I would have all of the patience in the world for fixes if this were the case.
I’d want it to be similar to how it was… “Pinned” over “Favorites.” I understand wanting to unify Favorites across devices, but I have use cases that roll against that approach. Pinning for each device isn’t that big of a deal to me.
And most importantly, when you add a episode to a series, that series will show up at the lastest in seires row and not only the episode.
Almost 2 weeks of not being able to connect to my Plex server. Did everyone at plex get furloughed?
My users can barely create a Plex account (no offense to them) much less navigate the account settings and understand what those integrations mean.
And yes, I do complain about ads integrated in UIs all the time in whatever solution I use. Why is this suddenly a “what’s fair” about other systems? How does that matter? I paid for Plex, I host Plex, and I can complain about ads in what I bought/host. I don’t see how your defense stands as it boils down to “But that’s not fair to Plex if you don’t complain elsewhere!”
If you’re having a problem like that you should probably start a new thread with, server version, player version, and description of your problem and people could help you out.
My best guess?
Plex has been trying to integrate with other streaming solutions with a lot of friction. They did integrate with Tidal for a while before removing the integration.
There’s also additional friction with them against various media providers and studios. This is what led to the VPS hosting crackdown.
By additionally blurring where media is coming from in this new unified UI, they can start to wean users off of self-hosted content and push/shove them into other media services - not just their own.
This new UI is Plex building a case for other streaming services and copyright holders to partner with them and avoid litigation for promoting media piracy.
The very existence of a solution like Plex Media Server cannot be trusted to a business because it is the antithesis of profit-driving behavior. You can expect Plex to discontinue their media server entirely once they drive off enough server administrators, get the attention of copyright holders and streaming services, and remain with the user base we built for them.
This new UI isn’t for us. It’s for them. And I won’t use it.
Then bluntly maybe Plex isn’t for them.
Also, yes you paid for Plex, but so many seem to be forgetting the origin of it was for you to be able to access your media at home and outside of the home. I seriously doubt when this all started that the vision of Plex was to have users share content with huge groups of people. Something that is undeniably occurring with Plex. Not saying you are, but you’d have to be living under a rock to not be aware of this issue.
When Plex took steps to limit the use of those using Hetzner boxes it was clear what they were fighting. Followed up by the new requirements on fees needing to be paid or at least one person having a Plex Pass. This all doesn’t affect the current UI, but somehow reading between the lines with how so many are complaining how it affects their “users” I suspect quite a few are monetizing their server. And they’re getting pushback and losing revenue.
You seem to indicate you’re moving on from Plex so hopefully those who access your content will find it easier with Emby or Jellyfin or Serviio or whichever system you’ve moved on to.
I’ll also note it is stunning tbh how so many voices came out of the woodworks with the new UI. But I’ll always question why none of those ever joined in and followed along with the Beta testing of what has now become the new UI for Roku. There were only a very limited number of people trying to put forth our desires for how the app got shaped. All the voices that were silent then are now the most vocal. It’s pretty annoying tbh. It’s not like this route wasn’t clearly on the horizon. It had been stated numerous times how they were attempting to unify the look and code across platforms.
Simply stomping one’s feet and constantly demanding a rollback is futile. You get far more of a positive reaction in life with being polite and making a case for desired changes. During the Beta testing there were changes made. Some pretty significant tbh. Plex employees were more than willing to listen to and act as much as they could to try and please people within reason. There’s no reason to believe that can’t continue.
Plex became not for them. It absolutely was for them once upon a time. I don’t know what your essay is trying to accomplish. I shouldn’t be allowed to dislike what Plex has been transformed into? You have just as much impact here as I do. I don’t have to submit to any opinion of yours. I’m aware the reverse is true, but I’m not trying to convince you of anything other than my right to feel as I do and have a voice here as well.
Additionally, if Plex didn’t want us to share material with a lot of people, they very well could have created an upper limit. They still can. While they’re in the business of making unpopular decisions, perhaps they could add that feature. I don’t feel it’s in the business of software to impose arbitrary limits on its users, though.
If you’re suggesting that I’m monetizing my server, I’m absolutely not. Even it I were, it’s no business of yours or Plex. I hosted on Hetzner at one point in time because my upload at home was limited to 15 Mbps. A single family member streaming from my house was enough to disrupt my work. I would have gotten better Internet at the time if I could.
If you’re suggesting that I’m on my way out the door, therefore I have no right to complain, think again. I no longer have what I paid for in full, and I feel that I’m entitled to complain. Yeah, I am moving on, but I don’t want to - it’s effort I have to put in to replace a faulty product/service. That I paid for, once again.
I didn’t even know a new UI was in progress, and I assume it was the case for many others. Of course we’re going to complain as we become aware of it. How am I supposed to complain about something I don’t know about? What kind of freakish fortune-telling expectation is that? And who are you to dictate when I should and should not be able to complain? Once again, we are peers. Act like it. There were also people complaining about the experimental UI before it was released. I see none of their feedback was taken into account, so I don’t see what timing has to do with your argument.
