… but I have not found a clear answer to a question akin to:
“How do I create a default view for all users and devices that attach to my PMS?”
I’ve seen many a post about love / hate for the PLEX UX. I’ve read / watched all about how to use the “More” function to find “home grown” libraries to add to a particular device’s home screen.
At the risk of creating a new war or adding fuel to an existing one, I’m just looking to create a default view - with my desired libraries - as default for when my users connect. I don’t want to have to tell them about “More” and “Delete / Add From Home”. I want to perform this for them. Sure - if they want to add Crackle / Tidal / News / Podcasts / whatever after by all means let them do so, but to get things started I just want a simple view of the libraries I’ve created for them.
Also - I don’t want to have to atomistically modify my default view for my phone, tablets, web interfaces. I’ll happily use the new UI to curate the view I desire - but please - can’t I do this once and have the view I create be used by all clients I access PMS from?
I hope I’ve simply missed something obvious and someone can tell me something like “Click this - it’ll do what you want it to do”.
FWIW: I’ve already discovered and turned off all other “Online Media Sources” in an effort to trim down the amount of “Noise” my users see when navigating the app to get to my stuff. (I’d prefer they were still available, but more of an “opt in” vs “in your face by default”)
For managed users your control goes to the level of you defining some restrictions (e.g. regarding the age ratings they can access) and you can define what online media sources they have access to.
Beyond that they’re free to customize their own home screens or which libraries they want to see pinned.
For un-managed users it’s completely up to them.
I’m not saying I don’t see where you’re coming from.
My takeaway from those discussions is that people have a different take on how they consider they want to share their media… some want to take 100% control on every aspect how those users watch their media (preferably even if those friends have a server of their own and might have ideas/preferences of their own)… while others consider how to lower the threshold for their friends to enjoy Plex. Usually the underlying idea is the same… but the resulting expectations differ.
Personally I prefer enabling the family members with whom I share my videos so they can use Plex to the best of their capabilities. For most of them, sharing the “how to navigate/customize Plex on mobile/big screen apps” support articles did the job.
Admittedly I’m not constantly adding new libraries but have a relatively stable structure within my Server.
I also liked the discussion we recently had with a different user who looked for some kind of “introduction” to support any new users from how to deal with that invite and some house-rules for his/her server (e.g. please don’t transcode media unless it’s necessary)…
Edit: added link to the “new user/share introduction” thread
For me, it’s not directly related to controlling how my users see the media. It’s about simplifying the experience. If, for example, I put some videos on my PMS from an afternoon of beekeeping and I want to share with mom (who is not the most tech savvy), I prefer not to show her how to get to my material that’s otherwise shrouded in PLEX content.
“Paradox of Choice” applies!
As for more capable friends, well this message isn’t for them anyway. They already know how to navigate the new UX to get to what they are looking for. Let them curate home screens how they wish - they don’t need to call me to ask how to get to bee vids.
