Upgraded to PlexPass today after reading the blog article that the latest release supports multiple users. Found it didn't do what I want. Searched this forum, didn't find anything saying this exactly. So:
Feature Request: Update the Roku client so that a family with multiple individuals can all use one Roku box on one TV, yet each have their own separate "On Deck, Watched/Unwatched" etc etc sections. I envision this working like this:
"Turn on" Roku box.
Select Plex Channel
A list of usernames comes up
User selects their name from the list
No password prompts *unless* a box in the preferences FOR THAT ACCOUNT is checked saying "do not save password"
Account setup requires the full password, but a PIN (or something easy to input with a Roku remote) is used for the "day to day" use
User now sees the full interface, as they do today, but their watched/unwatched/ratings/etc are all theirs and theirs alone.
If no activity in channel occurs for X minutes, client automatically goes back to the username list screen
Again, the key is that each user has their own watched/unwatched/on deck/etc stuff, ending the common issue in my household of missing something because someone else watched it, so it disappears off of the lists. The crappy workaround I'm doing here is to have multiple Plex servers running, all pointed to the same source files, and labelled differently. So, going into my Roku Plex Channel gives me "Peter's TV, Wife's TV, Kid One's TV, etc." That's rather annoying as that means each server does its own scan of my Unraid stored files, 'causing those drives to run more than I would like.
Please upvote/like/whatever this request if you think it's a good idea.
Obviously you would want to let someone unsubscribe shows. I don't want my wife's shows consistently showing unwatched on my account. You would then just need an interface in PMS to subscribe/unsubscribe accounts to shows and movies. Suddently you can have the kids accounts controlled and the parents accounts require PINs to access.
This is why I loaded up PlexPass - what I would love to see happen is the above with the ability to set a viewing limit on an account - i.e. if it is unlocked then they can view for X amount of time before it relocks.
Usage model:
My kids watch WAAAAY too much TV so we locked our Satellite to limit the amount of time they can watch. We unlock it for them when it is ok - since I have integrated the plex system in my home they just turn on Plex and watch all the TV they could possibly hope for - without being limited by the amount of time (now that it is summer my son gets up and will plop down in front of the tv from 8/9am until I get home at 6pm if we don't stop him). Being able to unlock it for x amount of time would prevent that since he obviously cant make that good choice on his own :S
Please keep in mind that a user-selectable id without a password is fairly contradictory to the notion of parental controls as suggested elsewhere. We have two different use cases here that we need to make sure we do not overlook:
Some folks have multiple devices where each device "belongs" to a particular user and should be matched with a set of controls (not based on section)
Other folks want each device to be switchable between separate user ids easily.
The easier it is to switch between ids (without a PIN), the harder it is to implement parental controls effectively. In that regard, I would make one change to the original plan:
When plex starts it should login to the "default" user. The user could be switched from a settings screen (an option right beside the settings tab).
Good UI development interferes as little as possible while not limiting other users' options. A good solution should meet both cases above. For the first instance, being asked each time would be an unnecessary step. Also, to prevent a number of issues, many people return to the home screen on Roku when changing inputs. This would mean they had to select a user again each time they returned to that input.
I've been transitioning from the Boxee boxes to Roku + Plex on my TVs. Like RaymondsAZ I too just bought a plex plass (lifetime) for the ability to have user accounts. I was also disappointed to find that it didn't support the feature with the clients.
The Boxee box currently has an user account system set up similar to what Raymondsaz and agregjones describe but with slightly different behavior. The Boxee always automatically logs into the last active account instead of a default account. I find this to be better UI behavior because there are some TVs in the house that are almost always used by the same people. The user should have the ability to have the accounts auto logon or require a password. Accounts should work across each of the clients. For example, I also have plex installed on my android tablet. I'd like to be able to hand that to one of my kids and they can switch to his/her account and see their shows.
Finally, an easy way to restrict shows without relying on ratings which I find to be too blunt is for the server to know what libraries the client account is allowed to access. The way my libraries are setup, I basically put all the kid's shows in one folder and grown-up shows in another. The kid's accounts would be restricted to the kids media folder. The grown-up (yes, I'm intentionally not using the word adult because it brings to mind completely different media) account would have access to all libraries. By separating them this way, I don't have to look at a bunch of kids programs when I browse the grown-up library but could select a family shows from the kids media folders on my account.
I've been transitioning from the Boxee boxes to Roku + Plex on my TVs. Like RaymondsAZ I too just bought a plex plass (lifetime) for the ability to have user accounts. I was also disappointed to find that it didn't support the feature with the clients.
The Boxee box currently has an user account system set up similar to what Raymondsaz and agregjones describe but with slightly different behavior. The Boxee always automatically logs into the last active account instead of a default account. I find this to be better UI behavior because there are some TVs in the house that are almost always used by the same people. The user should have the ability to have the accounts auto logon or require a password. Accounts should work across each of the clients. For example, I also have plex installed on my android tablet. I'd like to be able to hand that to one of my kids and they can switch to his/her account and see their shows.
Finally, an easy way to restrict shows without relying on ratings which I find to be too blunt is for the server to know what libraries the client account is allowed to access. The way my libraries are setup, I basically put all the kid's shows in one folder and grown-up shows in another. The kid's accounts would be restricted to the kids media folder. The grown-up (yes, I'm intentionally not using the word adult because it brings to mind completely different media) account would have access to all libraries. By separating them this way, I don't have to look at a bunch of kids programs when I browse the grown-up library but could select a family shows from the kids media folders on my account.
The separation of sections is already possible. The kids accounts can be limited to only kids sections as long as that's all you share with them when sharing your library. As long as you then have require authentication on local network ticked under settings on the plex media server then they will only see the kids sections you've allowed them access to.
The separation of sections is already possible. The kids accounts can be limited to only kids sections as long as that's all you share with them when sharing your library. As long as you then have require authentication on local network ticked under settings on the plex media server then they will only see the kids sections you've allowed them access to.
That's true but the basic problem is that you can't share a device using multiple accounts easily (unless I'm missing something). So while I could set up a child's iPod touch with a different account (and I'd never use it so it wouldnt' be an issue), my Roku's can't switch easily between accounts.
I also just discovered one other troubling issue with plex pass and multiple accounts. My assumption (and the information is out there in the forums where others are complaining) that like other services (netflix comes to mind), I could have one premium plex pass account that included individual family accounts (really profiles) tied back to the primary account. It looks like I have to use the same plex pass account on every device to enable the sync feature.
