A self-hosted streaming platform built TV-first, with the details that make it feel like a real service — not a file browser with a play button.
A native app for Fire TV and Google TV / Android TV, designed for a remote in your hand from the first pixel.
Cinematic home screenHero carousel, Continue Watching, Recently Added, personal recommendations, your watchlist, and genre rows — with slowly rotating backdrop art behind it all.
Skip introOne press skips a show's intro; the next-episode countdown rolls you straight into the following episode.
Full playback controlsSubtitle picker, audio track picker, playback speed 0.5×–2×, and a nerd-stats overlay (codec, resolution, bitrate, buffer, dropped frames) when you want it.
Voice searchSearch your whole library by speaking into the remote.
Ambient & screensaver modesPause long enough and the UI melts into artwork; idle on the home screen and a screensaver cycles your library's backdrops with a clock.
Sign in with a codeNo typing passwords with a D-pad — the TV shows a 6-character code you approve from your phone.
Automatic updatesThe app checks for new versions and updates itself, with release notes for everything you missed.
Smart server connectionOn your home network the app streams over the LAN at full speed; away from home it reaches your server over the internet — automatically.
Can't decide what to watch? Don't.
Flip like it's cableRandom shows and movies from your own library, dropped in mid-stream. Channel up for something new, channel down to go back to where you left the last one.
Your rulesSurf everything, movies only, TV only — or just specific libraries. Nothing you surf past touches your watch history.
The full experience with nothing to install — on any computer, tablet, or phone.
Complete web playerSubtitles, audio tracks, playback speed, picture-in-picture, keyboard shortcuts, and Netflix-style auto-hiding controls.
Plays anythingFormats your browser can't handle (MKV, AVI, and friends) are transcoded on the fly by your server — you just press play.
Browse like a serviceSearch, genre and year filters, sorting, watchlist, watch history, and Up Next — the same library everywhere.
Secure remote accessStreaming from outside your network runs through an encrypted connection via notplex.app — no browser security warnings.
Point NotPlex at your folders. It does the librarian work.
Automatic metadataPosters, backdrops, descriptions, cast, ratings, content ratings, and trailers fetched from TMDB for every movie, show, and episode.
Smart file matchingUnderstands S01E05, 1×05, dated daily shows, and most "scene-style" names — no strict renaming regime required.
Self-healing artworkEvery scan repairs missing artwork; when TMDB has nothing, NotPlex extracts a thumbnail frame from the video itself so nothing shows a blank card.
Always in syncScheduled scans pick up new files and clean up deleted ones automatically. Optional email alerts when new media lands.
Progress that follows youResume points, watch history, and completed-episode tracking sync across every device through your server.
Discover what's trendingBrowse what's hot across the big streaming platforms — with genre filters (including Stand-Up), cast, ratings, and trailers — then check if it's already in your library.
Bring your own IPTV playlist and it becomes a real TV experience.
Full program guideA timeline EPG with what's on now and next, per channel, with progress bars on the current show.
Favorites & historyStar your channels, jump back to recently watched, and browse by category.
Channel rocker supportOn the TV app, the remote's channel buttons flip channels like a real set-top box, with previous-channel memory.
One server, the whole family — each person with their own account.
Invite by emailShare a library with someone's email address; your server appears on their devices automatically. Revoke anytime from your dashboard.
Per-person progressEveryone gets their own watch history, resume points, watchlist, and recommendations — no fighting over whose episode is next.
Locked-down accessOnly invited accounts can reach a server. A valid login somewhere else grants nothing here.
One account, every screenThe same notplex.app login works on every TV, browser, and server you have access to.
Run it your way — with the dials to prove it.
Runs on modest hardwareA spare PC or small home server is enough. One-command install on Linux (service, firewall, and FFmpeg included); a guided script on Windows.
Tunable transcodingCap resolution and bitrate for remote viewers, pick the quality/speed trade-off, or turn transcoding off entirely.
Server dashboardLive stats, storage breakdown per library, active streams, file health checks, duplicate detection, and viewing analytics.
Download manager integrationHook up qBittorrent and manage downloads — including RSS automation and move-to-library with auto-scan — from the same web UI.
Your data stays yoursMedia never passes through the cloud — video streams directly from your hardware to your screens. notplex.app only handles accounts and connections.
Health you can seeYour server heartbeats to notplex.app, so every device (and you, from anywhere) knows instantly whether it's online.
The name isn't subtle. Here's what's actually different from the apps you'd otherwise use — kept honest.
| NotPlex | Plex | Jellyfin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. Everything. No tiers, no passes. | Free core; remote streaming, hardware transcoding, and more sit behind paid passes | Free and open source |
| Watching away from home | Included — sign in anywhere and your server is just there | Now a paid feature | DIY — you set up a reverse proxy, VPN, or tunnel yourself |
| Ads & promoted content | None. Your home screen is your library, full stop | Ad-supported streaming content mixed into the app alongside your media | None |
| Family sharing | Invite by email — their devices find your server automatically | Sharing supported, tied to Plex accounts | Manual — you create accounts on your server and hand out credentials |
| What the cloud sees | Accounts and server addresses only — video streams direct, no telemetry | Account required; viewing tied to a commercial service | Nothing — fully self-contained |
| TV experience | Native Fire TV / Google TV app built TV-first, plus Channel Surf | Polished apps on virtually every device | Apps on most platforms; polish varies |
| Who runs it | A personal project for friends & family | A commercial company | An open-source community |