I realize that change doesn’t trigger the best response in people, but the implementation of the download feature is so much off normal usage, that somebody must have forgot why it is there in the first place.
Content is always downloaded in the full, original quality. It is not currently possible to have the content transcoded to a lower quality or resolution for downloading.
So those 40GB UHD movies will be in an unplayable format on smaller tablet only wasting a huge amount of diskspace. I do need to mention that the according to the same article, it is always stored on "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex\Plex Media Server\Sync", which means the primary windows disk.
To make matters even worse, the user has to be aware that he must use a downloaded file instead of a streamed one, otherwise he/she will still consume his internet bundle in the matter of hours. And to add insult to injury, the downloaded stuff is handled as a second-class citizen by just dumping it onto one huge pile called “downloads”. No organisation, no good-looking series, no nothing.
In my honest opinion, Plex just killed its greatest feature: the possibility to watch a movie I own on any device, in any situation, without the requirement of internet. The new app is just a glorified web-wrapper with a lot of dead weight attached to it. Get your act together Plex!
I totally agree. Except for some control when downloading TV show episodes, which is apparently not working correctly, the new download function is less useful than copying files manually using file explorer.
For example, I tried it out on my desktop PC with a 480GB NVME boot drive, and a 3TB drive I use for data. I couldn’t even complete my test transfer because it filled my boot drive, which admittedly needs some cleanup, while not allowing me to use my big storage drive. Now consider trying to transfer a laptop or tablet with even less storage.
Maybe Plex will hear the outcry, and maybe the new download function will improve. But, the question remains why on earth did they launch with such a terrible first attempt?
I could not have said it better. I completely share your sentiment and after checking this on my own laptop I came to the same conclusion. The sync/download is not read at all. It should not be released yet to general public as it is probably now an “alpha” stage, and this is being generous.
When you owned it, it can still be downloaded through the store. You go to your account in the store, and then to “All owned” apps. There you can download all apps you previously downloaded, regardless of their current status. As long as Plex doesn’t actively kill the app (i.e. physically retract the app or overwrite it with a dummy), it will stay there.
Totally Agree… Surface Pro 4 w/128gig built in storage here. With the old UWP app I could specify my 400gig uSD card as the target for sync as well as transcode/downgrade/reduce the quality/size to fit more movies and TV shows on for travel.
Sure I had to check/edit the Windows 10 Desktop XML on my server after every update and remove any mention of EAC3 before I sync anything new (with EAC3 listed in the XML I often ended up with movies that didn’t have working audio)… BUT it worked for “on the go” use!!
