Use Plex for Three Months of Live Streaming

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Right now, all Plex users are entitled to three months of free live streaming while they wait for COVID-19 . This is a pretty nice upgrade for free users, as live streams usually close for a premium Plex Pass. But there are a few tricks.

The Plex live broadcast service uses OTA (Over the Air) antenna signals rather than Internet streaming like SlingTV or YouTube TV, which means you will need additional equipment and will only receive HD antenna channels that are available where you live. The DVR feature is not included in the update, so users who want to record the show and save it for future use will still need to upgrade to a Plex Pass account.

However, the compiled 3-month service includes TV program data so you can see what’s next for the next 48 hours on the Plex TV interface and you can watch on any device connected to your Plex server.

How to watch OTA TV on Plex

There are a few things you need to set up before you can stream live streaming through Plex. Let us walk you through this process:

  • Plex account (registration is free ).
  • Plex media server . This could be your computer, external NAS drive, or other compatible device (such as the Nvidia Shield). Installing one of these is free and the software works on a variety of devices. Our Plex Server Guide will help you find the best one for your setup if you don’t already have one.
  • HD antenna and TV tuner . This may be the only money you will need to spend to complete the setup, but decent HD antennas are inexpensive. Plex has a full list of supported antennas and tuners on their support page. (We’ll also cover the basics of a Plex antenna and tuner here and in our Plex server guide linked above.)
  • Device for viewing . Some devices can download content directly from a connected media server, but others will need to install the Plex app (which is separate from the Plex media server software) in order to stream.

The Plex app is available at:

Once you have all the components you need, head over to the official Plex “setup wizard”, which includes helpful visual guides for connecting all of your hardware. The Plex Live page also has additional guides and troubleshooting tips if you need more help.

For those who don’t care about live streaming or don’t want to go through the setup process through Plex, there is still plenty of free content on the service, including live “web shows” and loads of on-demand movies and TV Shows .

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