Plex, are you going to respond?

Plex Players Streaming Devices
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21

I disagree entirely, the new UI is needlessly complicated and shunting features into different portals for configuration is ridiculous. I use plex because getting elderly people set up on jellyfin or another service is a nightmare but good god the big brains at plex may have finally made it worth the 30 minute Skype call to get it installed for people.

It’s at the point I am genuinely embarrassed for bringing plex up as an option for people in my life what a disgraceful piece of software this has turned in to.

9 Likes
22

Raising complaints and complaining about the regressions in the new application UI/UX is constructive. Just because you don’t like the criticism doesn’t make it non-constructive.

And sure, people are also contributing non-constructive feedback, but I usually see it coming after the constructive feedback is ignored. It’s been over half a year - I think the users have been more than reasonable by my measure.

Horizontal navigation for more than three or so libraries doesn’t cut it. It requires more blind navigation. A vertical list is far better for navigational aid, and keeping a vertical sidebar requires far fewer interactions on limited input mechanisms (touch screens and remote control especially - both devices extremely relevant to Plex’s ecosystem).

Of course, these are regressions in user experience for finding personal media. I’m sure it helps in accidental discovery of other media.

9 Likes
23

I think the most diverse sets of opinion we’re going to get is from the app stores, and I think this speaks loudly:

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This is down in my region from 4.6 since March. If this doesn’t tell Plex what they need to know, I don’t know what will.

6 Likes
24

I’ve browsed through the Google Play Store on my Shield and to me it appears most streaming services don’t give a crap about their star rating.

  • Netflix: 3.6 stars
  • Disney+: 3.3
  • Paramount Plus: 2.7
  • Starz: 3.3
  • Fubo: 2.9
  • Fandango: 3.1
  • ESPN: 3.6
  • CNN: 2.5
  • HBOMAX: 3.7

In the mobile app world it seems like a rating less than 4.0 is the equivalent to being garbage. But the streaming services carry ratings like these year after year.

2 Likes
25

It begs the question that if Plex is no better than the others, why is Plex special?

I think people who aren’t familiar with what Plex was won’t care for it going forward.

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26

I’d wager other services grades might also be based on the content they hold, whereas we probably don’t have that factor, here. And, if they’re holding their averages year over year, that’s also something to consider.

Either way… a precipitous drop in rating after an update is noteworthy.

5 Likes
27

words talk but numbers scream

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28

I waited several months to try to get used to the new layout before complaining. It’s trash. I HATE the new UX.

EVERYTHING about it is worse, and no, after months of dealing with it, it’s not just a matter of needing to adjust to it. It’s awful. I truly DESPISE whoever the moron is who rearranged it.

6 Likes
29

LOL. App store ratngs have never been useful to determine if a service/app is good.

None of my Plex clients have ever rated an app on the app store (iOS or android). Users who are getting on with life and using the apps won’t rate an app either.

One of my favourite apps and one I use daily has an iOS app store rating below 2 :smiley:

I’m not making comment one way or the other on the new UI but ratings on an app store are never ‘diverse’ :slight_smile:

30

Well, 29 votes do …..

1 Like
31

in time… although I don’t think the ratio is going to change much from where it stands right now. (almost 84% do not like the new UI). The message is clear enough but we’ll see after more votes.

32

You could have a thousand votes and it would still be irrelevant as most straw polls are.

I’m not discounting that the UI might not be liked by many on here. Personally, I don’t mind the changes. My users don’t seem to mind and a couple prefer it.

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34

That was fun I suppose.. but when I show that to my elderly parents that can no longer find their shows and movies and when I show that to the kids who liked having a single, simple click but they cannot find their shows and movies anymore either.. does that part make you chuckle too? The issues are not universal and do not affect everyone but we shouldn’t ignore those whom are affected either…

3 Likes
35

Plex is not going to roll back. This is the new UI, so only choices are to learn it (like we learned the old UI), or move to a different server. I likes the old UI (and the old Netflix one as well), but I got used to the new Ui, and really, after I start watching the show I want, how I got there (even if it took a few more click) doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve yet to get so lost in the new Ui that I couldn’t find what I want. The back key is your friend.

1 Like
36

“All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again.” - Battlestar Galactica (2023), Number Six (Credit to J.M. Barrie’s inspiration from Peter Pan)

I still remember will the Great Uno Interface Update of '18. Roku users literally lost their minds then, too. And they were able to stem the tide for a year or so. But, eventually, UNO came to Roku. And users accepted it. Now it’s the interface to which they’re desperately attempting to cling.

I believe Plex learned a lesson from that experience. Specifically that, given time, people will learn to adjust. Or they’ll move on.

They could help people out by documenting how to customize the new experience to suit their specific needs (favoriting libraries, managing recommendations, setting libraries default views, disabling Plex online content). Maybe that’s forthcoming, but it arguably should have been one of the first things available.

People don’t like change. But change is inevitable; and it’s not insurmountable. It’s challenging and requires effort.

But if Plex were really trying to screw folks and “force” them to their content, they wouldn’t leave such an easy, account-level out for just shutting it all off. You can literally ensure that Plex’s stuff never darkens your doorstep again:
https://app.plex.tv/desktop/#!/settings/online-media-sources
(Hint: Set them all to “Disabled.”)

Obviously, I’ve adjusted to the new UI and I actually kind of like it. But I don’t have 100 libraries either. So I understand I don’t represent some of you. I’m also not attempting to force my viewpoint on you, just offering a different perspective. It’s a common refrain on these forums lately that the new interface is universally hated. It’s not.

We don’t often post because we are generally shouted down, but there are folks who actually like the interface. And it should always be remembered: Folks don’t come to support forums to praise, in general. They come to complain. So the signal to noise ratio becomes a little difficult to quantify.

4 Likes
37

We’re all here because of the passion we have for Plex.. and yes I am personally hoping that I can do my part to get them to consider listening to our voices. I hope they do care and will listen. So many people came to voice their opinions about this specific UI change. People literally created new accounts just for this. This is great feedback and improvements could be made to address them. Is none of this feedback being considered? Just radio silence? Who knows but saying nothing at all will definitely give the impression that that they do not care.

A quick statement like “We hear the complaints and we’re working to make improvements” would be all I needed to hang on but everyone keeps saying they aren’t changing anything so who knows.

Sadly, I am already looking at Emby and JellyFin because of this impact on others in my family where it is no longer usable for them and not desired by me. I have been loyal and can wait for change but it If this company is going to literally ignore legitimate complaints then I am certain that people WILL migrate to another solution not by choice but necessity. I don’t think Plex wants this outcome but it will be the one that they will get if they just straight up ignore our voices.

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38

How can you possibly know that it’s the majority of their customers. Again, people don’t come here to praise. They come here to complain. Which is ok, it’s a support forum.

1 Like
39

Well, then your users will the have to d/l a new App, and learn a different UI for something that you chose for them. Will you ask them if that’s what they want before you make the switch?

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40

Having made the jump to emby after this fiasco, the apps are much cleaner and just have your own media out of the box.

And because you create the users, you have full control of how they view the layout in the app.

This is a big difference from plex. In plex they create an independent plex account and you invite them to your server but they still have to set it up through settings, whereas with emby, they just download the app and login with the account you’ve already setup in your own server, already tailored and ready to go. You can then choose if they can adjust that experience via permissions.

3 Likes