Plex makes Media Player free and comes with an add-on for Kodi

Plex makes its Media Player client available for free. Until recently, users had to purchase a Plex Pass subscription to use the software. In addition, the developers have released an add-on that allows Plex to run on top of the popular media player Kodi.

Plex Media Player is the successor to Plex Home Theater and completely rebuilt from the ground up. The old software was based on the XBMC media player, now known as Kodi. Since its announcement last October, a Plex Pass has been required to install Plex Media Player, and that requirement has now been removed. The media player is suitable for Windows, Mac and the Raspberry Pi. The software is based on the open source mpvmedia player. The media browser is powered by Chromium 45.

While the basic functionality of the application is free to use, certain features are only usable by users with a Plex Pass subscription. These include Plex DVR, Cloud Sync, lyrics display, multi-user support, and the display of additional information and media in the movie library, such as trailers.

For Plex Pass users, an add-on was released at the same time that allows the Plex media player to be used on top of Kodi. This one is in one Preview version to download. This is a Preview, because several functions are still missing. According to Plex lacks features such as Companion to use other devices as a remote control, some Channel features are not there yet and some music features are coming later.