kthxbye
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There will be a section in the Online Media Source settings page for Discover related features. There are still some finer details to work out, along with client work and testing. No ETA, sorry.
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Don’t get me wrong, Plex has plenty of things it sucks at, “S00E00 .5” episodes, my biggest grip since everyone seems to do them fine, the fact they introduced the .plexmatch for advanced matching, but it doesn’t let you do any “Advanced” matching whatsoever, I can Rate a single episode as TV-14, & the rest of a show TV-PG, but the whole show rating is the only one that does anything, so what’s the point of it?, Why can’t we have a way to handle Multiple Cuts Of Movies, even in a sucky way?, when downloading Next Unplayed Episode why is it so stupid it will take all Season 0 episodes before season 1?, & other things I can’t even remember. But for me it’s the other way around, the Pros outweigh the Cons. I’ve tried Kodi, & Emby a few times & have so much more I dislike. I haven’t tried Jellyfin yet, but I hear that it’s interface is supposed to be better, so I might suggest giving that a go if your biggest gripe is the interface on Emby.
Will we be able to hide the listings of services we have not indicated an interest in?
I don’t hate Discover itself, but the complaints about it be “advertising” are valid.
If I have some old DVD rip on my Plex server and Discover wants to tell me “Hey, this is available on Hulu and Amazon Prime” (services I subscribe to), then that’s fine with me. I don’t want to be told I can watch it on AppleTV+ or I can rent it on Vudu when I specifically did not check those services on the setup.
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But other people may be keen to learn that a lot of the content they’re interested in turns out to be available on some particular service, which may prompt them to subscribe. Not everyone’s use case is identical.
To be sure, letting users decide what they want to see and what they don’t can serve both sets of needs.
Yes, and those people you’re referring to can just check ALL the services on the setup screen, and get results that include all of them. I don’t see how my desired functionality and theirs are mutually exclusive. Even if they do want to know about other services (they don’t have) that carry the program, not every streaming service is available in every region, and from other replies I’ve seen on this topic, Discover is not smart enough to tell which are. So, this hypothetical group you’re referring to might still appreciate the ability to exclude services to they can remove ones they can’t access for other reasons.
I just bring this up because this thread is asking for a plain enable/disable toggle and I think the controls deserve at least a third choice. Call me crazy, but if I do not check a service in the initial list it seems to me that is sending the message I don’t want to see it in the results.
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But that’s the problem right there. If ONLY the ones I select show up I have no way to prioritize the ones I actually have so they show up at the top like it does now. Now it shows my server, the services I have, then the other ones, I personally greatly appreciate the fact that it shows ones I don’t have, but if I have to have them on the same level as the ones I do then that’s not okay. I actually already discovered that a movie that I have that wasn’t streamable anywhere is available on a service. I don’t have that service & am not going to get it, but I like knowing that it is there. It actually makes it more likely that there’ll be an HD version of it I can look for.
Now I think being able to limit it to "Just ones I select" makes perfect sense, if they’re giving a way to turn it off they should definitely add that as an Option, but ONLY if it’s an option. In a perfect world there’d be on the selection screen a default check for [Show This] that you can uncheck, and a second check for [Favorite] or [I have this], that’d be like what it is now, but give you the ability to remove ones you don’t want to see at all, as well as prioritize the ones you use. I guess since I said “Perfect” I’d want to personally be able to set the order they show in, like if Amazon has something & Netflix also has it I’d rather watch on Netflix, & If something is on like Crunchyroll, I’d rather see it at the end because nobody wants to use that interface, but I’m willing to if it isn’t available somewhere else. But… I’m probably in the 1% that’d want that much customizability, so I don’t expect that, but 2 Checkboxes should be doable & helps a make almost everyone happy. People will still be mad about it being defaulted to Show All, but that would make the investors happy, gives the ability to turn off, makes those using it happy, & all those in between. The only people still with a problem will be the ones who want to be able to control other people’s accounts just because they are connected to their server, & we can just ignore those ones.
^ TL/DR – mostly because of atrocious text formatting.
But the beginning couple lines tells me what this is about: you want a way to prioritize what services you do see. The answer is simple – a checkbox with three states. UIs have used them for years.
“plus” checkbox = priority group listing (like checked services on Discover right now)
“neutral” checkbox = show with the “other services” (same as unchecked right now)
“minus” checkbox = don’t show this
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I agree, which is why I also said …
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Thanks for the update Atomatth.
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Thank you very much @Atomatth for the update, since you are the only reliable source of infos here I (certainly “we”) really appreciate it !
That is a really good news to know that there will be a new section under the Online Media Source.
So it seems that some of the Discover related features will be in the setting at the account level, and not only clients, is that right ?
I anderstand that you can’t give us ETA now, but could you feed us on the “finer details” you are working out ?
Sounds like at the account level and not the server level if its indeed within the Online Media Sources section. That is certainly fine by me and I look forward to seeing it.
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Yes, you’re totally right, the account level. I’ll edit my post 
Thanks for the update!
