Why can't I use Plex as a direct media player linking NAS to TV via HDMI?

[penyekz]

Why can't I use Plex as a direct media player linking NAS to TV via HDMI?

I don't see the Plex app even though I have installed it and it is visible on the ADM view.

XBMC is visible though. I cannot find boxee.

Is this still a work in progress by Asustor?

[iOle]

Im unable to aswell. Bought the asustor as504 a few days ago, to store my movies, and run plex. im a little bummed that the plax app only shares the files to other devices, so that im unable to play my files directly in the plex app that is connected to the tv via HDMI.
Bump, i hope there is a solution?! :O

[damien599901]

Why can't I use Plex as a direct media player linking NAS to TV via HDMI?

I don't see the Plex app even though I have installed it and it is visible on the ADM view.

XBMC is visible though. I cannot find boxee.

Is this still a work in progress by Asustor?

what's your NAS ? Boxee is only on series 6

[Elrique64]

There are actually a couple of reasons that Plex doesn't stream media through the HDMI connector on these NAS's.

The first is, Plex is a type of software called a Client/Server environment. There is a server application which handles the serving of files to the clients. Then there is the client portion, which takes that served up stream and converts this into something that is output to the display. Plex itself maintains a HUGE selection of client apps, from iOS to Android to PS3/4 to various models of Smart TV's and this list is missing quite a few of Plex's officially supported clients.

The Plex Media Server that is installed via the App Central is just the server portion. It just handles handing off a video stream to whichever client makes the request. It does NOT actually PLAY anything itself. There is no code within it for putting something out to HDMI or a monitor. Access to Plex Media Server is only through the Web App interface or command line. (Terminal for us Asustor folks.)

Another reason it hasn't been done: These NAS's are a "headless" distro (distribution) of Ubuntu Linux. Headless because they don't have a true video card, as you would normally think of in computing. The HDMI output is more in line with the output for a NUC, and may not have the same level of support that say an NVidea video card might have. Applications would need to be written specifically to this HDMI out in order to make use of it.

There aren't any "Official" Plex Home Theater clients for any Linux distros. Any PHT Linux apps are written by a group of users and aren't really supported by Plex. There are PHT clients for Ubuntu, and for headless NUC's running Ubuntu, but as of yet, no one has written or ported over an Asustor specific PHT distro. As I don't have a NAS with an HDMI output yet, I haven't really delved into this very far.

Rest assured, once I have a 70xx NAS to mess with, I will be looking into this with as much effort as I possibly can. As I have been able to get plexWatch and plexWatchWeb working even though the install for that is as convoluted as a can of worms, I think I should be able to tackle getting PHT running on a 70xx. Remember though, the version of Linux these NAS's run is a crippled down version of what gets installed on other platforms. This is Asustor's vision of what we need, not a full distro.

I hope I answered your questions completely.

[flyingj]

If you want to use Plex, then consider a Chromecast that you can stream to with your phone, tablet, etc. (You may already know this.) It's how I watch the vast majority of my media at home and away from home with my AS5102t running as server.

If you want to use the HDMI cable, then I think Kodi is your best solution for local media, but it does require more setup than Plex. (Again, you may know this already too!)

[Elrique64]

Personally, I would recommend a Roku over a ChromeCast. The Plex Roku client is bullet proof with some of the latest updates, and it has a more robust set of features than almost any other client.

ChromeCast has had some issues, and these are being addressed, but until they are fixed, it's kind of out of the running for me.

I use a slug boat of Android tablets as clients and have at least 3 Roku's going for users, too. They just work.

[blacksmith]

In case anyone else is wondering how to get around this problem - you can install the PleXBMC add-on for XBMC/Kodi. While a native Plex Home Theater app would be nice, I find this to be a convenient compromise, especially with my preference for XBMC/Kodi.