@reddwarfcrew said:
If Plex is available ‘offline’ then how will plex be able to spam the UI on all the clients with advertising?
To which advertisements are you referring?
@vanstinator said:
@reddwarfcrew said:
If Plex is available ‘offline’ then how will plex be able to spam the UI on all the clients with advertising?To which advertisements are you referring?
I was being facetious… suggesting that it is something that will happen in the future where plex goes commercial ;).
@eriksperling said:
@mavrrick said:
It would be a poor design choice for the specific use case you are refering to. But with the web centric focus they have been going towards it may not be. You can’t take your specific situation and make those statements. Well you can, but you could very well be wrong when it comes to the whole picture.I have the option to say “right now I want to refresh metadata”, or I can configure plex to refresh metadata periodically. When it does, it updates a local copy, so that I do not need to wait for external fetches when browsing media and seeing this metadata.
These are sensible design choices. The information shouldn’t be fetched on every use, since it’s primarily used locally. I’m quite certain a lot of Plex users would be annoyed if their searches or browsing had to wait for everything to be retrieved from slow external servers every time.
There are no technical reasons why the same choice can not be made for local users.
You really are over simplifying this. Maintaining log in data is much different the metadata on content. Particulary when you talk about subscription services. You are also ignoring the fact that so many functions are depending on login information that is returned at time of login.
@eriksperling said:
Now, if things could change so they work better for a majority and not hurt a few, wouldn’t that be a better solution.You do not lose the ability to “be dynamic” with local caching. Added external dependencies do introduce fragility though.
What Plex is doing is as simple as that. They download a codec library, store it locally, then use it. I want it predownloaded and stored locally so that they can use it. I don’t mind dynamic updates, I don’t mind externally stored local users, I simply want to also have a local copy so that I do not need to depend on functional internet in order to watch a movie.
Yes it would be better, but i also acknowledge that isn’t always possible in the bigger picture with company directives and directions.
Your insistance that reliablity is decreased by the need to download new codecs is astonishing. I also like how you quoted me out of context and left part of my content out. Having the ability to retrieve what is needed when you need it is much better for reliability then limiting yourself to a specific data set.
No codec pack includes everything. I can’t tell you how many times i had to go retrieve random codecs for certain tasks. Then after that they some would break each other and cause significant issue. Simply put it isn’t that simple to simply download one codec pack and have everything to play every media type. Also if what you are stating above is true then you only need to start one movie to get Plex’s codecs.
@latweek said:
This is really not as hard as its being made out to be. Even the basic Samsung Smart TV can seek out and then play files from a DLNA source.I agree that any Plex client should have some “offline” mode. Yet it seems to be curiously, somehow deliberately and intentionally avoided.
The op’s problem though are that he wants user management local for Plex home and to not be dependent to the internet for codec support. DLNA doesn’t address either of those. The only way to make plex work without internet access would be to not enable certain functions and initiate playback on some content for the codecs while internet is up.
@reddwarfcrew said:
I was being facetious… suggesting that it is something that will happen in the future where plex goes commercial ;).
FYI, Plex is already a commercial product and there haven’t been any ads. What makes you think there will be ads in the future?
As I say, I was being facetious… the thread is discussing the need for an internet connection. Just a bit of friday fun.
@mavrrick said:
I can think of a few reasons why they require log into plex.tv instead of local. Many of them do center around plex pass though. With as volatile as that subscription can be it makes sense to me to use that access.I have a feeling your largest complaint about managing users locally is really a lack of knowledge on your part about how the app was designed to work. I doubt that could added easily if at all, and it is naive to state otherwise.
Another point to be made here is that your poor internet isn’t plex’s fault. You shouldn’t complain that a software solution designed to take advantage of the web doesn’t provide all of it’s features when you aren’t online. Personally if it wasn’t for the great web based features Plex offers i would never of started to use it. I already have several ways to stream content locally in my house. For that functionality there are allot of other options.
Here, Here
@mavrrick said:
@latweek said:
This is really not as hard as its being made out to be. Even the basic Samsung Smart TV can seek out and then play files from a DLNA source.I agree that any Plex client should have some “offline” mode. Yet it seems to be curiously, somehow deliberately and intentionally avoided.
~~ The op’s problem though are that he wants user management local for Plex home and to not be dependent to the internet for codec support. DLNA doesn’t address either of those.
The only way to make plex work without internet access would be to not enable certain functions and initiate playback on some content for the codecs while internet is up.
Well…that IS what I said. I would rather start with that use case, and then see why it can’t happen. So feel free to respond to me instead of other posts.
Once we get that part clarified, we can certainly debate the “benefits/requirements” of richer features. But I just can’t see why there was no retention of the local plex client’s ability to continue to play some/limited/downloaded content offline (no sync please why duplicate and kill my storage) , or provide some kind of simple message like this:
“This content/feature/codec requires an internet connection”.
How hard was that?
Hasn’t it already been stated that it only requires codec downloads the first time you encounter a new codec, or am I missing something?
if I have a client, let’s say a MacbookAir with Plex Media Player, I cannot directly play a file locally on that client. It just opens the Plex home screen and looks for my server. It has always been this way since the move to separate server/client years ago. Feel free to educate me if its a ID10T error on my part.
