So, I’m almost at the end of a month of free Plex Pass. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth continuing. At the moment I would say no, but I want to see if I gave Plex a fair chance and what other’s thoughts are.
The main reason I’m interested in Plex is for the DVR function. I’ve been using Windows Media Center for 5 years or so, but since it’s pretty much dead I want a replacement. I spun up a Ubuntu 16.04 VM and gave it plenty of resources. When it comes to recording TV I’ve had nothing but problems. I tried to record the Winter Olympics as a test, and I’d say that Plex failed miserably. Quite a few episodes did not record due to various errors, and a significant portion of the time when they did record, the first 15 or so minutes of the recording was missing. When I brought the issues up in the forum the end result was pretty much that no one has any clue what the problem is and thus there is no fix.
Other issues I’ve had are stability of the Windows version of the media player. Skipping forward in a recording frequently causes it to crash. And finally the weirdest one, updating the Windows media client requires a reboot of the server to be able to play back any recorded TV from any connected device.
Basically the question is, do I have a perfect storm of weird bugs or is this product not reliable and ready for production?
I do not use the DVR so I am not sure if a Plex Pass is required for that functionality but if it is not and that is the primary thing you need then, no a Plex pass is not worth the money.
Also Plex is VERY poor at following up on bugs once a feature is released and for that reason I do not recommend supporting them with a Plex pass contribution.
My Plex Pass is a lifetime one that I purchased some time ago and if I had it to do over I would NOT purchase it again.
The only way to get Plex’s attention and maybe get them to move back to really supporting their customers instead of showing indifference at best or actively ignoring or even abusing them at worse would be to reduce their income. The only thing that even might get their attention it is hitting them in the pocketbook so I recommend that no one that does not REALLY need a Plex Pass fall for the hype that Plex uses to rope the unsuspecting user into supporting them.
You do NOT need a Plex Pass for most of the features of Plex and those features that require a Plex Pass do not work well for a HUGE number of customers. Even remote access does not need a Plex Pass.
You do need a Plex Pass for:
- Sync
- LiveTV
- DVR
- Hardware Transcoding.
You can subscribe at the monthly rate for a bit and see how you like the other features. If you’re not happy, cancel it. It’s that simple.
@mouseskowitz said:
Other issues I’ve had are stability of the Windows version of the media player. Skipping forward in a recording frequently causes it to crash.
This one I find particularly annoying (many months now) and I find myself having to transcode to mp4 all recordings. I am currently looking for an alternative dvr for this very reason.
Other than that, Sync, trailers, extras and especially Managed Users win my Plex Pass vote.
https://support.plex.tv/articles/202526943-plex-free-vs-paid/
I might try it for one more month. DVR is the only thing I need it for and in all reality I have something that works well right now. The main downside of WMC is the proprietary codec the recordings are in. I’m really not aware of a good DVR option right now that doesn’t require a stupid monthly fee, I don’t have a problem buying a program if it actually works. If I wanted a monthly fee I’d get cable.
@ChuckPA said:
You do need a Plex Pass for:
- Sync
- LiveTV
- DVR
- Hardware Transcoding.
You can subscribe at the monthly rate for a bit and see how you like the other features. If you’re not happy, cancel it. It’s that simple.
But no word about missing support and bug tracking… Shame on you
@mouseskowitz said:
I might try it for one more month. DVR is the only thing I need it for and in all reality I have something that works well right now. The main downside of WMC is the proprietary codec the recordings are in. I’m really not aware of a good DVR option right now that doesn’t require a stupid monthly fee, I don’t have a problem buying a program if it actually works. If I wanted a monthly fee I’d get cable.
Personally I think that recording Live TV has had its day. Catch up TV like the exceptional BBC iPlayer is so much more convenient & reliable. Every home had a VHS recorders but how many have a digital recorder? There are also so many other sources for TV shows & movies both legitimate (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video etc) & illicit (torrents, Usenet, Kodi etc).
If you do want a good free DVR then take a look at SageTV. This was a commercial product that was acquired by Google later cancelled & subsequently Open Sourced. Years ago when I lived in France & craved UK TV I used WMC for a few years before settling an sophisticated SageTV setup with the EPG loaded from XMLTV for recording from DVB-S. I experimented with many different DVRs over the years & never found another product as good as SageTV https://forums.sagetv.com/forums
@ChuckPA said:
You do need a Plex Pass for:
- Sync
- LiveTV
- DVR
- Hardware Transcoding.
You can subscribe at the monthly rate for a bit and see how you like the other features. If you’re not happy, cancel it. It’s that simple.
My 2 cents …
1.: Sync is broken most of the time.
2.: Alpha Software at best. Lots of problems/complaints and also it’s not available on all clients yet.
3.: Lots of problems and complaints. Beta status at best.
4.: Never used that, because I use direct play.
So the bottom line is: most Plex Pass features are buggy or in beta status.
Life pass member too. Main reason for choosing plex pass was sync … there was confirmed bug on syncing FLAC … one year since and bug is still there
Never tried DVR so cannot comment. Using JRiver now as main library manager and renderer (mainly because it support frame pack 3D out of box on right hardware and OS). JRiver has DVR too but never tried it. They have one month free trial.
I still use Plex for syncing to mobiles as it works most of the time (their approach to sync is one I like … can sync from WiFi … as opposed to JRiver that needs physical connection for sync)
I use the Managed User(PlexHome) feature. That is the only thing I use my PlexPass…
If your asking is plex pass worth it, i say Yes. Not only for the great things the users have already posted, but I think the most important thing is, to help support the Dev’s for all there hard work. yes, Its not much, but it just shows you supporting something. Unless you are one of the ones that just wants everything for free (not saying you are).
