Those cascades have some defaults on them - if you click “Libraries” you’ll be taken to your first library and your default mode (Browse or Recommend). If you click the library name it’ll take you to the default mode as well. So you don’t always have to click into every menu every time. Not sure how well known that is so just wanted to mention it in case it helps.
To get to my TV library browse screen from continue watching row I hit Back→Right→OK. To get to my movie library browse I hit Back→Right→Down→Down→OK. To get to my Anime show library browse it’s just one more Down click. That “back” button plays a bigger role in navigation in v8/v9 than it did in v7 and I know in the beta a lot of folks that were upset by the extra d-pad clicks felt a little better once adjusting some d-pad muscle memory to use the Back button a bit. It’s easy to get used to keeping your thumb on the d-pad and you kinda stay with only the d-pad functions; it can be habit to stay on the d-pad and use OK from Home Screen to enter the detail screen of a title and then OK to play the title instead of hitting Play while on a Home Screen tile to immediately play it, which also makes your “return” the home screen instead of the detail screen - unless you want the detail screen then use OK…. options!
That was a really long sentence… sorry…
In the old left hand navigation you navigated between libraries as a vertical row as well and each library would load as you clicked through them - which I personally didn’t like as it made it feel laggy and is one reason I customized my Home Screen so much - and then navigated to areas within the library like collections, recommended and categories via a different navigation row you clicked around in once it loaded up (again, auto loading as you go). I think the old way in v7 felt more interactive with your stuff as you went through those selections and not simply fiddling with menus. Overall the cascade menu doesn’t add more clicking really but it feels less interactive because it’s just a submenu you’re clicking through, not your stuff.
It’s like using the file cabinets in an office and figuring out which drawer to pull for what you want rather than browsing the shelves of a personal library on display. The office drawer setup might be efficient and compact but it doesn’t feel personal anymore.
I think that “feels” different is a big aspect of this change that’s upsetting a lot of folks. And I think it’s a totally fair response. Even with all the discover and online services off, my stuff is still in a submenu, not on-display. So no matter how stuff in a submenu is setup it will always feel diminished somehow.
I use Plex differently. I moved away from multiple libraries years ago when functions\features of Plex changed and setup Home Screen in a way that I (and my household or users) rarely feel the need to leave it, so the sub-menu feeling isn’t as much of an impact. Since my use is different, maybe someone with several libraries, and a stag beer haze, can chime in about if my theory about how it feels vs how it functions fits and maybe that’ll help with some of these conversations about finding improvements?
That wasn’t me explaining how it works now… that was me explaining how it used to work and how using the d-pad alone - which many Roku users do - makes it more clicks than necessary. I think there’s same or less navigation clicks now but it feels different.
My point about how it feels vs how it functions was missed over a part of the post catching attention to dig at the current navigation in a way I didn’t intend to convey.
That’s on me.
This is where sometimes me trying to present a lot of information to explain a view just doesn’t help; creates break downs.
Bad habit of mine to try and use a lot in text for reference\detail when short bullet points are easier for ingestion and conversation in these types of topics.
I agree with the lack of interactivity but enjoy the speed.
And yes, I did the same as you as Collections became a bigger thing. Using Libraries to separate movies and tv shows titles never made sense and it was a pain juggling the folders and files.
I also use the Collection pinning and visibility rotation on the Home screen to help my users find content and to keep the Home screen fresh. In the old UI, my users rarely left the Home screen unless they were using the Search.
So, what I do like about the pulldown and flyout menus is that they bring the menus together and my users can now, more intuitively, see and select those submenu Views. Hopefully this encourages my users to explore more.
Kilgry did a better job expressing it in fewer words…
One similar thing as you mentioned is my users actually use the collections tab now. They never really “noticed” it before. But overall we all just kinda live on Home Screen - not saying that works for everyone though.
Exactly! I’ve been trying to push them to the Collections for years.
When your library becomes large, it’s almost impossible to just “Browse.” Collections can provide, if setup well, a way to spark interests and sort content in imaginative ways.
