Sounds like it’s time to stick a fork in it.
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There’s a lot you’re getting wrong in this post, just FYI. If anything we’ve been investing more into the “bring your own content” model in the form of player enhancements and lots of other stuff (subs on demand, admin dashboard, etc.)
they would be engaging regularly with the community for feedback. If this were the case then existing features would be enhanced, and new ones released more frequently
funny, that’s exactly what we’re doing with the massive overhaul of the music library (which again is investment into bring-your-own-media).
It’s fun to pontificate, but it doesn’t mean your dystopian vision is anywhere near correct 
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Thanks for your response @elan
Definitely some pretty big assumptions on my part, but please note it’s not some dystopian vision of the future. I don’t find that outcome undesirable or frightening. It’s just what makes sense for Plex as a company if they are to scale, grow and compete.
My opinion is that the existing model is not very friendly to partnerships that would help Plex grow and make money, as it is widely used for piracy and copyright infringement. I am in no way saying that Plex GmbH promotes piracy and copyright infringement, but when someone shares copyrighted material with others it generally constitutes piracy and copyright infringement.
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So let us play our content in an HTPC as we want. This is the only thing we don’t like about Plex. We love it but this change is not acceptable for some of us and we have to look for another solution. Sure there are others very happy to use a Roku or an Apple TV but I think most of who wrote in this thread, we want to use an HTPC to enjoy our content.
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I use PMP on my HTPC as i utilize my HTPC for more than just Plex 
So it would be impossible for me just to switch to a shield, as i then would require two boxes to be running instead of one.
Even helping the kids with remote controlling and making stuff run from work would be impossible going forward. Baaaah
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So what is the reasoning behind killing the 10ft display?
When will the shield client support 7.1 truehd on 4k? As I’ve mentioned this too many times you’ve even responded thanking me for bringing to your attention and it still isn’t fixed over 6 months later! My nuc is gonna become useless! Are you gonna refund me the money I spent on it?
Edit: this has been an issue for over a year, you really just don’t care! Period end of discussion it’s like they’ll have it now I want it and deal with it
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Gotch, sorry for the misinterpretation. I do think your core conclusion is flawed, though, at least in terms of partnerships being limited by maintaining the personal content aspect. I happen to think personal content can live side by side with premium content just fine, TIDAL being a great example. I love owning music, buy tons of it on e.g. bandcamp, but it’s super cool to be able to discover new music or check out a new album beforehand…
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I can’t speak for elan, but my guess is they have numbers on how many people use each platform, and the vast, vast majority of users aren’t using Win/Mac in a 10 ft environment, while many are probably using the webUI.
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The reasoning is spelled out pretty clearly in the blog post but to summarize, it’s the trend over the last few years of (1) streaming devices becoming much more powerful and capable in terms of playback and (2) fall in the number of people using HTPCs in general and plex on them specifically.
Put another way: as time goes on, there is less, not more reason to use an HTPC.
I don’t have a 7.1 setup, but AFAIK it works with the right setup?
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fall in the number of people using HTPCs in general and plex on them specifically
How did you get to this conclusion? What metric data did you use? Seems like a massively incorrect assumption
It’s a pretty reasonable assumption that Plex has internal usage numbers. With the proliferation of so many devices and TV’s that can use not only Plex, but also every other streaming app on the planet, it would not be surprising if there has been a big drop in “unitasker” devices like an HTPC on a TV.
I say that as a person who would prefer to have an HTPC on my TV, and find the Shield quite inferior as the replacement recommendation. So please don’t think I’m not sympathetic.
Thanks for the continuing the conversation. I am sure we are all happy to have more context from you on this. I apologize if it came across like I had some hard factual insider information, that was definitely not my intention. I just wanted to share what seemed logical to me.
It is my understanding that going forward Plex is firmly committed to both the Plex Pass based bring your own content model as well as partnering with publishers to serve third party content so we can all have the best of both worlds!
I think this decision is pretty short sighted, even from a business perspective. If you just look at the numbers, HTPC usage might not seem very high, but the people running HTPC setups are typically the power users.
Those are the kind of users who have vigorously evangelized in favor of the Plex ecosystem, making Plex as popular as it is today (I myself have converted 8 people to Plex over the years, and I am sure that number is much higher for others). They are also the kind of people who run the big servers. Antagonizing this group of people, even though relatively low in number, is likely a very bad idea.
Many of us power users feel incredibly disappointed now. If Plex does not reconsider this decision, there is a good chance that all these power users will start to actively recommend against using Plex. They will likely also update all their glowing Plex reviews they left all over the web (Because who writes a ton of reviews? Of course, the highly active power users).
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By looking at our playback metrics over time. Numbers don’t lie.