But some of the other stuff is, if you have a question, problem, issue with anything, you get to post in the private forums(here in the Plex Pass Only forums)
As some users have said, if you download a plexpass only release, you can expect bugs. You are saying you want to help test it, when you install a pre-release that was released to PlexPass Members only. You don have to install that release, its up to you, but if you want to help test new features, and give good feedback back to the Dev team, they really love that. Specially if you find something that none of them did. Each users Hardware/setup is different so, there is no way for the Dev’s to test everything. But if you are one that always post saying “This is broke, this is buggy, this sucks, blah blah blah”, then Plex Pass might not be for you (not saying you are this type).
So, Its all up to you, but I think showing support goes a lot further then someone who doesn’t.
Just my .02
Wow, So i just read the OP post, and the comments… Dang, I did not know support on these forums has got so bad. I also purchased my lifetime pass years back, but I do not post a lot of issues/bugs , because my stuff runs great, but I do not use half those features. I am so surprised how the Plex Dev’s have giving up on this community. Last i noticed, they were great ,but things can change over the years i guess.
Oh well, You can take my .02 and think about it, or just ignore me. My bad
I still would do it again if i have to, but that is to show support. I cannot say anything about the bad support from the previous posters, because i have not noticed it, but any time I have had an issue, they were great (but its been a few years).
So, /me shrugs
I think whether the Plex Pass is worth it fully depends on the value you get out of the included features. I utilize Plex DVR, Live TV, Managed Users, Mobile Sync (for music), and Premium Music Library (no advantage, just because it’s there). Plex DVR and Live TV are used daily for broadcast television, and while I have a number of minor issues and small daily frustrations, Live TV and DVR work very well for me with an i7-7567U (Kaby Lake) NUC + PCIe m.2 on Debian and with various Android TV and iOS clients throughout the house.
Yes, it would be great if there were more/better/some customer support for paying customers, but if you have a good setup and a good network, it can get the job done if you don’t mind rolling up your sleeves occasionally and troubleshooting. On the whole, I think it really depends on what you expect to get out of it and how easily you expect to get it.
For doing what Plex does best (library-based media server), it’s an excellent product, but you obviously don’t need a Plex Pass for that. For my setup, which has somewhat adequately replaced a cable subscription when supplemented with either Sling TV, Google TV, or Hulu TV, the Plex Pass is a requirement, and I feel like I’ve gotten way more value out of it in the last few years than the cost of my Lifetime Plex Pass.
Bottom line, whether it’s worth it is totally based on your needs and expectations. Expect: mildly frustrating inclusion of some of the listed features (see if they can work for you first); Don’t Expect: good customer support or confidence that your issues will be prioritized by anyone other than helpful users who have dealt with the same problem.
If I may offer this regarding support?
Plex’s support is Community based. There is no “premium support” at this time.
At the risk of inciting a riot and blowback (Please don’t shoot me, I’m the messenger and only conveying what’s been evaluated to date) ; Surveys have been taken and the resounding reply from the user base has been “NO, I’m not paying extra for preferential handling of problems or 1-on-1 support”.
With that bombshell out of the way,
Depending on OS chosen to use, and knowing there are those of us whose primary focus is supporting in the forum, the ratio of “customers vs support staff” will have impact on response time; simple “Supply & Demand” The queue gets deep some days. I can only address how I support and can tell you that I do my d…edest to make sure nothing is missed in the areas I focus.
And Just want to say “Thank You” for your support ChuckPA. I have never had to use you, but Just wanted to say “Thank You”. I know you guys got a tough job.
I do SharePoint Support for Office 365, so, I know how much of pain it can be once those queues get backed up
Plex give away must of the functionality of the product for free so most Plex users are freeloaders who have paid nothing for it so are not going to want to pay for support.
Personally I think the Plex business model is wrong in giving so much away for free. If the free version of Plex was trial ware & limited in the number of TV shows & Movies that could be catalogue then Plex Pass could give the full version. Lifetime Plex Pass for a one off payment might be good for a quick cash boost but a subscription model is far more sustainable long term.
@Vidzjunkie said:
And Just want to say “Thank You” for your support ChuckPA. I have never had to use you, but Just wanted to say “Thank You”. I know you guys got a tough job.I do SharePoint Support for Office 365, so, I know how much of pain it can be once those queues get backed up
It’s a good thing I decided to jump in on a Sunday. There were 70 in my inbox to handle. 
@ChuckPA said:
@Vidzjunkie said:
And Just want to say “Thank You” for your support ChuckPA. I have never had to use you, but Just wanted to say “Thank You”. I know you guys got a tough job.I do SharePoint Support for Office 365, so, I know how much of pain it can be once those queues get backed up
It’s a good thing I decided to jump in on a Sunday. There were 70 in my inbox to handle.
@ChuckPA - Dang, 70… Well, i wonder if my post is in there somewhere. When you get time, take a look at this post and see if this is something you can take care of or know who to go to so you guys can fix it
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/311125/plex-tv-website-issues#latest
Thanks, No rush
Drats. it didn’t post. I reported it when I saw your post. Replying now to your thread…
I appreciate all the feedback and discussion. I think I’m going to look elsewhere for a DVR solutions. I’ll have to look at SageTV and it looks like MythTV might also be an option. I don’t think I’ll destroy my Plex server, but I’m not sure yet how much I’ll use it. My current solutions isn’t really broken, WMC for DVR and MyMovies for keeping track of movies. Also I would need to convert all my ISOs for Plex to work. If I end up using Plex quite a bit I will probably get a life pass, but time will tell.
I am a little disappointed in my experience with Plex, but it also sounds like my use case does not play to it’s strengths. It would be nice if the devs could work out some of the bugs. This really does have the potential of being a great all in one solution.
