20 pointsby ndr425 hours ago4 comments
  • menno-sh5 hours ago
    I cannot fathom why you'd pay $750 for Plex when Jellyfin is free.
    • vitally36434 hours ago
      I've never understood why anyone would tolerate paying any price to stream media they "own" from a server they own on a network they own to a device they own.

      At this point a Plex subscription is on par with a Netflix subscription in price, but you have to bring your own media. The only value Plex provides beyond the software is a STUN proxy to connect remote devices to your server behind a residential NAT.

      But Jellyfin is free and in a lot of cases it's trivial to get your server exposed to the internet. There's countless ways to do it that don't involve paying anyone anything, and more ways that cost far, far less than $750.

      Perpetually gobsmacked that people are willing to pay a subscription to access their own media on their own hardware. Why not just use Netflix at that point?

      • 404mm3 hours ago
        Convenience. Jellyfin is becoming better and better but still lacks proper support for certain (Apple) devices, while Plex mostly just works.

        That being said, Plex apps also lack proper support for HW decoding of some 4K codecs and their AppleTV situation is just plain sad (2 years without an update, no proper HW decoding).

        With the Pass being $750, I’m expecting Jellyfin to become a more popular alternative than ever. I’d personally never spend this kind of money on Plex.

        • Kirby6414 minutes ago
          > That being said, Plex apps also lack proper support for HW decoding of some 4K codecs and their AppleTV situation is just plain sad (2 years without an update, no proper HW decoding).

          What does hardware decoding get me on an Apple TV? It seems plenty powerful enough to decode anything I’ve ever thrown at it.

      • dmonitor3 hours ago
        I imagine a lot of their users (like myself) use Plex because it was the best option 10 years ago and premium was $40 during sales
    • washadjeffmad4 hours ago
      Plex has become a platform, and I imagine a certain number of their customers are revenue generating providers.

      Emby still offers lifetime for $119 with a 30 device limit, but I'm not sure what it offers over Jellyfin.

      Are there any advantages to Plex outside of being able to easily share and manage library access to many users? It's been a decade since I've used it.

      • zetsurin3 hours ago
        Excellent automatic metadata determination. Dead easy to run/setup
  • Cider99863 hours ago
    Can someone explain the advantage of Plex over Stremio + TB + AIOStreams to me?
    • forsalebypwneran hour ago
      The UX of Plex is unbeatable, there are no obvious signs that the content is pirated, that + a great app ecosystem is very important if you're going to be sharing with friends and family.
    • gdulli2 hours ago
      For me it's that Xbox has a Plex app. I'm not willing to use Android TV devices or connect my TV to the internet.
      • jessycoan hour ago
        Casting from ios is useful for me.
  • xvxvx5 hours ago
    I grabbed a lifetime pass for $99 many years ago and have certainly gotten my moneys worth. Hopefully they will keep honoring existing passes.
    • abashore3 hours ago
      Has there been any indication that they may gate new versions or features behind more expensive plex pass subscriptions?
      • 404mm3 hours ago
        I haven’t heard about anything like that.

        But I do hear about campaigns focused on members with poor account hygiene and afaik they get their accounts terminated.

        • kotaKat3 hours ago
          It's already bad enough they took offense to people hosting in Hetzner (yes, I'm one of the many that hosts in a DC instead of at home).

          Sorry I didn't want the server overhead in my house, eh?

  • tencentshill4 hours ago
    They didn't have to become yet another second-rate streaming and rental platform. They could have remained the best home media server.
    • dmonitor3 hours ago
      They had to have known that free options like Jellyfin were on their tails and pivoted to a revenue model that doesn't rely on competing with FOSS