I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that Plex server has become increasingly unreliable over time and there are multiple issues which have been not fixed for YEARS. E.g. Plex Amp on Android auto crashes constantly.
Remember what brought people to Plex media Server originally, curating and serving the users own media. Stop spending time on ‘features’ that many people don’t want; until the core functionality is back to an acceptable level of reliability.
Oh, and the new logo is garbage.
Your post is extremely unreasonable. First off, feature freeze until ALL issues are fixed?!? You might as well have said stop developing Plex because no software, none whatsoever, has zero issues. Are there multiple issues that have not been fixed for years? Sure. Just like there is in any large piece of software but that does not translate into “therefore this software is unusable”. It’s usable to many. It’s incredibly useable to me and the people who use my server. And the same is true for many others here.
I’ve used Plexamp on Android Auto for a while and never had it crash (I’ve since stopped using it because they dropped support for podcasts and Plexamp’s interface was pretty kunkly too). Therefore it’s demonstrable that for some people it works just fine and that the problem is probably in your setup specifically.
And while you and I perhaps may see some of the new features as ones we don’t want, it’s clear that others do. You are not the only user of Plex and by and large, most users want new features so long as the baseline of the software isn’t totally unusable and it’s not totally unusable to many, dare I say most users of Plex. If it weren’t Plex would go away and that doesn’t seem to be happening.
Do not commit the error assuming that just because it isn’t working for you that it isn’t working for anybody nor that it isn’t working for most people. You simply do not have the data to make that call and doing so prematurely just makes you look like a troll/complainer.
Conflating those two statements might seem “extremely unreasonable” to some people
It sure seems extremely unreasonable to me! Especially to insist that ALL issues are fixed. All means all - without exception. There isn’t any software anywhere that has zero issues. The OP insisted that ALL issues are fixed - just check the heading. It is reasonable to assume when he later says “an acceptable level of reliability” to him he means zero issues. I mean the OP even took the time to emphasize the word “all” by capitalizing it. Was I wrong to assume that that was what he really meant? I think not. Was he carelessly throwing out the term “all” in frustration? Probably. Which is why I pointed it out.
That’s the problem when you throw around superlatives like all when you actually mean something else. To many of us, Plex is already at an acceptable level of reliability. My Plex server is very reliable - in fact, it’s only had downtime of about an hour and that’s only because I had to update the OS on my Synology to DSM 7.
I’m sorry I assumed you read past the title of the post.
Whether they read past the post of the title or not is kind of irrelevant (this coming from someone who hates when people don’t read emails and then ask questions that were answered in the email). Reason I say it’s irrelevant here is because just based on that title I wouldn’t be surprised if you had people come in here and post without reading the OP.
The title is the first thing that people are going to see and if most people don’t bother reading the post, the title is going to be what they gather is the topic of the post.
As it is, the reason I actually came into this thread is because of the title and I wouldn’t be surprised if the OP intended it to be used as click-bait to get more people in and then change the actual goal post in the initial post.
So I would actually agree with @adefaria on top of the fact that the title should complement the post and not contradict it. Does the OP want all the issues fixed or the ones only effecting “core” functionality? Plus, again, like @adefaria said, Plex appears to be pretty reliable for the majority of the users otherwise people would be going to the alternatives if they couldn’t actually use the core functionality.
Granted, I realize this will not be apple to apples, but people hate when sites use click-bait for their articles, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want topic forums to be accurate as well (and yes I realize for sites there is a monetary incentive, hence the not apple to apples part). Just make the title reflect the content that will be in the post.
-Shark2k
Whether I read “past” the title or not, there’s no doubt that the title is part of the communication. I strive to read and consider all parts of any communication. I don’t always succeed.
As @shark2k says, it’s an important part too because it is what the user first looks at in determining whether or not to even bother reading anymore. Titles are like that. I wonder if you would say the same thing if I somehow read past the last paragraph of the OP? (which I read and decided not to comment on). I really don’t get what you are trying to accomplish by assuming I read past the title. Seems to me your statement would have been better worded as “I’m sorry. Apparently I read past the title! You are right” because I was right. Seems like you saying you thought I read past the title was your way of saving face. So be it if you need that sort of thing.
And I don’t think the title was necessary clickbait either. It’s clear to me that the OP was very frustrated because he’s having difficulties and rather than calmly gathering data and posting a sincere question here attempting to resolve his issue(s) he decided instead to vent and ■■■■■. Fine. My response was merely to point out the illogic of his title and the fact that most of us here use Plex without that many issues. That plus many of us appreciate new functionality.
Clearly what the OP meant by saying that ALL issues should be fixed before implementing new functionality was that he wanted to see all the issues that affect him fixed first. I understand that but he doesn’t understand that for many of us, those issues don’t bother most other Plex users either because we’ve never had them or we had issues and managed to productively report them and/or find fixes for them or the bugs were fixed with subsequent updates of the software.
