Back in a September of 2020 post I added to the “Feature Request: Add TV Everywhere to Live TV DVR” thread, I stated then that I was, and still am, “a long time Plex Pass user and have seen many changes to Plex over the years.”
I’ve been a ‘Live TV & DVR’ user for local TV since the beginning when they worked with SiliconDust’s early HDHomeRun product, and was a user of Plex’s short lived streaming service they offered until the provider they partnered with, had to shut down due to legal issues.
For you newer Plex users, at one time, Plex had the capability to provide its users, for a monthly fee, the ability to watch and record to your Plex server, local OTA TV and live nwtwork TV programming normally found on cable or satellite using their new ‘Live TV & DVR’ feature. This allowed Plex users like myself to use one app to watch video from my Plex movie library, watch/record my live local TV via an HDHomeRun product, and watch/record live network TV shows via Plex’s streaming service. When that went away, we all had to either go back to cable/satellite, or find a different streaming service (not too many of those at that time) to watch Live TV (network). This required the use of a second app that didn’t integrate with the Plex.
When the live TV networks (Discovery, ESPN, Fox, etc.) introduced the ability to watch their content on the go, commonly referred as ‘TV Everywhere’, a group of video enthusiasts developed a system called ‘ Channels DVR ’ that allows a user to combine their local OTA TV with the live network TV provided by the streaming service they subscribe to. It uses the user’s provider sign-in to log into the TV Everywhere sites to get the video. It has a DVR feature that can record video from OTA (uses same HDHomeRun network TV tuner) or the video from the steaming service, and allows the user to create customizable program guides. It basically does what Plex used to do when they offered a live TV service. I’m in my 2nd year for subscribing to ‘ Channels DVR ’ Server because Plex hasn’t developed something to compete with ‘ Channels DVR’ .
I understand that in today’s business environment, it is all about the almighty dollar, and because Plex doesn’t make any money from those us who paid for a Lifetime Plex Pass early on, it appears they are catering to the monthly and annual users more than the Lifetime Plex Pass users. I can’t speak for all Plex Pass users, but I think that the ones who have both Plex and Channels servers, would be willing to pay a few dollars more a month, a year, or for a Plex Pass upgrade, for the ability to use Plex as their one app to handle all of their video needs.
Today, for a ‘Premium Tier’ membership, I believe Plex charges users $5 per month, $40 per year, or the option of paying $120 for a lifetime Plex Pass. Maybe Plex should consider adding an additional new tier, the ‘‘Premium+ Tier’ and charge $8 per month, $80 per year, or the option of paying $200 for a lifetime Plex+ Pass ($80 for existing Plex Pass users) that would add the TV Everywhere functionality. This will help pay for development and maintenance of the new feature.
Maybe it’s time for Plex to put on their big boy/girl pants and focus on something their users, especially the longtime users like myself, would really like to see instead of some of the crap they’ve added that I can get with Amazon or Netflix. Plex, be a leader and come up with a TVE solution that will really enhance the Live TV/DVR function of Plex.
