Plex Web Shows Puts YouTube In Its Crosshairs With Free Curated Content

Over the years, Plex has grown to become a feature-packed multimedia hub for people looking to cut the cord. From its support for news programming, live over-the-air programming with DVR support, and the usual staples like local- and internet-based streaming of music, movies and TV shows; Plex seemingly does it all.

plex web shows

Today, however, the company has announced yet another new extension to the platform, and it's called Plex Web Shows. Currently available in beta, this free service provides unlimited on-demand programming that you can view from anywhere. Plex is quick to point out that you don't need a paid subscription or a Plex server in order to take advantage of Plex Web Shows.

You'll find curated content from Epic Meal Time, ASAPscience, Household Hacker, People are Awesome, GQ, Pitchfork and many other sources. "Web Shows are another great source of high-quality content that learns what you like the more you watch," writes Plex. "Check out Web shows across a broad spectrum of categories, including food, home and garden, science and tech, entertainment, pop culture, and more."

Much of the content that Plex is providing is available on competing platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, but the company is hoping that its all-in-one approach will lure users. You'll be able to subscribe to Web Shows, and the app will recommend new shows for you to check out. And as expected, Web Shows will be continually stocked with fresh, on-demand content.

"The launch of web shows is another step for Plex toward their continued evolution to become one platform for all the media that matters most to you, and the overall best destination for online content - something they strongly believe consumers deserve as the volume of content (and content providers) continues to explode at an astronomical rate," Plex adds.

Plex Web Shows has wide support for plethora of hardware platforms currently on the market, which means that it supports iOS, tvOS, Android, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. There is also support on Smart TVs and the Plex Web app which can be accessed from desktop operating systems through a browser like Google Chrome or Firefox.

Brandon Hill

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.