Do you utterly fail to understand that plex SHOULD WORK OFFLINE? When I’ve been sent to some godforsaken country with useless internet, plex should still work. When something breaks at my ISP, plex should still work. If I unplug my internet completely, plex should still work. I’m playing files stored in my house, on devices located in my house.
I’ve got a lifetime pass, you’re fully able to cache that information locally, and keep functioning.
Please stop this move everything online BS, and focus on delivering a functional product. Reliability is so much more important than these clever and fragile solutions.
Now I’ll go do something else, since plex is timing out downloading codecs.
This doesnt help the issue with the Plex design… but I have been frustrated with this too… I think it is feasible to enable the DLNA player and access them through a native player on your device. Its a horrible folder style interface but at least you can get to the media… Another think I was wondering about (at least on my Rokus) is the RARPlex client. I searched for it but couldnt find it… I used to like it quite a bit… If I could find that app somewhere then possibly it could be used with a somewhat familiar interface. Of course if the Plex server is hung trying to download codecs, this wont help with things…
In my case, DLNA is not an option, as the DLNA server in Plex conflicts with my security cameras. However the DLNA server in other devices (WD network hard drives) does not. Go figure…
Arrgh that’s a pain… Again this doesnt address the issue, but - You could export your Plex media folders via NFS or something and access them via a client that can support it - Kodi for example. It works fine on my Android TV boxes… Sort of a best of both worlds… a new media file is added to plex and it magically appears in Kodi as well etc… I dont know what your playback platforms are but maybe there is an app that can support the media playback off a local network share.
@montys said:
This doesnt help the issue with the Plex design… but I have been frustrated with this too… I think it is feasible to enable the DLNA player and access them through a native player on your device. Its a horrible folder style interface but at least you can get to the media… Another think I was wondering about (at least on my Rokus) is the RARPlex client. I searched for it but couldnt find it… I used to like it quite a bit… If I could find that app somewhere then possibly it could be used with a somewhat familiar interface. Of course if the Plex server is hung trying to download codecs, this wont help with things…
Do you mean RARflix? If so it is a private channel and its support page is found at: http://www.rarflix.com/
Well said. And not to compete with your point, but the overall architecture, through a series of design decisions relating to transcoding, native players, subtitle and codec support in pursuit of a “Plex everywhere” client base, have made Plex so fragile and sprawling that I haven’t been willing to upgrade since 9.14xx for fear of having to hack my way back to enjoying my media center again.
AH! yes thats it! awesome!.. I am going to see if it plays my media without an internet connection… It is unclear to me whether the plex server will need to download codecs… we’ll see…
@latweek said:
Well said. And not to compete with your point, but the overall architecture, through a series of design decisions relating to transcoding, native players, subtitle and codec support in pursuit of a “Plex everywhere” client base, have made Plex so fragile and sprawling that I haven’t been willing to upgrade since 9.14xx for fear of having to hack my way back to enjoying my media center again.
Reading the threads, there certainly are more than a few things going on to say the least. I guess my configuration is so in-the-middle that (other than the issue of offline playback) Plex has been rock solid for me. I played with Kodi quite a bit and liked it… but I have a lot of playback devices… mostly Rokus. I just recently bought the Plex Pass and updated to the 0.9.17.2 (linux) and haven’t seen most of the issues being posted. Although I am a tad worried that I might have gotten lucky with this particular release… If all the Pass releases are this troublesome… I will likely revert to the public release and be happy with it.
This is really about how you configure Plex more then it being a cloud based system. If you don’t configure Plex Home, and don’t enable remote playback then you would never need a log in and it will work fine on a local network.
If you want remote streaming and to use advanced authentication functionality like Plex Home you will have to have some level of dependency on the web.
@eriksperling said:
Now I’ll go do something else, since plex is timing out downloading codecs.
You must be running the 0.9.17.x preview releases. If you want something stable, I would suggest not running a preview release and stick to the stable release of 0.9.16.6.
@mavrrick said:
This is really about how you configure Plex more then it being a cloud based system. If you don’t configure Plex Home, and don’t enable remote playback then you would never need a log in and it will work fine on a local network.
Question about this - I remember struggling to get a Roku and AFTV to discover my Plex server. In researching it was explained that the auto login to Plex (not remote playback… I didnt even have Plex Pass) delivered better server detection… This was baffling. I couldnt figure out why logging into Plex would be needed for my Roku to find my local Plex server. But I enabled it anyway… and voila! my server and media showed up. The same was true for my AFTV.
Are you saying that this has somehow changed and logging into Plex has no effect on whether the local servers are discovered?
There was a time when the Roku app required your PMS to be logged into plex.tv. This was changed quite a while ago and you shouldn’t need your PMS to be logged in now. There was also a bug with the AFTV where it just couldn’t find the server, but that bug was also fixed. I am not aware of any current issues with either the Roku or AFTV working without internet and without being logged into plex.tv, unless it is related to Plex Home, which does require internet to authenticate users, but the apps should continue to work using the currently logged in user.
Oh that’s awesome!.. I will do some testing. Thanks for the update!
Update:
Yes! My Roku/Plex worked just fine with no internet connectivity! Whoohooo! I had the remote access enabled in my server… I disabled that setting and everything tested out fine. I even tested the Auto Login setting in the client… It didnt seem to matter if it was enabled or not… either way I was presented with the home screen after a few seconds.
@eriksperling said:
Now I’ll go do something else, since plex is timing out downloading codecs.
You must be running the 0.9.17.x preview releases. If you want something stable, I would suggest not running a preview release and stick to the stable release of 0.9.16.6.
That’s a good argument that has nothing to do with what annoys me.
