Plex is rolling out a couple of service upgrades that will help its users with both video and audio streaming quality without overheating their computers.
For its Plex Pass subscribers, the service is introducing hardware-accelerated streaming, which will use dedicated hardware support to convert video more efficiently and allow HD and 4K streams through without overly taxing CPUs and GPUs. The company says the new feature works on Windows, Mac, and Linux with modern Intel processors that support Intel Quick Sync, as well as some AMD GPUs and NVIDIA GPUs are also supported on Windows and Mac.
Plex Pass is priced is $4.99 a month, $39.99 a year or $119.99 for a lifetime pass.
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But even for Plex users who don’t subscribe to Plex Pass, previously subscription-only audio streaming features will be available. Plex said that its streaming tech living in the server can automatically adjust audio quality across all streams.
The feature is now available on web, Android, iOS, Android TV, and Apple TV for users who turn on the “Automatically Adjust Quality” option in the Quality settings of the app.
With the introduction of new features and functions, Plex is also continuing to build out the content offerings on its platform. Last week the company introduced Plex News, a personalized, ad-supported news channel featuring content from sources including CBS News and CNN.
Plex News is available for free to Plex users regardless if they’ve set up a Plex Media Server. New users need to sign up for Plex and download the apps they want. Plex News is supported on Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Android Mobile, and iOS.