For me, at least, it’s not really an issue of how much notice they provided, or how clear it was. You can tell me very transparently and far in advance that you’re going to make a product I’ve paid for worse than when I paid for it… I’ll still be unhappy.
If someone sets fire to my house, whether they told me they were going to do it a year in advance or 30 seconds in advance, the details of the notification are not really the biggest issue. I don’t want my house to be on fire.
Objection! Assumes facts not in evidence!
Well that’s extreme.
Do you just have the expectation that a piece of software should just never change? It’s been over 5 years since the old interface was released. Should they have just left it alone to die with the design languages of the past? (Very subjective question) Sure I’ll be unhappy if my 5 year old cell phone stops working the way I expected it should have, but the fact is it’s old tech that’s in need of an upgrade regardless of if I want it or not.
Design architecture is extremely subjective, and it’s impossible to make change without making some people upset. So with anyones complaints about the new UI, either get on the train, or go buy a ticket for the Emby express, because I don’t see this design going backwards in time. So focus your energy on suggesting how the navigation flow could be better, or what tweaks could be made to improve the user experience; but don’t make a fool and threaten to burn your house if they don’t reverse who knows how many years of work they put into the new design. Either light the match or start adding something useful to the conversation.
(Sorry, late night aggravations running through my keyboard 
)
Here’s the thing. I think everyone would be cool if they had a Classic App and a popup saying ‘this is the new app, use Plex Classic which will be phased out in X years’ then every time you use Plex Classic there is a timer popup that counts down (similar to what YouTube did on the Fire Stick).
What happened here is akin to me turning on my Windows 7 computer and finding out it was upgraded to Windows Vista over night without asking me or giving me an option to not upgrade. And then finding out one of the features I used, Microsoft removed and when asked to put it back they just up and said ‘no’ and then gave you absolutely no way to revert back to Windows 7. Could you imagine the backlash?
as a longtime programmer .(50 some odd years) it is plain to me that PLEX as broken two old programming laws.
There was nothing wrong with the interface. it was easy to use and allowed users to configure the way they wished. Not any more. Yes I have it figured out and can use it, however I really don’t like it and am seriously considering dumping the damn thing and going with chromecast.
KISS!
It will be broken. Read up on the topic, starting with: Feedback from our Roku channel release
And a lot people were very vocal about not liking the version you do like when it was first released too.
Could you link me to an archived post or something, i’d love to see the largest thread about this, was it 1.5k posts long as well? Since you used ‘a lot’ i’m assuming its comparable and I’d like to see what people didn’t like about the old interface.
Also, am I wrong or did plex have a ‘Plex Classic’ when they released the previous interface, maybe i’m misremembering.
Maybe i’m wrong but I read that the old apps will still work but you’re not allowed to push updates any longer. Reading the Roku SDK i don’t see OS 9 actually breaking the last roku app (rarflix maybe) but they won’t certify new apps that use the old SDK from 2015.
Just install Emby and use the Emby (or Emby Beta) apps.
I hear this comment “a lot” as well, I mean the comment that “a lot” of users complained about the first interface when it came out.
I too am curious as to the backlash back then. At the time I wasn’t involved in the forums as much yet, because everything was just perfect and worked so well. Then Cloud came out which made my life even MORE perfect, which is when I started participating in the forums.
Now my Plex life (yes, that is spelled P.L.ex, get your mind out of the gutter) is less perfect and I still participate here… but I digress.
What exactly was this huge backlash y’all are referring to?
this is just Plex employees cherry picking. Back then, they released version that just was not complete. No Folder view, no episode thumbnails view etc … So yes, please complained.
What they did now in recent months, they totally removed simple access to library sections as we’ve had since beginning of PMS and force feed us some sort of categories which dont make sense at all.
I hear you - I’m definitely not trying to say that removing plugins has the same kind of impact on my life that losing my home would have… just using hyperbole to draw the analogy: some actions just aren’t acceptable, no matter how or when notice may have been given.
