@beckfield said:
@anon18523487 said:
Plex is looking to improve how sync communicates with the device to better understand what it can support so it can make decisions like this in the future.There have been numerous requests for the ability to sync files without transcoding. The statement above makes me think that Plex is not hearing those requests.
Plex is listening, but this is not a small change.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
Plex is listening, but this is not a small change.
I saw numerous request for this on the forum. Some of them at least 2 years old.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
@Monsters_Grin said:
@MovieFan.Plex said:
Most new devices probably support flac, but not everyone uses a new device.So? The fact that not everyone has a new device doesn’t mean that we can’t have this at all.
This is a ridiculous approach.
No. The problem is that the current implementation of sync doesn’t take into account individual device capabilities. It just knows you are trying to sync to an Android device, but since it can’t verify before syncing that flac is supported, it goes the safe route and uses a safe format. This is similar to being able to support other video and audio codecs. Since it can’t verify per device what is compatible, the safest H264/AAC is chosen.Plex is looking to improve how sync communicates with the device to better understand what it can support so it can make decisions like this in the future.
Why not just make it a manual option for people to choose? Add a “WARNING - NOT ALL DEVICES MAY SUPPORT THIS” to the feature description when a person selects “Original Quality”. They see it, they still click “Apply Changes”, any problems are on them.
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
But they prefer making up stupid excuses instead of fixing it,
It’s not a problem that came up yesterday! It’s been years!
@MovieFan.Plex said:
Plex is listening, but this is not a small change.
I don’t think Plex is listening. I’ve never seen anyone publicly aknowledge what is said on the forums.
The excuses are not aknowledgement.
There’s no public roadmap that would show us what is being done and planned. Nothing.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
Plex is listening, but this is not a small change.
Listening, but apparently doing the opposite.
As you know, it’s a matter of priorities and resources. I just checked the Feature Request section and I couldn’t find an actual request for this. If you guys want to start one, that might help move the priority up.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
As you know, it’s a matter of priorities and resources. I just checked the Feature Request section and I couldn’t find an actual request for this. If you guys want to start one, that might help move the priority up.
From what I’ve seen on the forums - it was already working like that. If the user selected the 320kbps option, FLACs were just copied instead of being transcoded first.
Creating a feature request for something so obvious, and what should’ve been like that from the beginning seems like a waste of time.
Especially considering the fact that we see some 2-3 year old Feature requests with more than 1k votes that are simply being ignored. At least it looks like this from our perspective . . .
@Monsters_Grin said:
From what I’ve seen on the forums - it was already working like that. If the user selected the 320kbps option, FLACs were just copied instead of being transcoded first.
I’ve never seen PMS sync a FLAC file.
Creating a feature request for something so obvious, and what should’ve been like that from the beginning seems like a waste of time.
If you want to get Plex’s attention, a formal feature request is the way to do it.
Especially considering the fact that we see some 2-3 year old Feature requests with more than 1k votes that are simply being ignored. At least it looks like this from our perspective . . .
I understand it looks like requests are ignored, but they are not. Plex doesn’t reveal timelines or what features we are working on, but Plex is working on adding new features.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
As you know, it’s a matter of priorities and resources. I just checked the Feature Request section and I couldn’t find an actual request for this. If you guys want to start one, that might help move the priority up.
I found three:
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/202897/sync-with-no-transcode
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/103234/feature-request-cloud-sync-without-transcoding
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/222215/fix-sync-music-without-transcoding-optimizing-in-ios-app
@MovieFan.Plex said:
I’ve never seen PMS sync a FLAC file.
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/201571/flac-syncing-not-possible
Just a first hit from search.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
If you want to get Plex’s attention, a formal feature request is the way to do it.
Formal feature request that will be ignored like the others. There are three year old requests without results!
@MovieFan.Plex said:
I understand it looks like requests are ignored, but they are not. Plex doesn’t reveal timelines or what features we are working on, but Plex is working on adding new features.
Well, it looks like that because Plex makes it look like that. You are not engaging in any discussions with the community.
Roundtables were a joke in and of itself. If any Plex employee appears in the thread, they simply make up excuses.
I don’t accept the fact that Plex does not reveal timelines. It should! That way we know you are doing something.
So what if you’re working on new features? That’s the priority? Well, you should focus on fixing something that should’ve been done right from the get go, instead of covering it up with an arguably thin layer of “new features” and excuses.
Let’s say I’m going to indulge this fantasy and create a feature request? What will happen?
I think I know. It will be buried under comments on other threads ignored for serveral years.
[EDIT: Look like I don’t have to. @beckfield provided you with three threads to ignore 
]
PS: Requesting features by voting on posts is a stupid approach. There should be some kind of voting platform for that. Something like FeatHub . . .
Hey @Monsters_Grin,
Elan told something about switching to ExoPlayer for the Android app, this may include support for flac files 
@y1n14i11 said:
Hey @Monsters_Grin,
Elan told something about switching to ExoPlayer for the Android app, this may include support for flac files
Thanks, but I don’t think it’s about the support itself. Plex Android app plays FLAC files directly when I play it from the server. It’s the inability to sync the FLAC files to the phone through Plex app that bothers me.
Besides, it would be nice to have one app for music instead of a billion different ones just because of one feature that’s missing .
@Monsters_Grin said:
@anon18523487 said:
I’ve never seen PMS sync a FLAC file.https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/201571/flac-syncing-not-possible
Just a first hit from search.
