I’m the author of the PlexAutoSkip script and longtime plex user / plex pass holder. I wanted to try and make an appeal to the developers to please restore the recently removed Plex Companion feature from the Plex Web client as well as the Plex Desktop client for Windows/Mac/Linux.
By removing this feature all API calls to these respective players and the multitude of scripts within the community have been rendered useless including PlexAutoSkip that I maintain.
References to the patch notes where companion was removed:
Any attempts to send commands to the player via the Plex API are now met with the “BadRequest” error that would previously be seen with advertise as player disabled.
Rolling back the Plex Client to Plex-1.41.0.2876-e960c9ca and the server version to Plex- 1.27.2.5929-a806c5905 which still includes Plex Web 4.76.1 allows the client to work and preserves a web client that can be accessed from the local URL that maintains the previous functionality. For now, I’ve advised all my users to roll back to these versions to maintain functionality but that is obviously a poor/temporary solution as they won’t be able to access new features and security updates as time goes on. It also prevents the feature from working on the web client when accessed via plex.tv/web which I know is the preferred and more secure means of accessing the WebUI since that version no longer has the companion feature.
If there is any way this feature could be restored or at least the API functionality could be reenabled to allow power users to continue to use scripts like PlexAutoSkip to enhance their Plex experience it would be greatly appreciated. The API calls on the web player worked very well and reliably more so than some of the clients and this is a major loss to the power user community. I am aware the current recommendation was to use the HTPC client, but this is really not a particularly good solution for general desktop use on a non HTPC; the web and desktop clients are much lighter and mouse-interface friendly, support PIP, and don’t experience HDR/framerate glitching on high refresh monitors and are preferred over the HTPC client by many.
I really hope this functionality has not been broken going forward. “Skippy” as we’ve named it in our household is probably the greatest feature we’ve had in Plex. I used to manually mark and remove commercials in our shows before we viewed them, and it was, as you can imagine, tedious. Also tedious, and an unreasonably lacking feature of Plex, is auto skipping intros and commercials.
This software currently supplies a fundamental and currently unavailable function in Plex. Breaking it is something plex should not only not do, but actively avoid doing.
Please bring back support for being controlled as a companion player. The script that Mhiggins made was one of the best features that plex was missing ever sense the skip intro feature was introduced to plex. It would be a real shame to lose it.
Well, at least I got my plex yearly refund, also I got 1 month premium of plex until I finish moving to jellyfin where I can cast like I used to with plex and better, also it is free, sad to part ways with plex due to how you guys keep removing features saying “costs”.
I believe Plex for Mac/Windows 1.45.0.3013-1676042f is the last version that included Companion/Advertise.
I don’t understand your comment about the server version. There’s no need to roll back the server. The latest PMS 1.27.2.5929 still includes Plex Web 4.76.1 which has the Advertise as player option.
I get that the people that bought lifetime a while ago and use Plex for offline media only are not making you the most money, so I’m already not expecting new features (for “us”) but at least don’t remove working features. The skip function was a great addition but on its own, it’s just lacking.
Advertise as player as a whole I could see not being used much, but at least keep an API available for controlling clients. This being one of the most useful features I’ve seen available.
That’s a shame to hear. Meanwhile I deeply feel like this is a killer feature that’s gone unnoticed. It was a main reason I bought a plex pass and I even mentioned it in my play store review in 2015!
Start watching on my tablet at lunch, pause until I get home. resume playback as I do stuff around the house and eventually switch playback to my pc directly from the tablet.
I’ll even do the opposite, have something playing on my chromecast that was controlled by Plex-web, turn on my tablet and access the remote then stop casting and resume playback locally on the tablet with minimal interaction and minimal interruption.
I do this so often it’s been quite literally like losing the remotes for every device in my house!
I would think the better question is why can’t the Plex Companion feature be seen as a universal standard for Plex? Obviously, I’m biased as I’m the author of a script that was broken by the feature removal, but it just feels like the web player which was previously a full-featured client is now crippled (and the desktop apps)
Aside from the lack of mouse controls I prefer the web client for a few reasons. It’s one less thing to install, I prefer the UI, lightweight, supports picture in picture, and from an end user standpoint is requires almost no maintenance. It also has all my server settings/controls easily visible and integrated if I need to make changes. Additionally, both the windows and HTPC clients have significant issues when run on an HDR monitor or monitor that runs at more than 60hz when they aren’t fullscreen (both are pretty rough in windowed mode on my odyssey g9 neo). HTPC is fine for a home theater PC but if I just want a show on in the background web player is much preferred and cleaner. Using HTPC on my desktop feels like going back to the early days when this project was an XBMC fork.
The more frustrating thing now is that you have a client that is missing a core feature that all the other clients have. It worked previously but now I can’t cast, and my custom scripts don’t work on one player so I have to start looking for workarounds or alternative. The universal support Plex provides to so many platforms is one of the areas that I derive lots of value and keeps my locked in the Plex ecosystem. I know I can jump from client to client and swap out my hardware and my Plex experience will be the roughly the same. If I can’t find a remote, I can cast or use Alexa to skip to the next episode or shuffle a random playlist. Plex Companion is a great feature and one that should be maintained going forward and I would advocate for it to be a universal standard on all Plex clients.
I stream on Twitch and use Plex web as my music player. The “advertise as player” feature has allowed me to use my phone to switch songs, browse the library, pick music etc. I don’t have Spotify or any other music streaming service because, well, everything I need was in Plex.
I know I could install Plex HTPC but I like Plex web for the simplicity, no need for another program running while I’m streaming, no chance of taking focus from my game / anything else I’m running on stream (the browser is usually running in the background for my stream anyway).
I know my case is an edge case but I also use it just for randomly playing music around the house without having to install and run Plex HTPC on whatever PC is turned on at the time.
I would really like to see it come back as it seems to be a part of the other clients.
Have you tried using Plex HTPC? For me, running Plex Web in Chrome actually takes up more memory than running Plex HTPC so if you are concerned with resources, Plex HTPC may actually be better.
Expose the removed functionality somehow and make your customers happy.
But, I fear this is not going to happen. As @elan stated, this was removed to help @elan repay the loan he took out on his boat sorry, removed to save $$. Yes, I am a tad bitter.
Off topic question…How’s the adding back in the continuous playback feature that @elan said he’d look into over 3 years ago?
