This HUGE Plex Pass Black Friday deal is still live into Cyber Monday, so don't miss out on taking back control of your media!

Kung Fu Panda 4 in the latest version of the Plex app
Plex is like having your own personal streaming service. (Image credit: Plex)

Most of us subscribe to at least one streaming media service in our lives. Whether that's Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney+ for video, or Spotify, Audible, or Apple Music for audio. These services are convenient, but at any given moment, your favorite content could be taken away. That's not so with your own media server, and as is customary on Black Friday, Plex is here to help. Until December 3, a lifetime membership to Plex Pass is reduced to just $89.99.

Plex Pass Lifetime Membership
Personal streaming service
Plex Pass Lifetime Membership: was $119.99 now $89.99 at Plex

You can try Plex for free, but to really power it up you need to upgrade to Plex Pass. It unlocks advanced features such as hardware transcoding, DVR functionality for live TV, ad skipping, HDR and much, much more. This Black Friday price for lifetime access is way too good to pass up.

✅Perfect for: Organizing and streaming libraries of personal video and audio content, live TV and DVR.

❌Avoid if: You don't have your own library of media to use, or if you don't have something you can dedicate to running a server.

👉See at: Plex

Why you should try Plex and just what it is

Plex is like building out your own custom TV streaming service, integrating live channels with your own library of audio and video. (Image credit: Plex)

Plex has come a long way since I first tried it out. Plex Pass has always been the gateway to the true power of the platform, but its features have grown as time has passed. The good news is that by buying in as a lifetime member, any new features that come down the line you'll get access to.

The core of Plex has always been the Plex Media Server, where you'll house your own library of video and audio content, ripe for streaming to all your devices. One of my favorite features (which, alas, I cannot currently make use of for reasons that are not Plex's) is being able to integrate live OTA TV, and use Plex as a DVR.

Plex Media Server will run on a variety of devices, be that your current or old PC, a NAS, or since it supports Linux, you can run it on a homelab or even a Raspberry Pi. So long as you have a device to run the server from (that preferably you can leave running 24/7) you can build your own streaming platform with Plex.

That's why you should try it, ultimately. Plex nowadays also offers a variety of content of its own that you can stream alongside your own content, but the killer feature is taking control of your own media. Don't be beholden to the Netflix's of the world when you want to watch a movie!

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A once a year chance to save big

The Plex app running on a TV, laptop, tablet, and phone.

Wherever you want to consume your media, Plex has an app for it. (Image credit: Plex)

The good news is that this offer is around until December 3. The even better news is that you can try out the basic Plex offerings for free by heading over to their website. If you're not familiar with it, it's a good idea to poke around to make sure it's for you.

Plex has apps for all major TV platforms, consoles, phones, tablets, PC, Mac, and the web. Literally anywhere you might want to watch or listen, there's an app. Your media, your way, your time.

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Richard Devine
Managing Editor - Tech, Reviews

Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine