 apps, the most popular of which were viewers for iTunes movies trailers, YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, MTV music videos, BBC iPlayer and Vimeo. Feingold said Plex apps had been downloaded about one million times. [5] [12] Keith Valory became president and CEO in 2013. [13]

As of July 2016, Plex had 65 employees. [14] In December 2019, Plex launched an ad-supported streaming service of movies and television shows from content sources including Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, MGM, Lionsgate, Regency Enterprises and Legendary. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] As of August 2019, Plex had about 100 global employees. [23]

In February 2024, Plex TV started offering movies for rental. [24] In April 2024, Plex partnered with T-Mobile. [25]

Plex Media Server

Plex Media Server
Initial release2008;16 years ago (2008)
Stable release
Server: v.1.40.2.8395-c67dce28e (April 18, 2024;6 months ago (2024-04-18) [26] ) [±]
Operating system
Platform x86, ARM
Available in43 (server) languages [27]
Type Media server and player
License
Website plex.tv

Plex Media Server (PMS) is free software that enables users to create a client–server for movies, television shows, and music. Free Plex accounts can share personal media libraries among a user's own collection of devices or with other users. Plex Media Server organizes movie and television content and adds posters, plot summaries, cast and crew lists, technical details, critical reviews, and subtitles. Plex Media Server is also capable of transcoding files if the codec is incompatible with the device playing the media. [28] Plex does not support DVD and Blu-ray disk images and menus, saying, "these formats just don't fit into the idea behind the Plex ecosystem." [29] Plex Media Server can run on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, some NAS devices, some Netgear routers and the Nvidia Shield TV. [30] [31] For music content, it can automatically organize files by metadata tags such as title, artist, album, genre, year, and popularity. [32] [33] [34] It can also acquire content from iTunes, iPhoto, Aperture and the Internet. [35] [36] [37]

Plex Web App is a browser-based interface for users to manage libraries, server settings, and watch content. Plex Web Interface.jpg
Plex Web App is a browser-based interface for users to manage libraries, server settings, and watch content.

A Plex Media Server can function as a home theater PC and can stream content to Plex's front-end media player client applications that run on a myriad of devices and web browsers. [38] [39] [40] The media player applications are Plex, Plex Web App, Plexamp, and Plex Dash, which provide a way for the user to manage and play content from a Plex server. [41] [42] The Plex app is the successor to the Plex Media Player, and runs on a multitude of platforms including Android, Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast, Roku OS, iOS, iPadOS, PlayStation, Sonos, Oculus Go, webOS, Tizen, Windows, Xbox, and macOS. Player applications on computers and Smart TV platforms are free of charge, while the apps on iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets require a one-time $5 activation fee to stream from a server. [43] Plex's apps largely relied on the native video player and supported codecs of the streaming device's operating system. In 2018, Plex began rolling out a media player based on mpv to support additional codecs. [44]

Plex also offers Plex Pass, an optional paid-subscription service that adds additional features to its server software and player apps such as mobile synchronization, metadata fetching for music, multi-user support, parental controls, over-the-top live TV and DVR, trailers, extras, and cross-selling offers. [45]

In 2016, Plex launched Plex Cloud for Plex Pass subscribers, which supported cloud-based servers. Plex's launch partner was Amazon, and the service was compatible with Amazon Cloud Drive. [46] Users were critical of the service, noting that Amazon seemed to impose upload limits. [47] The service also supported OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive. The service was discontinued in November 2018 amid technical problems and concerns of pirated content. [48]

Plex Media Server has often been associated with pirated content. In 2019, The Verge headlined that Plex "makes piracy just another streaming service". [49]

Streaming media

In 2019, Plex introduced an ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) streaming service and free-to-stream live TV channels. [50] [51] Its content partners include Warner Bros. Television Studios, [52] MGM, Lionsgate, Legendary, Crackle, Endemol Shine, Shout! Studios, Regency Enterprises, Kidoodle TV and A24. [53] [54] Plex can also be used as a client for Tidal and hosts podcasts. [55] In 2022, Plex added a "Discovery" feature which aggregates content from other streaming media sources. [56] As of 2023, Plex had 16 million active monthly streaming users. [57]

In 2020, Plex announced that it would introduce a movie and television show rental marketplace. [58] Its movie rental service launched in February 2024. [59]

See also

Related Research Articles

Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting schedule, which was popular under traditional broadcast programming, instead involving newer modes of content consumption that have risen as Internet and IPTV technologies have become prominent, and culminated in the arrival of VOD and over-the-top (OTT) media services on televisions and personal computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kodi (software)</span> Free software media player

Kodi is a free and open-source media player and technology convergence software application developed by the Kodi Foundation, a non-profit technology consortium. Kodi is available for multiple operating systems and hardware platforms, with a software 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It allows users to play and view most streaming media, such as videos, music, podcasts, and videos from the Internet, as well as all common digital media files from local and network storage media, or TV gateway viewer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home theater PC</span> PC meant to be used in a home theater setting

A home theater PC (HTPC) or media center computer is a convergent device that combines some or all the capabilities of a personal computer with a software application that focuses on video, photo, audio playback, and sometimes video recording functionality. Since the mid-2000s, other types of consumer electronics, including game consoles and dedicated media devices, have crossed over to manage video and music content. The term "media center" also refers to specialized application software designed to run on standard personal computers.

