Plex has launched a movie rental store in the US, but it is limited to 1080p resolution and 5.1 surround, and many popular titles are missing.

Movies will be offered as rentals only. There is no option to purchase movies. After renting a movie, you have 30 days to start it and 48 hours to finish it after the first playback.

- "In the words of the captivating, ageless Barbie we’ve all been (re)falling in love with, “This is the best day ever.” And that’s because today, in our quest to become the singular answer to all-things entertainment, we present to you an awfully familiar idea whose time has come around again: movie rentals," announced Plex.

The movie rental catalog is presented in a sleek and fast user interface, and movies start at $4 per title. Early release movies such as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom cost $21 to rent on Plex – $1 more than on the Apple TV app.


Limited to 1080p, 5.1 surround
Movie rentals from Plex are offered in maximum 1080p SDR and 5.1 surround sound. There are no titles available in 4K HDR at all.

Plex does not offer a download feature either.


 A few major titles are offered but many popular movies are missing from Plex' catalog. Photo: FlatpanelsHD

In the US, movies can be rented via the web browser, Android TV, Roku, select Smart TVs, PlayStation, and Xbox. It is not possible to rent movies on Apple TV and Fire TV, but you can still use the Plex app on these devices to play movies rented through other platforms.

Plex highlighted movies such as Barbie, Wonka, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but it is missing other popular titles from the same studios, including Christopher Nolan's movies and Dune. Plex does not offer rentals of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm movies either.

With higher rental prices, a limited catalog, and significantly lower video and audio quality, it is unclear why people would choose to rent movies from Plex rather than, for example, Apple TV or Vudu.

 Also read: Full list: Movies in 4K HDR & Dolby Atmos on Apple TV app (iTunes)