People posting ‘me too’ here won’t make Plex more aware, nor make Plex poke VEWD any more, or make VEWD respond any faster if they did keep being poked. I’m reasonably sure Plex is likely a drop in the bucket of VEWD app issues after takeover.
(My relatives don’t use many other apps, and I’m not near to test on my own any others that might be affected)
@JamminR said:
Just sharing an opinion here - My own personal experience has taught me to never rely on apps in smart TVs.
Most ‘smarts’ of TVs last, on average, 2-3 years before the manufacturer stops updating the app and or ‘OS’ of the TV.
However, I got gifted (at request) a Roku 2 XS in late 2012. 5 years later, though now relegated as a secondary room device due to having a Roku3, it still performs admirably for it’s age. I imagine at least another 2-3 years of decent usage at the least.
If / when a secondary box dies/is no longer supported/etc, you simply swap out the (normally less than $100 on sales/discount) box.
I don’t have to worry about my dumb no-internet 2008 65" 1080p LCD.
I must disagree: Not all TV OS are born same, LG WebOS and support is now almost 3 years and there is a third party app that works well. But I do understand your view, whats more interesting is the ever changing of OS with some TV Manufacturers. It’s obvious that manufacturers are scrambling to better there competitors with a acceptable UI to gain sales. No TV OS or app upon are perfect, to compare Roku and alike have proven the same with recent models.
In reality consumers just want simplicity "all in one device"unfortunately that solution is still a puff of smoke with no substance, sad but true.
People posting ‘me too’ here won’t make Plex more aware, nor make Plex poke VEWD any more, or make VEWD respond any faster if they did keep being poked. I’m reasonably sure Plex is likely a drop in the bucket of VEWD app issues after takeover.
(My relatives don’t use many other apps, and I’m not near to test on my own any others that might be affected)
JamminR, is there a site administered by Vewd that you know of, where we can potentially see the progress on this issue? This could avoid more +1s on this thread, and take some heat off of Plex.
@Ryconnection - If there is, i’m unable to find it. Quick google search brings up little.
They have a bug tracker, but it’s private. Can’t see any listings. Even clicking on the Vewd Wiki from the bug tracker asks for ‘partners’ credentials.
Every single page of their website at their commercial site vewd.com that I clicked on sounds like an infomercial in a bad sappy “we’re better than sliced bread in a silicon world era” way.
Perhaps if EVERYONE here would send a (I emphasize NICE and POLITE but expressing frustration) email using their “contact us” link at https://www.vewd.com/products-services/vewd-app-store/ , maybe it would bring more attention to our plight.
@SE56 - Ok. It’s an opinion. I just have grown to dislike embedded “smart” stuff in expensive/long lasting products for several reasons, including (lack of security focus) and one you state. “the ever changing of OS with some TV Manufacturers”. If I purchase another TV soon (not planned), I’ll be looking for a dumb one, IF there’s a cost savings (monitor + tuner). Else I’ll just be looking for the best image and connection feature set witl little focus on the smarts other than disabling/making sure it doesn’t delay how quickly my TV turns on (A TV should NOT have to ‘boot up’ imo).
I’d be curious to compare our discussion point in another 3 years to view whether your TV’s WebOS and my Roku2XS are still updated (and I don’t mean 3rd party). My Roku2 is old and EOL, but I’d still be curious to know when it’s last OS update will be/would have been 3 years from now.
Perhaps if EVERYONE here would send a (I emphasize NICE and POLITE but expressing frustration) email using their “contact us” link at https://www.vewd.com/products-services/vewd-app-store/ , maybe it would bring more attention to our plight.
What’s in it for them? They acquired Opera TV for what purpose? And, how does the Plex community being affected in turn make their lives worse?
I think that, before we go off penning letters to them, it would be more useful if we understood why they would want to take an interest. By understanding the aspects that will matter most to them, we can create a more powerful message when we contact them. No?
@JamminR said: @Ryconnection - If there is, i’m unable to find it. Quick google search brings up little.
They have a bug tracker, but it’s private. Can’t see any listings. Even clicking on the Vewd Wiki from the bug tracker asks for ‘partners’ credentials.
