cross-posted from: https://poptalk.scrubbles.tech/post/2333639

I was just forwarded this someone in my household who watches our server. That’s it folks. I’ve been a hold out for a long time, but this is honestly it.

They want me to pay to stream content that I bought from my hardware transcoded also on my hardware.

I’ll say it. As of today, I say Plex is dead. Luckily I’ve been setting up Jellyfin, I guess it’s time to make it production ready.

Edit: I have a Plex Pass. More comments saying “Just buy a plex pass” are seriously not getting it. I have a Plex Pass and my users are still getting this.

And for the thousandth person who wants to say the same things to me:

  • YES I know I’m unaffected as a Plex Pass owner.
  • My users were immediately angry at it, which made me angry. Our users don’t understand what plex pass is, and they shouldn’t have to, that’s why I had it. The fact that they were pinged even though it should have kept working is horribly sloppy
  • Plex is still removing functionality. I don’t care that “People should pay their fair share”. If Plex wants to put every new feature behind a paywall, that’s completely okay. They are removing functionality.
    • “But they have cloud costs”. Remote streaming is negligible to them. It’s a dynamic DNS service. Plex client logs in, asks where server is, plex cloud responds with the IP and port of where server is located. That’s it.
    • “Good luck finding another remote streaming” - Again, Plex just opens up an IP and port. Jellyfin also just opens up an IP and port (Hold on jellyfin folks I know, security, that’s a separate conversation). All “remote streaming” is is their dynamic dns. Literal pennies to them. Know what actually is costing them money? Hosting all of that ad-supported “free” content that they’re probably losing money on.

In short, I don’t care how you justify it. Plex is doing something shitty. They’re removing functionality that has been free for years. I’m not responding to any more of your comments repeating the same arguments over and over.

  • @Adam@lemmy.gregw.us
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    06 months ago

    Totally agree with this. Plex has been drifting away from what made it great — the whole “own your media” ethos. I’ve been slowly moving my setup toward Jellyfin too, and honestly, it feels so much more in line with self-hosted values.

    If anyone still wants a simple, lightweight media streaming option (especially for Android devices), CloudStream APK has been surprisingly solid no paywalls, no cloud lock-ins.

  • @secret300@lemmy.sdf.org
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    011 months ago

    Oh no a paid, proprietary, piece of shit software does something shitty. Who could’ve ever saw this coming?!

    I’ve said it for years anytime anyone mentioned running a Plex server. As soon as you install that on your server or your homelab it’s no longer your server. Proprietary software is malware

  • @glitching@lemmy.ml
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    011 months ago

    not a plex user but someone burried the lede here… to me, this is the neon sign that says GTFO:

    we noticed that you’ve accessed libraries in the past

    what business of yours is it to notice my private comings and goings?! what other actionable intel do y’all keep in your logs?! bye!

  • @butsbutts@lemmy.ml
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    011 months ago

    thats closed software 101 now, hook us then make us pay if only there was something that was always free forever

  • @bktheman@awful.systems
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    011 months ago

    Thank you for posting this. I thought it was just me.

    In my case, one user actually lost access entirely to my libraries, the updated app was trying to force him to buy a personal pass, even though I have a Plex pass.

    I had him reset his app and clear cache, to no avail. I ended up having to REMOVE his access to my libraries, and then reshare them to him, before he could access them again.

    He was quite upset at Plex during the entire process.

    Then the next day, he got this same email, and was frustrated all over again thinking he was gonna have to fight it again.

    Really terrible customer service here, very sloppy. Aside from the fact that this is a greedy cash grab, it’s just being done poorly.

    Jellyfin still isn’t feature packed enough for me to switch to, unfortunately.

  • @Xanza@lemm.ee
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    011 months ago

    Seems like it was only a matter of time.

    20% more will jump to Jellyfin. The other 80% will entrench and talk even more about how great Plex is. I mean Jesus, $250 to watch pirated movies. lol wtf

  • @HurlingDurling@lemm.ee
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    011 months ago

    Uninstalled. I don’t mind as much for sharing my library but if I have to pay to stream MY OWN SERVERS CONTENT using your service, that’s a hard pass. My homes all use jellyfin now