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I don't know how to navigate Plex anymore. I used to use it roughly 8 years ago, and it was simple - it showed me my media, I could navigate through it, watch i

by Timon3 3y ago

I don't know how to navigate Plex anymore. I used to use it roughly 8 years ago, and it was simple - it showed me my media, I could navigate through it, watch it, and nothing more. I tried using it again 2 years ago - and I simply couldn't find my media anymore. I logged in with my account, and the settings showed me that it was connected to my server, but it showed me a bunch of random media that I did not add to my server. I couldn't find a way to navigate to my media after a couple of minutes, so I uninstalled it, replaced it with Jellyfin, and never looked back. Maybe I was too blind to find it, but showing me random media instead of my own is a no-go for a local media server.

benglish11 3y ago
Yeah some time ago Plex started adding their own content or pushing you to streaming services, probably in an attempt to be more legitimate. I use Plex currently and I remember this being frustrating. With some configuration you can basically remove those options though. I mainly consume Plex through the Apple TV app and the UX (once configured) is above average.
- Timon3 3y ago
  Yeah, there are probably ways to mostly get it back to what it once was. The problem really is that a) these ways weren't obvious to me at the time, and b) I don't trust Plex to keep those ways. Enshittification is sadly a one-way street. If Plex kept my content frond-and-center and added useful features on top (e.g. Prime Videos additional information while pausing) I could even have seen myself subscribing to their service. But making the software annoying to use for its main purpose ensures I'll never spend a cent on it.
- mmanfrin 3y ago
  > probably in an attempt to be more legitimate. I think you're correct, and this is why I forgive Plex its annoying transgressions.
- c-hendricks 3y ago
  The streaming integration is pretty handy, helps answer the "what service is this on" question. I don't think it's pushing you to them at all, if you're looking at a show or movie that's available to you via Plex, they're listed first.
- katbyte 3y ago
  Imho the issue is you need to configure this for every user, and as plex is local account hostile it means walking family through this/checking it’s been done vs local accounts that you can disable it via admin.
JadoJodo 3y ago
They show their hosted media first thing now, and hide your media behind some clicks.
atourgates 3y ago
This is exactly the issue. I’m sure most people who installed Plex did it to stream their own self-hosted media, but now Plex by default shoves in a bunch of streaming BS that they want you to watch, while hiding your own media behind a few clicks. Plex has always had some minor frustrations, but this is probably enough to make me switch.
- abenga 3y ago
  You shouldn't have to, but you can hide those panes and sections on the menu on first run and never see them again. I was forced to find out when an unseen update (on either system) made the Jellyfin app on my Sony TV incompatible with the Jellyfin server on my LAN, and I have never taken the time to fix it.
eddythompson80 3y ago
When you’re setting up a new server, it shows you a bunch of default Libraries for their own media. Unselecting them then should remove them from your list. You can also edit your Libraries list later. Managing Libraries is a pretty import part of Plex UI (and Jellyfin for that matter) If you don’t know which library on the list to click on or drag around, maybe you’ll have a hard time in general.
- Timon3 3y ago
  > When you’re setting up a new server, it shows you a bunch of default Libraries for their own media. Unselecting them then should remove them from your list. It's been a while since I last tried setting it up, but I can't remember anything during the setup talking about external streaming libraries. I tried setting it up in the way I expected it to work based on my previous knowledge. > If you don’t know which library on the list to click on or drag around, maybe you’ll have a hard time in general. I didn't see anything in the UI on my TV mentioning different libraries, or giving me the option to switch from the external Plex library to my own. At a certain point these things stop being user problems and become UX problems.
  - eddythompson80 3y ago
    “Libraries” is what Plex calls “collections” I think Emby/Jellyfin use the same terminology, but don’t quote me on that. After you create a Plex instance, you still need to go and create a “Movies” library, a “TV Shows” library, maybe a “Music” library, an “Audiobooks” Library and so on. Those are the ones that show on the left panel in the Web UI, TV App etc. It’s how you manage your media in general During initial setup, Plex will show you a list of “Default Libraries” that have names like “Discover”, “Web”, etc. You can unselect them. You can also remove them from your Library list later on.
    - Timon3 3y ago
      I would have loved to go through the setup again and see where exactly I got confused. For this purpose I uninstalled Plex and re-installed it. Sadly for the last 20 minutes it only shows: <Response code="503" title="Maintenance" status="Plex Media Server is currently running startup maintenance tasks."/>
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