Stop forcing me to be online. I want local users without an internet connection. I want codes installed when i install plex, not downloaded on demand. I want to be able to be completely offline for a month and still have Plex function 100%, obviously with the exception of features that actually require internet such as matching media and refreshing metadata.
On stable updates: I do not monitor your site and forums for activity, or read up in detail about what each release is. When the Plex Pass upgrade channel recommends an upgrade, I upgrade. I have not chosen “Preview release” or participation in a beta program, I have paid a certain amount for a product subscription, and I then expect that this product at a bare minimum works as advertised and does not deteriorate over time. A little logic in your design decisions would be a nice added bonus.
@montys said:
Arrgh that’s a pain… Again this doesnt address the issue, but - You could export your Plex media folders via NFS or something and access them via a client that can support it - Kodi for example. It works fine on my Android TV boxes… Sort of a best of both worlds… a new media file is added to plex and it magically appears in Kodi as well etc… I dont know what your playback platforms are but maybe there is an app that can support the media playback off a local network share.
I have working solutions that allow me to watch content on every device in my home - that’s not really the issue. I’m just getting so annoyed with Plex and their Apple mentality, where they add completely illogical features and requirements in order to create a pretty interface, while ignoring usability.
@eriksperling said:
Stop forcing me to be online. I want local users without an internet connection. I want codes installed when i install plex, not downloaded on demand. I want to be able to be completely offline for a month and still have Plex function 100%, obviously with the exception of features that actually require internet such as matching media and refreshing metadata.
Plex users has been this way since it was introduced. Codecs being installed when needed is a change and probably will not change back. I do see your point about wanting to be able to use Plex totally offline, but it’s just not designed that way.
On stable updates: I do not monitor your site and forums for activity, or read up in detail about what each release is. When the Plex Pass upgrade channel recommends an upgrade, I upgrade. I have not chosen “Preview release” or participation in a beta program, I have paid a certain amount for a product subscription, and I then expect that this product at a bare minimum works as advertised and does not deteriorate over time. A little logic in your design decisions would be a nice added bonus.
Plex Pass upgrades are not stable releases. Although they do not specifically say beta, Plex Pass releases are just that. These are used to test out new features and to work out bugs before making it out to the masses as a public release. Again, if you want better stability stick to the public releases.
And to further expand upon Moviefans answer (hope you don’t mind) do note that chosing the public release does not in any way hinder or prevent you from accessing or using currently existing Plexpass premium features. They are all there and available, the (often few) new introduced in the current preview will be available as soon as it is deemed fit for public access.
As Plex Inc are now maturing as a commercial organisation the Plex Pass concept needs to change.
In the old days it was a rmeans of accessing new features early and beta testing new releases, now a lot of features are Plex Pass only and are never made publicly (free) available, this I can understand, its how they generate income and is how a lot of applications now function (look at iOS with it’s in-app purchases, you can play the game/use the app but it’s better if you spend some money and take the in-app purchase).
Instead of labelling new releases (with or without new Plex Pass only features) as Plex Pass they should be labelled ‘Beta Release’ as they have done recently with PMP and PMS and made available to Plex Pass members on that basis, this will stop a lot of complaints. Plex Pass should be redefined to what it now really is - a premium version of Plex (Plex Premium?).
Regarding the need for an internet connection to support a number of Plex Pass only features this is not really necessary. There is no technical reason why the Plex Pass details cannot be cached locally, those with Lifetime membership would only need an internet connection once to allow this, Monthly and Annual members would need an internet connection periodically i.e. when the current cached expiration date is reached to re-cache the updated data, if membership is not renewed then the cache is cleared and Plex Pass features become disabled.
@eriksperling said:
Now I’ll go do something else, since plex is timing out downloading codecs.
You must be running the 0.9.17.x preview releases. If you want something stable, I would suggest not running a preview release and stick to the stable release of 0.9.16.6.
That’s a good argument that has nothing to do with what annoys me.
Stop forcing me to be online. I want local users without an internet connection. I want codes installed when i install plex, not downloaded on demand. I want to be able to be completely offline for a month and still have Plex function 100%, obviously with the exception of features that actually require internet such as matching media and refreshing metadata.
On stable updates: I do not monitor your site and forums for activity, or read up in detail about what each release is. When the Plex Pass upgrade channel recommends an upgrade, I upgrade. I have not chosen “Preview release” or participation in a beta program, I have paid a certain amount for a product subscription, and I then expect that this product at a bare minimum works as advertised and does not deteriorate over time. A little logic in your design decisions would be a nice added bonus.
Don’t press update then. No one forced you. You did that of your own fruition. Takes 5 minutes to google if it’s a beta release. I think it should be labelled better though.
Plex users has been this way since it was introduced. Codecs being installed when needed is a change and probably will not change back. I do see your point about wanting to be able to use Plex totally offline, but it’s just not designed that way.
I’m fully aware that plex users have been like this. What I’m trying to convey is the utter lack of reasonable arguments behind that design decision. There is no reason for you to not keep a local copy of local users.
On codecs, how hard can it be to bundle codecs and then do a background check for updates every now and then? Why do you assume everyone lives in the US and have an unmetered and always functional internet connection?
I think you’re forgetting which core values your product provides, what makes it a worthwhile alternative to services like Netflix. I, and I would assume a large majority of your users, use Plex to watch offline media.
“Enjoy your videos, movies, TV shows, music and photos anytime, anywhere.”
Please either deliver this, or stop advertising it.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
Plex Pass upgrades are not stable releases. Although they do not specifically say beta, Plex Pass releases are just that. These are used to test out new features and to work out bugs before making it out to the masses as a public release. Again, if you want better stability stick to the public releases.