Also realize this - bugs can be fixed at the same time as new functionality is introduced. Granted new functionality often tends to bring with it additional bugs but such is the life of a software developer and indeed software users.
I agree it can be frustrating when simple fixes take months to years to get addressed. Indeed I asked for the simple fix of adding the “f” key as a key to make Plex’s web player go full screen instead of just "". Years went past, not because it was hard, but because it was not deemed important. And it was not important. But it has since been implemented.
So maybe after cooling down and staying away from coffee for a while, the OP may return and write a detailed, thoughtful, and non-derogatory post about his problems and work through the issues to get his specific problem(s) fixed for his situation… Or he can just continue to ■■■■■ but I suspect that will get him nowhere.
Yes, maybe my title is needlessly provocative, but I think the issue is that the customers i.e. the ones who bought the Plex passes years ago on the original premise that Plex was for managing and streaming our own media, are now being ignored due to feature creep, meaning that the core product is suffering. I think I read somewhere that venture capital is now involved in funding the software so now the primary motive of the product is to make money to the exclusion of all other factors. I would like to see efforts concentrated on the original customers and product.
And yes I do remember reading that they were away of the crashing issue with Plexamp and Android Auto over a year ago, and it has still not been fixed.
Oh and what’s unreasonable is to try and ‘tone police’ someone who is complaining to a company about a product which they have paid money for. It has nothing to do with you or your experience.
Not maybe - definitely. You just don’t want to admit that your heading is factually incorrect. No software is issue free -period. To demand so is unreasonable.
Don’t kid yourself - the primary motivation for every company is to make money. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Those companies that don’t make money soon disappear. You don’t go to work for free either. And there’s no “to the exclusion of all other factors”. See you’re using that “all” thing again. I can never understand why people say this about companies when they toil at work for primarily the same reasons - to make money. I also can never understand why people expect corporations to not be interested in making money or claiming that that’s all they are interested in - usually with zero evidence of this claim.
Perhaps you can leave the abstract and give us real examples of where Plex falls down on managing and streaming media. It works just fine for me and as we all know, given the same input/environment software works the same for everybody. So it sure seems like it’s not working just for you and it’s highly likely it’s because of your configuration or environment because I, for one, am a direct example of the opposite to which you claim. And I think there are many, many others like me.
Oh and as for Plexamp, again I’m a direct example against your claim. It doesn’t crash for me. Why does it crash for you?
Dude, I also pay money for Plex - you’re not special in this regard. It has everything to do with me and my experience as well as you and your experience in that it works for me and apparently not for you. It makes your claims that Plex is all f-ed up much weaker, especially since you start with an unreasonable premise, make wild accusations and provide no real evidence for the problems for which you claim. I’m not doubting that you’ve experienced problems. And it’s not your tone that’s the problem (though it sure sounds like edging on just bitching/trolling for bitching sake instead of trying to get something productively addressed) it’s the lack of facts and direct evidence of your problems. And now you’re pulling the “all they care about is money” card while using that very issue yourself (“hey man I paid for this”).
So the real question is do you want to get something productively done like fixing your problems or do you just want to air your grievances and get nothing done, in which case could your wait until Festivus? If it’s the latter then you should expect responses like mine.
Internet forums are amazing. In no other place can you see so many folks absolutely convinced that their viewpoint is accurate, or representative of “most.” So many folks are willing to stand and die on the hill of their perspective and will spend so many words trying to convince some anonymous stranger that they’re wrong and you’re right. There is no high ground on an Internet forum. And hyperbole is always the order of the day. Simply fascinating.
Jesus christ, talk about taking it personally! 
It’s not about you!
It was an observation, there was nothing personal about it. Except my interest in human nature where anonymity is concerned. And of course it wasn’t about me, my experience is completely different than yours. I felt comfortable posting that comment primarily because the OP wasn’t concerned with a solution, so much as ranting a bit.
And, for the record, my post wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular.
Are you suggesting that somehow I don’t qualify as being part of this? I didn’t say it was all about me but surely I’m a participant and part of the group, no? I said it was about me and him and many others and in no way that it applied only to me. I’m part of this. And taking it personally is totally OK when you are part of the group. I’ve repeatedly said that there are many like me so I’m not taking it personally to the exclusion of others in a similar situation. Why you think that’s somehow bad is up to you to explain.
I’m not “absolutely convinced” that my viewpoint is 100% correct but I don’t meet too many people who post stuff they don’t believe is correct - do you? I’m willing to be convinced that my viewpoint is incorrect but alas, I require actual data to do so. I truly believe that many use Plex or serve Plex with few issues. I have no marketing data to prove that but instead, rely on the very real possibility that if that were not the case then Plex wouldn’t be in business. If somebody would present some real data that > 50% of all PlexPass users who are serving content are unable to do so because the software is that buggy then I’d change my standpoint - but not until I see that evidence.