The following comparison of video players compares general and technical information for notable software media player programs.

Amazon Prime Video, or simply Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered both as a stand-alone service and as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios or licensed to Amazon, as Amazon Originals, with the service also hosting content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events, and video rental and purchasing services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple TV</span> Home media streaming device made by Apple

Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include streaming media, TV Everywhere-based services, local media sources, and sports journalism and broadcasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital media player</span> Device used for playing media such as online video

A digital media player is a type of consumer electronics device designed for the storage, playback, or viewing of digital media content. They are typically designed to be integrated into a home cinema configuration, and attached to a television or AV receiver or both.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boxee</span> Cross-platform freeware HTPC software application

Boxee was a cross-platform freeware HTPC software application with a 10-foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living-room TV. It enabled its users to view, rate and recommend content to their friends through many social network services and interactive media related features.

PlayOn is a streaming media brand and software suite that enables users to view and record videos from numerous online content providers. The suite consists of two main products: PlayOn Cloud and PlayOn Desktop. PlayOn Cloud is an online service for recording digital video streams, accessible via native iOS or Android mobile device applications. PlayOn Desktop is Windows-based software that acts as a streaming dashboard and hub on the PC. The available streaming websites are organized as channels in both products. Users browse through or search the video content found in those channels in order to record the videos for later viewing. PlayOn Desktop allows watching the videos real-time on the PC, or casting the videos to a TV via a streaming device or gaming console.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voddler</span> Video-on-demand provider

Voddler was a Stockholm, Sweden-based provider of a video-on-demand (VOD) platform and a streaming technology for over-the-top (OTT) streaming on the public Internet. In Scandinavia, Voddler was primarily known for the commercial VOD-service Voddler, which was launched in 2009. As a company, Voddler was founded in 2005 and developed its own streaming solution, called Vnet. Vnet is based on peer-to-peer (p2p), where all users contribute by streaming movies to each other, but, unlike traditional p2p, Vnet has a central administrator who decides which users that have access to which movies. Due to this exception, Vnet has been referred to as a "hybrid p2p distribution system", "walled garden p2p" or "controlled p2p". In addition to running the consumer service Voddler, the company Voddler also offers, since 2013, Vnet as a stand-alone technology for other streaming platforms. The service Bollyvod, a global VOD-service for Bollywood-content that Voddler built for the Indian movie industry, was released as a pilot in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movies Anywhere</span> Digital locker and streaming platform

Movies Anywhere(MA) is a cloud-based digital rights locker and over-the-top streaming platform that allows users to stream and download purchased films, including digital copies redeemed from codes found in home video releases as well as digital purchases from participating services. Movies Anywhere is operated by The Walt Disney Company. The platform provides content from Walt Disney Studios, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. The system utilizes an internal platform known as KeyChest, which synchronizes content licenses from digital distribution platforms linked to a central user account.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smart TV</span> TV set with integrated Internet features

A smart TV, also known as a connected TV (CTV), is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features that allow users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart TVs are a technological convergence of computers, televisions, and digital media players. Besides the traditional functions of television sets provided through traditional broadcasting media, these devices can provide access to over-the-top media services such as streaming television and internet radio, along with home networking access.

An over-the-top media service is a digital distribution service offered directly to viewers via the public Internet, rather than through an over-the-air, cable, or satellite-based provider. The term is synonymous with "streaming platform", such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video which provide access to subscription-based film and television content (SVoD).

Roku is a brand of consumer electronics that includes streaming players, smart TVs, as well as a free streaming service. The brand owned by Roku, Inc, an American company. As of 2024, Roku is the leading streaming TV distributor in the U.S., reaching nearly 120 million people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Android TV</span> Android operating system version for television sets and digital media players

Android TV is a smart TV operating system based on Android and developed by Google. It is available on television sets, soundbars, set-top boxes and digital media players. A successor to Google TV, it features a user interface designed around content discovery and voice search, content aggregation from various media apps and services, and integration with other recent Google technologies such as Assistant, Cast, and Knowledge Graph.

tvOS Operating system for the Apple TV

tvOS is an operating system developed by Apple Inc. for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. Starting with the second generation, the software is based on the iOS operating system and has many similar frameworks, technologies, and concepts.

