I don't need their movies and TV catalog forced upon me. I have no interest in Tidal integration or searching streaming services.
Once Jellyfin gets intro skipping I think I'll be switching.
I like that feature a lot, but the big one I'm waiting for is Quick Connect on the Roku app so I don't need to choose between highly secure passwords and the ability to get logged into a device in a reasonable timeframe
Also keeping an eye on Dim. It's nice to see new projects popping up in this space.
....what's wrong with the core product? I've used it since at least 2013, and the core product has been flawless.
- LDAP integration
- SSO
- Customizable icons per library
- Remote agent transcoding (i.e. install an agent on multiple machines on the network, give them the direct play stream to transcode instead of relying on the server to do it.)
- Dolby Vision support (current state of things is terrible)
- Apps for Android and iOS don't work well with large libraries
- No DVD/Blu-ray support. Not expecting full menus, but even a best guess at finding the main title would be sufficient.
- Automatic collection creation by path
I use one folder for everything with Infuse (iOS/macOS/tvOS only), and it works great, so it doesn't seem to be an unsolvable feature.
I tried some of the other Media Servers but they tend to be even worse.
Personally I watch all of my content through Plex because I refuse to switch between multiple streaming services. I'll gladly pay (and I do) for access to the platforms but I still only watch through Plex because I prefer having 1 UI/UX to deal with. I never have to ask "How do I get the subtitle selector up?", "Does left/right skip forward 10/15/30/60sec or does it start RR/FF?", "Where does this streaming provider let you configure X?", and the list goes on.
Spotify effectively killed piracy for the vast majority of my social circle but TV/Movie piracy is still the best viewing experience by a long shot especially with *arr-type apps to automate it all for you.
Money isn't the issue, experience is. It's just like years ago (or it's probably just as bad now but I haven't had to deal with it) when it was better to pirate a movie than get it via Redbox/Blockbuster because you weren't forced to watch ads/FBI warnings/etc.
I wish Plex would just help me do what I need it to do - watch and download my ripped movies. Maybe help me fix the metadata. I don't want to subscribe to podcasts, watch web shows, or watch B-movies with commercials.
That was far and away the best platform back and we had it 11-12 years ago.
I would be happy if we managed to get it working with the current platforms as it would be preferable to Amazon video, or Fire TV, or even just having multiple apps. The way it mashed together TV shows from multiple providers so I could watch different episodes without switching sites was awesome.
I’m happy to spend money, but no one is selling what I want: DRM-free digital movies/TV shows. We got there with music but now that streaming has taken over I doubt we’ll ever get there with video.
I used to do this.
I stopped because too much of a % of what I pay goes to various forms of overhead (distributors/apple/amazon/studio/production company/etc/etc) vs what is going to the actual creatives involved.
I take the money I would have spent instead on streaming services and donate it via patreon to a few creators I enjoy, mostly youtube channels.
Legally? I know I'm doing something completely illegal (but so is buy-then-pirate!)
Morally? I'll live. I don't think what I'm doing is wrong.
I still buy when I know (enough of) the money is going to the people who actually created the content and not some MBAs.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0089DSLMY/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_B3R9...
Then streaming came along, reinvented expectations. And has seemingly no market regulation at all, absolutely no one looking out for consumers or thinking of what fair competition might entail.
Streaming apps (with some exceptions) on Apple TV (the device) actually use the same video player, so this is the same everywhere. Even navigation throughout the library is quite standardized.
Exceptions here are Youtube app, which has a custom video player implementation, and it's just terrible to use, and Netflix app, which has terrible custom navigation.