As many know, especially those that are Linux users, PMP (Plex Media Player) isn’t receiving updates anymore, as Plex have moved over to their Plex Desktop Player for Windows and Mac. There is, however, at this time no Plex Desktop Player for Linux users, and though I have got the Windows version running via WINE, it’s quite unreliable, and a recent(ish) update more or less broke it.
Knapsu did (does still?) create a PMP build in the form of a Flatpak and AppImage, but with PMP not getting any attention anymore it starting to get further and further behind with features, and I don’t doubt that at some point Plex will make a breaking change that will render it unusable.
The web player does exist, but it has a lot of flaws. For videos that don’t have subtitles, for example, it’s “fine”. If you have subtitles, however, specifically that are styled, then the videos are prone to incorrect rendering and/or crashing. This is known problem with PMS (Plex Media Server) on Linux (surprise, those using Linux to watch videos are probably using Linux to host it!) where by in the web application the fonts aren’t pulled through from the remote system.
Sure, I can continue to watch a lot of my shows on my Nvidea TV Shield, but I’m not always sitting comfortably on my Sofa; sometimes I’m working and just want some background noise, sometimes I’m chatting away with friends and want a video to watch at the same time; perhaps I even want to use the watch together feature (that’s not in PMP by the way)!
So what real options to those using Linux, who still want to continue to enjoy Plex, realistically have here? “Apparently” Plex for Linux has been a “consideration” since April 2019 however, considering I don’t think we’ve seen anything since I smell a lie there.
Is there any way for Linux users not to be effectively treated like inferior users from Plex here?
Support for Linux with consumer products is not common, but surely you know this already. It is probably not a case of being treated as an inferior user but a case that there just isn’t a market there for consumer products to warrant support, this is why I am both a Linux user and a Windows user.
I know this isn’t what you want to hear but your option is to use either Mac or Windows.
Indeed, but I have been used to sort of thing on Linux for many years. As I am sure you have too. When it comes to Linux we are almost on our own with consumer products lol
This isn’t about what I want to “hear” at all. Contradictory to what you say, as well, support for consumer products on Linux has been growing (significantly) over recent years. Microsoft, for example, has WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), released SQL Server on Linux back in 2017, and even Powershell and VSCode are available on Linux destributions.
Steam is native on Linux, and Ubuntu is fully supported by them. In fact, Steam were significantly involved in Ubuntu 20.04 release, as Canonical were looking to completely remove 32bit binaries from the OS; which many old steam games rely on. Things were worked out, with collaboration between Steam, Ubuntu, and the Proton communities.
Also, if Plex, as a company, truly didn’t want to support Linux they wouldn’t provide Server Software for it. The fact is that PMS on Linux gets all the updates that other PMS editions get, so clearly support still exists, and Linux is still strong in some part of Plex’s development cycle.
Things like the Linux subsystem on Windows, SQL Server, PowerShell, etc are all aimed at the server community who work with headless servers, not the consumer space.
In the consumer space Linux exists almost exclusively in the form of distros like WebOS, RokuOS, Tizen, FireOS and Android, which Plex all supports with native clients.
There’s plenty of Linux support by Plex, just not for the version you’re running.
Which Is why I didn’t just mention those things. I would not recommend using Steam, or VSCode, on a Headless Server, for example, you won’t get a lot of enjoyment out of it.
And if that is the case, then getting a client build for those running the Ubuntu, SUSE, CentOS, etc, should be trivial, and gives them less of an “excuse”.
I’m sure they could, but I’m not so sure about the demand. They already support the enthusiast Linux HTPC crowd through the official Kodi plugin, casual users can use the Web interface, how big is the rest of the audience?
Apart from, as I said, it has significant flaws. Certainly I cannot use the web interface (as I mentioned) as several videos I try to watch crash or render incorrectly, in the Web Interface, but play absolutely fine in PMP, and other Plex Applications (on other devices).
If the Web Interface didn’t have the crash/rendering issues, I would actually be more than happy to use it when on PC, as if I want to enjoy the video in better viewing experience, I will do so on the Shield in the Living Room.
Linux is not well supported for consumer products, and not has come along at all, let alone coming a long way. You listed enterprise targeted solutions, not consumer targeted solutions. This is the normal state of play in to the entire industry.
Companies target where their userbase is, and the consumer userbase is not using Linux distros like Ubtuntu, RHEL etc. You’ve known this for a long time so to continue complaining about it is just getting upset for no reason as the situation is not going to change, Linux distros will never be a consumer space which is why the options are to use MAC and Windows as well as Linux for other applications.
