Awesome! Thanks for confirming for me! 
Just wanted to provide a quick update here on this topic.
First - I made a comment that has received some attention in a way that wasnât intended. In the message at the top of this post I stated:
This was intended to indicate that after the release started rolling out to users we were seeing reports from people around remote button press issues that had not been observed in beta testing, internal testing, or release prep. At the time, we had started investigating things like some people being on a Roku OS 15 update, as well as reports from a few weeks back where Roku back buttons had stopped working for some users (this had happened independently and apart of any updates to the Plex Roku app). The âfunkinessâ comment here was typed while in the midst of these investigations and was focused on the concept of reboots âfixingâ things for people which is behavior we had not observed before (and thus âfunkyâ). Since then we completed investigations and with community help have identified a bug that could really mess up navigation once it occurred and fixed that and an updated release went out earlier today (ref: Fix focus and navigation issue after playing a season item).
Speaking of that release, it should be available to everyone at this time and addresses that primary bug as well as a few other minor issues. We have also been working hard at understanding other bugs and issues and the team has already started addressing things like better handling of very old server versions (we also strongly encourage everyone to keep your servers updated) and other minor issues. Those fixes are already out in our preview channel that all are welcome to try out.
Finally, I wanted to close with a note regarding this comment:
I believe in this community and in providing as many answers as I am able to in my role as a representative here. This answer does reflect an answer for the time it was written. It was not indicative of any future state nor was it intended to be a response to the many messages and comments around the new experience. Having been involved throughout the Roku preview and release here, it is tough to feel that you donât have the context to engage on what is driving much of the current conversation. There is a serious effort being made to obtain that context and I will give as many answers as possible during the process. As a user I feel that a response or answer, even one that is unpopular or disliked, feels better than silence. There are many of us doing our best to follow this approach. Also, we will continue to engage in conversations on what feature gaps might exist and work through bugs and issues to get this stable quickly and in partnership with this amazing community.
4 Likes
Hey @DaveBinM ! I see that you have a response to your question already as I was getting ready to confirm (thanks @MovieFan for your answers here).
The playlist experience shouldnât have changed other than the entry point to where you access playlists being split out by library and moved to the library menu.
1 Like
This is totally unacceptable and none of the logic addressed in the post is valid or makes up for the atrociousness of both the interface itself and the way in which it has been forced upon us.
Iâm sure I am not alone in this simple workflow:
-
Open Plex.
-
Scroll on the home page through things like âContinue watchingâ, âRecently Added Moviesâ, âRecently Added TVâ, âRecently Added XâŠâ.
-
If I donât see anything in that list I want to watch, then clicking over to the left to open my libraries easily allowed me to select any library.
Now, instead of being able to quickly open a library, I need to move ALL THE WAY BACK UP TO THE TOP, which in my default view under the new interface is 10 CLICKS!!!
I need to click 10 times in order just to be able to pull up a list of libraries!!! Then I need to select that library ofc and find what I want.
That is just unacceptable. There is no other word for it and no way it could be justified. It is bad UI design and a slap in the face to users.
Maybe Iâm missing something? But how would I know? It isnât like you provide good notification or documentation, especially not PRIOR to pushing out such updates. Is there a quicker way to access the libraries???
I feel like this interface was ported from a mobile device where a touch screen can allow you to access any part of the menu instantaneously, but this isnât true with a TV remote.
It borders on unusable, and is certainly unenjoyable.
Honestly, what is the play here? Who is telling you these changes are good? Iâm certainly not hearing it from a single user. That isnât hyperbolicâŠnot a single user. And even if you could fine one, or a hundred, they are going to be such a small minority that it makes no sense why these changes found their way to our sets.
This isnât just users being resistent to change, this is about bad choices by Plex.
26 Likes
Hi @bengalih ! Thank you for this writeup
I understand the path you are following, but I would suggest trying to Back button on your remote. From any on the main screens it will jump back to the top of that screen, so instead of 10 âUpâ clicks, try âBackâ â âUpâ and then select your next library to browse.
I was about to say use the back button. That would be 3 clicks.
How did you do it in the old version. From what I remember, you could only go left to the library list if you were at the first item of the row. So if you were browsing the row looking for something, you would still need to hit left a bunch of time to get to the first item before you could go to the library list. Hitting back in the old app would move to the first item in the list, then you could go left, so 2 clicks.
Iâm not seeing the issue with this specific scenario other than 1 more click.
@McWanke I donât see a need to have the home icon if you are already on the home page so if you removed that and going up to the menu selected the library tab first, that would save a click. Parity!!!