How we represent ourselves matters. We can speak in an empathetic tone or we can present as adversarial. Presenting a viewpoint doesn’t factor into either of these; we can present our viewpoints in either tone.
This, in large part, determines how constructive a conversation can be. Parties arguing with one another might not be as open to compromise as others who engage cooperatively.
There’s a time to argue, and there’s a time to listen without the intent to respond, but understand. We often forget that when there’s not a recognizable human at the other end of the conversation.
Two things. A comic commented that he always had a problem with people saying, “If they can land a man on the moon, they can make a quiet leaf blower.” Because he was pretty sure that the people who put men on the moon and the people that make leaf blowers … are different people.
The people who might fix PlexAmp and the people who are adding assorting streaming functionality … are different people. Seems odd to tell part of the company to stop doing something until some other part of the company is done with what they are working on.
Also, there are some rather real reasons PLEX wants to focus on stuff other than helping people stream their own content.
Let me just toss out a ‘hypothetical’. Let’s say you happen to have a few thousand movies on your server that you want to stream. Let’s also say that maybe, just maybe, you aquired those movies through illegal means. And let’s say you want to share your library with a few dozen of your buddies. We can all agree that this is against the PLEX terms of servie. We can also agree that this goes on all the dang time and PLEX had developed a reputation (and the scrutiny of legal eyes) of aiding and assisting the pirate market. They can either run the risk of getting shut down, fined, put in jail … or they can start rapidly adding their own content as fast as possible in order to show the world and prying eyes that no, they aren’t just a service for media pirates, they are a streaming service primarily - no different than Netflix. Look at all the content we provide.
Get the picture?
It strikes me that tone is an interpretation from the listener’s POV regardless of the intent of the speaker. IOW you can judge my tone as empathetic or adversarial when that was not the intention of the speaker at all. I’ve had times when I specifically said “I’m not being sarcastic here” or “I’m not being adversarial here” and the reader just did not believe me thinking he knows my tone or my mind better than I do. This is even more likely in prose like this than in person where body language (also easily misinterpreted) can be evaluated. When it doubt ASK! And be ready to believe…
All I was saying to the OP was that his request in the title was unreasonable, that many people use Plex without issues, and that it would be better if he were more specific, concrete, and provided facts and evidence of his specific problems so that they can be worked on than just bitching. And quite frankly, at this point, you can read into that whatever you want. I’ve learned I can’t control how you (or others) interpret my words. I try to be clear, am open to questions, but otherwise don’t care what you think of me.
Try not to be so defensive. It completely undermines the argument. Obviously you don’t care what I think; anymore than I care what you think. This is the Internet, after all.
I’m only suggesting that folks approach these conversations a little differently. Our natural tendency is to listen/read with the intent to respond. We should place a greater emphasis on trying to understand the other party’s perspective. Words matter. Your initial response to the OP was, essentially, “You’re wrong, and here’s why.”
Their initial post (and particularly the title) were hyperbolic, to be sure. But there was deeper understanding to be gained. Instead we immediately jumped to the conclusion that their concerns were irrational (I admit, I did, too). But reading and understanding it showed there were deeper concerns. In particular, they’re not happy with their view that Plex is focusing resources on new features which are not important to them.
At any rate, I’m not judging you, or anybody else; that’s a bad business. I’m only suggesting that we do a better job of assuming good intent with our first responses, no matter how hyperbolic or unreasonable the original statement seemed. There was a reason behind that post. Better to understand it and then respond than shoot from the hip.
At least in my anonymous Internet person opinion.
If everything is working for you, great. But your experience doesn’t invalidate others, and vice versa.
The point is I think that, as a Plex customer, the developers should remember it’s userbase and re-concentrate, for a while at least, on the core functionality. I know it’s not glamorous, and it’s great to have a press release about some new feature, but I think it’s important.
Anyway, peace out o7
The truth is there is no real way for Plex to determine if the video file you have and are streaming to your friends was or was not obtained legally. You could speculate that the reason Plex is adding their own content (Really? I thought they were adding common, freely available streaming services and connections to your paid streaming services) so as to distract the focus away from illegal activities or you could view it as them just trying to offer more functionality. Either viewpoint is likely.
Take, for example, the reason the addition of the “discover” feature that allows you to configure your paid subscription services like NetFlix, Hulu, etc. so you can use Plex’s search to find a show and then play it from either Plex (if available) or from NetFlix or whatever. This allows for one-stop searching and streaming. This is not how I would use Plex as I have no paid subscription services to configure. But some of my friends worry about losing access to their favorite NetFlix shows or whatever. Is this Plex trying to avoid the bad reputation of pirates? Or are they simply trying to offer functionality to make Plex easier to use? You could go either way.
