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Beta Version of Plex Media Server With Native Apple Silicon Support Now Available

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Popular media platform Plex today announced the launch of a beta version of the Plex Media Server that has native Apple silicon support.

Apple Silicon Teal Feature
The new version of the Plex Media Server uses the "Universal" build for Macs, which means it is compatible with Apple silicon and Intel Macs. At the current time, the release version of the Plex Media Server runs using Rosetta 2.

Since the introduction of the Apple M1 chip for macOS, users have asked for Plex Media Server to natively support "Apple Silicon". The existing Mac server versions run just fine under Rosetta2, but native is always better, right? Well, here it is!!!

We present, the Plex Media Server "Universal" build for macOS. This new package includes Plex Media Server for both Intel and Apple Silicon architectures, so you don't have to worry about what you are installing.

The preview version of the Plex Media Server must be installed manually and will not auto update to newer releases, which is something to keep in mind. It can be downloaded from the Plex website.

On Apple silicon Macs, Plex users can expect improved transcoding speeds, though there may not be a significant difference. The code will be more stable and efficient on the CPU, according to Plex developers.

(Thanks, Will!)

Tag: Plex

Top Rated Comments

C
CarAnalogy
50 months ago

Was going to pick up an Intel NUC to run as a Plex Server. Would an M1 Mac Mini be overkill?
It would be just the right amount of kill.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
K
kalafalas
50 months ago

Unfortunately h265 does not give higher quality just lower file size.
Yes but if you are in a bandwidth limited environment (like crappy hotel Wi-Fi) you get twice the quality for same bitrate
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Alfred.Woodden Avatar
Alfred.Woodden
50 months ago

Was going to pick up an Intel NUC to run as a Plex Server. Would an M1 Mac Mini be overkill?

It would be just the right amount of kill.
Exactly what I have a M1 mac mini for :) movie server but with Infuse on ATV, instead of Plex. The mac mini also functions as a network time machine backup for all our other macs and itself gets backed up to Backblaze.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
K
kalafalas
50 months ago
Great news! My 2014 Mc Mini is getting sad and I've been eyeing an M1. Native is great, but does it use HW acceleration via videotoolbox for encode? I would particularly love to be able to transcode to h.265 instead of h.264 as well, it would give so much better quality.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
Deihmos
50 months ago
Who runs Plex on an expensive Mac?? I have been running Plex on the same PC I built for very cheap since 2013. It is still running like a champ.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J
Jimmdean
50 months ago

How can it be native but support both Intel and Apple architectures and then call it universal? Doesn’t seem to imply anything native.
A universal binary includes both native arm and native intel versions. so just a single download with both versions instead of two different downloads with the user having to pick the correct one.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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