1124
Plex is locking remote streaming behind a subscription in April (www.plex.tv)
submitted 3 days ago by Sl00k@programming.dev to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
589 comments fedilink hide all child comments

We are also changing how remote playback works for streaming personal media (that is, playback when not on the same local network as the server). The reality is that we need more resources to continue putting forth the best personal media experience, and as a result, we will no longer offer remote playback as a free feature. This—alongside the new Plex Pass pricing—will help provide those resources. This change will apply to the future release of our new Plex experience for mobile and other platforms.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] non_burglar@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago

Your view unfortunately doesn't show you how shitty the unpaid experience has become. XBMC used to be a good product. Since becoming Plex, now we have:

  • no local hardware accel
  • no HDR
  • panels that look like local videos that trick you into switching to a paid app
  • rearranged home screen after some updates
  • no downloads on remote devices
  • and now I'll lose the ability to share streaming with my kid, who lives many cities away

If this were clear from the outset , no one would be upset. But pulling back features Plex at one time promised "forever" (remote streaming), is complete rug-pull bullshit.

You can enjoy that warm and fuzzy reverse-fomo feeling now, but you should know that they'll start limiting your paid experience eventually.

[-] legion02@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago

Xbmc didn't become plex. It's still alive and kicking but rebranded to Kodi (mostly because it had little to do with xbox anymore) ages ago.

[-] non_burglar@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Yes, you're right, I forgot about the forking.

[-] lazynooblet@lazysoci.al 4 points 2 days ago

no local hardware accel

What do you mean by this?

[-] rumba@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 days ago

What do you mean by this?

Not OP

Hardware-accelerated streaming is a premium feature and requires an active Plex Pass subscription.

If you want to use your video card to transcode, you have to be paid.

[-] lazynooblet@lazysoci.al 3 points 2 days ago

Ah okay. When I used Plex it had hardware acceleration. But I'd been a Plex Pass lifetime pass user for years so forgot the distinction between that and non pass. Thanks

[-] Harriet_Porber@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

what? all of these work on plex for me:

-server hardware accel transcoding (are you talking about something else?)

-HDR playback works fine for me...

-I can download just fine from a browser or the plex app, when remote

this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2025
1124 points (100.0% liked)

Selfhosted

44782 readers
578 users here now

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

Rules:

  1. Be civil: we're here to support and learn from one another. Insults won't be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.

  2. No spam posting.

  3. Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it's not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.

  4. Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.

  5. Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).

  6. No trolling.

Resources:

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
ruud@lemmy.world
Loki@lemmy.world
CannaVet@lemmy.world
devve@lemmy.world
HybridSarcasm@lemmy.world
HybridSarcasm@lemmy.hybridsarcasm.xyz