After a lengthy trial period, Plex Cloud is finally available for all Plex Pass subscribers globally.
Plex Cloud is a new way for viewers to stream their own content. The way Plex normally works is that you put your files on a computer or NAS drive, and then Plex lets you stream those files to another device, like a TV or phone. So you can load up your computer with a bunch of movies, and then watch them on your iPhone – like your own personal Netflix.
But Plex Cloud goes one step further and removes the need for you to have your own physical storage. Instead, you can use Dropbox, Google Drive, or Microsoft’s OneDrive to store your files, and then use Plex to stream them from there.
It’s a great option for someone who doesn’t want to clog up their computer with massive files, or isn’t keen on spending big on a hefty NAS drive. Of course, you may need to pay a little extra to your cloud service provider to get sufficient data capacity.
In any case, Plex seems sufficiently pleased with itself:
“The amount of technology behind this launch is quite awesome,” a Plex blog post reads. “It’s definitely not a trivial thing to take the best media server on the planet and make it work seamlessly as a scalable cloud service, load-balanced and clustered across multiple geographic regions. It turns out a lot can go wrong.”
Plex Cloud technically isn’t new, as it launched in beta back in September last year. However, it’s now available for anyone with a Plex Pass. That’ll cost you £3.99 per month or £31.99 per year in the UK, or $4.99 per month/$39.99 per year in the USA.
But if you’re willing to source your own media, it could work out cheaper than alternatives like Netflix. Of course, we don’t recommend acquiring content illegally – keep it all above board, folks.
Related: How to build a full-fat 4K Plex streaming system for £200
Do you use Plex? Tell us what you think of it in the comments below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
