Technically you don’t pay Plex anything for the EPG, its added for free. The price of the subscriptions won’t change whether the EPG is there or not.
The EPG is supplied by Gracenote, there could be many reasons why it is not able to be used any more, one of those reasons may be out of Plex’s hands. The truth is you don’t know why they had to drop it. It might not be economically feasible for them to do it anymore. I’d rather have Plex as a program than have the company go bust because users aren’t prepared to pay for an EPG service.
At the end of the day it’s a piece of software that either does or doesn’t do what you want it to. It’s your decision to use it or not.
I get it completely but if Plex sells me a service that includes an epg as part of that service (Plex pass) then Plex should either provide a decent alternative or a refund. My ISP doesn’t advertise a free service and a premium one that includes google so your examplesoes not apply here.
No your wrong, the Service from Plex is still valid!
In your example:
Your internet connection is still working, so your provider provided what he told you to provide.
If google shuts down its service you CANT blame your Internetprovider NOR does he have to set up a new google alternative!
As far as I know Plex just give you the possibility of receiving EPG not providing them.
“Plex is not an Australian company and has no Australian office. , for that reason Plex has no obligation to follow the law of Australia.”
I think you’ll find that if a company chooses to sell a product/service in Australia that they are governed by Australian Consumer Law regardless of where they are located.
Even if point 1 was true or assessed as true. Unless a director lived in the country there is no way to bring to account.
In reality, there is 0% chance of forcing Plex to do anything because of the judicial system in Australia. 0% - only if Plex decided to out of goodwill would you get any money back in such a case.
Please see point 2.
No way to bring to account. Especially since no office in AU. SONY of course can be sued in Australia because they have representation here.
“At the end of the day it’s a piece of software that either does or doesn’t do what you want it to. It’s your decision to use it or not”
And here is the crux of the issue - yes I did make that decision, and a big part of the decision to to do so was that it included EPG data at no extra cost.
I paid for a lifetime pass, a network tuner, and a couple of Apple TV’s to get live TV into rooms in my house that did not have antenna connections because it was more cost effective to me than paying an electrician to install antenna points in the walls.
Now I need to start paying again for something I purchased a lifetime pass for.
And it’s their software and their company. They can do with it as they like. If they make a decision to forgo the EPG, which is a small part of the functionality of the software, so that they can continue to develop and expand the software then I am for that. I am sure the decision was not made arbitrarily or as some have suggested to piss off Australian users of the software. It was a business decision forced on them by another company. Anyone who suggests otherwise is just crazy.
There are numerous examples of companies doing this, Apple and Microsoft the main offenders. Things like this have happened before and will no doubt happen again.
You might have missed the following from the previous link
The Australian Consumer Law applies to all businesses that engage in trade and commerce with Australian consumers, including the supply of digital goods such as games.
“No matter where in the world a company has its headquarters, if it is selling to Australian consumers, the Australian Consumer Law applies,” Mr Sims said.
This is older but relative
“This important precedent confirms the ACCC’s view that overseas-based companies selling to Australian consumers must abide by our laws. If customers buy a product online that is faulty, they are entitled to the same right to a repair, replacement or refund as if they’d walked in to a store,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.
Okay, I am simply trying to stop you being childish with threats of law suits that you can NEVER peruse , if you think you’re so hard done by ( a couple of dollars a month ), I dare you, I double dare you. You don’t have the guts you’re just being silly. All this proof from ACCC is meaningless until you have a case anyway and I don’t think you do.
Here’s a suggestion.
Ask Plex fore your money back, they will probably have read your threats and give you back all the money with a good ol’ wave goodbye, don’t come back. This will save you the expensive lawyers.
Again, they were high profile examples simply speaking to where law is applicable.
As I mentioned above; for a consumer the process is not a complicated or expensive process but will vary depending on your state or territory.
I was initially speaking to the Plex staff employee post and why their current proposed solution is not suitable for Australians and why.
Hopefully Plex come up with other options before June 30th cut off.
Even then at that point in the first instance it would be a support ticket with Plex to see what they offer directly, just as you suggest.
I have been through the process previously. It’s not as complex, unobtainable or impossible as you seem to be implying. There are no lawyers involved.
Ideally nothing changes for the current Australian EPG and Australian users just miss out on the ‘better’ EPG system being developed for other countries.
Link to the docker hub above, i’ve written up brief notes on what you need to do to get it running, but in general it should ‘just work’ if you have docker running and know how to get your Plex Media Server to see the xmltv output files that Shepherd produces.
Always wanted to try shepherd. Sounds like the best free guide. I’m a Linux newbie. Installed docker for windows and downloaded your build. Then do I enter the build somehow before I run the shepherd install? How do I set permission for the folder? Easier guide somewhere?
