Announcing Plex for Windows 8!
As you may already know, we’re huge fans of the Microsoft Windows 8 (née Metro) interface. We had a ton of fun writing the Plex app for Windows Phone 7, so when Windows 8 was released, we wasted no time in working to bring you a first class native application for the platform. We’d like to give you a quick visual overview, and then invite you to download it; it’s live in the Windows Store right now, at an introductory price of just $2.99!
I love the home screen for Plex on Windows 8. In my mind it’s a perfect amalgam of many of the visual idioms we’ve been exploring on many of the different Plex apps, but at the same time it looks like a (very lovely) completely native Windows 8 app. It’s got a background art slideshow, a gorgeous On Deck section, your myPlex queue, and much more.
The library areas will look familiar to those who have used the Windows Phone 7 app, as well as Plex/Web.
Note also that we’ve brought the incredibly powerful filtering system that first appeared in Plex/Web over to the Windows 8 app. It would not be a stretch to say that it’ll make its way to other Plex apps over time.
That’s just a quick overview, but I hope it conveys the love we’ve brought to this new platform. Let us know what you think!
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Here come the paid apps and subscription fees…
wow this is so cool. i’ve been waiting for it since day 1
Great effort by plex team !
Supeeeer
Testing it right now
Awesome! Bought and running on my Windows 8 machines already.
Are we likely to see remote control functionality built into this, like on the iPad/iPhone/WP7 apps?
Dammit, don’t make me envious of Windows.
While i love that you put a app up in the Store I have 1 Major issue with this version of the client.
No Keyboard support. This means it is useless for my media center that is controlled with a remote. Is there any hope of a update in the future that will make this usable for me? Can really tell this was meant for Win 8 Touch devices.
Great guys,
Keep innovating
I support you so the rest should do 
Fantastic. Love ein 8
Though i have my doubts about the metro interface for desktop use, i really like it on my xbox and the tablets i’ve seen around. You however brought it to a whole new level
Is there any way to port this one to other clients as well? (like the mac client pretty please?
)
Holy shit this is sexy! Can’t wait to go home so I try it
Great! Will buy it tonight.
That looks lovely !
Now, I want Plex for PSVita ! You should start a kickstarter for that :p
Looks great (although I’ll probably never get a Windows device myself)
Is something similar coming to OS X? Makes the Mac version look a bit tired.
Wow! Looks like excellent work. I look forward to building a Media Centre to try it out tonight.
Question though: why the change of charging strategy for a desktop platform app? Seems odd that you’re monetizing the Windows 8 app, but not the Windows 7 and OSX applications?
I just bought the app and I am a bit disapointed so far
It seems that file directplay does not take in account installed codecs on the PC. (or it’s not working correctly)
In the end almost all my files have to be transcoded even on my local network… which doesn’t work well for me as I am using a NAS as server with limited CPU capacity.
Any chance this will be fixed to have files directly played when local codecs are installed?
for now I think I’ll stay with the windows client…
Looks very nice!
But i hope thats not the beginning of the end of the Mac client… :-/
@Christian: Only if you’re reformatting your Mac Mini and installing Windows 8 :-p
I don’t understand the differences between “normal” Plex and Plex for Windows 8 because of the different monetizing strategy.
I’ve bought Plex for WP7, iOS and Android and I don’t have any W8 machine so I’m not complaining.
@NicoSavides: We’ll definitely improve it over time, we’re learning the platform as we go. You’re absolutely right, it doesn’t take into account installed codec packs. However, if we can’t figure out a way to bundle codecs or detect those which are already installed, we’ll give you advanced preferences to specify which ones are installed, *assuming* the environment supports that.
read this post, and purchased the app from windows store directly. everytime i use plex there is some new functionality availeable. Keep on innovating the way to browse, manage, share and play media files! Your rock!
@Ernesto: for one, the Windows 8 app will work exceptionally well on a tablet, whereas the “home theater” Laika desktop app will not
How come on screenshots 1, 3 and 4 the images are aligned to the left of the Plex logo but on screenshot 2 they are not?
