Should Plex initiate a feature freeze?

General Discussions
1

Look, I get it, you want to be ‘the’ media player solution. You want to spread through the world to every device possible. I get it. New devices are being added as clients and servers. It’s quite impressive really.

But at what Cost?

I look through these forums and see countless problems that are going unresolved. So many issues that are being seemingly ignored through many revisions, while the push toward more and more devices continues.

Why not take a step back, chill for a second, and fix what you already have? Why not spend a few months debugging the current code, before adding even more buggy features to it?

2

Nice idea and totally agree. Not conducive to any type of business though. Business is about a) Dollars b) Products & Services. I do think that Plex should look to stop the ‘bleeding’ first and put far greater pre-release regression testing in place for all future releases, however that’s a huge investment for Plex in terms of time and resources and going to cost them big (and we will feel the pain with less frequent releases)… so they need that money again from new customers/features/client coverage etc… round and round we go…

The best motivator for Plex here is going to be ‘bad press’ regarding poor release quality. Until Plex see a real risk to their incoming Dollars due to this poor quality, they won’t change a thing, and who can blame them really - it’s a business after all.

3

Plex Release is very stable.
Plex Pass version has a few issues if using DVR (beta 5).

Plex did 4 versions of DVR outside of Plex-Pass to work out most of the problems.
Plex Hardware Encoding BETA is still outside of Plex-Pass to work out issues and bugs.

Plex has been putting more time and effort in testing as these two BETAs show. These are both HIGHLY requested features forum members have been asking for.

For a while Plex WAS trying to conquer many, many devices to get Plex Interface everywhere. They also introduced a new interface as well as structure behind the scenes.This takes time to get mature but the company also increased it’s employee count dramatically so coders weren’t pulled. These interfaces while not bug free are getting better and better with each new release.

Plex has slowly been sliding in little bits here and there of user requested features such as the controls to limit bandwidth and stream counts of users.

YOU for the most part can control a large portion of how well your system runs. For example the clients you choose to run and the version of Plex. As an example if you run the released version of Plex server and use something like the nVidia Shield TV device you will have very few problems and your Plex experience will be very enjoyable.

4

Plex for androidtv is kinda ■■■■■ and I do use the ShieldTV. Won’t play many files that will play natively without transcoding… or at all. No cast info. Interface is lacking compared to most other platforms. Since this is my primary UI, it really bothers me that it’s been allowed to languish. Honestly, I’ve been using the Official Plex plugin for Kodi, since it doesn’t have issues playing the same files the native client just simply won’t.

On deck is still broken in release for managed users AFAIK. I’m not willing to update until I know that is fixed.

5

I think they need to hire more people. Plex has evolved from being amazing to being awful. I used to be a big fan and I was considering buying the lifetime Plex pass, but now everyday I have several problems. For example, today, my Plex server was unavailable, I fix it removing the server in the web app and restarting the server, but I lost a lot of time until I figured it out.

I’m not sure about freezing everything. It doesn’t seem a good idea, there are free alternatives like Infuse that work flawless and they have features that we don’t have, like Trakt support.

6

@cayars said:
Plex Release is very stable.
Plex Pass version has a few issues if using DVR (beta 5).

Plex did 4 versions of DVR outside of Plex-Pass to work out most of the problems.
Plex Hardware Encoding BETA is still outside of Plex-Pass to work out issues and bugs.

Plex has been putting more time and effort in testing as these two BETAs show. These are both HIGHLY requested features forum members have been asking for.

For a while Plex WAS trying to conquer many, many devices to get Plex Interface everywhere. They also introduced a new interface as well as structure behind the scenes.This takes time to get mature but the company also increased it’s employee count dramatically so coders weren’t pulled. These interfaces while not bug free are getting better and better with each new release.

Plex has slowly been sliding in little bits here and there of user requested features such as the controls to limit bandwidth and stream counts of users.

