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Need Something Else to Watch? Plex Now Offers Free Web Shows

Available now in beta, the ad-supported feature lets you access episodic video content from publishers such as Condé Nast, Bonnier Corp., Fandor, and TWiT.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Media streaming service Plex is beefing up its service today with the launch of Web Shows.

Available now in beta, the feature lets you access "high-quality episodic video content" from publishers such as Condé Nast, Bonnier Corp., Fandor, Future, TWiT, Jukin, and Studio 71 inside Plex. This content—which covers categories like food, home and garden, science and technology, pop culture, and more—is available on-demand, for free. You will, however, encounter ads when watching it.

"We've seeded our catalog with lovely, curated shows from only the highest quality creators; no robotic 'top ten life hacks' or sparkly slime spam, and we're looking forward to growing our catalog with your help," Plex wrote in a blog post.

Plex says the new Web Shows feature "learns what you like the more you watch" to deliver personalized recommendations.

Plex, for the uninitiated, organizes your personal media library of TV shows, movies, music, photos, podcasts, and videos and lets you stream that content to most devices. The launch of this new Web Shows feature comes after Plex added free podcasts to its platform in May and news content last year. The company also offers support for live TV (a premium feature that requires a Plex Pass subscription) and recently embraced virtual reality with a feature that lets you stream content in virtual environments.

Last month, however, it announced plans to shut down its cloud service on Nov. 30. "After a lot of investigation and thought, we haven't found a solution capable of delivering a truly first class Plex experience to Plex Cloud users at a reasonable cost," the company said at the time.

Plex earned an "excellent" rating in PCMag's 2015 review and our coveted Editors' Choice award.

"Unlike most media servers, Plex is actually user-friendly and lets you easily stream content to several devices on your home network without having to overcome significant technical hurdles," we wrote.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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