Thanks to Plex, I have recently rekindled my relationship with my media library and live TV, with on-demand streaming now accounting for only about 50% of my home entertainment. This shift is saving me a considerable amount of money, as I started canceling my subscriptions one by one. However, browsing on Plex wasn’t as straightforward as I’d have liked, with too many menus and thumbnails. Enter QuasiTV, a solution that organizes all my content in a linear manner mimicking classic TV menus but with added flexibility and convenience. This makes sourcing content more enjoyable and easier to compare picks, offering the best of both worlds—a live TV interface with all my favorite movies and TV shows.
The Concept Behind QuasiTV
QuasiTV turns your flat media library into an interactive experience by reintroducing the concept of “channel surfing” to your own content. It automatically generates channels from your curated Plex library, organizing them by studio and network for TV shows and by genre for movies. It creates a full 24-hour schedule that updates every 15 minutes. This means that rather than actively choosing something to watch, you can passively scroll through “channels” and stumble upon something you’ve either forgotten or didn’t know you had.
One of the chief complaints with on-demand streaming is the endless scrolling through content, much of which you’ve already seen, leading to “choice paralysis.” QuasiTV alleviates this by allowing effortless flicking through your curated collection, helping you make a selection. While I am content to let QuasiTV make selections for me, customization options are available. These allow you to define your own channels, while the app handles everything else, including episode order, block lengths ranging from one to four episodes, and continuous play. This creates a feeling that you’re watching a mash-up of a scheduled broadcast and your own media.
Installing QuasiTV on Plex
The app works with a range of devices and platforms. QuasiTV can be loaded onto an Android TV device via the Google Play Store or installed on a Fire TV Stick through the Amazon Appstore. Once installed, the steps are straightforward:
- Log in to your Plex account: Ensure you’re connected and that your library is indexed correctly before linking QuasiTV. The app also integrates with other platforms, including Emby and Jellyfin servers.
- Connect QuasiTV to your Plex server: Open the QuasiTV app and follow the on-screen instructions to connect it to your Plex server.
- Wait for QuasiTV to generate channels: The app will automatically create channels based on the metadata from your Plex library (such as TV show studios/networks and movie genres).
- Customize your channels: If preferred, you can create up to 10 custom channels (such as “Sci-Fi Movies” or “Classic Sitcoms”) on QuasiTV for free, or purchase a premium version for unlimited custom channels.
Ensure you perform some basic housekeeping within Plex, including cleaning up metadata and correcting any inaccurate information. This will help QuasiTV categorize your channels properly.
QuasiTV: Not for Everyone
While QuasiTV has some compelling features, it might not be a perfect fit for every user. It helps alleviate the tedium of flicking through media and deciding what to watch, but it also removes an element of control over your viewing habits. If you are accustomed to, or prefer, the format of TV on demand, you may find QuasiTV’s suggestion-based interface limiting. Additionally, it may stumble when organizing shows, with occasional repeats and blocks that aren’t properly curated, although this could be due to poor organization on the user’s part.
If your media library isn’t extensive, the live TV format might look artificial with fewer titles to surf through. In such cases, the regular Plex interface might be the better option.
Flexibility and Control with QuasiTV
QuasiTV offers plenty of flexibility and control if you are willing to tinker with your preferences. Its ability to create custom playlists, edit pre-made channels, and set up multiple profiles means you’re not locked into a single auto-generated schedule, making scrolling less of a chore.
As someone who grew up in the age of scheduled broadcasting, the current bombardment of content is both a blessing and a curse. By reformatting my content into live-style channels, QuasiTV adds a layer of nostalgia to my entertainment while maintaining modern flexibility. Provided you have a well-organized library and are willing to make some adjustments, QuasiTV might be the media player you never knew you needed.
