I have a request for Plex Media Player for Mac (and probably other platforms as well) – the media player mode, not the web player (the web player is just fine).
Please stop adding new features, and focus on getting the usability of PMP back to the high standard it had back when it was Plex Home Theater.
It’s the little things: like asking for updates on startup, exactly the least appropriate time to interrupt the user, and the way you navigate between media types, episodes, and shows (I never know where I am anymore and it always takes 2-3 extra button presses to get where I want to go). All kinds of little details like that that need someone (a whole team, ideally) to just watch users use the software in a real living room on a real computer with a real remote and note down and then go and improve the experience every time something is off. And a designer to focus on pathways, IA, usability, and whole flows through the app, with the resources to pursue solutions.
I know this is the constant undying plight of a software organization—everyone’s yelling at you to add the feature they want, and it sometimes seems that’s the right way to prioritize and make people happy. But the best way to create loyal users is to create an experience that even people who don’t yell on the internet will love using every day. And they’ll never ask for it, so I feel it’s worth speaking up and representing that silent majority.
Thanks! It’s still a great tool—I just always think back to the old version and how happy I was to use it every day, and how it’s lost some of that magic each time some little annoyance pops up.
If you want to boil this down to one request, it’d be: don’t ask me to upgrade when I first launch. Maybe wait until I exit, or even when I finish watching something. Just not right away, I don’t care how important you think it is; it isn’t my priority by a long shot.
