[Guide] Create a mobile media server setup with Plex's new app

Resources General Information
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Software Setup (Windows)

1. Install Plex (Plex’s new client) with all default options

  1. Open the app
  2. Sign in
  3. Select your primary server
  4. Once you’ve reached the home screen, close the app

2. [Optional] create a hardlink to your desired storage location for downloads (skip this if you’re using your primary drive)

  1. Click start, click “Run” (or press WIN+R) and type %appdata% and press Enter.
  2. Navigate up one directory to \username\AppData\
  3. Navigate to \username\AppData\Local\Plex\Plex Media Server\Sync
  4. Copy the entire path. Should look like C:\username\AppData\Local\Plex\Plex Media Server\Sync
  5. Determine the path that you want to use as storage for downloads. Example: D:\Plex Storage
    • Create the directory.
  6. Delete the folder called Sync if it exists.
  7. Open a new command prompt as Administrator.
  8. Make a hardlink from the Plex Sync Directory to the Target (storage) directory.
    • . mklink /J "C:\username\AppData\Local\Plex\Plex Media Server\Sync" "D:\Plex Storage"
  9. Navigate to C:\username\AppData\Local\Plex\Plex Media Server directory. Verify the Sync folder exists and looks like a shortcut.

3. Before going any further, download at least 1 piece of content from each library from your main server. This generates the directories necessary for the next step.

4. Install Plex Media Server with all default options

  1. Sign in and claim the server.
  2. Name your server, leave remote access enabled
  3. Delete the default libraries (movies and photos) and skip the next sections until you reach the home screen
  4. This next section covers setting up a new Plex Media Server from scratch, including some options that are specific to this guide.
    1. [General]
      1. Give your server a friendly name if you haven’t already.
      2. Uncheck “Send Crash reports to Plex”
      3. Do not change appdata path
    2. [Remote Access]
      1. No changes
    3. Agents
      1. Movies
        1. Plex Movie: uncheck “Local Media Assets (Movies)”
        2. The Movie Database: uncheck “Local Media Assets” (Movies)"
      2. Shows
        1. TheTVDB: uncheck “Local Media Assets (TV)”
        2. The Movie Database: uncheck “Local Media Assets (TV)”
      3. Artists
        1. Last.fm: uncheck "Local Media Assets (Artists)
      4. Albums
        1. Last.fm: uncheck "Local Media Assets (Artists)
    4. Library
      1. Check “Scan my library automatically”
      2. Check “Run a partial scan when changes are detected”
      3. [Optional] Check “Scan my library periodically”
      4. Check “Empty trash automatically after every scan”
      5. Check “Allow media deletion”
      6. Change “Weeks to consider for On Deck and Continue Watching” to 2
      7. Uncheck “Run scanner tasks at a lower priority”
      8. Change “Generate video preview thumbnails” to never
      9. [Optional] Change “Generate chapter thumbnails” to as a scheduled task and when media is added
      10. [Optional] Change “Generate chapter thumbnails” to as a scheduled task and when media is added
    5. Plugins
      1. Uncheck all
    6. Network
      1. Uncheck “Enable server support for IPV6”
      2. Check “Enable local network discovery (GDM)”
      3. Under “List of IP addresses and networks that are allowed without auth” add the network and netmask that you will be using your server on (note: this exposes your server to other devices on the same network. Generally speaking not a huge deal, but something to consider turning off if you’re on a Hotel’s wifi for example) Sample entry: 192.168.1.0/24 (to find the address of the network you’re on, open a command prompt and type ipconfig and press enter.)
    7. Transcoder
      1. [Optional] Check “Use hardware acceleration when available” - more info here
    8. Languages
      1. No changes
    9. DLNA
      1. Uncheck / disable all
    10. Scheduled Tasks (these settings may change based on your preference, but here’s what I use)
      1. Change “Time at which tasks start to run” to Midnight
      2. Change “Time at which tasks stop running” to 10 am
      3. Check all other boxes
    11. Extras
      1. No changes
  5. Click the home button in the top left of the web interface. Make sure your mobile server is selected.
  6. [Info before going onto the next step to create a library]
    The Plex client creates a separate directory for each server AND each library that content is downloaded from. If you’re going to be downloading from multiple servers and/or you use multiple libraries with similar content types, you will need to add multiple directories for each library you are creating.
    For example, you download some movies to your client. The syntax is ...\Plex\Plex Media Server\Sync\[ServerNumber]\[LibraryNumber].
    Example: ...\Plex\Plex Media Server\Sync\1\1
    Subsequent downloads of content from the same server but different library would be stored in ...\Sync\1\2, ...\Sync\1\3 and so on.
    Downloads from a different server would be stored on ...\Sync\2\1, ...\Sync\2\2 and so on.
  7. Add a new library by clicking the + sign when hovering over “Libraries”
    1. Adding a movies library
      1. Click “Movies” on the “Select type” tab
      2. Name your library, select language. Click “Next”
      3. Click “BROWSE FOR MEDIA FOLDER” (repeat this process as many times as necessary)
      4. Navigate to C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Plex\Plex Media Server\Sync\X\Y and make sure there are movies in that directory. Click “ADD”
      5. Click the “Advanced” tab
        1. Change “Agent” to Plex Movie
      6. Click “ADD LIBRARY”
    2. Adding a TV library
      1. Click “TV Shows” on the “Select type” tab
      2. Name your library, select language. Click “Next”
      3. Click “BROWSE FOR MEDIA FOLDER” (repeat this process as many times as necessary)
      4. Navigate to C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Plex\Plex Media Server\Sync\X\Y and make sure there are TV shows in that directory. Click “ADD”
      5. Click the “Advanced” tab
        1. Change “Agent” to TheTVDB
      6. Click “ADD LIBRARY”
    3. Adding a Music Library
      1. Click “Music” on the “Select type” tab
      2. Name your library, select language. Click “Next”
      3. Click “BROWSE FOR MEDIA FOLDER” (repeat this process as many times as necessary)
      4. Navigate to C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Plex\Plex Media Server\Sync\X\Y and make sure there is Music in that directory. Click “ADD”
      5. Click the “Advanced” tab
        1. Change “Agent” to Last.FM
      6. Click “ADD LIBRARY”
  8. Once you’ve added all of your media, Plex should scan, import, and tag your media.

5. Download media that you want to take with you

Remember, downloads are fastest over ethernet on the same network as your primary server.
When downloading TV, you can select options of how many episodes you want to download, as well as whether to automatically delete them after being watched. (This only works if the server owner’s account either watches them or marks them as watched)

6. Serve the media

  • Devices on the same local network should automatically (automagically?) have access to the mobile server, provided everything is set up correctly. If you can’t see the server, double check that you have the correct network settings under “List of IP addresses and networks that are allowed without auth”.
    • You may also be able to share files from a laptop or mobile server directly, depending on your mobile server’s hardware. You can read more about this configuration here. I wouldn’t recommend this for a long term solution, but it works in a pinch.
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