Stomping our feet is the only option we have, especially as our requests are not being listened to and Plex has closed its communications channels. Of course people are going to be upset about that. And here we are 7 months after release with no discernible improvement, broken features, and a UI that replaced a much beloved one. I was here for the 2019 debacle, and this is nothing like it. Plex listened then. It’s not now.
If you want me to go away and not post how I feel, send me all the money I invested in Plex. I’ll close my account and remove my posts the same day.
I was curious if it was going to come up but thats exactly what I expected.
Tidal integration was one of the reasons I paid for plex pass, to support this amazing app. Then they binned it a few months later. It’s just been getting worse and worse since then with features being removed (watch together Im looking at you) broken functionality, severe bugs and the interface ruined.
To be clear, I’m not against third party integration in principle, but I think it should be opt-in.
While that may be the case, it looks very far away right now even if the UX changes are an unpopular disaster.
Look at the server release notes. Every release has improvements for personal media. They are testing a giant ffmpeg upgrade right now. If they are trying to eliminate users like us, why are they still putting effort into server updates like that?
Breadcrumbing. Narcissists use it all the time. They continue to take away features and promote their AVOD more and more but then sprinkle in some PMS updates to give false hope and keep people paying. Draw out the inevitable as long as possible while bleeding them dry until one day they have the revenue they need from AVOD subscribers and yank the rug out from under PMS users. Classic.
Prove me wrong, Plex. Do right by your customers and reverse this mistake.
Because they’re not there yet. Priorities will shift to where the money goes.
It really isn’t stunning. They just rolled out a massive turd on one of the largest streaming devices available. Regular users aren’t tuned into the forums and probably don’t pay attention to what they believe are spam emails from Plex, so they never saw this coming. The change… would be jarring to the uninformed.
The voices were fewer in testing, but we were there. We tried to tell them this wasn’t the way to roll, but they rolled anyway. The masses weren’t there because they’re not as plugged in as some of the server owners are. I routinely haunt the forum and saw this coming a mile away. I wouldn’t expect an average user to be that tuned in.
Deservedly so. They were totally taken off guard. I didn’t say much to my users as I’d hope they’d have pulled back and rethought the rollout. It appears they didn’t. The update just appeared one day.
Again, not something the masses would be tuned into. The volume of people showing up to complain isn’t out of the realm of logic. Upset people are way more vocal than happy people. Happy people generally roll along with a smile on their face… until something comes along to remove it.
So basically you’re telling us that you simply do not care about your user’s experience or our input?!? This is absolute garbage, and you know it. No one likes this UI. It is clunky and difficult to navigate. It brings no positives whatsoever, and you’re telling us that you don’t care and you’re not going to let us roll it back no matter what. This is total BS, I will be taking my Plex Pass dollars elsewhere, and maybe if enough of your customers do so you will either learn from this massive mistake or you will go out of business (which after this disaster would be justice).
Thanks for confirming that you are going to be pig headed and stick with this absolute travesty of an update because you have fragile egos and don’t want to give the customer what they want. I appreciate you doing that so I can move on to something else and not waste time waiting to see if you come to your senses. Every single aspect of this update made the experience worse.
What exactly has Plex transformed into that is so different? I’ve been a lifetime Plex Pass user since 2012 and was using XBMC before that. Plex has changed UI’s many times over the years but at no point has Plex ever stopped being a media server or transformed into anything that would make my media server unusable to me and my family.
So I get not liking a UI or not getting along with the design of the new app. Indeed it can be frustrating until the app is more fully featured. But the biggest + about Plex is you can use other clients if the Roku UI is not the experience you want.
You didn’t pay for the UI of the Roku to never change. And instead of moving on from Plex wouldn’t it be easier to find a client that works and looks the way you want? Android TV, Kodi, Infuse on Apple TV. Many different clients with many different UI’s can be used with Plex especially if you know what you’re doing with Kodi which is still by far a better player than any native Plex apps.
The point here is that not everyone can use a different interface. Maybe they don’t know how (elderly/disabled/non technical user). Maybe they don’t have the money to just pick up something new, which will eventually get the same UI anyway. But despite all of that, and as I have said many times now, it’s not just the UI/UX, it’s the whole package.
They have removed many features and raised prices. That’s a fact. And knowing how long it takes Plex to play catch up it’s going to be YEARS before the new experience is on par with the old apps. It’s just bad business and bad leadership to pull this kind of move. Period.
Many other companies have done it and faced the wrath of users and reversed course. Many other companies learned lessons from those that failed before them. This isn’t the first time Plex has had a backlash to an update but it just goes to show that they never learn and are never truly in touch with their users.
This entire new experience was built in a bubble. It was tested in a lab. And anyone who has spent any time in or around software development knows that “it worked on my machine” is never a valid excuse to push broken code to release.
Now a lot of the complaints are preference to the UI, but that also does not invalidate the fact that the vast majority of users find the interface to be obstructive and less intuitive than before. And in business the customer is always right.
WOW, talk about totally clueless! So just buy something different, learn an entirely new OS, etc?!