I really hope it’s possible to let the user choose between seeing results from all platforms, or only results from platforms they’ve specifically linked accounts from.
While this isn’t a horse I personally have in this race, it seems this will be a great featureset when users can configure it to best suit their needs / use cases.
EDIT: Having read @nx6 + @boblinthewild 's conversation just above, it would definitely be cool to be able to (un)check specific platforms too — e.g. ones you might be curious about trying out/supporting, or, ones you want absolutely nothing to do with.
One of the core purposes of Discover is obviously new conversions, and Plex users tend to be more agency-conscious (case in point, the entire Discover discourse).
So it seems to me that where there’s currently a big risk for total alienation,
if I want to prospect new platforms, I am forced to see them all
there could instead be potential for conversion:
since I’m only seeing the new platforms I want to, I feel more curious when each of their results pop up, rather than increasingly annoyed to the point of wanting to clamp/disable Discover altogether.
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Posting in this thread too:
This is an unmitigated disaster. I get 2-3 calls a week on this from my users asking why they have to use Hulu to watch something they searched for. This is the final blunder that has me installing alternative media servers. I was skeptical of all the resources being deployed into NEWS! DVR! LIVE TV! MUSIC/TIDEL! but I didn’t really care as it did not impact me so long as the core features that 99% of the people want were not neglected (HINT for Plex Employees who seem to be confused on this: playing video from server to client). The truth is, the core feature set was neglected, which was frustrating, but not a deal breaker.
But now we have this beta feature, that makes no sense. I don’t understand the benefit of showing content not available to watch in the search results. This only serves to confuse people. I have been a broken record here, but if you take the VC money out Plex, do you get any of these changes? No. If Plex was run under the same mission it had when I joined in 2009 this would never have been prioritized. I donate monthly to Sonarr, Radarr, and would to Plex if their mission was to be community supported. I guess the ship has sailed on that. 12 years of promoting Plex to hundreds of people, I own a Plex Hoodie. I am not sure how much more I can take. If it is not broken, stop trying to fix it. If you need to monetize, charge a reasonable amount for the core features to cover server and bandwidth costs (not the dozens of people working on features that 99% of your users mock).
Everyone should read this. How Plex convinced Intercap to lead a $50MM round on this is anyones guess, but it is something the hardware players are much better suited for. Plex’s core user base is the exact opposite of those who would embrace this, and if Keith doesn’t understand that then there is little we can do. Where is Elan?
Plex Raises $50 Million to Become ‘One Stop Shop’ for Streaming
Plex raises $50M growth round to fuel ad-supported streaming, expansions
What a disaster. Please build an off switch so I can tell people how to disable it.
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You used a request from the community which was the possibility of adding the watchlist… and you modified it (this is in my opinion why it took so long to be developed) to tie that to your streaming service functionality. Did you ask first… the opinion of the community? No. As you have been trying things for several years without visiting the forum… and correcting problems that have existed for several years! It’s simple: We paid for a Plex Pass for a product that initially met our needs and evolved over time to be compatible. Today you are changing its use to an audience that is no longer the right target and who does not care to link all its Prime content, Netflix etc… on Plex.
Give me the option to disable third-party services… very good! That something like this is imposed on me when I don’t want it and I paid for it, out of the question. Question yourself Plex, the number of comments on this post indicates that the community is not happy at all! And I fear the worst for the future…
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If we wanted a third party approach, I and I’m sure many would have liked to have seen a Movies Anywhere approach, something that I could have gotten behind on. This discover and watchlist does nothing beyond than confuse more users and it’s use case since some ecosystems like Roku prohibit app linking.
I would have at bare minimum allowed a Movies Anywhere approach and forgave the Discover and Watchlist blunder, with the exception of the inappropriate media being found.
No it’s not. I’m finding it quite useful. Today I was looking for a movie I thought I had. Turns out I don’t, but it showed up in “more ways to watch” and with a link to play a trailer. After watching the trailer, I decided I didn’t need it in my personal library.
They keep calling back after you explain it? Mine don’t. And a few have said they like being able to see where else something is playing. One person has Amazon Prime, and discovered a movie in my library that is also on Prime, and in 4K, so better to watch there.
If you have some specific suggestions about how this should work better, please provide them. I’m glad Plex is listening to the constructive feedback on how this feature should be more tunable. But all the hyperbole about Plex’s motives and funding, and how “99% of the users mock” this (or any other) feature is not helpful.
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Wow, coming up to 1,000 votes for a simple on/off and opt in.
1,000 votes multiplied by those that don’t come on the forums and those who are users of those that do.
There is no doubt some find this functionality useful. That isn’t the point of the thread though is it
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My Mom was in a nursing home at the end of her days. Plex was a godsend for keeping her entertained, especially during lockdowns. I would routinely field calls from her asking me why there were commercials in my stuff. Had to explain several times that if she was seeing commercials, then she wasn’t in the right spot.
I could totally see repeated calls for something like this. Maybe not the case for the poster, but I know I’d have gotten several calls.
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