How To Stream Plex to a Samsung Smart TV

When it comes to watching your favorite shows and movies at home, making a decision on which streaming device to use can be tough. From Roku’s entire line of streaming devices to Google’s Chromecast and Apple TV, there’s no shortage of streaming boxes and sticks that plug into the back of your television and provide hours of entertainment streaming over the internet.

Of course, instead of going out to buy a brand-new set-top box for streaming, if you’ve bought a television within the past several years, you’ll likely be able to stream all your favorite options right from your TV’s remote. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime are all included on most televisions produced these days, but the entertainment options don’t stop there. If you’re looking to expand your options for streaming video and you’re willing to put in some work, you can truly unlock some fantastic options for streaming video.

If you’re looking to stream Plex to your Samsung Smart TV, you’re in luck. Newer Samsung televisions are capable of hosting the platform, making it easy to stream your favorite movies and shows over your home network. Let’s take a look at streaming on Plex.

What is Plex?

Plex began its life as a spin-off, closed-source program that rivals Kodi in nearly every way, designed to stream your media over your home network or to computers across the internet around the world. Both Kodi and Plex are excellent ways to consume and stream media, and each has its advantages.

If you’re looking to use Kodi to install add-ons and builds in order to stream content from around the world, Plex won’t do you much good. But if you’ve built a strong collection of digital media on your own library, you might want to consider using Plex to stream to your litany of devices, including your Fire Stick.

Plex is a fairly simple program that allows you to stream your locally-hosted content to any Plex-enabled device. While you’ll need to run and manage the server on your own, it’s well worth using if you’re willing to put in the work (or if you have a friend build a server for you).

Installing the Plex App on Your Samsung Smart TV

If your Samsung television is from 2016 or newer and is running Tizen, you’re in luck—all Tizen-based TVs can run Plex, according to Plex’s own support site. On older televisions, Samsung uses their Smart Hub app for downloading apps, and some models do support Plex using this method. However, you’ll need to check this page on Samsung’s website to ensure your Smart Hub-enabled television supports Plex.

If you have a compatible TV, add the app using the Samsung Smart Hub or, on newer models, the Samsung App Store.

1. Make sure your TV has an internet connection.
2. Open the Samsung Smart Hub or Samsung App Store, depending on your model, and sign in if necessary.
3. Select recommended apps from the main screen and either browse or search for Plex.
4. Select Install from within the Plex app screen and let the TV install the app.
5. Select Plex from your app list to open.
6. Log in to Plex using the same credentials you use on your Plex Media Server.

Once you log into Plex, the app should begin populating your libraries and media from the Plex Media Server if it is running. Obviously, you need to keep your Plex Media Server switched on and available to be able to use the Plex app on a Samsung smart TV. Once the app has been populated, you should be able to stream media between your server and TV without any problems.

Troubleshooting Plex on a Samsung smart TV

I had a couple of problems with my setup that took a couple of hours to figure out. First, the app would open and then immediately close. The second, the app would open but not connect to the Plex Media Server. Both of which I was able to figure out with a little help from the web.

Plex app opening and closing on a Samsung smart TV

This problem took the longest to figure out. I had performed a firmware update on the TV to get the latest version of the Samsung Smart Hub. I had a good WiFi connection to the network the Plex Media Server is on and everything looked good. The app installed without a problem and appeared in the apps list. Yet every time I opened it, the app opened to the plash screen and then closed again. I had to perform a factory reset on my TV in order to get this to work.

1. Turn the TV on and use the remote.
2. Navigate to Settings, Support, Self Diagnosis, and Reset.
3. Confirm the reset.

It takes a few minutes to reset and reboot but once done, the Plex app worked perfectly. Until I tried to connect anyway.

Plex Samsung smart TV app will not connect to the Plex Media Server

Once the Plex app would open and stay that way, I wanted to get up and running as quickly as possible. So not being able to connect the app to the network was annoying, to say the least. I had the correct IP, router, and DNS settings, the Plex Media Server was online, the network was good, the TV had an internet connection, Netflix worked fine but Plex would not connect.

Thanks to the internet, I found out that a secure connection within Plex settings was interfering with the app. Turning it off enabled the app to work properly. Go to Settings and Network Settings in Plex and turn off Secure Connection. Voila, it works!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cast Plex to my Samsung TV?

Yes. If you have a Samsung model that doesn’t support Plex you can use an Android device to cast your content to your TV. You will need a Chromecast to do this depending on whether your current model has casting functionalities. u003cbru003eu003cbru003eOnce set up, open the content and tap on the Cast icon. Select the Chromecast device or your Smart TV and the show will automatically begin playing.