Any chance this means an updated Windows Phone 8 app is on its way soon?
Great to see all this great Plex development. All cool new features, platforms etc, thanks for that!
There was no update for a long time, even no news of an upcoming update. I think it is getting a bit of an oldy, but it is the client I (and I believe many others) use the most… Any news to take away my concerns?
My only big concern is that the Plex Client for Mac is left behind and is forgotten….
@Jansink: We’re working on an update
I use it nightly myself.
@elan
Ok, good to hear
The Laika client is fantastic. But some improvements and new cool stuff would be great
@Jay: Because screenshot 2 is what you see when you scroll screenshot 1 over to the left?
Can you PLEASE stop neglecting the osx client? The main reason I bought the ios apps was to show my support, now I think you’re forgotten about osx because you aren’t making $ off it.
Great work. Thanks
Will be nice for my gaming rig. But more important: Is this App compatible with Win8 RT (Surface tablet)?
Still disappointed that Windows version has now leapfrogged the Mac version, particularly as a Pass member. I hope this isn’t going to be the case ongoing. Too many apps where Mac users feel like the poor relations.
@Jeff: Almost all of us have Macs and run Laika in the living room. I wouldn’t stress too much
@Aleksandar: Hells yeah, works great on a Surface.
@Rich: not true at all, all of us use it, and we’re working on an update but as you know, we’re very secretive about such things and don’t talk timelines
@Elan That’s awesome man. I just got a new Mini for the loungeroom primarily fir plex. On another note, as a teacher I used the web client to stream a documentary from my PMS at home. The kids lived it. Thanks gang
Based on the a-client-everywhere vision of yours a new killer-killer-killer feature will be a raspberry pi client!
I’ll even pay for that (and Im a lifetime plexpass member).
@Elan: Thanks for the update about the Mac client. As a plexpass member I hope we members can get some nightly type of release sometime soon!
Loved it too. (It was to the Smartboard).
Very nice… although I’m not a fan of w8, I wished Plex for Mac looked this fresh…
Just want to let you guys know, in my opinion you’re really on the right track. A broader support of platforms would certainly attract more and more users, what leads to a larger community. (With hopefully more genius people for better and more plug-ins)
Maybe you can offer the new Mac client in the Mac App store, which will lead to free publicity and attacks a whole new group of users which never heard about Plex. (But please, don’t make it a App store only)
Oh and don’t hesitate to ask money for your services, good products come with a price. But keep in mind that you don’t make the entrance barrier to high.
Great work!
The shoot-everywhere monetization strategy is not looking good, IMHO.
1st – hardware parters! 2nd – and mobile apps too! 3rd – no, a premier beta thing! 4(?) – now desktop clients too!
Decide guys. You have a winner in your hands, the money will come.
Will people PLEASE STOP pissing and moaning about Plex having paid aspects.
Firstly: The majority of Plex is FREE and has been for THE ENTIRETY OF ITS EXISTENCE. Which must be coming up to almost 6-8 years, right?
Secondly: The stuff you pay for is CHEAP FOR WHAT YOU GET. I would pay for Plex a million times over for the amount of pleasure it gives me and my media centre experience. Excluding PlexPass, very quick and rough off-the-top-of-my-head maths puts the total of all the Plex apps available to buy at less than $15.
Thirdly: Stop complaining. Just stop. NO.
Fourthly: Thanks Elan. We love Plex, and so do the moaners, secretly
@Sergio: We see the Windows 8 app primarily as a mobile app (tablet/phone), also the Media Center and the new Plex/Web clients are free. I don’t think this breaks the earlier formula, except the fact that you CAN use it on the desktop as well.
@tobias: Maybe this points up the confusion that MS is generating with Windows 8. I guess you could possibly need 2 Windows 8 apps, one for touch screen tablets and one for remote controlled HDMI attached PCs.
So i take it this client doesnt use ffmpg which imo is a good thing, so long you’ve created your own player. If its a desktop client that relies on PMS transcoding in order to work, im not sure how great I think this is.
Nice application!
Is-there any support (or planned support) for subtitle in this windows 8 application ?