by Timon3 3y ago

benglish11 3y ago

Yeah some time ago Plex started adding their own content or pushing you to streaming services, probably in an attempt to be more legitimate. I use Plex currently and I remember this being frustrating. With some configuration you can basically remove those options though. I mainly consume Plex through the Apple TV app and the UX (once configured) is above average.

Timon3 3y ago
Yeah, there are probably ways to mostly get it back to what it once was. The problem really is that a) these ways weren't obvious to me at the time, and b) I don't trust Plex to keep those ways. Enshittification is sadly a one-way street. If Plex kept my content frond-and-center and added useful features on top (e.g. Prime Videos additional information while pausing) I could even have seen myself subscribing to their service. But making the software annoying to use for its main purpose ensures I'll never spend a cent on it.
mmanfrin 3y ago
> probably in an attempt to be more legitimate. I think you're correct, and this is why I forgive Plex its annoying transgressions.
c-hendricks 3y ago
The streaming integration is pretty handy, helps answer the "what service is this on" question. I don't think it's pushing you to them at all, if you're looking at a show or movie that's available to you via Plex, they're listed first.
katbyte 3y ago
Imho the issue is you need to configure this for every user, and as plex is local account hostile it means walking family through this/checking it’s been done vs local accounts that you can disable it via admin.

JadoJodo 3y ago

They show their hosted media first thing now, and hide your media behind some clicks.

atourgates 3y ago

This is exactly the issue. I’m sure most people who installed Plex did it to stream their own self-hosted media, but now Plex by default shoves in a bunch of streaming BS that they want you to watch, while hiding your own media behind a few clicks. Plex has always had some minor frustrations, but this is probably enough to make me switch.

abenga 3y ago
You shouldn't have to, but you can hide those panes and sections on the menu on first run and never see them again. I was forced to find out when an unseen update (on either system) made the Jellyfin app on my Sony TV incompatible with the Jellyfin server on my LAN, and I have never taken the time to fix it.

eddythompson80 3y ago

When you’re setting up a new server, it shows you a bunch of default Libraries for their own media. Unselecting them then should remove them from your list. You can also edit your Libraries list later. Managing Libraries is a pretty import part of Plex UI (and Jellyfin for that matter) If you don’t know which library on the list to click on or drag around, maybe you’ll have a hard time in general.

Timon3 3y ago
> When you’re setting up a new server, it shows you a bunch of default Libraries for their own media. Unselecting them then should remove them from your list. It's been a while since I last tried setting it up, but I can't remember anything during the setup talking about external streaming libraries. I tried setting it up in the way I expected it to work based on my previous knowledge. > If you don’t know which library on the list to click on or drag around, maybe you’ll have a hard time in general. I didn't see anything in the UI on my TV mentioning different libraries, or giving me the option to switch from the external Plex library to my own. At a certain point these things stop being user problems and become UX problems.
- eddythompson80 3y ago
  “Libraries” is what Plex calls “collections” I think Emby/Jellyfin use the same terminology, but don’t quote me on that. After you create a Plex instance, you still need to go and create a “Movies” library, a “TV Shows” library, maybe a “Music” library, an “Audiobooks” Library and so on. Those are the ones that show on the left panel in the Web UI, TV App etc. It’s how you manage your media in general During initial setup, Plex will show you a list of “Default Libraries” that have names like “Discover”, “Web”, etc. You can unselect them. You can also remove them from your Library list later on.
  - Timon3 3y ago
    I would have loved to go through the setup again and see where exactly I got confused. For this purpose I uninstalled Plex and re-installed it. Sadly for the last 20 minutes it only shows: <Response code="503" title="Maintenance" status="Plex Media Server is currently running startup maintenance tasks."/>

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]