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Plex is a great way to let a household share media across a multitude of devices. However, for the resident tech expert (me), this can quickly turn into a barrage of support requests, which I set up Plex to run smoothly without constant intervention.
Setting Up Profiles and Libraries (Including Parental Controls and PINs)
Applying some due diligence at this stage was a lesson I learned the hard way when I first set Plex Media Server up—and this was a basic installation. Throw a large household into the mix, and the importance of this stage is greatly amplified.
I learned quite quickly after I introduced Plex to the family that sharing one profile between users was a disaster. From mismatched “Continue Watching” queues to kids accidentally diving into age-inappropriate content, it was clear we needed a more structured approach—starting with organizing the media folders and then setting up user profiles
Organizing Media Folders
This process can take a little time. However, it’s time well spent. The key here is to apply a little forethought to the structure you choose. What you’re aiming for is a logical library where your content is categorized so that applying restrictions is easy. For instance, I used broad categories like Family Movies, Kids’ TV, Adult TV, and General Films. You don’t need to be over-zealous at this stage, but starting with such a structure makes future management of your media a lot easier.
Once your media is sorted into an appropriate structure, you can add/manage the folders within Plex.
Create Unique User Profiles
The next step I took towards streamlining Plex (and my support input) was to set up each household member with a user profile. Doing this allowed me to set restrictions and grant access to server libraries.
In the Plex Media settings screen, select thePlex Homeoption and follow the instructions below.
Keeping It Simple
There are times when being the family’s in-house tech support agent can be a burden. Spending my evenings bouncing from one set of questions to another is not conducive to domestic harmony. To minimize my support tickets, I decided to simplify the Plex setup as much as possible.
Here’s how I achieved this:
The goal was to make sure there were fewer distractions, less clutter, and fewer opportunities for the more ham-fisted members of the household to cause havoc.
Set It and Forget It (Mostly)
Once I set Plex up like this, the support calls reduced greatly. However, computers and apps are fickle devices, and while I wish I could say we all lived support-free forever after, I can’t. Devices sign themselves out more frequently than I’d like, and the network randomly kicks devices off on occasion. However, on the whole, these are relatively minor and fixed quickly.
I also check in every now and then to refresh metadata or update the library folders if I’ve added new content. Outside of that, it’s been smooth sailing. And, most importantly, I now get a chance to watch my media without fielding daily questions about where things are or why something’s missing.