The Apple TV app is a line of media player software programs developed by Apple Inc. for viewing television shows and films delivered by Apple to consumer electronic devices. It can stream content from the iTunes Store, the Apple TV Channels a la carte video on demand service, and the Apple TV+ original content subscription service. On iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Vision Pro, and Apple TV devices it can also index and access content from linked apps of other video on demand services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jellyfin</span> Media server software

Jellyfin is a free and open-source media server and suite of multimedia applications designed to organize, manage, and share digital media files to networked devices. Jellyfin consists of a server application installed on a machine running Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux or in a Docker container, and another application running on a client device such as a smartphone, tablet, smart TV, streaming media player, game console or in a web browser. Jellyfin also can serve media to DLNA and Chromecast-enabled devices. It is a fork of Emby.

References

  1. ↑ Plex (April 14, 2021). "Streaming Media Platform Plex Raises $50 Million in Growth Equity to Become the One-Stop-Shop for Movies and TV". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Interview with the OSXBMC Developers – Automated Home". April 29, 2008. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Behind the App: The Story of Plex". Lifehacker. July 30, 2014. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Scott Olechowski Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "CrunchGear Interview: We talk to the lead developer of Plex Media Center for Mac OS X: It was doing Boxee-like stuff before Boxee was cool". January 15, 2010. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  6. ↑ "XBMC for Mac forked for a separate project called PLEX (formerly known as "OSXBMC")". May 23, 2008. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Announcing Plex". Plex. July 5, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
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  23. ↑ Roettgers, Janko (August 29, 2019). "Inside Plex's Quest to Become a One-Stop Shop for Digital Media". Variety. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
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  26. ↑ "Media Server Downloads". Plex. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  27. ↑ "PlexMediaServer Translations - Get Localization". Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
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  29. ↑ "Why are ISO, VIDEO_TS, and other Disk Image Formats Not Supported?". Plex Support. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Best Media Streaming Devices - Live streaming apps powered by Plex". Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  31. ↑ "How do I set up my Plex Media Server on my Nighthawk X10 R9000 router?". NETGEAR KB. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
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  33. ↑ "Adding Music Media From Folders – Plex". Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  34. ↑ "What metadata can an m4a file hold and how do I get at it?". August 25, 2015. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Plex 7 Adds iTunes and iPhoto Support and More". November 11, 2008. Archived from the original on July 6, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Plex media center adds Aperture support, continues to shine – 9to5Mac". November 25, 2008. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Frankly my trailer, I don't give a playlist – Plex". July 31, 2014. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
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  41. ↑ "Media software maker Plex launches new subscriber-only apps for music and server management". TechCrunch. April 16, 2020. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  42. ↑ "Title of the page". The Kartina TV. Archived from the original on May 31, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  43. ↑ "What is Plex Pass, anyway?". TechHive. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  44. ↑ Hollington, Jesse (December 6, 2018). "Plex begins rolling out Enhanced Video Player in Apple TV and iOS apps". iLounge. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  45. ↑ "What Is Plex Pass? 10 Features Worth Paying For In 2020". AndroidPCReview. July 15, 2020. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  46. ↑ Perez, Sarah (September 26, 2016). "Plex partners with Amazon to launch a hardware-free media server, Plex Cloud". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  47. ↑ Perez, Sarah (December 2, 2016). "Amazon isn't playing nice with Plex's new cloud service". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  48. ↑ Roettgers, Janko (September 11, 2018). "Plex Shuts Down Its Cloud Service". Variety. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  49. ↑ Stephen, Bijan (July 23, 2019). "Plex makes piracy just another streaming service". The Verge. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  50. ↑ April 2020, Marshall Honorof 26. "What is Plex? Everything you need to know". Tom's Guide. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  51. ↑ Welch, Chris (December 4, 2019). "Plex launches its free movie and TV streaming service". The Verge. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  52. ↑ "Plex is launching its own ad-supported video service, starting with content from Warner Bros. TV". TechCrunch. August 29, 2019. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  53. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 25, 2020). "Atari VCS Will Offer Streaming Service Plex Following Game Console's November Launch". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  54. ↑ Harley, Nick (July 13, 2022). "The Best A24 Movies Streaming on Plex in July". Den of Geek. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  55. ↑ Perez, Sarah (November 29, 2018). "Plex teams with TIDAL to bring a discounted streaming music subscription to its media app". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  56. ↑ Clark, Mitchell (April 6, 2022). "Plex's latest beta features can help you navigate every streaming service you have". The Verge. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  57. ↑ Plex. "Plex Closes Year with Billions of Minutes Watched; Doubles YOY Viewership". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  58. ↑ Perez, Sarah (January 5, 2023). "Streamer Plex finally ready to launch a TV and movie rentals marketplace". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  59. ↑ Purdy, Kevin (February 8, 2024). "Plex, where people typically avoid Hollywood fees, now offers movie rentals". Ars Technica. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
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