Hi everyone
So far I do love Plex, but there is still improvement that can be done.
We all have Plex and probably wished that it replaces not just Netlix but also Spotify, subsonic etc in the most elegant way. That our data is not just centralized but also that Plex is smarter, more intuitive and bugfree compared to other peers in the same category. So we can share it with out families and friends, with a good consciousness.
That is why I made a List of things that bothered me, could be improved. If anyone has a way to resolve them, that would be greatly appreciated.
My main Client here is a Android 6.01 Smartphone
I do not own other devices and I can only guess that there are similar Problems. So most concerns will affect all Clients, the ones that probably won t are withing “bugs”.
1. General
1.1 DownloadNow-Improvement
If I wish to sync Music I am currently listening. He pushes it into the “sync” when wifi there folder. If I am already listening to it, it would make sense if it was instead directly downloaded.
1.2 Consistency-Improvement There is always data streaming, even when I play local files. (I can play them even without Internet, I know) But isn t the purpose of local play that we don't use the internet?
1.3 Smoothness-Improvement Analyze data etc done. I am talking about Navigation. Loading Pictures when browsing through Libraries playing files, while Video has a moment to buffer, sometimes it takes several seconds to play music. Whetever it is local or not. (Here personally I would love if the client like a smartphone, Laptop etc could copy all the metadata right to their phone. This may take a few 100 mb, but would improve the overall experience of Plex tremendously. I do think this one is extremly important, also for new Customers, the first thing they see is how responsive everything is.)
1.4 Usability-Improvement It would be great if only the streaming server needed to be logged in the plex System. Right now every User has to make a Plex.tv account, even when they are just using someone elses Plex account to enjoy his Stuff. This is quite an unnecessary hassle if someone Invites a friend or a family member to the server. Also makes them register in a place they usually never heard of and possibly not trust. (In Switzerland this may not be much of a problem, since there is no legal Issue. Yet even here one of my best friends was suspicious after beeing asked to register at plex.tv. Since I ve told her that she can use MY server, why does she need plex.tv? This is kinda hard to explain.)
1.5 Recommendation-Feature Recommending Video Files and Music to friends on the same Server. This Feature I don t think I have to sell much. Almost everyone that shares his Plex with others, for which it is kind of intended, would appreciated that.
2. Video streaming
2.1 Acceleration-Appretiation
Thanks for hardware acceleration. It makes it possible to have 2-3 streams full hd at the same time. So you eliminated one big concern.
2.2 Buffer-Improvement Create a variable buffer. Plex already gets how fast our internet is. It would be very nice if it could take a look at the internet, guess that it s close and tell the receiver to wait for a minute, so he can enjoy the whole thing without stuttering. (this may not be a problem in Switzerland, since we got quite a lot of upload speed with the new fiber system. But nonetheless I think a feature that wouldn't be to late in 2020, since a lot of Countries have a much slower upload)
3. Music
3.1 Speed-Improvement
Playing Files in big Libraries should be Instant. (Nothing against communicating with Server, but there should be a possibility to improve whatever algorithm is working there, so it s 1s at most instead of sometimes 5-10.)
3.2 Fingerprint-Improvement Fingerprint not always working the way it should. Since we have Fingerprint, why not making it possible to check for music more intensly and make sure a certain song, is the actuall song intended for that album and not a life version as example? Also I d love for Plex to throughly control my library and rearrange stuff, after checking with fingerprints. (Some People would like to have only part of their library checked with Fingerprint...So maybe it makes sense to make it a tool instead of a configuration?)
3.3 AutoDownload-Improvement Music I ve listened to several times, should automaticly be downloaded or saved in a temporary folder.
3.4 intuitive-Improvement It s kind of a hassle to toggle between client side to server side of Plex. an offline/online toggle or similar would make far more sense and would be more intuitive.
3.5 Charts-Feature I would love additional Features like charts etc.
4. Bugs
4.1 SleepMode-Bug
I had to get Plex on the whitelist, to never go into sleep mode. Since if I didn’t sometimes the music would stop, or skip to the next song etc. It is a bug I could work around. Problem, the Battery is drained 2x! as fast now. Since Plex seems to continue using the battery even though a song has ended or been stopped.
4.2 Unplayable-Bug Out of a reason I do not understand, rarely a songs won t play after snyc. I have to delete them and resync them to function properly
Conclusion
This is what comes to mind after using Plex for a while. That does not mean the list is complete, that does not mean there is not already a fix out there for one or several things mentioned. (If you know one of them, please tell me. I will update this post accordingly)
I am here for a long ride and I guess some things I ve mentioned will only be fixed after several years. Yet I do believe voicing yourself is important, first of all that the devs know someone cares, yet also to give them a second Opinion to their own. Eventually giving them the backbone to voice their own Opinion in front of a manager who eventually has not much of a clue and just watches the finances like Smaug his gold pile.
Now that doesn t mean that my Opinion is correct. It is only what I deem important. If you can think of something else that bothered you, don t agree with certain or all points I have, you are welcome to speak up.
Also excuse my english, I am not a native and it s been a while since I got the chance to really use it.