If I pay for the Windows 8 app, IOS app and the android app do I get premium membership? hahahah
This will be the 3rd time I have bought the different apps.
Best $3 I will ever spend.
I use Plex Media Server v0.9.7.7 on PC, and ALREADY buy plex client app from windows 8 store. Plex APP can’t show UTF-8(Big-5) subtiltle, but it’s ok to show subtitle on iPAD2. It’s the same problem on windows phone 7 and I also brought the app. It’s a BIG and existed long time problem. Please fix the subtitles issue.
I like the W8 App, it looks really great.
I cannot seem to get subtitles working, so I assume they are not supported yet. Will this be added later?
Another feature I like of the desktop client is the per-category on deck. Will you add different “views” (ie. on deck, all series,etc) to the categories?
Again. It’s delay on Windows 8 app. I pay money to buy your app, and no trial period. It’s many issues on windows 8 app. I think it’s some kind of cheating. I like Plex but the quility is really no good.
Now that you have the Win8 Metro app, any chance of a 360 app?
This is awesome, i purchased it as soon as i read the title. One suggestion, remove the plex label from the tile, it looks very out of place and nearly overlaps the plex X logo.
I assume that the Windows 8 client doesn’t use OpenGL. Is that correct? The Plex Media Centre’s use of Open GL (via its xbmc heritgage) with it’s high CPU use, high power consumption and high heat generation has always been a negative in my view.
I agree that keyboard support is critical, as is not needing to transcode.
Do you publish a roadmap? I’d like to know if this is slated to replace the Plex Media Center for windows.
Keep up the great work!
Looks good, and it is responsive and pretty smooth. BUT;
I can use 2 iOS clients simultaneously while playing a full HD movie on my 2 year old Mac Mini, and the cpu is around 80%. However, when using a SINGLE WINDOWS 8 APP it goes to 100%? What’s up with that?
Is Plex for win8 full-featured, like the desktop clients? Can it run locally with no remote server? Remember win8 isn’t just tablets and phones.
How does performance compare to the desktop client? It’s presumably written in a much higher-level language, which tends to be slower.
Does it support remote controls, particularly the MCE remote?
This apps works great on my Surface guys
This really made my day. Been rocking Plex for over a year on my LG and its been great
Doesn’t seem to work if your Plex Media Server is on the same box.
I downloaded the app, but it does not stream once I play, it takes at least 1 to 2 min to download the full stream from my NAS server and then it plays it.
when this will be fixed ?
@David: Recent versions of XBMC have “dirty regions” enabled by default. This feature skips rendering portions of the screen that haven’t changed since the previous frame and basically fixes everything you’re talking about.
According to a quick search PMC doesn’t support this yet, but since Plex regularly pulls from XBMC it should have support sooner or later.
This looks great. Will it be ported to the 360 now that there is a metro app?
Yeah, yeah, good, really nice but the important question here is… Where is Barkley?!
purchased it amd it fails entirely to connect to the server which is installed on this box. not happy. desktop client works fine.
as a plex user for past 3 years, this is the best 3 dollar app i have ever bought. I only ask, how do u enable subtitles? i stream alot of my anime and it doesnt give me the option of changing language and subtitle. great job though guys
So, next update for the osx client (since 2 years…) will be in the app store? But given the now clearly commercial way Plex has taken, forget about XBMC. It’s a totally free and open source project and i’m sure plex devs will have the decency of not copying any single line of code. Isn’t it?
No, next update of Plex Media Center will not be in the App Store. We publish all our code for the client on GitHub as required by the GPL and will continue to do so in the future.
Will this be ported into a proper Windows Phone 8 app to replace the Windows Phone 7.5 app WP8 users are currently stuck with?
This app might work well on surface RT, but it doesn’t work at all on a windows 8 desktop. It doesn’t support hardware keyboard input, which is absurd, I had to log in to myplex by cutting and pasting my username and password. Even after logging it still can not connect to the server software, which is running on the same computer and working fine from plex media center and android tablet/phone. I was hoping for a UI update over media center, but it also needs to function…
@Chris: Well I guess that pretty much answers my questions about using it on a desktop. Hopefully you can get a refund somehow.
