Plex is a media server platform that lets you organize and stream your own personal media files (movies, TV shows, music, photos) from a central location to any device. Think of it like having your own personal Netflix, but for media files you already own.
With Plex, you store your own media files on a computer or NAS (network attached storage) running the Plex Media Server software, and then you can access that content from anywhere using Plex apps on your phone, TV, computer, or in this case, your Apple Vision Pro with Aurora.
Yes, Aurora requires you to sign in with a Plex account. A Plex account is free to create and is used to securely connect you to your Plex Media Server. You can create a free Plex account here.
Yes, to use Aurora you need access to a Plex Media Server that has your own media files. There are two ways to get access to a server:
Option 1: Set up your own server. If you have a collection of your own media files (movies, TV shows, home videos, etc.), you can set up Plex Media Server on a computer, NAS device, or even certain routers. The server software is free, and once configured, you can access your media from anywhere.
Option 2: Get access from a friend or family member. If someone you know already runs a Plex server with their own media collection, they can invite you to access their library. They would send you a share invitation through Plex, and their server would then appear in Aurora when you sign in with your Plex account.
Setting up a Plex server involves installing the free Plex Media Server software on a computer that will stay running when you want to watch your media. Plex has comprehensive guides for getting started:
Plex Quick Start Guide - A step-by-step walkthrough of setting up your server and adding your own media files.
Download Plex Media Server - Get the server software for Windows, Mac, Linux, NAS devices, and more.
Once your server is running and you have added your own media files to your libraries, sign in to Aurora with the same Plex account and your server will appear automatically.
Many personal media files are encoded using codecs that the Apple Vision Pro cannot play directly. Common examples include x265/HEVC 10-bit video (popular for high-quality encodes of your own media files), DTS and TrueHD audio tracks (common on Blu-ray rips), and certain high-bitrate encoding profiles. When your Plex server encounters these formats, it needs to convert (transcode) them in real-time to a format the Vision Pro can play.
This means your Plex server needs enough processing power to handle transcoding. Many people run Plex on inexpensive, low-power computers or NAS devices that work great for direct playback but struggle with real-time transcoding. If you find that your media files frequently require transcoding, you may need a more capable server.
We test Aurora against a Plex library running on an M1 Mac Mini, which handles transcoding wonderfully and is our recommended setup for using Plex with Aurora. Refurbished M1 Mac Minis are available for around $250 on eBay and make excellent dedicated Plex servers with plenty of power for transcoding.
You might wonder why Aurora does not simply decode these formats directly on the Vision Pro. While other video player apps do exist that support additional codecs through custom software decoders, they cannot use the standard visionOS video player. Aurora uses the native system video player because it integrates seamlessly with visionOS environments and provides the spatial video experience that makes watching content on Vision Pro special. Using a custom decoder would mean sacrificing this integration for a very different player experience.
If you have questions specific to Aurora, please visit our support page. For general Plex questions, the Plex Support Center and Plex Forums are great resources.