# Remote streaming was the only important feature
**URL:** https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019
**Category:** General Discussions
**Tags:** player-windows
**Created:** [May 1, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019 "2025-05-01T19:24:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Pixative](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Pixative)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/1 "2025-05-01T19:24:21Z")
I only made an account to connect to my friend’s library. Having to do that was already a red flag(Why would that connection need to go through a middleman?) Now, you’ve decided that you own and get to charge rent on **his content** and **my internet connection.** Will be using a free alternative(I mean, one that hasn’t been hijacked by a corporation.)
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### Author:  [@iowa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/iowa)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2025, 7:25pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/2 "2025-05-01T19:25:14Z")
Time to move to Jellyfin!
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### Author:  [@l88ch3r](https://forums.plex.tv/u/l88ch3r)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2025, 7:25pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/3 "2025-05-01T19:25:31Z")
I’m extremely annoyed about this. First they announce that Plex Pass was being increased by a ridiculous amount, and those of us that were fine with the free version had nothing to worry about. Now, after the price increase, you take away the one feature that nearly all of us actually want.
Nah, that’s not cool at all. Jelllyfin here we come.
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### Author:  [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2025, 7:29pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/4 "2025-05-01T19:29:51Z")
You wouldn’t have been affected by the change, because your friend already had a Plex Pass.
> [@Pixative](#):
>
> Why would that connection need to go through a middleman?
It doesn’t. plex.tv only acts as a kind of “phone book”, i.e. a “DDNS provider” and also supplies the cryptographic certificates for all involved devices.
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### Author:  [@imposterdroids](https://forums.plex.tv/u/imposterdroids)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/5 "2025-05-01T20:41:01Z")
> [@OttoKerner](#):
>
> It doesn’t. plex.tv only acts as a kind of “phone book”, i.e. a “DDNS provider” and also supplies the cryptographic certificates for all involved devices.
$2 bucks a month minimum (Remote Pass) to basically perform a DNS lookup - a VERY basic service that used to be free.
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### Author:  [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/6 "2025-05-01T20:42:41Z")
My response was not intended to defend the price increase.
I was merely pointing out that the data don’t go through plex.tv (unless you use the [plex relay](https://support.plex.tv/articles/216766168-accessing-a-server-through-relay/) connection).
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### Author:  [@Divideby0](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Divideby0)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/7 "2025-05-01T21:22:49Z")
Which makes things even worse, in that this is a service Plex already provides FOR FREE, for people that stream in-house. When you log into your account on any client, Plex simply sends you a list of IPs for your client to try to connect to, and a security certificate to do so securely. If you are connecting locally, it uses this certificate. If you connect remotely, it uses the same certificate. So there is no “infrastructure costs!” reason for a remote fee.
Not that Otto is defending it. I’m just pointing out in general that company costs isn’t the reason.
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### Author:  [@skywalker7](https://forums.plex.tv/u/skywalker7)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2025, 1:51am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/8 "2025-05-03T01:51:18Z")
All you need is a matchmaking server to point user A’s IP at user B. As was said, a DDNS lookup.
You could do this with a any relay client, simpler than a bittorrent tracker or IRC relay. This should never be a feature that costs money.
Someone is going to wrap up a Jellyfin Sync combination that uses a free anonymous relay to make a friends list, and then that’s that. Server costs for millions of users would be equivalent to a chat room from the 90s.
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### Author:  [@Orko](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Orko)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/9 "2025-05-03T16:12:42Z")
And you think the software writes and maintains itself? Coding does not cost money?
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### Author:  [@skywalker7](https://forums.plex.tv/u/skywalker7)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/10 "2025-05-03T21:08:45Z")
Indeed, they have 100+ staff.
Those staff are not programmers.
They are marketers and brand specialists who are selling your watchlist entries and your eyes to ad partners via the On Demand and Rental Content.
The Media Server portion of the company could have been sustainable, but they raised VC funding to expand, and after a ton of terrible features to over-promise new user adoption like Plex Arcade, we wound up here. You aren’t the customer, you’re the product.
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### Author:  [@bonnyfused](https://forums.plex.tv/u/bonnyfused)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2025, 9:50am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/11 "2025-05-04T09:50:23Z")
Is this change affecting **all** of my multimedia data on my Plex server on my NAS? I mean: I’m only streaming audio content (all of which has been ripped off of my CDs).
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### Author:  [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2025, 9:53am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/12 "2025-05-04T09:53:27Z")
> [@bonnyfused](#):
>
> I’m only streaming audio content
Streaming audio-only media and photos remotely is still free.
But you have to use Plexamp now, instead of the regular Android or iOS app, as the latter no longer support music or photos.
Plexamp is also freely usable, though some of its features require a Plex Pass (but that hasn’t changed since it went free in July 2023).
Please see the FAQ section at the end of this blog post: [https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/](https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/)
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### Author:  [@bonnyfused](https://forums.plex.tv/u/bonnyfused)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2025, 10:05am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/13 "2025-05-04T10:05:54Z")
Thank you @OttoKerner - I’ve already switched from Plex to Plexamp for when I’m streaming from remote.
When in my LAN, I still can use Plex for audio and video streaming (on my laptop), which remains free - correct?
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### Author:  [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2025, 10:07am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/14 "2025-05-04T10:07:04Z")
> [@bonnyfused](#):
>
> When in my LAN, I still can use Plex for audio and video streaming
What is “Plex” for you? Do you mean the Plex for Windows/Mac/Linux app?
There are no changes so far for these apps.
Plexamp is also available for Desktop computers, btw.
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### Author:  [@Krazeh](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Krazeh)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2025, 10:12am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/15 "2025-05-04T10:12:53Z")
> [@skywalker7](#):
>
> Indeed, they have 100+ staff.
>
> Those staff are not programmers.
>
> They are marketers and brand specialists
> [@skywalker7](#):
>
> The Media Server portion of the company could have been sustainable,
Wow, how did you manage to get hold of the list of all their staff? And their finances (presumably going back many years)?
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### Author:  [@Orko](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Orko)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2025, 10:14am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/16 "2025-05-04T10:14:42Z")
Source “trust me bro?”
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### Author:  [@bonnyfused](https://forums.plex.tv/u/bonnyfused)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2025, 12:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/17 "2025-05-04T12:42:55Z")
Yes, I was referring to the Plex app - not the server.
I moved over to Plexamp for audio streaming already months ago.
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### Author:  [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2025, 12:43pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/remote-streaming-was-the-only-important-feature/916019/18 "2025-08-02T12:43:06Z")
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