1 Like
Thank you for this report. Been trying to replicate and have already kicked off some additional review and will get our managed users experts to test it out tomorrow.
Update: And it got tested sooner than I thought it would and we have a ticket created for it and one of the Roku devs things they know what the fix needs to be. Look for this in an upcoming release.
2 Likes
While I have promoted Plex and the usefulness of the Plexpass for many years, that I s stopping now after seeing how this is playing out.
I have seen enough over the last year to change my view.
I will happily share how Plex no longer gives a crap about the needs/desires for its users.
This new UI that you are clinging to is utter garbage, ugly, and lags.
Do you think thatwe are idiots? Yes we all restarted our devices, and searched fir a way to revert from this horror show.
14 Likes
when you need to wait 30-60 seconds to load a library. to a computer thats connected to the switch next to the tv roku for every library is a bit much. old system was instant.
7 Likes
So, if you got into your vehicle and was presented with a message that its features had been âimprovedâ, which meant all of the controls had been shuffled around and you had no prior notice this was going to happen, and all you had to do was press the menu button to start the vehicle, and to stop the vehicle you just need to press the back button then the * to access the brakes options, that youâd be happy with the âimprovementsâ?
I know that youâre getting beat up on this change, but hey, Team PLEX dropped the ball on letting their loyal users know it was coming. That might have gone a long way in getting helpful input vs hurtful input.
16 Likes
The week I have had dealing with multiple Plex issues has really made me question the direction this company is headed. This update is garbage and the fact we canât get it rolled back or the option of the old layout is a joke. Half the buttons either donât work or commands are delayed, the layout screams that it was done by a group of people that are changing things just to justify a paycheck, I had to log back in after reclaiming my server, and this had to be done with the f-ing remote this time, no code, so that password that you wanted to be long and secure had to be entered one character at a time. All that just to still have the button issues and the laggy server, and now even the plex channels are acting like they are on a crappy antenna in a windstorm. But you say that I should log out and back in again and that should fix it? Please. I am getting really tired of being an unpaid beta tester for companies that just want to save a buck. Get better.
13 Likes
Please provide an option to use the old UI. Youâve gone from highly functional and easy to use to confusing and difficult. Change just for changeâs sake is a terrible reason to do anything.
17 Likes
Iâve had plex pass for a long time. My parents and grandkids use plex, well, they used to use it. This new UI is silly and unusable. If you donât go back TO WHAT WORKED AND EVERYONE GOT USED TO, I will be going to a competitor. And if you look ay your own forms, Iâm not the only one. I just searched a page and there were 294 mentions of Jellyfish and NOT ONE PERSON that liked this nonsense. Not even one. Admit your mistake and ROLL IT BACK, or youâre about to lose the market share. While youâre at it, fire the idiot who wrote this code for this dumpster fire. I have never posted to this forum before, if that doesnât tell you something, nothing will. YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE NOT HAPPY! To continue to try and ram this down our throats is just bad business. This update isnât bad, this update SUCKS. Itâs not usable, I canât find collections for TV shows I spent YEARS making covers for, and worst of all the people that I made this all for CANâT USE THE NEW UI. They are not techies or have hundreds of hours trying to figure this garbage out. If they canât use this, Iâll find one they can use. With that in mind, if youâre not going to roll it back and make it usable again. I WANT WHAT I SPENT ON PLEX PASS RUFUNDED. And as a lawyer, I will file a class action lawsuit and make it available to everyone that paid for plexpass and if nothing else cost you a fortune in legal fees defending it. It doesnât cost me a penny to go to court, but if I win even a partial judgment⊠Just put it back NO ONE LIKES IT, NO ONE. If that alone doesnât bother you, you shouldnât be in business. Signed Michael McQuown, Esq.
11 Likes
Seriously, just give everyone the option to use classic UI or your new one and let the customers decide. News flash: People are tired of having to learn a new GUI every time they turn around because some company is trying to play keeping up with the Joneses. All you have to do to solve the problem is 1. Admit you made a mistake and 2. Give your customers the option to continue to use what they know and have learned. My mom just called me in tears because she canât find the TV show she was watching. I tried for an hour to talk her through it and I canât find it either on Roku.
14 Likes
This update is â â â â â â awful, and Plex are clearly demonstrating here they donât give a single â â â â about their users feedback.
