Hi,
I am using an Ubuntu server, and have finally got all my 800 dvd’s on and sorted at long last.
I also have a Bluesound and so had about 1500 cd’s in FLAC format in digital form. As it was a no cost experiment I copied them over to the NAS and created a library.
I just wanted to share how happy I was with the result. The Bluesound interface has always bugged me, as it is clunky to navigate and appears to have been designed to ape itunes.
What Plex appear to have doe is to see audio as part of a media experience in which the music is a node to internet links. This seems such a smart way to go, and I now find myself exploring the collection again. It is especially exciting to have access to the Vimeo clips, and was unexpected.
I think there is a ‘you may also like…’ function. I have yet to play with this, but there are two outcomes of this that would be of value for me. Fisrt to look for similar artists or works via the internet, and secondly to do it within the collection itself.
I am not sure whether shuffle within genre exists, but that would be great (and something that Bluesound does not do) or indeed whether you can select in genre (I do not have folders).
Finally, the Roku interface is extremely easy to navigate through what is quite a large database.
In short, I think you have a really competitive offering here. For no cost (if you have a NAS) you can provide a comparable or better offering (with a bluetooth speaker) to Bluesouns which cost me over GBP1000.
It’s so nice read a post now and then from a user that shares a positive experience with Plex. Most of the posts here are from people with problem (me included) or just generally disappointed with Plex.
Thank you!
Similar experience to the OP, with over 20,000 tracks mostly in .m4a format but recently moved to FLAC for future rips of music I find the whole Plex experience second to none.
For music, the addition of the premium service has vastly improved the experience. I have been using Plex for a number of years now without any major issues with either PMS or my clients of choice, namely Rasplex on a number of RPi’s, some specifically running headless for music playback directly connected to HiFi amps using the HiFiBerry DAC’s and some for HT for video playback.
I may have posted some adverse comments regarding the direction Plex Inc is going but whilst there are ‘unofficial’ alternatives to the Plex client offerings this isn’t a problem.
Whilst I can appreciate the frustration of some users, particularly those new to the Plex experience, with what they perceive to be a complete lack of support, there is a wealth of knowledge within these forums.
Plex has shifted from the ‘must run it on very expensive PC tinkerers’ to mainstream, providing client solutions on relatively cheap hardware for the masses to use with a simple installation and setup process. From a commercial point of view this is where they had to move, people may not like it, but it’s a sign of the times - download the app and run it!
We are told that there are major developments in progress for PMS, personally I can’t wait to see them, whether they are necessary for the majority of users, time will only tell. Just hope they don’t make it too complex or the less knowledgable will walk away.
@nickdunc said:
I think there is a ‘you may also like…’ function. I have yet to play with this, but there are two outcomes of this that would be of value for me. Fisrt to look for similar artists or works via the internet, and secondly to do it within the collection itself.
the ‘internet option’ is not available.
But for similar/connected artists/tracks within your own collection, you can try the Plex Mix.
And also a smart playlist by ‘mood’, which you can play ‘shuffled’.
I am not sure whether shuffle within genre exists, but that would be great (and something that Bluesound does not do) or indeed whether you can select in genre (I do not have folders).
‘Genre’ is also just a tag like ‘mood’. Create a smart playlist by genre, which can be played shuffled.
If you play your library with the Web app, you can skip the playlist generation and just filter your library ‘live’. Or you use the web app to ‘fling’ the playlist to another plex app which plays it.
Thanks to all for comments - it looks even better than I originally thought. Certainly a competitor to Bluesound.
It does have some idiosyncrasies over selecting the meta data which I need to understand - e.g. ABC (the band) gets Dexys Midnight Runners ??
N
@nickdunc said:
It does have some idiosyncrasies over selecting the meta data which I need to understand - e.g. ABC (the band) gets Dexys Midnight Runners ??
