Just wondering how you plan to support HTPC users moving forward into the future? Surely Plex Media Player can be updated and maintained for those invested in the HTPC ecosystem?
With the new M1 Mac Mini & other affordable desktops/laptops that are becoming available, the HTPC ecosystem is looking really good right now! So I would love to see a resurgence for Plex Media Player 3.0 considering many users are still using HTPCs as a client and server.
I’m interested to hear what is planned for those of us with dedicated HTPC setups. I just cannot sacrifice video quality in favor of a $100-$200 streaming box or gaming console.
Another Forum Meltdown will be required - and that will happen when PMP doesn’t work any more, driving HTPC users here again to join in an out of control riot.
Plex seems unable to remember somewhat recent events.
The HTPC community may remind them.
I’ll be there.
I used to have a HTPC for probably 8 years and just shut it down this last weekend. I ran WMC for years and then Kodi. Once I updated to a 4K TV the cost for a video card to support 4K that works decently was not cheap. I opted to get a Invidia Shield and I am much happier now. It supports all audio and video formats and it is fast.
A Shield will never darken my door - of that I am very confident 'cause that is something I have control over. What Plex does to me is anybody’s guess - and we’re about to find out for that is one of life’s great mysteries.
I’m sure whatever it is won’t be pleasant, but it will be very long lasting.
I seriously hope that can be avoided this time around. Seems like they got the memo that the HTPC community was not having that last time. Unless they are thinking they can just kill it off silently with no announcement and nobody will really notice?
Hopefully that’s not the case and plex devs are behind the scenes bringing Plex Media Player 3.0 up to date with minor bug fixes and stability improvements
I’m hoping for the best possible outcome even though PMP was last updated in May.
The Nvidia shield I also considered but since 95% of all my devices are in the mac ecosystem, I just stick with iOS and MacOs.
The shield brand new cost $200+tax. A MacMini or similar desktop for windows can be anywhere from $400-800. And the older mac minis from 2014 can even handle 4K really well and can be found pretty cheap used. Not only that, you can handle the ripping of your blu-rays and 4K UHD disk from the same computer that runs your Plex server, plays all your content directly from external HDs, without having to be streamed over your local network. All of these things are super important for me and make working with Plex much more efficient and hassle free. I’ve used plex for over a decade and this setup has never really failed me.
You don’t have to spend a crazy amount of money to get a good HTPC setup that will handle 4K UHD. And that 2-5% difference in picture quality when streaming vs playing the file directly from your HTPC is very noticeable to me. People think streaming boxes are convenient, yeah sure they are. But a good HTPC setup for Plex is even more convenient in my opinion.
I guess they think in the time that has passed since the last riot - the HTPC community has forgotten, died or bought a crappy, over-priced game console made by the same guys that make a crappy over-priced graphics card I wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole.
Well… I guess we’re about to find out what’s going to happen, 'cause the HTPC community doesn’t spend time on the forum until something goes horribly wrong… like if what they’re using stops working - then they show up - all of them.
Stampede is a good description - it’s a lot of dust, chaos, smelly individuals with bad attitudes in a large group wanting to get somewhere fast and willing to trample anything - except a horse - that gets in the way.
Plex better get, and learn how to ride, some horses.
Has anyone figured out a way to integrate PMP into WMC? I’m still using that as my main interface on Windows 8.1. For about the past month, Plex Home Theater, which I added as an extra in WMC seven or eight years ago, will not let me log in, either automatically or manually, so we’ve only been using Plex on the Roku.
That may be what the Plex team wants, but it’s not really what I want as a user.