Every single page of their website at their commercial site vewd.com that I clicked on sounds like an infomercial in a bad sappy “we’re better than sliced bread in a silicon world era” way.
Perhaps if EVERYONE here would send a (I emphasize NICE and POLITE but expressing frustration) email using their “contact us” link at https://www.vewd.com/products-services/vewd-app-store/ , maybe it would bring more attention to our plight.
@SE56 - Ok. It’s an opinion. I just have grown to dislike embedded “smart” stuff in expensive/long lasting products for several reasons, including (lack of security focus) and one you state. “the ever changing of OS with some TV Manufacturers”. If I purchase another TV soon (not planned), I’ll be looking for a dumb one, IF there’s a cost savings (monitor + tuner). Else I’ll just be looking for the best image and connection feature set witl little focus on the smarts other than disabling/making sure it doesn’t delay how quickly my TV turns on (A TV should NOT have to ‘boot up’ imo).
I’d be curious to compare our discussion point in another 3 years to view whether your TV’s WebOS and my Roku2XS are still updated (and I don’t mean 3rd party). My Roku2 is old and EOL, but I’d still be curious to know when it’s last OS update will be/would have been 3 years from now.
Yes, after creating a Vewd account, I managed to find the email address tvstore-content@vewd.com, and sent them a polite message concerning my TV model, why I experienced, and asked them if & when they were planning on fixing the issue.
I’ll post their response, if they ever respond to begin with. Their domain is full of adverts to pull in developers and pages about how “cool” they are. Nothing useful at all.
I actually got a response from Vewd. On a Saturday, no less.
Thanks for reaching out to the Content Team at Vewd directly. While on the surface it seems that Vewd has “taken over” as you stated below, Vewd is actually the same company as Opera just with a new name/brand. We too recently became aware of the Plex app’s lack of availability in the store since the rebrand and are working with Plex to resolve this issue as soon as possible. We thank you for being a valuable customer and hope to have it resolved and back in the store for use in the coming days.
In the meantime, thank you for your patience and apologies for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Michael Winneker
Sr Director, Content Partnerships
I’m more concerned about the fact that at least some devices were non-functional with the app than having the app not be available. Bringing the app “back” to the store is great and all, but it doesn’t much help anyone if it doesn’t work.
Now, if it turns out that some devices lost access to the functionality of the app while the app still -looked- like it was there, then that’s a different story.
@iharley said:
I actually got a response from Vewd. On a Saturday, no less.
Thanks for reaching out to the Content Team at Vewd directly. While on the surface it seems that Vewd has “taken over” as you stated below, Vewd is actually the same company as Opera just with a new name/brand. We too recently became aware of the Plex app’s lack of availability in the store since the rebrand and are working with Plex to resolve this issue as soon as possible. We thank you for being a valuable customer and hope to have it resolved and back in the store for use in the coming days.
In the meantime, thank you for your patience and apologies for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Michael Winneker
Sr Director, Content Partnerships
Just for fun I checked a few minutes ago and voila - It works again!
My 2 cents… I wish the TV manufacturers (in my case Sony) would allow me to store the app on the TV so I would no longer need the service to be active to use it. It would also allow for functionality when the internet is not working.
It is working again with my KDL-40W650D (2016 - Opera based applications)… However, it is no longer available for my XBR-55X900A (2013/14 - seems to be Sony hosted applications). I would suggest getting an external box of some sort to run Plex (I am using an AppleTV on the 900A which is why I did not realize the Plex application was not available (for the 900A) when I posted that is was working again (for the 650D) yesterday.
Pros and cons with these streaming devices though. I have a number of movies that only seem to play correctly when using the Plex (Media Player) Program on a computer (as compared to an application on a “device”). There seems to be no rhyme or reason, but 1 fps doesn’t exactly cut it!
Hah! Given your good fortune I gave my 900A another go and was met with success too! Perhaps the Plex gods were paying attention to this thread, or perhaps it just took a bit longer for the application to filter through the Sony approval process. Either way good news!
