Plex has spent much of 2017 releasing exciting new additions to its service. Summer saw the introduction of Plex Live TV Plex Live TV:Everything You Need to Know Plex Live TV:Everything You Need to Know Plex has added live TV channels to its service, but what exactly is Plex Live TV? We've got everything you need to know about this exciting new option for cable cutters. Read More news from a variety of sources from across the political spectrum. Keeping you up to date with what is happening in the world. Read more . But it turns out there was more to come. Now, Plex has introduced another new feature:Plex Labs..
In this article, we'll quickly explain what Plex Labs is, and then move on to take an in-depth look at its first featured app:Plexamp .
In terms of Plex Labs, Plex has clearly taken inspiration from the popular Google Labs and Gmail Labs 7 Essential Gmail Lab features still active to increase your email efficiency. 7 Essentials in the Gmail Lab app to increase your email efficiency. really cool experimental features that can help you boost your email productivity. Read more.
The Plex team has three initial goals for the project. They are:
Technical writing about Plex: The official Plex documentation has always preempted the totally confusing official Kodi wiki. But as part of Plex Labs, the company will now regularly publish detailed pieces on Medium.
Community projects: These are apps created by third-party developers. The third-party community has been thriving on Plex for several years. The company hopes that Plex Labs will help bring all the projects under one roof.
Internal projects: The last strand is Plex's own internal projects. They are plugins and applications that are not officially supported by the company, but they are all integrated by the company. Plex Labs launched with two such projects:Webhooks and Plexamp .
Webhooks is like a Plex-specific version of IFTTT. You can configure the Plex Media Server to ping particular URLs when certain things happen, allowing you to integrate Plex with your smart home. For example, it can automatically turn off your smart lights every time a movie starts.
Plexamp is a music player. And that's what we'll focus on in the rest of this piece.
A surprisingly high number of people still use Winamp. In 2017, the ubiquitous music player celebrated its 20th birthday. And while it's not as popular as it once was, it's still trusted by millions of people around the world every day.
Plexamp is Plex's answer to Winamp. However, unlike its namesake, you can't “peek” music libraries in the traditional sense. Instead, it focuses more on search and discovery.
The application is based on the Electron platform and uses an open source audio player called Music Player Daemon for music playback.
Users can enjoy seamless playback, a global activation hotkey (like Spotlight on a Mac), and smooth transitions. But that's just scratching the surface. Let's dive into the features in a bit more detail.
For such a small media player, Plexamp already packs an impressive punch. Let's take a look at some of the app's key features, starting with music playback and discovery.
When the app is open, you can click the search bar at the bottom of the screen to find any song, artist, album, or playlist on your machine. Just start typing and you'll see a list of live results.
One of the biggest drawbacks of desktop music players Top 5 Free Music Players for Windows Top 5 Free Music Players for Windows Downloading music still has its advantages. For one thing, you can play music even when you don't have internet access. But which music player should you use? Find the best free music players here. Read More are Your Music Discovery Tools 8 Websites To Help You Discover New Music Genres 8 Websites To Help You Discover New Music Genres Broadening your musical horizons by discovering new or niche genres can be beneficial. With that in mind, here are several essential websites for discovering music you've never heard before. Read more . They just don't have the same power as the tools on Spotify, Google Play Music, and other video streaming services. Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. Amazon Music Unlimited:Which is the best? Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. Amazon Music Unlimited:Which is the best? With the introduction of Amazon Music Unlimited, now is a great time to sign up for a streaming music service. In this article, we'll examine how Amazon's service compares to Spotify and Apple Music. Read more.
Of course, you'll always be limited to the music that's on your Plex server, but with automatic playlists for Recent Playlists, Latest Added, Recent Playlists, and more, you're sure to find some gems you've forgotten about.
Music app “radio” is nothing new Spotify has been offering artist radio for a few years now, and the other major streaming services have followed suit.
Plexamp offers a twist on the theme. The larger your music collection, the better your radio experience.
You have three radios to choose from:
There are some smaller features that deserve a mention as well.
All other typical music player features such as Play/Pause, Skip Track and keyboard shortcuts are included.
To download Plexamp, go to plexamp.com and click the appropriate button for your operating system.
At the time of writing, Plexamp is only available on Windows and macOS, although Plex has promised that a Linux version will be released very soon.
Once you've downloaded the file, double-click the icon to install Plexamp on your system.
After the installation process is complete, a small window will appear on your screen. You need to give your new player a name and click Register . By clicking the button, you will be redirected to the Plex online portal.
Once again, enter your details and click on Sign Up . The Plexamp app will now be linked to your Plex Media server and ready to use.
Hopefully, this article has made you realize how powerful Plexamp can be. If you use it in conjunction with an existing Plex setup, now is the best way to access and listen to your music on the system.
But does it offer enough for die-hard audiophiles? Audiophile Internet Music Guide Audiophile Internet Music Guide We have discovered the biggest sites for music fans in various categories. Whether you want to buy an album, stream songs, discover new music, or just learn more, these sites have it all. Read more ? Or would they be better served by sticking to a more traditional desktop music player? As always, you can leave your opinions, thoughts, and comments in the comments section below!