And I do get the “get used to it or switch” concept as well, but I know that, like the New Coke example that many people have cited, sometimes poor decisions are reversed, but on.y if consumers speak out. Decisions and strategies aren’t all fluid, but almost always have the potential to be (including many that are initially framed as immutable). If it turns out that this one will not be changed, I will move to a new platform. But I want to give Plex a chance, first.
Sounds like Apple with IOS and macOS, frankly. The iOS 12 update banjaxed graphics on my iPad Air, and there’s no way to revert it at this point. With my Mac Mini, there’s no way back from Mojave.
Please roll it back or let us choose. My live tv is having problems with playback stopping.
Error code is unable to play perhaps the signal is weak. I have a cablecard tuner and the signal very strong and quality is high 98%. I want my stuff to work again We have rokus throughout the house and this has ruined tv watching for us.
This new interface for roku only updated on 2 of 3 devices. Thank god. I have been using pms for years and have been happy. However now I wouldn’t recommend this media server at all. A huge roll back to the roku app would be a step in the right direction. All this other channel crap is just that crap. If I’m going to pay for something it better work and not be a huge step backwards like it is now. I would continue to support if they reversed course and began to listen to the user.
I’m going to go for the unpopular opinion here…there’s a lot I like about this update, and I’m able to move around pretty snappily in it – sure, there’s a lot of clicking involved to get through my libraries, but there was when they were on the sidebar, too. Being able to select the server I wanted was nice, but, damn, was it ever a slow switchover. This way I can whiz from one server to the other and to the remote library without waiting for the server dashboard to come up.
That said, it’s definitely problematic for me in places. I’m noticing the same thing with this update that I see with both the Android app and the iOS app – the Roku client will insist one or another library doesn’t exist, or the server is down, or there’s no content. Repeatedly. If I click through, odds are that I’ll get content showing up, but there are times when I have to go back and forth.
The servers are up, the connection is sound and strong, and yet much of the time I’m being frustrated by Plex Roku not wanting to show me the contents of a library. Something goes wrong in the handshake, I suspect.
I also miss access to plugins on the Roku app – there were a couple that have maintenance functions, and were useful to me from the Roku end; saved getting up to run those functions from the server end.
The decision to add Tidal seems purely motivated by monetary issues. Like so many others here, I’m unlikely to use it ever, even for HD content (I’ll just go buy what I want from HDTracks.) Podcasts are unlikely to be much interest either, given how much I have to listen to or read.
Until they change iOS interface to match the rest…
You mean tvOS, the new interface has been on iOS for quite awhile now.
As if this new forum software was not bad enough
I am another victim of this software that installed without my authority, as such I do not agree to any licence agreement contained therein.
I do not understand how a company can make such a flawed mistake, to turn a loyal set of users into a hating group, this anger is spreading onto other sites asking how to hack the Roku and download the old client.
I do not want this awful update, if I have to go to Kodi then I will but not before telling everybody I know to drop Plex and never install their software because they force feed you this tripe on their users.
I will not leave it there, I will start a social media campaign to BRING BACK THE OLD PLEX, but I would rather Plex just accepted that their user base are adults who do not like stuff forced on them, accessing their hardware, installing software they did not want or authorise.
I am so ANGRY that I am considering buying some software that a friend told me about, it apparently allows me to post my discontent on millions of blogs, forums and other sites that mention keywords such as Plex.
I refuse to use this terrible software, for now I have gone back to RarFlix which is very old and does not work properly.
This is a PR nightmare, I urge Plex to fix this NOW.
Step 1 provide a rollback feature via a setting on the server, where the preference can be selected and locked into place
Step 2 DO IT NOW!
I am sure it will be both iOS and tvOS because Plex seems pretty content that their new UI is the best.
Please revert, I do not like the new look and feel, it very hard to find my shows
Well, yes, since it’s already on iOS and yes, we agree that it will end up on tvOS at some point.