12 Likes
Right here! Our TVâs are NOT our tablets or our phones. Yes, some folks donât consume any media via a TV screen, but theyâre a small subset of the market. You have apps for mobile devices, standardize and unify them! But donât inflict those mobile-specific interfaces on TV / large screens⊠it just doesnât work. Itâs a UI/UX nightmare. Itâs a massive mental charlie-horse to users who have spent a lifetime logically expecting TVâs to behave like TVâs. You can unify themes, you can unify design elements, you can unify color schemes, yadda yadda yadda, but trying to make big screens that are manipulated via remote control behave the same way as little screens that are manipulated by touch is the height of underinformed design hubris. Weâve got decades upon decades of research into human/machine interfaces and human/screen interaction⊠itâs all there. Hire some professional advisors for frickâs sake. STOP TRYING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL!!!
12 Likes
Please understand. This isnât just reticence against change. Change is fine if the change is positive. There will always be resistance to that, but most people will eventually come to see it as better if it is.
This isnât that. This is âchange for the sake of changeâ. And itâs dumb. The swap where the libraries are now on top? Bad choice. Now, if I want to switch libraries or look at settings, I have to either scroll all the way back up to the top manually, or use the âbackâ key and lose my place. Also, I now have to click an extra time to even get my list of libraries, whereas before I could just click âleftâ and they were all right there. Moving to my user profile to switch users, or whatever, is now even more difficult, because I canât reach it from the left side menu, even though that where itâs located
you say you want to make it more consistent, but this is dumb. My 65â widescreen TV is not a 6.7in portrait mode phone. Thereâs far less real estate on my phone than my TV, why limit the TV because of my phone. (Also, the UIs arenât even the same anyways, so thatâs a false argument).
You say youâre looking into ways to make the things we used to do, but canât find, more obvious? well, they were pretty obvious before, and frankly, putting a welcome screen up on first login doesnât do anything but annoy people. Do you know what people wanna do when they sit down at their TV? Load up plex, spin up whatever thing they were watching or wanted to watch, and watch then it. Not be greeted by a âthe new UI experience is here, click through these 7 pages of pictures that youâre not going to read because youâve already spent your mental energy on work and kids.â
You say you wanted to make it so customizations were the same Across all apps per user, but we used to have that with the old-old UI, which was still laid out like the âoldâ UI. You could have entirely re-vamped the UI backend without screwing up the UX. Hell, if you wanted to change the skeumorphisms even, fine. Make the buttons round and bubbly, or add in a brushed metal Finish, or make certain menu collapsible, fine. But massively changing the interface to a way thatâs entirely reverse of what everyone is used to for absolutely no benefit is ridiculous. If this is the crap you removed âwatch togetherâ for, you absolutely wet the bed on this, because there has been zero added benefit. Nothing works better, nothing is easier to get to or find (and in most cases harder to find and far less obvious), there are far more bugs now than before, the movies donât seem to load any faster, and youâve now added a ton of confusion for all of our downstream users who are confused as to how to even use the system at all, leaving us all holding the bag because of your poor management decisions to change things just to change things. Whichever UX designer came up with this design should be fired, whoever approved it should be fired, and whoever has decided to double down on sticking with it to the detriment of the server admins AND the end users should be fired.
Seriously, no one is asking you to roll back to the old client, but for userâs sake, put back the old layout, this one sucks. Just move things back to their original locations, and youâd make everyone here much happier. Screwing with a logout while revamping a whole system is generally bad form, as youâre not only introducing a ton of potential bugs, but also breaking everyone expectations of where things were. Now people are pisse off because nothing is where it should be, and when they find it, it doesnât work.
22 Likes
Apologies if this has already been brought up but âeditionsâ on movies no longer show up as part of the title. It now looks like I have three copies of the exact same movie and the only way to tell which one is which is to click on each one and find the incredibly tiny tag that says what edition it is. This used to be part of the movie title while still in the library.
Yet another downgrade with this âupgradeâ
Also, I do not understand what the weird little âseason 1â âseason 2â etc thumbnails are within each season. They just take up space and make my library look worse. Give me a way to turn those off, they arenât adding anything to the experience.
And I would like to add my voice to the chorus of people saying the top bar navigation is awful. It is far less functional than the left hand menu was.
10 Likes
Not a good response. We all hate this update. It makes everything cumbersome and unintuitive. Iâm just waiting for my wife to launch Plex, then either find something we own in a different service or throw the remote at me, saying âYou find it.â Great job. You really show how much you care.
15 Likes
Why was this a necessary change over Remembering the Tab or View? I have some libraries I prefer set to Browse, but some I preferred defaulted to Collections. Youâve removed my choice, and I donât understand why something so simple had to be changed.
10 Likes
