Plex On Android TV Now Includes Free Live TV

Plex announced a fairlysubstantial addition to its service – it now supports free live TV. As aresult, Plex users will now be able to make use of a more integrated andoverall feature-rich Plex experience, by taking advantage of free accessto local TV, sports, and news. According to Plex, live TV functionality willstart to become available as of today, on select platforms.

Whilethere are many ways in which you can engage with live TV already, this new Plexroute does come with some specific advantages. Most notably, that Plex will nowbe able to incorporate access to live TV with a Plex user’s existing library ofcontent, in one centralized location. Likewise, Plex offersaccess to the same content, via all supported devices, and from just aboutanywhere, and including when abroad – as Plex’s access to live TV content isnot geo-restricted. In terms of that content, and in addition to HDTV digitalbroadcast channel access, Plex notes that users will be able to access “86 of the 100 most popular U.S.network television shows.” Of course, with Plex already havingintroduced its DVR service last year, this also means that thelive TV functionality works seamlessly with that DVR service. Resulting in oneof the most cost-effective options for those looking for live TV access and DVRcapabilities, through a single access point. Putting the Plex services easilyon par with the various services that offer ‘skinny’ access to TV content, letalone a much more affordable option to traditional cable services. As this isan app-based entity, the only additional hardware that is needed is a digitaltuner and antenna. Speaking of which, Plex has already confirmed that it nowsupports a wider range of tuners, and will support even more as the serviceages. In addition, Plex is also capable of supporting multiple tuners at thesame time.

As well as the newly announced live TV support, the active interface is alsoseeing a number of improvements. Some of course are designed to further supportthe Live TV functionality, while others are designed to improve the DVRcapabilities of Plex in general. Like for instance, improved in-app management,a full EPG guide, and improvements to how recorded content is managed. In termsof availability, Plex has confirmed that the update with live TV support willinitially only be available on Android via the Android TV dedicated app. Whileother Android devices (smartphones, tablets, etc) can expect to see the updatearriving with the same functionality, at some point in July. Regardless ofwhich access point used to access Plex, the access to free live TV is onlyavailable to Plex Pass subscribers.