Open source tip: Plezy’s the better Plex client that also supports Emby and Jellyfin
On my Android TV boxes, the official Plex client stutters when playing films with high bit rates. Plezy’s an open source client for Plex, Jellyfin and Emby that uses the mpv player by default. Since I’ve been using it, even 4K remux files play smoothly.
Direct Play’s enabled, the network delivers gigabit speeds, yet it still stutters. As soon as the Plex client tries to play scenes with a consistently high bit rate on my two Android TV boxes, it stutters – for example, during the first few minutes of the lossless ripped UHD Blu-ray of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I use an Nvidia Shield TV Pro and a Dune HD Homematics Box 4K Plus. I have the same problem on both.
The Plezy media server client means those problems are a thing of the past. Everything runs perfectly smoothly. The open source software supports the Plex, Jellyfin and Emby media servers and runs on all common platforms such as Android TV and tvOS (Apple TV).
Frustration with Plex sparked a custom open source client
Many Plex users are currently fed up with the official client. For months, forums and social media have been filled with reports of stuttering when watching high-bit rate films, even though Direct Play’s enabled and their networks provide enough bandwidth. The new design’s also unpopular with many, with users complaining about slower performance, hidden settings and sometimes excessive clicks required for navigation.
Plezy’s developer also eventually had enough, albeit a little earlier. Edvard Wikhall had been using Plex for years before programming his own client. The first version was released at the end of October 2025. Since then, Wikhall’s been steadily developing the app on his own, supported by a growing community that contributes input, translations and feedback.
What Plezy can do
Plezy is more than just a media player. It also lets you manage media for Plex, Jellyfin and Emby. If you run multiple servers simultaneously or want to switch later, you can keep using the client. The app doesn’t just play what the hardware can decode directly. Thanks to FFmpeg, it also handles demanding codecs such as HEVC, AV1 and VP9 in software, as well as HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. This needs a CPU with enough power, which is why, for example, AV1 still won’t work on the 2019 Nvidia Shield TV Pro.
Plezy supports ASS and SSA subtitles, including formatting, and offers an online subtitle search. If you wish, Plezy can pass through DTS, Dolby Digital and TrueHD audio to the receiver. You can download films and whole series for viewing on the go. Plezy can also automatically download new episodes of a series. If you want to watch with friends, you can start a Watch Together session – a feature that’s been discontinued or presumably removed from the official Plex app. The intro and credits can be skipped, either manually or automatically.
For music, there’s gapless playback, synchronised lyrics and a sleep timer. The live TV section offers a programme guide with favourites and a recording function. You can synchronise your viewing progress with services including Trakt, MyAnimeList, AniList and Simkl.
Despite its extensive range of features, there’s one missing. When you select an actor in the film cast section, Plezy shows all the films with that actor in your library, but there’s no separate view of their entire filmography.
Customising options
Plezy’s interface looks modern and uncluttered. In terms of usability and design, I even prefer some aspects to the official Plex client. The app’s responsive, the library scrolls smoothly and films start instantly.
If you wish, you can customise the interface. There’s an OLED mode, you can display the media library as a grid or a list with adjustable density and you can hide spoilers for unwatched episodes. In the settings, you can also choose whether Plezy opens to the home screen, the media library or the search function. On TVs, you can manually force TV mode if automatic detection fails. If you don’t have a remote control for your playback device, you can also control Plezy with your mobile.
You can also adjust multiple settings during playback. A sync slider shifts subtitles by up to 60 seconds. Plezy can pass content resolution to the TV so it can handle upscaling. Dolby Vision and HDR can be converted if the display doesn’t support them. And if you always want the same audio track for a series, you can save the track selection for each title. The «Play smaller videos in original quality» option ensures that videos with a lower quality setting play via Direct Play instead of being transcoded. If you wish, you can also use an external video player such as VLC or MX Player instead of the built-in player.
Why I don’t experience any stuttering with Plezy
The official Plex client uses the ExoPlayer on Android TV. As mentioned earlier, it stutters during the first few minutes of the lossless rip of the UHD Blu-ray of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I suspect the player’s configured with too weak a buffer. I can also select the ExoPlayer in Plezy’s options. However, there’s an additional option that sets the buffer size in three levels: auto, large and extra large. When I select extra large, all my 4K remuxes play smoothly.
With Plezy’s standard player, I don’t need to change any buffer settings. The FFmpeg-based mpv player plays everything smoothly straight away. Mpv’s an open source player that handles the cache more efficiently and was originally developed for desktop.
Thanks to Plezy, FFmpeg and mpv, there’s no need to wait for a fix for the official Plex client. With Plezy, it just works. You can’t tell the app’s only a year old and developed by just one person. Just as you can’t tell the official Plex app’s had a whole team working on it for many years.
Open source, but not free everywhere
Plezy is open source, licensed under GPLv3 and localised in over 20 languages. The app’s available for Fire OS, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, Android, Android Automotive, Android TV, ChromeOS, Windows and Linux operating systems.
The app’s source code is hosted on GitHub. This means anyone can download it or the app itself for free, compile it or modify it. The only exceptions are the iOS, iPadOS and tvOS apps. Since Apple doesn’t allow sideloading apps on these devices, there’s no free option.
Fortunately for Apple users and anyone who prefers automatic updates, Plezy can also be purchased for single digits from the Amazon, Apple and Google stores, where your purchase supports further development. Alternatively, you can donate to the project.
I find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.
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