Plex is a streaming media player that you can use to watch your favorite shows and movies on your computer or phone. Plex also has a built-in Chromecast audio device, so you can stream your music and videos directly to your Chromecast. Plex is a great way to keep up with your favorite shows and movies without having to leave your living room.
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Elan Feingold, CTO and Co-Founder at Plex, shared an early build of a Plexamp server for the Raspberry Pi on Tuesday. Once it’s downloaded to a Pi and opened, you can play music through a web interface on any web browser on the same local network, or choose the Pi as an output in the Plexamp app on other devices. You can also install the Plexamp server as a system service that starts at boot, for a more Chromecast Audio-like experience. There’s even support for the PiFi Digi+ board, which attaches to the top of a Raspberry Pi and adds an enhanced audio chip and optical output.
This isn’t the first time Plex has experimented with a remotely-accessible version of Plexamp for the Raspberry Pi. There were a few beta builds back in 2019, but that version required an authentication token extracted from earlier versions of Plexamp and an old (now insecure) version of Node. This new build is still in the early stages, but the setup is much less complicated than earlier attempts.
It’s not clear at this point when (or if) the Raspberry Pi headless builds will be supported on the same level as Plexamp on other platforms. With the Chromecast Audio and Echo Input now discontinued, there are far fewer options for streaming your own music collection to speakers in your home. Google doesn’t currently sell any Chromecasts or smart displays/speakers with a dedicated audio output, and even though there are some Alexa smart speakers with that feature, Plex’s integration with Alexa isn’t great.
Head on down to the source link below for the installation instructions. The only hard requirement is a Raspberry Pi capable of running 64-bit software. The forum post didn’t mention if you also need 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS or not.
Source: Plex Forums
