4 ms·

It's about more than just costs. Plex started out as a home media server (a direct port of XBMC/Kodi in fact), but over time due to its success the creators dec

by paxys 10mo ago

It's about more than just costs. Plex started out as a home media server (a direct port of XBMC/Kodi in fact), but over time due to its success the creators decided they wanted to turn it into Netflix instead. So using Plex to stream your own media to your own local or remote devices is being made harder with every update.

bombcar 10mo ago
XBMC is still somehow the best of them all, perhaps only in my memory. But damn if it wasn't magical having all those movies at your fingertips in the early 2000s.
gf000 10mo ago
> own media to your own local or remote devices This was the point that made a bunch of people (me included) absolutely furious with Plex. Like I gladly pay for services and donate to open source projects. But it hits differently to pay for my very own hardware being used.
- jaffa2 10mo ago
  What is the difference between paying for plex to stream your own video from yourown hardware and paying to use microsoft word to write your own letter which also runs on your own hardware?
  - horsawlarway 10mo ago
    You still use word? --- As a more serious response - The last time I purchased MS office (decade+ ago) I paid once for a product license I could use forever. That felt fair - I buy a tool, I use it. Plex had that payment model and got a lot less pushback from the community - but this whole "we're a SaaS now!" thing is just not going to fly. I just don't trust the company anymore, and Jellyfin is absolutely great.
  - ffsm8 10mo ago
    I don't think anyone would've had an issue with buy to use, that's not their business model however. As a matter of fact, I paid them 150€ for a "lifetime license" - because a long time ago, that was their business model. I too left for jellyfin because of their pivot to being "Netflix" as paxys phrased it. They just decided to throw away the market they established themselves into previously. Saltines should be expected at that.
  - JuniperMesos 10mo ago
    I've been using LibreOffice (and before that OpenOffice) for a long time.
ziml77 10mo ago
Accurate. I'd pay for Plex if I was supporting the development of software designed for watching your personal media collection. Genuinely I considered it not long ago, until I found out that they'd shifted away from caring about local media.
- NoMoreNicksLeft 10mo ago
  There's so much media that it can't support though. It could've been managing and sharing ebooks, and karaoke. Hell, audio's a complete shitshow... ever tried to load comedy albums into Plex? It's pretty fucking sure that the only recommendation that makes sense for Steve Martin is his late-life banjo albums (which, don't get me wrong, I like, but still). Even classical music is completely screwed up, because of it's band/performer-centric preconceptions. Jazz is a total dumpster fire. Images are worse still, I know anyone serious about personal photos probably uses Lightroom, but damn. There aren't any rips harsh enough to describe Plex's image support. And really, it would've been nice if we could share game roms for emulation (with high-score support and remote game-saves).

by paxys 10mo ago

bombcar 10mo ago

XBMC is still somehow the best of them all, perhaps only in my memory. But damn if it wasn't magical having all those movies at your fingertips in the early 2000s.

gf000 10mo ago

> own media to your own local or remote devices This was the point that made a bunch of people (me included) absolutely furious with Plex. Like I gladly pay for services and donate to open source projects. But it hits differently to pay for my very own hardware being used.

jaffa2 10mo ago
What is the difference between paying for plex to stream your own video from yourown hardware and paying to use microsoft word to write your own letter which also runs on your own hardware?
- horsawlarway 10mo ago
  You still use word? --- As a more serious response - The last time I purchased MS office (decade+ ago) I paid once for a product license I could use forever. That felt fair - I buy a tool, I use it. Plex had that payment model and got a lot less pushback from the community - but this whole "we're a SaaS now!" thing is just not going to fly. I just don't trust the company anymore, and Jellyfin is absolutely great.
- ffsm8 10mo ago
  I don't think anyone would've had an issue with buy to use, that's not their business model however. As a matter of fact, I paid them 150€ for a "lifetime license" - because a long time ago, that was their business model. I too left for jellyfin because of their pivot to being "Netflix" as paxys phrased it. They just decided to throw away the market they established themselves into previously. Saltines should be expected at that.
- JuniperMesos 10mo ago
  I've been using LibreOffice (and before that OpenOffice) for a long time.

ziml77 10mo ago

Accurate. I'd pay for Plex if I was supporting the development of software designed for watching your personal media collection. Genuinely I considered it not long ago, until I found out that they'd shifted away from caring about local media.

NoMoreNicksLeft 10mo ago
There's so much media that it can't support though. It could've been managing and sharing ebooks, and karaoke. Hell, audio's a complete shitshow... ever tried to load comedy albums into Plex? It's pretty fucking sure that the only recommendation that makes sense for Steve Martin is his late-life banjo albums (which, don't get me wrong, I like, but still). Even classical music is completely screwed up, because of it's band/performer-centric preconceptions. Jazz is a total dumpster fire. Images are worse still, I know anyone serious about personal photos probably uses Lightroom, but damn. There aren't any rips harsh enough to describe Plex's image support. And really, it would've been nice if we could share game roms for emulation (with high-score support and remote game-saves).