@Chris: The hardware keyboard/mouse work just fine, I’m not sure why you’re running into issues with it. I agree, that would be absurd
In terms of connecting to your own computer, we’re investigating an issue with that now, it looks like it might be whacky sandboxing issue.
Please make this client the new laika client, too. Seriously the most gorgeous interface for plex yet! I’m so jealous of windows users, now :/ lol
What is it about iOS that doesn’t allow this interface, btw? I love my iOS client, but seeing those screens makes me sad :p
I know that it’s designed for a tablet, but perhaps it could be made so where we can use an iOS or android device to control it like a tablet, but the interface is on our big-screen TV. Make sense? Please make this happen, this is the future, home screens like that where our content is aggregated in an easy to navigate interface is a must! Great job you guys, I hope this is a sign of things to come for desktop clients, also.
That looks amazing, will be testing this out on my Surface tonight for sure.
Thanx to all those that have confirmed it works on RT and thanx to the Plex Team for getting this out. The “Metro” interface was just made for something like Plex.
Really hoping this leads to Plex Sync making it’s way to Windows as MKV support is lacking on the Surface making my entire media collection useless on the device.
To all the complainers…..its $2.99 for a shit load of App. Stop blaming you own lack of knowledge and stupidity on these guys who work hard to give us so many options and great Apps !!!
By the way, don’t feel the need to respond to me. I know the awesome UI is is due to the innovation of Windows 8, I just hope Mac catches up with the software so Mac can get a great UI like that. Great job Plex! And I REALLY look forward to a Laika update, with hopefully the new filter system in use
So – had to buy Windows 8 to test is in Vmware and yes – its awesome.
BUT – since we all came a long way from Plex being the XBMC for Mac – can we now please work on a modern skin for my Media Center so i can get rid of XBMC ? Laika is getting a little old school compared to all the other clients…
Hello elan,
Is homescreen as customizable as iOS version ? (ie. Is user able to get rid of onDeck/Channels/Shared Libraries etc and reorder them ?)
It looks awesome though. Good job.
Bought, and installed, but it wont connect to PlexPass, or the local Plex server, any ideas?
@Pat: Laika, being largely XBMC underneath, is completely skinnable. If you want to work on a windows 8 “metro” style skin, that would be pretty cool. I’m not sure that metro skin makes sense or would really be welcomed by a lot of OSX users as the default.
The Windows store doesn’t allow me to buy anything without a credit card. I don’t own a credit card but I do want to support Plex and buy this app.
Using the Windows Store, every member of the family would have to buy the app separately because the purchase is linked to a Windows account? Again, my little brother isn’t even eligible for a credit card.
Is there a way to buy the app without having to bother with the Windows store?
This is my first chance to actually buy a Plex product.
I like your software a lot. It would suck if you loose potential customers because Windows store can’t figure out how to distribute software.
I would like MCE Keyboard support. That way my harmony remote can be used instead of my dinovo mini.
@Ashleigh ~ http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/topic/52889-cant-connect-to-server-solved/page__view__findpost__p__321471
Bought the windows 8 app and I just love it. The only problem is I cant use my plex for android as a remote. I normally use the android app as a remote for my two windows 8 media center. Its been working fine with the normal desktop app but windows 8 app is not showing up as a player to control. Can you please help.
@gates89: It’s fair to assume we’ll add that functionality in an upcoming update. Glad you dig the app
Love the app!! I am seriously impressed, from a design and development perspective, the quality of your apps (xplatform) sets an example for the rest of us. One minor niggle though, the windows 8 app does not appear to support the “resume from where i left off” behavior?
As much as I am glad to see a Windows 8 App from Plex, I personally know hundreds of people who will not buy it, and I am one.
The reason is that there is no option to try before you buy. In today’s world that is more important than anything, a 30 day trial is all it needs. If they are going to continue using it they will buy it, but more and more people are opting for the try before you buy option, and if the App doesn’t support it then people are not going to bother that quickly.