One user saying he thought it did doesn’t make it true. AFAIK, syncing FLAC has never been possible.@anon18523487 said:
If you want to get Plex’s attention, a formal feature request is the way to do it.Formal feature request that will be ignored like the others. There are three year old requests without results!
You have to keep in mind that Plex has it’s own internal goals of what features they want to get out. They try to fit in requested features, but some might take too many resources to just squeeze in which would throw their other goals off track. If you look at the top requested thread, https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/214180/top-feature-requests#latest, you will see that many requested features have been incorporated. Plex hopes to be able to move more of these requests to the done pile.@anon18523487 said:
I understand it looks like requests are ignored, but they are not. Plex doesn’t reveal timelines or what features we are working on, but Plex is working on adding new features.Well, it looks like that because Plex makes it look like that. You are not engaging in any discussions with the community.
Roundtables were a joke in and of itself. If any Plex employee appears in the thread, they simply make up excuses.
I don’t accept the fact that Plex does not reveal timelines. It should! That way we know you are doing something.
Since Plex doesn’t reveal what features they are working on, I’m not sure what type of engagement you are looking for. Anything said would just be taken as a confirmation of the feature being worked on, which then brings up the endless requests for updates and a release date. Here is a very good example, https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/173499/amazon-echo-and-plex-alexa-tell-the-home-theater-to-put-on-a-good-episode-of-always-sunny/.
So what if you’re working on new features? That’s the priority? Well, you should focus on fixing something that should’ve been done right from the get go, instead of covering it up with an arguably thin layer of “new features” and excuses.
I understand that the sync feature does not work the way you want, but that doesn’t mean it’s broken. People use features differently and different features are important to different people. We can’t please everyone. And we aren’t psychic either, which is why the feature requests section is there, so user can add their opinions on if a feature should be changed or added.
Let’s say I’m going to indulge this fantasy and create a feature request? What will happen?
I think I know. It will be buried under comments on other threads ignored for serveral years.
[EDIT: Look like I don’t have to. @beckfield provided you with three threads to ignore
Thanks @Beckfield for finding these. My search-foo failed. Looking at those 3 requests, I see 38, 1, and 0 votes respectively. This is not going to entice the devs to drop other tasks in favor of this one.
PS: Requesting features by voting on posts is a stupid approach. There should be some kind of voting platform for that. Something like FeatHub . . .
The voting system in the forum is used because it is the easiest way to get attention from the most users. Many Plex users already visit the forums. Another voting system is not going to help get more attention.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
One user saying he thought it did doesn’t make it true. AFAIK, syncing FLAC has never been possible.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
They try to fit in requested features, but some might take too many resources to just squeeze in which would throw their other goals off track.
This feature is so simple that one of the devs could’ve probably knock it off within a one cup of coffee.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
Since Plex doesn’t reveal what features they are working on, I’m not sure what type of engagement you are looking for. Anything said would just be taken as a confirmation of the feature being worked on, which then brings up the endless requests for updates and a release date. Here is a very good example, https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/173499/amazon-echo-and-plex-alexa-tell-the-home-theater-to-put-on-a-good-episode-of-always-sunny/.
No, it’s not a good example. The thread mentioned by you, along with the statement of “working directly with plex” was not made by a Plex employee.
I’m just hoping for at least addressing some of the questions and requests. At least acknowledging the existence. Not a declaration and a deadline for implementation.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
I understand that the sync feature does not work the way you want, but that doesn’t mean it’s broken. People use features differently and different features are important to different people. We can’t please everyone. And we aren’t psychic either, which is why the feature requests section is there, so user can add their opinions on if a feature should be changed or added.
Yes, it is broken. This feature is so obvious that it should’ve been made the way we describe from the beginning. It doesn’t take a psychic. I can’t imagine that there wasn’t someone on the team who said at one point “Hey, you know what? We should give users an option of just copying files to the device without transcoding! Some people definitely will want to just sync their music in high quality and not waste resources on stupid transcoding.” . This is so obvious.
But now I’m starting to think that Plex made transcoding it’s religion . . .
@MovieFan.Plex said:
Thanks @Beckfield for finding these. My search-foo failed. Looking at those 3 requests, I see 38, 1, and 0 votes respectively. This is not going to entice the devs to drop other tasks in favor of this one.
Like I said, this could probably be knocked off within a one cup of coffee. It’s just copying files. It’s not rocket surgery .
But yeah, If requests with 3+ years running and 1000+ votes don’t get made . . .
For example: I was shocked when I discovered that Plex Server does not run as a service.
And this is even more obvious . . .
@MovieFan.Plex said:
The voting system in the forum is used because it is the easiest way to get attention from the most users. Many Plex users already visit the forums. Another voting system is not going to help get more attention.
It’s not about “another voting system”. Just a different presentation.
Excuse me for wording it like that - I just wanted to give the FeatHub as an example.
Are you familiar with it?
I’ve voted on few of those requests. Sometimes I read those threads again, not remembering if I already voted. And you can’t see if you voted because you can’t see if you clicked the like button or not. Not to mention the post with a not-exactly-up-to-date list of them, there’s no clear way to view the requests.
You’ve encountered that yourself . . .
I can whip out at least a few feature requests that came to me just by using Plex for a few months. But it’s discouraging if no one from Plex side even acknowledges these requests.
There should be a public list of feature requests that Plex “keeps in mind”, even if they can’t give a definitive answer or deadline. It’s all about the dialogue. But if Plex doesn’t respond with at least a comment, it turns into - as they say in my country - “throwing peas against the wall” .
