Plex on Linux the Easy Way on a Cheap N100 Server ! Hardware HDR tone mapping demoed
Sign up for a Plex Pass – http://lon.tv/plexpass – This video is a part 2 to last month’s video where we installed Plex on a cheap Windows Mini PC. This time we take that same Mini PC and install Ubuntu Linux along with the Plex media server. One of the advantages of running on Linux is that the hardware transcoder works with tone mapping! See more: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCZHp4d1HnIvqJPAmMooCKOHieLdi3I7o and subscribe! http://lon.tv/s
Find the Mini PC here: https://lon.tv/ti6cb or a 16GB version: https://lon.tv/nt0u4 (compensated affiliate links).
VIDEO INDEX:
00:00 – Intro
01:38 – GMKTec G3 Mini PC & Ubuntu
03:51 – App Center & Plex Installation
04:44 – Plex Setup
05:25 – Server Configuration
08:11 – Server Settings
10:05 – Hardware Transcode Test
11:27 – HDR to SDR Tonemapping Test
13:50 – Memory Usage
14:23 – Updates
14:48 – Backing Up Data
15:41 – Conclusion
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windows server
Running plex direct on synology nas works better than using docker on top of synology. Now Ubuntu server docker and portainer works great also ! just my 2 cents ….
Love the Plex content, keep it up!
Why doesn't windows allow this? Can Mac computers hardware tyranscode?
This was a wonderful tutorial for a Linux noob like myself. Would you mind making a video explaining how to add Plex within Docker on Ubuntu since you mentioned that would be your preferred method?
You should be able to show a few seconds of video without audio, not full screen, and be within the fair use rules.
Hey Lon….
I ran into something yesterday while trying to help my in-laws. They are not tech savvy, and Comcast customers. The Plex app is available for the cable box, but does not have access to media. Could you possibly share some insight? Thanks.
Maybe a linux based surveillance camera system would have lower hardware requirements
Thanks for this. I am going to have to move my 2 Plex servers to Linux due to them not being able to go to Windows 11. My 2 run perfectly on the Precision T1700's I have so I see no need to get new machines for 11, which I am not a fan of anyway. I will do my MakeMKV on my Mac Mini. I appreciate the walk-through.
That external drive is formatted exfat, that's why there are no permission issues 🙂
If you're not automating things with the arrs, using package managed version installed is fine. One of the big advantages of containers (docker) is avoiding dependency & library hell when different software might need different versions of things like python or java.
You should think about doing a video on truenas scale when they make the switch away from helm/kubernetes to docker-compose. Right now, for the majority of users, their charts are basically no different from snaps. You have to have a LOT of knowledge to do anything yourself. That will change this fall!
Jellyfin is better than plex
❤❤❤
I have Plex server running on a Ubuntu 22.04 LXC. The CPU is Ryzen 5900x and the GPU is Intel Arc A380. HDR Tone Mapping doesn't work for me. I installed Jellyfin on the same LXC and HDR tone mapping works fine. I think Plex has compatibility issues with Intel Arc cards maybe.
Nice video & I made a similar one recently.
Ubuntu slighly modified thier Snap package install of Plex Server, to give Plex server permission to local folders and files and to any folders and files on a USB drive.
If you had gotten the .deb installer from Plex and installed via gdebi, you would have to manually manage those pesky Linux permissions manually.
This makes the Snap install of Plex as easy or easier to install than under Windows.
When Ubuntu 24.04 was recently released, the updated Linux kernel prevented hardware accelerated transcoding of HDR media if tone mapping was enabled, and that bug has now been fixed except for Intel's Gemini Lake processors, so someone with an older processor might want to stick with Ubuntu 22.04 for now if tone mapping is important to them.
Good overview. I am running the Linux version of Plex inside a docker container on a unraid media server. It has been running almost flawlessly for over two years. I will added that some of dashboard functionality shown in the video requires Plex Pass which is not free, however most people can live without the few extras in the plex pass. Unless things have changed, last I knew the Plex App on smart phones requires Plex Pass. You can access Plex for free using the web interface. Free Plex apps on Roku, FireTv, and AppleTV.
I’m planning something similar with OMV and Jellyfin
Thanks so much for this video Lon!
Loved that you covered this, thanks! The only other thing that would’ve been helpful for me would be instructions on how you got the computer to boot onto the other drive to install Linux.
You know what goes well with Plex on Linux? mergerfs 😉
Great video. That little NUC box is looking more and more attractive. I have a massive gaming PC running 24/7 for Plex and I probably only use it a couple of times a week. I am not sure how much power my PC is using at idle but I bet I could save some energy by switching to the smaller PC.
Hey Lon, I'm glad to see you showcasing Linux. I'm a Windows lifer who made the jump to Linux after the Recall fiasco and Linux is having a moment right now. I'm currently using Nobara, a Fedora-based distro centered around gaming and video editing and have been happy with it so far.