Plex media server to projector?

[Pwaynez]

New to the idea of PJs as I am currently searching for a a new 4K TV or my first projector. Is anyone familiar with the app Plex? I have it downloaded and curious if I would be able to stream movies/shows/etc. from it to the projector if I were to pick up some sort of device. As I am comparing the benefits and shopping between TV and PJ this is a pretty big consideration to have. Anyone know anything about this?

 

[bigkrazy155]

Many, many devices can run the Plex app for you, including TVs. What you are effectively asking is "will a projector accept an HDMI input." Of course! You seem to be overthinking this. Use other much more important criteria to make your selection, then circle back to how you will display the Plex app later. Good luck!

 

[BMXTRIX]

So, I've started a bit of discussion about Plex in this thread...
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/plex-has-completely-blown-me-away.114662/

But, you can use a long list of devices to connect to your Plex server and offer content playback. I use the Roku Ultra in my home and it works great with my projector. There is also the highly vaunted nVidia Shield which runs a bit more money, but offers ton of options. The new AppleTV models apparently have the Plex app available as well.

So, you won't stream from Plex to the projector. You will stream from Plex to a playback device. Projectors are more like computer monitors. They don't typically have speakers which are worth using, or smart functionality built in. So, you would typically get an A/V receiver and surround sound speakers to go with a projection setup.

If your room and setup is different, than you should let us know and you can get some better direction for your purchase consideration.

 

[panteragstk]

When getting a device to run Plex (assuming you either have a Plex server or are sharing one with a friend) there are many factors to consider. Speed is important. If the device is laggy it gets irritating quickly.

Video playback is also very important. My Amazon Fire Stick 4K has pretty much perfect video playback. My Shield TV does as well, but can't correct color space when playing 4K HDR files on a 1080p display. If you get a 4K projector this is a non-issue. Shield is capable of playing back ~100mbps files so it is very powerful. I haven't tested these files on my Fire Stick. A PC can do all of these things, but initial investment is higher and configuration is MUCH more involved.

Audio playback is one of (if not the most) important thing for me. My FIre Stick 4K (as well as most other devices) won't play back HD audio untouched. The Shield TV does this all day. PC does to. I've read that the Apple TV 4K and Roku 4K aren't able to play back all formats. For me, this is a deal breaker. While a lot of these devices support Atmos, the are speaking of streaming services only. The Xbox One is in this boat as well. I had one for 2 hours and returned it because of garbage audio playback.

So, determine what is the most important to you and pick your device accordingly.