Glossary
Glossary
Section titled “Glossary”Key terms and concepts in the Plex ecosystem.
A plugin that fetches metadata (posters, descriptions, ratings) from online sources like TMDB or TVDB.
Claim Token
Section titled “Claim Token”A temporary token used to link a new Plex server to your Plex account during initial setup.
Collection
Section titled “Collection”A group of related media items displayed together, such as a movie franchise or curated playlist.
Direct Play
Section titled “Direct Play”Streaming media to a client without any server-side conversion. Requires compatible client and media format.
Direct Stream
Section titled “Direct Stream”Streaming with container remuxing but no video/audio transcoding. Minor server processing required.
Digital Living Network Alliance - a standard for sharing media across devices on a local network.
Plex’s G’Day Mate network discovery protocol for finding servers on local networks.
Hardware Transcoding
Section titled “Hardware Transcoding”Using GPU (Intel Quick Sync, NVIDIA NVENC) instead of CPU for video encoding/decoding. Requires Plex Pass.
High Dynamic Range - video format with expanded color and brightness range. May require tone mapping for non-HDR displays.
Library
Section titled “Library”A collection of media content organized by type (Movies, TV Shows, Music, Photos).
Managed User
Section titled “Managed User”A user account created within Plex Home, typically for family members, with configurable restrictions.
Metadata
Section titled “Metadata”Information about media including title, description, cast, ratings, and artwork.
Optimized Version
Section titled “Optimized Version”A pre-transcoded copy of media created for specific devices or bandwidth limitations.
Overlay
Section titled “Overlay”Visual badges added to media posters showing information like resolution, audio codec, or ratings.
Plex Home
Section titled “Plex Home”Feature allowing multiple user profiles under one Plex Pass subscription.
Plex Pass
Section titled “Plex Pass”Premium subscription unlocking hardware transcoding, mobile sync, Plex Home, and other features.
Plex Relay
Section titled “Plex Relay”Plex’s relay service for remote connections when direct connections aren’t possible. Limited bandwidth.
Scanner
Section titled “Scanner”Component that identifies media files and matches them to database entries.
Feature to download media for offline viewing on mobile devices. Requires Plex Pass.
Tone Mapping
Section titled “Tone Mapping”Converting HDR video to SDR for displays that don’t support HDR.
Transcoding
Section titled “Transcoding”Converting media to a different format, resolution, or bitrate in real-time during playback.
Watch Together
Section titled “Watch Together”Feature allowing synchronized playback across multiple users.