Plex is also surprising me with its suite of features, from its ability to work with useful add-ons to even being useful for accessing personal images, like my own cloud storage. Not to mention the companion apps, like Plexamp, which is my personal favorite media player for playing back my CD collection.
Fortunately, Plex isn’t done surprising me, because I dug deeper into the settings and found several useful tools that completely changed how I use it. As it turned out, I could use it for more than streaming my personal collection of movies and series—I can stream so much more, and then some.
Well, of course, you can stream audiobooks with Plex
Time to start making another library
Why didn’t anyone tell me Plex could stream audiobooks? I thought it was novel just being able to use Plex as an easily accessible image bank or to play back music. Being able to stream my audiobooks means I can at least start distancing myself from my Kindle (to reduce my time spent on electronics). Plus, it’s awesome having multiple devices that can access it, which has encouraged me to use it more often.
Plex handles audiobooks like it handles any other type of media—you create a folder and fill it with your audiobooks, and add it as a library. However, you want to make sure your audiobook library remembers where you left off, because unfortunately, Plex doesn’t let you skip or jump chapters, though you can play audiobooks in Plexamp. Not to mention Plex also lacks metadata for audiobooks, which is initially done manually (but there exists an automatic option.)
If you do try it out, just start with half a dozen audiobooks. Should you get plenty of use that way, get a third-party metadata agent, like Audnexus, to help automate book info, cover art, and tags.
Changing this setting in Plex makes listening to audiobooks much better
Otherwise, you have to remember where you left off
While Plex doesn’t have an issue playing audiobooks, I mentioned its shortcoming is never remembering where you stopped. Although chapter selection isn’t an option, you can at least change your library’s settings to save progress.
Should you need to change that setting for your audiobook library or are in the midst of adding it to Plex, here’s where you find it:
- Go into Settings, then head down to the Manage section on the left.
- Choose Libraries, then hover over your audiobook library and click Edit Library.
- Select Advanced -> Store track progress.
Finalize by clicking Save Changes. Now, Plex will save your spot on any audiobook you start. It’s an easy workaround I can try before I start using apps like Prologue (free on iOS) or Bookcamp (free on Android) to control audiobook playback.
I can run Plex on out-of-date hardware
I like to run devices into the ground
Plex’s accessibility across an exhaustive list of devices is part of the reason I still use it—I like tinkering with the software on other devices. I might want to stream my movies on my phone while I’m doing dishes or folding laundry; in fact, it’s why I have yet to abandon Plex entirely for Kodi or Jellyfin. Compatibility is important right now, given the variety of devices in my home that connect to my server.
I completely understand the need to phase out older devices for security reasons or simply because you no longer have the hardware to run Plex. Luckily, there is an option that lets you circumvent this: enabling the DLNA server. Once enabled, you can access your library and stream using third-party media players like VLC, which I’ve done myself. In fact, since your DLNA server is limited to LAN, you can still stream when your internet is down, which mine was.
How to enable DLNA server settings in Plex
You can find the option by opening Settings, then under the Settings section on the left, choose DLNA. Check the box next to Enable the DLNA server, then finish with Save Changes at the bottom. That’s all easy enough!
One important thing to note is that once your DLNA server is accessible, anyone on your LAN network can access that content. In other words, if you have R-rated movies in your Plex library, and you don’t want your kids watching them, that content will be accessible. At least through Plex, you can enable parental controls for each user.
Plex will surprise me again
What I had originally installed Plex for—to stream my own media library—is a far cry from how I use it now. I’ve used it for music, for streaming to my Roku, and for setting up a kids-only media library for my youngest. It’s a lot of fun to tinker with beyond just having a digital backup of my media, and I’m sure it’ll surprise me again with more niche use cases.