Personally, I think something like Kometa should be rolled into Plex, but thankfully Kometa does exist and we can put it to good use. We just need some serious Kometa tutorials or a good user forum to exchange scripts (Kometa’s team doesn’t really provide this and lacks an archive similar to this forum, though Mr. Carrot is awesome at helping on Discord).
What I have been hearing recently is how many Plex admins didn’t make the switch to Collections when they were beefed up by the Plex team, and Libraries are forced on you in a Plex setup so some admins never move passed them in their organizational thinking.
Plex themselves changed their tune a few years ago and started saying “stop using multiple libraries” and to use introduced functions that handled what was previously managed by having multiple libraries: HD vs SD, genre\theme grouping, sharing control, etc.
They didn’t really offer a path for that change though and merging libraries could be painful, particularly for people who had automations or complex setups. They also didn’t promote it very well but I feel they definitely designed around expectations of using those newer features instead of “the old way” that existed for so long. I think Plex not recognizing that causes some of the pain points - particularly for folks with lots of libraries who are mostly some of the most invested users of Plex.
Edit: This is to say that folks that were using Plex as directed for years are reasonably upset about how impactful this change is to them.
I think this most recent UI (pulldowns) is a good compromise. You still get your libraries vertical listing, but more focus is given to Library Views. I also think we are going through a bit of a pain point with the last new UI having the horizontal Library listing and it causing so much (understood) angst. Wasn’t my favorite either, but I wasn’t as impacted due to only having a smallish number of libraries.
FYI, as a fun thing to see with this newer UI, unfavorite all your libraries. The Library pulldown then shows you all your libraries and, if you have enough of them, you get to see that the list of libraries allows you to scroll it up and down inside the pulldown menu window.
Collections, especially the use of NESTLED Collections was requested for a long time but those who decided to opt for separating their content via multiple separate libraries went down that path simply because Collections was never available. Now you’re trying to force everyone to migrate and they already put in the time and energy of creating their system how they want it. I don’t know why it’s a bother to you when it’s not your server. It’s enough work making sure the file names are named and filed correctly, but beyond that, how someone sets up their media server with their content is and should be up to them, not Plex or anyone else. Had Plex came out with Collections and other tools prior, before we all set our servers the way we did, I don’t think we’d be at this crossroads arguing about it. This really is on Plex not doing what they had to do, not us, as server admins.
Sorry, but that blanket statement is not really true for all, certainly for me and I’m quite sure for many others. I would still keep separate libraries for different media I don’t want in collections. I don’t want documentaries in the same library as series, collection or not. I don’t want anime series and films in the same library as TV, movies or animation. They get their own libraries. Sports get their own. Foreign language stuff. I’m quite sure I’m not the only one by a long stretch.
*edited just to say that that’s not an argument against most of your points, which I totally agree with, just that the reasons for having many multiple libraries are varied!
I don’t think I’ve been telling people what to do or how to do it. The quote you’re using from me literally says folks who were doing exactly as you were\are doing and Plex hasn’t been accounting for it so are rightfully upset about it so I’m confused by the accusatory and kinda aggressive response directed at me here.
Most people offering alternatives or personal experiences are just offering possible paths to solutions, not telling people they are right or wrong.
Not at all what I expected. This is not exactly what I call a better solution. It just seems to shuffle around the same nested menus. Just in a more vertical layout. The initial library and home options are still laid out horizontally at the top. Rather than the more optimal vertical layout of the previous UI.
The new experience has now rolled out to the official channel. So you’re seeing the new interface. The preview channel is now a minor build ahead, with a fix or two.
If it helps, you can change your default view to be Browse (instead of Recommendations) in the new app’s settings. That way, when you click a library from the vertical list under Libraries, it will take you straight to the browse view without you having to manually select it.
@pshanew@Atomatth I just checked. And yes it is there now. It’s still a mess. This new UI layout did not fix the issue. It just shuffled the mess around a bit. Having those options to the far left and listed there vertically was far superior and intuitive.
Exactly. Many users do not want the pull down in the middle of the screen. We want the home and menu selections to the left & vertical… So that they are out of the way, like they were in the previous UI. Giving people a vertical list was not the solution. The main home and libraries are still top center and in the way when people search their lists.
The below is a good example of where people their main home and libraries options to be….
