Server Version#: 1.27.0.5897
Player Version#: 1.46.1.3056-ab91bdc0
I used to have my Plex for Windows player set to “advertise as player”. I relied on this for a python script which would send commands to auto-skip intros, but with the most recent version of Plex for Windows, it no longer has the option to advertise as player, and my auto-skip intro script no longer works.
Why was this removed, and can we please get it back?
I downgraded back to the old version, removed the updater from the cache folder and set security permissions on the “C:\Users<username>\AppData\Local\Plex\cache\updates” folder to deny writing to all users. Hopefully that should prevent it from updating automatically for now until they can fix this.
Indeed, removing features user paid for is no good (illegal?), especially when it’s not possible to downgrade.
I really doubt we will get this feature back, so far, we have been told to use plex HTPC, but then HTPC has no mouse support so I got told to use plex for windows which doesn’t have the companion support anymore, at least I got a refund from my plex yearly pass, can’t trust the plex team when they keep removing features or adding what no one asked for.
Neither the desktop, HTPC apps, nor companion feature are paid apps/features.
Hi BigWheel (Plex Employee),
I’m a software developer. My app has many features free to use without paying. My paying users use them too, of course.
If I start pissing off my paying users by hiding behind the fact I can legally (on a technicality) remove a particular feature since it’s in the free segment, I’m pretty sure I’d start losing their trust before I can detect the sales drop.
That’s the danger of metric-driven development, which seems the root cause of removing this particular feature.
I get many users that pay twice for my app (as a reward) and they tell me, explicitly, that’s it’s because it’s obvious I care about their experience .
Do you?
In the meantime, can you provide link to downgrade the player on macOS to a version before 1.46.1?
Thank you.
ps: doesn’t mean you can’t remove any feature ever (which would lead to problems).
Over the years, I did remove features, but by deprecating it first, then hiding it behind a configuration setting, then, a few years later, it gets removed, but I still give the client the option to download an older version.
Please prioritize talking to your users over metrics, and please deprecate features before removing them. I rely on your app for the soundtrack of my life, but you’re are giving me pause to consider other apps (or writing my own, need a competitor?) by straight up removing a feature I was using daily without any warning at all, and no way to go back.
I finally found this thread after missing this feature for months! The supposed solution, “install plex for HTPCs,” is not remotely close to ideal for those of us who use the “Advertise as Player” feature on the desktop. This has resulted in me having to keep Plex media player and Plex for HTPCs both running on my desktop PC for various media playback scenarios, or to switch clients because I’ve changed what I’m consuming. Also, trying to control the HTPC client with keyboard and mouse is a demonstrable ergonomic and UI-design failure
The one response we’ve seen from a Plex team member in this thread, effectively saying this was not a paid feature, is not helpful and borderline mockery of all users, free and paying. For the record I am a paying lifetime member at that.
Why remove a perfectly fine and working feature for the desktop client? No, don’t answer that question as I’m sure you have some sort of answer that does not involve serving actual customers using this feature.
Just bring it back.
Even worse, for a large portion of us Plex HTPC just randomly crashes, with the only response from yet another “Employee”, search the forums for solutions that do not work and aren’t related.
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