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https://github.com/BRH-Media/PlexDL
Plex Downloader/Streamer written in C#
https://github.com/BRH-Media/PlexDL
Last synced: 8 days ago
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Plex Downloader/Streamer written in C#
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/BRH-Media/PlexDL
- Owner: BRH-Media
- License: gpl-3.0
- Created: 2020-02-20T09:06:35.000Z (over 4 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2024-10-07T07:03:46.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Last Synced: 2024-10-07T08:06:24.197Z (about 1 month ago)
- Language: C#
- Homepage: http://plexdl.software.brharris.me
- Size: 8.52 MB
- Stars: 34
- Watchers: 4
- Forks: 3
- Open Issues: 5
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE.md
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# PlexDL
### Plex Downloader/Streamer written in C#
#### Legal Disclaimer
This software package **has not been endorsed** by Plex (Plex Incorporated), and is in no way officially supported by Plex Inc. This project accepts no monetary gain, and merely associates itself as 'PlexDL' in reference to the 'Plex Media Server (PMS)' software. It seeks merely to emphasise that it is compatible with the 'Plex Media Server (PMS)' software (developed by Plex Inc.), and **is in no way an official product, service or application**.
#### Credits
- Utilises modified `csharp-plex-api` by ammmze for server detection - [GitHub Repo](https://github.com/ammmze/csharp-plex-api)
- Utilises Google's Material Design Icons - [Official Site](https://material.io/icons)
- Utilises `Newtonsoft.Json` by JamesNK - [GitHub Repo](https://github.com/JamesNK/Newtonsoft.Json)
- Utilises `AltoHttp` by aalitor for Web Downloads - [GitHub Repo](https://github.com/aalitor/AltoHttp)
- Utilises `PVS.MediaPlayer` by Peter Vegter - [CodeProject Article](https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/109714/PVS-MediaPlayer-Audio-and-Video-Player-Library)
- Utilises `WinFormAnimation` by falahati - [Github Repo](https://github.com/falahati/WinFormAnimation/)
- Utilises `CircularProgressBar` by falahati - [GitHub Repo](https://github.com/falahati/CircularProgressBar/)
- Utilises `SharpCaster` by Tapanila - [GitHub Repo](https://github.com/Tapanila/SharpCaster)
- Utilises `QRCoder` by codebude - [GitHub Repo](https://github.com/codebude/QRCoder)
### What does PlexDL do?
Many different things!
PlexDL uses a Plex Media Server's ability to serve XML API requests, and from the data returned, PlexDL gathers information and displays it in various gridviews to make it easier for you to enjoy your content. It supports the following and more:
- Viewing Metadata about any media type currently supported. To do this, just head over to `Content->Metadata` on the main toolbar.
- Streaming your media. PlexDL utilises a really cool media library known as PVS.MediaPlayer. It allows playback of supported files via the Windows Media Foundation (WMF), and the best part? It's possible to create a custom GUI and skin it how you want. That's what we've done for you in PlexDL, but if you're not wanting to use PVS, you can use VLC or your default browser.
- Downloading your media. PlexDL is named like this for a reason! We've created a specialised framework to allow authorised Plex downloads. Even if you're not a server owner, you can still download if you have an account or an account token.
- Exporting media profiles. You can export a .pmxml file which will store infirmation about your content. At any time (and given your token is still valid), you can import this back into the `Content->Metadata` window and stream it without even logging in!
**Important Notes**
- PVS.MediaPlayer can play ***some*** codecs (any that are native to WMF), but due to the wide variations in the Matroska specification, it remains unsafe (code-wise) to implement at this point. Hence, PlexDL will not allow its default player to accept `*.mkv` files.
- If you're using VLC, make sure you follow the guide below about setting it up with PlexDL.
### Supported Media
PlexDL currently supports the following media types
- Music - Artists, Albums and Tracks
- TV - Shows, Seasons and Episodes
- Movies
More will be on the way, but please note that photos are currently very difficult to implement. As such, we can't support this feature until sufficient resources can be devoted to it.
### Performance?
PlexDL will work for almost any PMS out there (provided you have an account key/valid Plex.tv account). However, there may be instances where the software is underperforming due to a variety of reasons. One such reason, is that the custom interfaces built to interpret the data from the PMS aren't perfect, and may stutter from time to time. PlexDL is also heavily reliant on internet speeds and server reliability, so that is also a factor.
It should be noted, however, that PlexDL does support various forms of caching. This will store downloaded information in the `%APPDATA%\.plexdl\caching` folder. The structure of the `.plexdl` folder is as follows:
```
\.plexdl -- Root Folder
├───\caching -- Cached information root folder
│ └───\%TOKEN_HASH% -- MD5 of account token
│ ├───\%SERVER_HASH% -- MD5 of server IP
│ │ ├───\thumb -- Cached images with *.thumb filename
│ │ │ └───%IMAGE_URL_HASH%.thumb -- *.thumb is named as a hashed URL, to be retrieved when a matching request is ID'd
│ │ └───\xml -- Cached XML API data with *.xml filename
│ │ └───%XML_URL_HASH%.xml -- *.xml is named as a hashed URL, to be retrieved when a matching request is ID'd
│ └───%TOKEN_HASH%.slst -- Cached server details list (cached IP, port, etc.)
├───\logs -- *.logdel logging folder ('Log Viewer' search location)
│ ├───Caching.logdel -- Caching event log (e.g. something is saved, retrieved, etc.)
│ ├───ExceptionLog.logdel -- Non-critical exceptions are logged here
│ ├───PlexDL.logdel -- Main application log
│ └───TransactionLog.logdel -- Logs all PMS XML requests/events out of PlexDL
├───.default -- XML profile that is loaded on each start (default settings)
├───.entropy -- 20-byte pseudorandom entropy data used for WDPAPI
├───.guid -- 16-byte WDPAPI-protected GUID string. Used for uniquely identifying your PlexDL instance.
└───.token -- 20-char Plex.tv token; saved when the user logs in and is encrypted with WDPAPI
```
Using the Settings dialog in `File->Settings`, you can individually enable/disable the three forms of PlexDL caching:
- Server List Caching
- XML API Caching
- Image Caching
By using caching, you can drastically increase the performance of the application, as PlexDL can skip downloading a new copy of the file each time. However, the obvious downside is remembering to regularly clear the cache, as the stored data will quickly become outdated. In turn, this leads to future problems with server connections.
### How to get started
#### __1. Building from Source__
[Follow the Build Guide](./Documentation/BUILD.md)
#### __2. Downloading from Releases__
You can access the latest official build [here](https://github.com/Brhsoftco/PlexDL/releases/latest). Just download `Release.zip` to get all of the needed dependencies and the binary itself.
#### __3. Downloading from the Build Server__
On every commit to the master branch, a new build is executed on the Azure DevOps pipeline. These builds aren't recommended for uses other than testing, but if you like living on the edge, you can access the pipeline [here](https://dev.azure.com/brhmedia/PlexDL/_build).
### __Using PlexDL__
[Read the Usage Guide](./Documentation/USAGE.md)
### __Looking for Demo Images?__
[You Can Find Them Here](./demo_images)
### Additional Notes
- DRM isn't supported in the slightest! Don't even try to play it back.
- Plex's new free library isn't supported. I really don't want to deal with HLS streams/scheduling data since it's an entirely new API structure.