Plex lets you identify folders that contain various kinds of media, and these can be scattered across drives and locations. You install Plex on any computer from which you want to share media and log into your account. The one thing Plex can’t do is play Apple-protected video content, but that’s something that Family Sharing is quite good at managing. In Catalina and later, use the Sharing preference pane, select Media Sharing, and check the Home Sharing box and Share Media with Guests. Turn on Home Sharing in Mojave and earlier in iTunes: iTunes > Preferences > Sharing and check Share My Library on My Local Network. Guests have access as well, including to media you have in your libraries that’s not purchased from Apple. You can authorize up to five computers and access it from mobile, too. Separate from Family Sharing, Home Sharing isn’t primarily designed to let you share media with different people, but to share it among your own devices on a local network.

Only purchased music and other media is shared.

That includes omitting music that you’ve purchased or ripped and rely on iTunes Match to find high-quality copies of and sync across your own iCloud-linked devices. (Starting with the next release of Apple’s operating systems, including Big Sur, developers can also let Family Sharing include sharing in-app purchases and subscriptions.)įamily Sharing doesn’t include any items you’ve added to a media library, like iTunes, Music, or TV. This free option allows up to six people you claim in the same family to give each access to a common set of apps (if the app developer offers sharing), purchased media, and optionally to one iCloud storage subscription, even though the storage is still private to each individual.

Plexconnect apple tv