Go offline, use Infuse Pro
@HRSCR said:
Go offline, use Infuse Pro
Looks good…guess I’ll channel the frustration in a positive direction. Thanks!
@latweek said:
if I have a client, let’s say a MacbookAir with Plex Media Player, I cannot directly play a file locally on that client. It just opens the Plex home screen and looks for my server. It has always been this way since the move to separate server/client years ago. Feel free to educate me if its a ID10T error on my part.
That is the behavior you will see if remote access is enabled at the server but internet connectivity is failing.
That isn’t exactly remote access but the use of plex home and/or the requirement for authentication for access. No creditential management is done at the local server. It is all managed at plex.tv so as soon as something needs to authenticate it needs internet.
@latweek said:
if I have a client, let’s say a MacbookAir with Plex Media Player, I cannot directly play a file locally on that client. It just opens the Plex home screen and looks for my server. It has always been this way since the move to separate server/client years ago. Feel free to educate me if its a ID10T error on my part.
Can you help me with something. When was plex not a client/server setup. I am seriously asking because for the 3 years I have been using it that hasn’t been the case.
@mavrrick said:
Can you help me with something. When was plex not a client/server setup. I am seriously asking because for the 3 years I have been using it that hasn’t been the case.
A very, very long time ago. Plex originally started out as a single product.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
@mavrrick said:
Can you help me with something. When was plex not a client/server setup. I am seriously asking because for the 3 years I have been using it that hasn’t been the case.
A very, very long time ago. Plex originally started out as a single product.
I think up until 2009. Right after the invention of the light bulb and the automobile. Who can even remember that far back, LOL!
@mavrrick said:
@eriksperling said:
@mavrrick said:
It would be a poor design choice for the specific use case you are refering to. But with the web centric focus they have been going towards it may not be. You can’t take your specific situation and make those statements. Well you can, but you could very well be wrong when it comes to the whole picture.I have the option to say “right now I want to refresh metadata”, or I can configure plex to refresh metadata periodically. When it does, it updates a local copy, so that I do not need to wait for external fetches when browsing media and seeing this metadata.
These are sensible design choices. The information shouldn’t be fetched on every use, since it’s primarily used locally. I’m quite certain a lot of Plex users would be annoyed if their searches or browsing had to wait for everything to be retrieved from slow external servers every time.
There are no technical reasons why the same choice can not be made for local users.
You really are over simplifying this. Maintaining log in data is much different the metadata on content. Particulary when you talk about subscription services. You are also ignoring the fact that so many functions are depending on login information that is returned at time of login.
No, you’re overcomplicating it. We talk about local users, wanting access to local content - we’re not talking about plex pass subscription or remote users.
Again: My daughter, in this house, wants to access content, in this house, and she uses a user account that only works in this house with a password set in this house. And yet, Plex insists that this must be stored remotely - it cannot be stored in this house.
@mavrrick said:
@eriksperling said:
Now, if things could change so they work better for a majority and not hurt a few, wouldn’t that be a better solution.You do not lose the ability to “be dynamic” with local caching. Added external dependencies do introduce fragility though.
What Plex is doing is as simple as that. They download a codec library, store it locally, then use it. I want it predownloaded and stored locally so that they can use it. I don’t mind dynamic updates, I don’t mind externally stored local users, I simply want to also have a local copy so that I do not need to depend on functional internet in order to watch a movie.
Yes it would be better, but i also acknowledge that isn’t always possible in the bigger picture with company directives and directions.
Your insistance that reliablity is decreased by the need to download new codecs is astonishing. I also like how you quoted me out of context and left part of my content out. Having the ability to retrieve what is needed when you need it is much better for reliability then limiting yourself to a specific data set.
No codec pack includes everything. I can’t tell you how many times i had to go retrieve random codecs for certain tasks. Then after that they some would break each other and cause significant issue. Simply put it isn’t that simple to simply download one codec pack and have everything to play every media type. Also if what you are stating above is true then you only need to start one movie to get Plex’s codecs.
I’ll quote the entirety then, since I’m not sure which important context you think was lacking.
Would you agree that a local disk is more reliable than the combination of a local disk and a remote network connection going through the network of miscellaneous companies, miles of cable, switches and routers? If so, it then follows that introducing a dependency that uses a remote network connection instead of the local disk reduces reliability. I don’t find that astonishing, i actually find it rather incredulous that this is what you’re arguing.
Your argument about codec packs is irrelevant. Plex provides a set of codecs, if media doesn’t work with these we’re out of luck. Whether Plex provides these through a download that I initiate, or a download-on-demand which the Plex server initiates, is the only difference. I want to be able to initiate that download - to control when it happens. I had that ability, which made Plex work for me, and led me to purchase. Plex has now taken away that ability, and I want it back as an alternative to (not a replacement of) the download-on-demand solution they have switched to. This does not affect your use in any way, it does not even need to affect the Plex code, they could solve this with a simple: “download this .tar.bz2 and unpack it in that directory to get all our current codecs installed”.
