I have been a Plex user since 2009 and am have a PlexPass Lifetime subscription. I was happy with Plex most of the time. Since a few month the development is not how I imagined it to be.
I do understand, that I am using Preview Software that can contain bugs. However from my point of view I expected that to cover mostly new features that may not be working as advertised. I cannot understand why I get versions of PMS that break one of the most basic functionality… metadata downloading. This has to be covered by tests before release and not only (as it seems to happen for english users but for all users). And even worse… while the matching for non-english TheTVDB libs is fixed with a quick hotfix, non-english libraries remain broken. As I already stated, we are not talking about a new feature but one of the very foundations of Plex… getting all the metadata for your files.
Even though this is Preview Software I don’t want to test new versions for basic functions and rollback to working versions. This is not what you promise on your webpage as one of the PlexPass subscription. We were promised access to new cool features not loosing the very basic ones.
Another example for this wrong path the development is taking is the breaking of the screensaver in the Plex Media Player. It took almost 6 weeks to fix this bug in a new release. The screensaver is another very basic feature I did not expect to loose ever. However Plex Media Player is a known beta so yes, stuff like that can happen and the rollback is much easier than it is for the PMS.
My pledge is… don’t break basic stuff… and if you do, fix it ASAP. Don’t let us sitting there for weeks without an ETA for a new version or even worse… prepare the fix to be included in a new major version. I don’t care for any new features as long as I can’t use my PMS as advertised… download metadata and watch things.
@sica said:
Even though this is Preview Software I don’t want to test new versions for basic functions and rollback to working versions. This is not what you promise on your webpage as one of the PlexPass subscription. We were promised access to new cool features not loosing the very basic ones.
Do you even realize how nonsensical your first sentence is? If you don’t want to test new versions and have to roll back if you experience an issue, there’s a very simple solution. Don’t use the Plex Pass versions of the software… They don’t promise anything on their website.
Let me quote the website “Get to use the newest and coolest features before everyone else! Users can also submit feature requests and gain access to special Plex Pass members-only forums. And now, get special VIP access to discounts on partner products!”
How can I get to use “the newest and coolest features before everyone else” without installing the software? It’s one of the “features” of PlexPass. The website does not state “become one of our beta testers and help us find bugs in core features of our software”.
I have no problem with new features not working as expected… I have no understanding for breaking core features and not fixing them within let’s say a week.
@sica said:
Let me quote the website “Get to use the newest and coolest features before everyone else! Users can also submit feature requests and gain access to special Plex Pass members-only forums. And now, get special VIP access to discounts on partner products!”
How can I get to use “the newest and coolest features before everyone else” without installing the software? It’s one of the “features” of PlexPass. The website does not state “become one of our beta testers and help us find bugs in core features of our software”.
I have no problem with new features not working as expected… I have no understanding for breaking core features and not fixing them within let’s say a week.
Access to preview release versions of the Plex Media Server and other Apps before they’re released generally.
I understand what you are saying but Plex Pass versions are preview versions and can have things that are broken, sometimes things that are core features - that happens sometimes in software development.
Example - Company I used to work for (they do restaurant POS software and they are the largest restaurant POS company in the world) released a beta version with a new feature. We only gave it to one customer (a really big one, a rodent with big, round black ears and white gloves). The new feature had to do with linking menu items when ordering food. We did regression testing, but no one tested a certain function because nothing in that area of the code was touched. That function was the “Send” function that completed the order and sent it to the printers. Pretty core in the functionality of POS systems. In fact, without that functionality the software is pretty useless.
The customer discovered it was broken.
As Forrest Gump said, “It happens.” … “Sometimes.”
@rsava Yes, stuff like that happens… but I am pretty sure you fixed it as soon as you discovered what was causing the bug and not with the next major release. Core functions are core functions for a reason.
