Plexamp released: Plex incubator standalone music player

Plex ranks as one of our favorite media server software options here at htpcBeginner. It's intuitive to set up while boasting a bevy of features for home theatre buffs. Now, Plex furthers its foray into the media center space with its Winamp-esque music player. With Plexamp released, there's a Plex incubator standalone music player for cord cutters. [Read: 5 tips for users moving from Kodi to Plex]

Plexamp music player

Although Plex is best known for its do-it-yourself (DIY) Netflix or DIY Spotify nature, it's a competent at playing local content. With its apps, users may play back locally stored videos and music. However, Plex Labs, an incubator from Plex, now offers Plexamp. [Read: How to install Plex on PS4 - Use your PlayStation 4 as a Plex client]

As the name suggests, Plexamp is inspired by desktop music player Winamp. Because Plexamp is lightweight, it's a solid addition to any media center. This Plexamp music player is a single-window Winamp-esque piece of software. It's based on the open-source music player Daemon. Plus, Plexamp includes React, ES7, Electron, and MobX. As Engadget reports, it's the tiniest Plex player when considering pixel size. Still you may fiddle with dimensions with its various settings like Hipster and Nihilist. [Read: How to install Plex on Xbox One - Use your Xbox One as a Plex client]

Best Plex Client Devices:

1. NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro Home Media Server - $199.99
2. Amazon Fire TV Streaming Media Player - $89.99
3. Roku Premiere+ 4K UHD - $83.99
4. CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit - $69.99
5. Xbox One 500 GB Console - $264.99

Plexamp released: Features

Onboard, you'll find 11 visualizers. Moreover, media keys for controlling music and a spotlight global activation hotkey. This aids in searching your music library. Additionally, Plexamp includes a smattering of keybindings. [Read: 5 reasons to use Plex instead of Kodi and 5 reasons not to]

From a technical perspective, you'll find gapless playback. Aside from these features, Plex includes several features which, at least at launch, are limited to Plex Pass subscribers. For instance, loudness leveling, soundprints, and smart transitions are premium-only initially. [Read: Troubleshooting Plex buffering - Solutions for when Plex keeps pausing]

Plex incubator standalone music player: Final thoughts

The trend is clear. Since its inception, Plex remains at the forefront of home theatre PC innovation. Recent developments to the Plex platform. There's virtual reality compatibility for the Samsung Gear VR. However, you'll find a workaround for using Plex in Daydream. Additionally, Plex debuted a live TV and DVR functionality which has further evolved. Now, Plex live TV and DVR is able to timeshift to skip commercials. If that's not enough, Plex rolled out a news feature for its various apps for streaming news. [Read: Plex for Kodi becomes free: Watch Plex on Kodi, no Plex Pass required]

Although streaming is a major player in the space, those of us with extensive media collections still use media players. I began using Plex as a DIY Netflix experience, and soon spun up a music server. Since I have a beefy music collection, including loads of vinyl rips, it's pleasant to carry that around on a microSD card in my phone as well as have access everywhere my Plex app is installed. While I work hammering away at the keyboard, I have a steady stream of music playing. Though I usually use Windows Media Player (hey, it has FLAC support) or RhythmBox, I'm pretty jazzed to give Plexamp a try.

Your turn: Will you try out Plexamp?