That is the dream, yes 
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I think @lionel77 makes the best point.
stuff like the loss of tv mode, plugins, and other things which have upset a large set of the vocal minority (irony), which are the people who made, make and will (potentially) keep making (or not) plex popular.
Plex would not be where it is today without all the power users and admins.
Just because the numbers may be small, is not a good reason to frustrate the very people who helped build the user base in the first place.
Instead of ripping out lesser used functionalities, perhaps the objective should be to increase aware of, usefulness of, and use of them instead.
I know, resources, resources.
But your admins and power users are resources too, don’t squander them either.
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First, I’m very saddened by this news as most everyone I’ve seen post. i can’t recall how long I’ve been a subscriber (yearly) but Plex has been one of my pure joys in life. Tell all my friends about it. A few of them have become subscribers themselves. I enjoy the content on various platforms/devices. The latest device I’m using is my HTPC.
See, I wasn’t originally planning on using the HTPC in my media room. I wasn’t planning on having it hooked up to my projector nor my A/V equipment that I spent $$$ on but here it is. I was happy with the Shield but I wanted to do more in my environment than just Plex.
I did download the windows app and tried it and found it…lacking. The key thing is the windows app does not allow Passthru of the audio. If it did, I can live with this solution but as of today, it does not. So, no more DTS X, DTS, TrueHD, Atmos. nada. Gone, unless they incorporate that in the app.
I understand the need to progress. To go with the market. I am sure hoping after Jan 2020 (which WILL be here soon) that I can continue to run PMP but even so…it’s only a matter of time before an upgrade to the server comes out that kills it.
Very disappointed. Very unhappy. In a lot of ways, I feel just like I’ve been screwed over.
Anyway, I know I am not alone. I hope you (plex) are happy with your decision and I hope you continue to make bookoos of money and thrive. I just hope I’m able to justify staying with you.
In the meantime, if anyone familiar with the crappy windows app has figured out how to get pass through to work (if possible), please let me know.
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Here is where we may well agree. Numbers don’t lie…
In the day and a half of this topic being created, here are the stats…
And here are some more stats…
That’s a lot of people that are currently unhappy with your decision.
275 replies by 80 users, viewed 1.4 Thousand times, and with 444 likes…
I can well imagine your metrics are telling you that less people are using TV Mode, but the vast majority of THESE people are using it… Exclusively!
And lets also not forget, these are just people who do actually know of, and use the Forum. There must be hundreds, if not thousands of TV Mode PC users that are still not even aware of the storm coming their way.
Based on my previous experience, I am doing my level best to keep my vocal filter in place, and put up a reasonable argument.
But for the love of Media, please listen!
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It’s appreciated 
I don’t doubt there are a number of people unhappy with the decision, and quite frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a high overlap with people who use these forums. But you also have to keep in mind that we have millions of users, and are looking at aggregate playback stats. So yes, there are at least 444 people who dislike the idea of HTPC mode going away, but you have to view this in the context of the actual use being a tiny fraction of overall playbacks (and decreasing).
I’m saying this as a user myself (remember, I was the guy who first ported XBMC to macOS and who loved using Mac Mini as an HTPC). But in this day and age with HDR content and massively improved streaming devices, I use the Apple TV and Shield and don’t look back.
Another positive spin on it is that we’ll have more resources to ensure playback on those platforms is as good as it could possibly be; we’ve invested a lot recently to ensure we’re using mpv on iOS/tvOS side, which was a massive upgrade. And android has its own advanced player based on ExoPlayer.
Will streaming devices ever “beat” a custom-built NUC with the right firmware and graphics drivers and latest Kodi in terms of customizability and codec support? Probably not, but for the vast majority of users, they are a much better choice all around.
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And believe me, we do genuinely all appreciate some comments from you.
One of our complaints for some time has been the lack of feedback from Plex staff, so this is certainly refreshing.
But in a short time to come, maybe a year or so, I am going to have to make a decision as to what I do next.
And I really feel for one of the users in this thread who currently has 6 HTPC’s and has to consider his next move!
In the last day and a half… I have no doubt that this train is gonna keep on down the tracks and get more momentum as it does.
I am already finding a number of other online posts, such as reddit, of many people expressing their displeasure.
If I was in your shoes, and was looking for ways to streamline my business, I would certainly take a good look around at what people are saying and consider other options.
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Very Apple of you, sir. Remove functionality and call it a gift.
To be clear, I love Plex. I’m using it on my phone right now In offline mode to play music in poor cell service. Use it on my shield all the time for casual watching on the tv. However, taking away the heart of my home theater will force me to put quite a bit of effort into something I’m certain I won’t like as well as what I have.
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