Secondly, as a developer myself. I can vouch that developers can gain more buy who has tried the app compared to those who have bought it, and then decide find out why people are not buying it.
Might sound simple and none important, but it is a known fact that if you don’t offer the try before buy, you are essentially cutting a good 80% of your potential market.
Looking for a REFUND on Windows 8 Plex client, is there any information on how this is done?
Thanks
@Paddy: As far as I know those are handled through the Windows store.
Plex app in windows 8 doesn’t show (work with) plex server if installed in the same machine! What a disappointment…
For a paid app, this is ridiculous!
Plex client for desktop (which is free) does that years now…
the app only buffers, playback is horrible .. love the UI, please fix this issue for my surface
@sarruman: There’s a workaround shown here ~ http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/topic/52889-cant-connect-to-server-solved/page__view__findpost__p__321425
It’s Microsoft’s rather “interesting” new security model biting us here.
@elan: Thank you for the solution! Not obvious, but at least, it worked!
@Andrew Scott comon it’s only some dollars what you wana try, if it dont works wait for an update… thats it dont be so complicated and support plex:)
I had hoped for a lot more… Completely focused on tablets, not a good HTPC app. Very disappointing.
Purchased the app and I’m very disappointed. No subtitles support and no control with a remote which makes the app unusable on my htpc. Other than that the app looks amazing, the layout is much better than in desktop client. I hope you fix the app soon.
Quick question–does the Windows version of Plex decode and play Apple Lossless files?
Just got a refund for the Windows 8 app. It couldn’t stream any of my videos on my local network. You guys need to test these apps more thoroughly before releasing them.
WOW! This is beautiful! It’s almost enticing enough to make me run out and buy a windows 8 device. Eventually I’m going to buy a Windows 8 tablet, simply for testing purposes, as I’m a web developer… but I suspect the first thing I’ll do is buy Plex for it
To all the people complaining… get over yourselves. These apps are extremely cheap, considering what they allow you to do, and how much work goes into them. I’m so tired of people expecting software to be free. What incentive do developers and designers have to continue making awesome products, if they can’t sell their goods?
I for one congratulate the Plex team for deciding to monetize their products and services. I take it to mean they’re really interested in sticking with it. Personally I’m afraid to get too involved with apps or products that take too long to monetize… because there’s a greater chance they’ll just disappear some day. On a somewhat related note, I think Boxee should have charged for their desktop app, instead of canceling it outright.
While I’m on the topic, I’d gladly pay for a new OS X Plex Client as well. Obviously anything XBMC derived will never make it into the Mac App Store (I don’t know where this rumor started), so it would need to be sold on the web as a download (or through a subscription).
Keep up the great work! I can’t wait to see what you have cooking for OSX!!!
Is there any intention to bring Plex Sync into the app? This is the biggest missing feature for me right now since I moved from an IPad to a windows 8 pro tablet.
@Chris
The problem is not that one needs to pay money for Plex, but rather the financial model Plex is using.
I would GLADLY pay $150+ for Plex right this moment if I could purchase a lifetime license for all content. The issue that this is not currently possible. Currently Plex splits everything between app costs, plex pass subscriptions, and have stated that they will charge a subscription for all future features.
I don’t think I am alone in wishing that Plex would clarify and simplify their financial model. Perhaps offering everything À la carte should still be an option IN ADDITION to a simple one time license. This would give everyone more options, but I know that currently the developers of Plex are losing out on my money simply because I can’t pay for a simple license.
In short – I would pay for Plex in a heartbeat if they only offered a lifetime license as an option.
@Nick: Check the latest blog post, I think you got your holiday wish.
This is great news! As soon as I heard of it I installed Plex on my surface tablet. Just when I started the Plex app to connect to my Synology NAS, I got an error, that 0.9.7.3 server is required and my NAS has 0.9.6.9 installed. It would be great if you guys could provide an update for Synology so the Win8 guys can fully use this awesome product. Any ETA on this?