YOU for the most part can control a large portion of how well your system runs. For example the clients you choose to run and the version of Plex. As an example if you run the released version of Plex server and use something like the nVidia Shield TV device you will have very few problems and your Plex experience will be very enjoyable.

There are complaints about broken DLNA, metadata issues, matching etc. So there seems to be very little reply to complaints from the Plex Staff, and many are old and unresolved issues. I use Win10, I’m no computer expert, and I’m sure the avarage user isn’t. I don’t know what to do to downgrade, if the update is broken with the gear I use. I don’t want to go through all my media again and pick posters, tweak names, etc.

Plex has bugs, because someone wanted bells and whistles. You can put all the lipstick you want on a pig… it will never make it not a pig.

It’s time for Plex to fix the house we all play in, before continuing to add another level.

7

@cayars said:
Plex Release is very stable.
Plex Pass version has a few issues if using DVR (beta 5).

Plex did 4 versions of DVR outside of Plex-Pass to work out most of the problems.
Plex Hardware Encoding BETA is still outside of Plex-Pass to work out issues and bugs.

Plex has been putting more time and effort in testing as these two BETAs show. These are both HIGHLY requested features forum members have been asking for.

For a while Plex WAS trying to conquer many, many devices to get Plex Interface everywhere. They also introduced a new interface as well as structure behind the scenes.This takes time to get mature but the company also increased it’s employee count dramatically so coders weren’t pulled. These interfaces while not bug free are getting better and better with each new release.

Plex has slowly been sliding in little bits here and there of user requested features such as the controls to limit bandwidth and stream counts of users.

YOU for the most part can control a large portion of how well your system runs. For example the clients you choose to run and the version of Plex. As an example if you run the released version of Plex server and use something like the nVidia Shield TV device you will have very few problems and your Plex experience will be very enjoyable.

Respectfully, would seem many disagree with you.

8

@Pil71 said:

@cayars said:
Plex Release is very stable.
Plex Pass version has a few issues if using DVR (beta 5).

Plex did 4 versions of DVR outside of Plex-Pass to work out most of the problems.
Plex Hardware Encoding BETA is still outside of Plex-Pass to work out issues and bugs.

Plex has been putting more time and effort in testing as these two BETAs show. These are both HIGHLY requested features forum members have been asking for.

For a while Plex WAS trying to conquer many, many devices to get Plex Interface everywhere. They also introduced a new interface as well as structure behind the scenes.This takes time to get mature but the company also increased it’s employee count dramatically so coders weren’t pulled. These interfaces while not bug free are getting better and better with each new release.

Plex has slowly been sliding in little bits here and there of user requested features such as the controls to limit bandwidth and stream counts of users.

YOU for the most part can control a large portion of how well your system runs. For example the clients you choose to run and the version of Plex. As an example if you run the released version of Plex server and use something like the nVidia Shield TV device you will have very few problems and your Plex experience will be very enjoyable.

Respectfully, would seem many disagree with you.

Like me. We’re not even talkin" until gapless playback and ID3 tag re-scanning are added. And I see the 'ol add to firewall prompt on launch issue is back too. Nice.

9

@“Frank Logan” said:

There are complaints about broken DLNA, metadata issues, matching etc. So there seems to be very little reply to complaints from the Plex Staff, and many are old and unresolved issues. I use Win10, I’m no computer expert, and I’m sure the avarage user isn’t. I don’t know what to do to downgrade, if the update is broken with the gear I use. I don’t want to go through all my media again and pick posters, tweak names, etc.
DLNA is fringe to Plex. They want you to run a client. :slight_smile:

Plex has bugs, because someone wanted bells and whistles. You can put all the lipstick you want on a pig… it will never make it not a pig.
One man’s “bells and whistles” is another persons core feature. See below.

