Transform your Raspberry Pi into a dedicated Plex Media Player and enjoy smooth streaming of your movies, TV shows, and music. This guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough, ensuring a seamless setup process. While a Raspberry Pi can technically run a Plex Server, for optimal performance, especially with 4K content, it’s recommended to use a more powerful machine for the server and dedicate the Pi solely to playback.
Table of Contents
- Installing the Snap Package Manager
- Installing Plex Media Player
- Setting Up Your Plex Media Server (on a separate machine)
- Connecting to Your Plex Server
- Troubleshooting
Installing the Snap Package Manager
The Snap Store simplifies installing and updating software on your Raspberry Pi. Open a terminal window and execute these commands:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install snapd
sudo systemctl enable snapd.socket
sudo systemctl enable snapd.seeded.service
sudo systemctl restart snapd
These commands update the package list, install the Snap package manager (snapd), enable it to run on startup, and restart the service for the changes to take effect.
Installing Plex Media Player
With Snap installed, installing Plex Media Player is straightforward:
sudo snap install plexmediaplayer
This command downloads and installs the latest version. Once installed, you can launch it from your Raspberry Pi’s application menu.
Setting Up Your Plex Media Server (on a separate machine)
Before you can stream, you’ll need a Plex Media Server running on a more powerful computer or NAS device. This guide doesn’t detail server setup, as it’s a separate process. Download the server from the official Plex website and follow their instructions. Remember to add your media libraries (movies, TV shows, music) to the server, ensuring it’s accessible on your network. You’ll need its IP address (and potentially port number, typically 32400) later.
Connecting to Your Plex Server
Launch Plex Media Player on your Raspberry Pi. You’ll be prompted to sign in to your Plex account. Once signed in, your media library from the server should appear. Select what you want to watch and enjoy!
Troubleshooting
- Network Connectivity: Ensure your Raspberry Pi and Plex Media Server are on the same network.
- Firewall: Check if your firewall is blocking Plex Media Server or Plex Media Player. Allow access to the necessary ports.
- Server Address: Double-check the Plex Media Server’s IP address.
- Plex Account: Verify you’re logged into the correct Plex account on both the server and the player.
For advanced troubleshooting, consult the official Plex documentation.