I suspect because Kodi has a Plex addon; though it’s designed for a TV screen, not a Computer… I installed it and to say that the UX is awful feels like an understatement… It was honestly terrible to use with Mouse input. I’ve immediately uninstalled it. PMP was infinately better, despite is not supporting things like Skip Intro.
(Side note, however, The Plex Addon within Kodi also rendered correctly the videos that the native Plex Web App fails to.)
I’m not “upset”, I am, however frustrated. Plex, as a company, have failed to respond to problems raised about the web app, or failed to at least resolve them. Like I have said, if the Web App actually worked, then there wouldn’t be a problem. You’re looking at this intial post as if it’s a “rant” and trying to (or at least it appears to be) trolling back; that isn’t the case.
The topic at hand here is asking what realistic options do Linux users have to get an enjoyable experience out of Plex, when the support doesn’t exist from Plex themselves. It’s there is the title.
I don’t mean to be combative, but how could Plex’s statement in that announcement in any way be construed as a lie? It provides a list of things being discussed, with Plex for Linux being one. I imagine the conversation went something like “Hey, there’s interest in a Plex desktop app for Linux users.” “Ok, let’s table that until the market share for desktop Linux increases.”
Regarding market share for Linux desktop users, the most bullish estimates I’ve seen put it in the 2-3 percent range, though most have it closer to the 2 percent end of that range. Mac’s are next with 9-10 percent, with Windows at 87-88 percent. Does targeting that market with a dedicated app make sense, when it’s part of sub-target of Plex users anyway (those using Plex on a desktop)? I don’t think there’s anything nefarious, deceptive, or political going on here. It’s just the fact that it’s a tiny market to address and lines need to be drawn somewhere as to how to use development resources.
And with regard to development, doing so for a Linux desktop application is arguably more difficult than for Windows or macOS. At least if you want to provide a good user experience. You don’t have luxury of targeting “Linux” in this case; you need to target particular distributions and desktop environments. I’m not suggesting that it’s impossible to do, only that it can require more effort than for other platforms. Not targeting specific environments can lead to results that don’t look very nice and/or perform very well, not to mention compatibility issues.
And all that leads to a bit of a catch-22; there end up being fewer mainstream desktop apps created for the Linux desktop because of the reasons above. But, because of that, Linux desktop usage isn’t growing as quickly as it otherwise might. Developers have to make a decision as to whether or not they want to blaze a trail by supporting Linux. For some it’s a philosophical question. For others it’s driven more by financial realities.
And I don’t think that Plex is ignoring Linux user’s entirely on the client front. Their most obvious indication that they care about that market is PlexAmp. But it’s a fairly good study on why Plex clients may not be worth the effort right now; a large percentage (most) of the “PlexAmp won’t run on X” issues I’ve seen on the forums have been related to getting it to work correctly on various Linux distributions.
Having said that, I’d very much like to see more support for Linux desktop clients. While the market is small, it’s not non-existent; and I’m part of it. I use Linux daily and it would be nice to have an option for Plex there (macOS is my primary desktop environment, Linux is for dev work). But, I understand why it hasn’t happened yet and I don’t feel marginalized by the lack of a dedicated client.
Plex today has an app that works perfectly on Linux, its the PMP which has been ported to Linux. Yes its somewhat old but works. I’m sure they could just keep bumping this with the updated versions releases of the WebUI and us small but loyal linux community would be happy.
However, this won’t happen. Plex wants to push their new desktop app and I suspect I’ll be long dead before a version of that comes to Linux.
Oh, I don’t disagree at all, and I’ve used it myself. But there’s a reason they don’t build and distribute a package of it themselves. I just happen to believe that reason has more to do with practicality than with philosophical or political considerations.
As for de-emphasizing PMP in favor of other clients, I don’t have a strong opinion as to the good-/badness of the decision. I think their stated reasoning is sound; though it is unfortunate that some very passionate, but minority users are being left out: HTPC enthusiasts and Linux desktop users. It’s never great to have something and then lose it, particularly when the other available options are less than ideal.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have an official Plex desktop client. But I understand why I don’t. I’m a bit more optimistic about the possibility of having one in the future than some. I tend to trust people and I believe Plex when they say it’s been discussed. And I take it as a good sign that PlexAmp is supported directly on Linux.