It’s time for Plex to fix the house we all play in, before continuing to add another level.
Look at most releases and you’ll see they are both new features and fixes. Plex can do both.
@interconnect said:

@Pil71 said:

Like me. We’re not even talkin" until gapless playback and ID3 tag re-scanning are added. And I see the 'ol add to firewall prompt on launch issue is back too. Nice.

This is a “bell and whistle” so no soup for you! :slight_smile:

10

@cayars said:

@“Frank Logan” said:

There are complaints about broken DLNA, metadata issues, matching etc. So there seems to be very little reply to complaints from the Plex Staff, and many are old and unresolved issues. I use Win10, I’m no computer expert, and I’m sure the avarage user isn’t. I don’t know what to do to downgrade, if the update is broken with the gear I use. I don’t want to go through all my media again and pick posters, tweak names, etc.
DLNA is fringe to Plex. They want you to run a client. :slight_smile:

Plex has bugs, because someone wanted bells and whistles. You can put all the lipstick you want on a pig… it will never make it not a pig.
One man’s “bells and whistles” is another persons core feature. See below.

It’s time for Plex to fix the house we all play in, before continuing to add another level.
Look at most releases and you’ll see they are both new features and fixes. Plex can do both.
@interconnect said:

@Pil71 said:

Like me. We’re not even talkin" until gapless playback and ID3 tag re-scanning are added. And I see the 'ol add to firewall prompt on launch issue is back too. Nice.

This is a “bell and whistle” so no soup for you! :slight_smile:

First you couldn’t be more wrong.

Someone tells me their Brand-X does the following thing, then it should… period. If they would rather I use it the way they want, well that’s great too… then cut support for the thing they don’t care about, and publicly state so. Otherwise, fix the bug… period.

My first truck had power nothing. My second truck has power everything. What kind of idiot would I be if I insisted that add on accessories were a core feature of a motor vehicle. Power windows are not a requirement, just that there are windows… a crank handle works fine. Power is great, but not core… period.

And sure, they say, look this bug is fixed… oh but wait, there’s a new bug, and those other yhings we didn’t look into. 1.3.4, was full of user reported issues. Hell the last two PlexPass releases haven’t been made public. Based on that, why would I download? How can you call that stable?

Every release there is something new, a a pile of fixes, and still users say the bugs are there. Yeah… I’ll download that.

11

I think you missed my point OR I didn’t express it well to begin with.

Yes it would be nice to have less bugs in the software. I agree with this for sure. Does that mean a feature freeze or more strenuous testing before release?

What one person would call a core feature is a fringe feature to someone else and vice versa.

There are a couple of new bugs introduced in the latest plex-pass release that can crash the server. Those are severe and I sure hope Plex is doing everything they can to squash them and get a new plex-pass release out the door (sounds like it). But in all honesty most of the bugs are not severe and can be worked around (not all but many).

I run a pretty decent size system so I’m sure I feel the pain of “bugs” as much as the next guy if not more at times. But I personally wouldn’t want to see a freeze put in place. For example if they were to freeze development right now and only work on things in the released version then DVR and Hardware transcoding would be put on the back burner for who knows how long? These are important items to the future of Plex.

What I do think would be very beneficial would be to have another layer of testing in place before things go plex-pass. Sort of like how HW and DVR went through several versions of testing before going Plex-Pass.

I’d also highly suggest they stop marketing BETA or very new services as PRODUCTION quality on the website. They can have it there but it should be much better expressed as “new and in testing.” This would help with expectations a bit as well.

Carlo

PS one thing that has helped me out at times to deal with issues/bugs is to think about what other alternatives their are to use if I didn’t want to use Plex. Slim pickings.

12

@cayars said:

I run a pretty decent size system

Hahahaha! May be the understatement of the year and we are just in March!

13

@cayars said:
I think you missed my point OR I didn’t express it well to begin with.

Yes it would be nice to have less bugs in the software. I agree with this for sure. Does that mean a feature freeze or more strenuous testing before release?

What one person would call a core feature is a fringe feature to someone else and vice versa.