Nevermind! Just found it on your page…..
as other users have pointed out, the app is great! except for the fact that there is no support for windows media remotes. I’ve spent half hour before I realized there is a simple fix. disable tabbing and ensure that arrow keys substitute for all tabbing functionality that is being disabled.
i’m really hoping this isn’t some sort of windows 8 / w8 app store limitation. please please please fix this as it will make everyone who has an htpc with win8 and plex a total win!
@PlexAtHome: the next release (out shortly) adds support for keyboard navigation. It’s not perfect, but it’s much better!
I cant find Plex in the Windows 8 store. Isnt it available internationally?
no iOS support. I like that fact that i can cue up my movies from my ipad and select which tv i want it to play on. PLEASE bring iOS support
Can it play MKV?
Can it work with a mouse?
Thanks
@ivan: It can play MKV with transcoding and you can click on things with a mouse, yes.
I really like the win 8 app.
What I really miss from the iPad app is the choice to play on Another Plex player.
I use my iPad to browse my media but the playback is on my htpc connected to the projektor.
I was really hoping to retire the iPad completely but that is not the case for me.
The app still looks great and hopefully the support I need will be added in the future.
I have set it up, it see’s my server, but it transcodes and buffers to the point where all movies/shows are unwatchable. It bumps my CPU up to 100%. My gpu and cpu are fully capable of handling this. Hopefully you guys fix it with the next update.
@Kalle: we’ll definitely be adding that in a future release! Thanks for the kind words
@Ryan: In our release today, we made some changes to try to address that issue, which is primarily due to limitations in the new Windows 8 media pipeline. Over time I expect the media capabilities of the platform to improve, and we will along with them!
@elan
Purchased a lifetime Plexpass as soon as I saw your post
Got my holiday wish for sure!
Fresh install of Win8, bought the Plex app.
Issues :
All videos are transcoded (as mentioned in previous posts)
Crashes while fast forwarding 1080p vids
It locks up and is unresponsive then dumps me back to the windows start screen.
This release was submitted waaaay too early imho.
Look forward to this app getting fixed.
Who can confirm that Plex for Win 8 support .srt files? I know that the .srt files don’t work with WP7 and WP8… :s
Purchased this today, doesn’t seem to work? Keep being told no suitable server found – iOS client works fine and can connect to the server using local IP form web browser…
Did I waste my money on a dud?
I’ve tried and yes this unfortunately has tons of faults, also if you read the reviews on the Windows Store it will tell you how bad it is, further to this the fact they want to charge us for it, it’s not really worth it as other than the fact it doesn’t work it’s not really any different from the normal windows application, which you could program touch controls into anyway, my advice is to install android x86 and download the apk for plex, if you are purely using this as a htpc / entertainment unit.
The “remote friendly” option works great until the computer is restarted. The option has to be toggled after a reboot or else the on screen previous/pause/next options never disappear. Great app guys! Best metro app I’ve used. Keep it up!
I have the same problem “no suitable server was found” when i try to use the app for windows 8.
Any chance you guys will implement Play To Xbox in this app to watch the videos on the xbox without having to use the awegul dlna interface?
great now i cant buy it anymore due to microsoft wanting all my details for ‘future purchases’.
guess i gotta install another solution.. hmz xbmc?
What happened with the Recently Aired filter? Everything is great, but boy that’s an important filter. Am I missing something?
Hi
I live in Denmark, why can’t i find the Plex app in my windows store ? when I search for Plex there is nothing ? plz help… Wan’t to try this awesome app
Hi Ronnie,
I am from Spain but you can use google translator:
http://gizmologia.com/2012/11/windows-8-descargar-aplicaciones-de-otras-regiones
Bye
Love the look of the app but not great for usability. Limited remote control functionality and ipad app does not see the app so ca’t use it to control the app either. Disappointed
This makes me wonder even more why there is no plex for xbox 360. Most stream services are on there so it woud be perfect with plex aswell and probably get you alot of new users.
Thank you David March!!
Sigh…..Windows 8 store apps don’t work at 720p resolution of the tv connected to my pc. Tried downloading the previous version of Plex Media Center and got this message “Oops! Google Chrome could not find plex.r.worldssl.net”. WTF!