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Shield update v3.2 will turn your Shield Pro Android TV into a Plex Media Server
Plex, the popular media player application, has already been pre-loaded on the NVIDIA Shield Android TV for some time, and soon the app will be getting a huge improvement. NVIDIA has just announced an upcoming software update will allow you to run the entire Plex Media Server directly on your Shield Pro Android TV device.
For those unaware, Plex users have previously been able to stream their library of music, photos and videos from either a local or remote computer running Plex Media Server. In the past, you’d need to have a compatible Windows, Mac or Linux computer to run Plex Media Server, but now this functionality is coming to the Shield Pro Android TV.
That’s right — the set-top box will soon be able to run both the Android TV interface and the full media server, including support for hardware-accelerated video transcoding (H.264, MPEG2 and HEVC). You’ll also be able to have multiple streams going simultaneously, which should be great news for some Plex users. All you’ll need to do is copy your media library to the Shield Pro’s internal storage, plug in a USB hard drive, or connect your NAS to your Shield device and your content will be there for you, ready to stream at a moment’s notice.
What are the benefits of using your Shield Pro device as a Plex Media Server? Right out of the box, the device is powerful, energy efficient and comes with a massive 500GB of storage. Plus, it’s always on (even if your TV is off), so your content library will always be accessible.
Plex says some kinks are still getting worked out with the update, but this new firmware version should arrive sometime later this month.