There are a couple of new bugs introduced in the latest plex-pass release that can crash the server. Those are severe and I sure hope Plex is doing everything they can to squash them and get a new plex-pass release out the door (sounds like it). But in all honesty most of the bugs are not severe and can be worked around (not all but many).

I run a pretty decent size system so I’m sure I feel the pain of “bugs” as much as the next guy if not more at times. But I personally wouldn’t want to see a freeze put in place. For example if they were to freeze development right now and only work on things in the released version then DVR and Hardware transcoding would be put on the back burner for who knows how long? These are important items to the future of Plex.

What I do think would be very beneficial would be to have another layer of testing in place before things go plex-pass. Sort of like how HW and DVR went through several versions of testing before going Plex-Pass.

I’d also highly suggest they stop marketing BETA or very new services as PRODUCTION quality on the website. They can have it there but it should be much better expressed as “new and in testing.” This would help with expectations a bit as well.

Carlo

PS one thing that has helped me out at times to deal with issues/bugs is to think about what other alternatives their are to use if I didn’t want to use Plex. Slim pickings.

I get what you’re saying. I do like Plex. In theory it’s awesome what they have built. And the price-point for a life PlexPass, is very cheap, considering other computer program pricing. I even understand why you would suggest they keep pushing the boundaries on what a home media server can do, and with what devices it can do it with.

But good code and features keep getting added to a broken basic core program. How hard is it going to be to fix the core, with the house of cards add-on’s tacked to it? How hard is it to at least tell PlexPass members that they are working on it, or answer the piling list of issues that come with each release? They want testers, sure… but maybe they could tell members thay “if you use system x, you may want to pass” as they are working on fixes.

Communication is always key, and treating anyone; paid customer, or free, like mushrooms, is the key to frustrated and disgruntled customers. Acknowledge the bugs, explain which setups might be most vulnerable to failures (so people don’t have to downgrade for stability), and update as to what fixes are planned and for when.

That’s just good customer service.

14

I certainly agree fully with the second part of your post and communication especially about fixes or requested features. There is little reason there can’t be more communication on these items. No secrets are lost by doing so!

15

@cayars said:
I certainly agree fully with the second part of your post and communication especially about fixes or requested features. There is little reason there can’t be more communication on these items. No secrets are lost by doing so!

…if anything, happy customers, who feel valued, and will promote the product. In the short time since I have been using Plex, I have been a booster… but with all the current issues, I can’t.

How do I sell this to a friend or work colleague, just to have them tell me about all the issues they’ve had. I can’t fix it for them. Customer service here is a joke… then what? I look like a heel, promoting a half working product. I could tell them how great the system worked 3 releases back.

Thank god for all the great members here, which always seem ready to lend a hand helping others.

16

Keep in mind if you have better luck with a past version you can certainly run that version as long as there hasn’t been something broke like meta-data retrieval or a new web update that only works with a current version. Basically a forced upgrade.

17

@“Frank Logan” said:
…
But good code and features keep getting added to a broken basic core program. How hard is it going to be to fix the core, with the house of cards add-on’s tacked to it? How hard is it to at least tell PlexPass members that they are working on it, or answer the piling list of issues that come with each release? They want testers, sure… but maybe they could tell members thay “if you use system x, you may want to pass” as they are working on fixes.
…

I tend to agree with this. Sometimes Plex seems like those poorly built houses you used to see along the beach in California. (Some of them may still be there) The ones built on stilts where the ocean keeps eating away at the support until the whole house collapses into the sea.

But, in the case of Plex it seems, a lot of the time, that they do their own undermining of the foundation and bring about their own mini-collapse and they then have to spend time and money to patch the foundation.

But, I think fortunately for me, I run Plex about as simple as it can be with a pretty large library and thereby avoid most of the worst of the bugs that get uncovered/introduced when a new feature or enhancement gets added to the structure.

That is my house stays simple so it takes a lot more for the ocean to undermine it.