Plex laid off the whole player team(forums.plex.tv)
86 pointsby zzyzxdan hour ago18 comments
  • zzyzxdan hour ago
    A better link to point to the comment from the former employee:

    https://forums.plex.tv/t/2026-20-0-beta-ios-and-tvos-4k-dovi...

    Plex stopped working on any DoVi/HDR10 videos I have, and today I found this thread.

    • arprocteran hour ago
      Seems like the comment was edited to remove "Move over to Jellyfin and/or Infuse"

      From /r/plex:

      https://i.imgur.com/87huC1b.jpeg

      • iugtmkbdfil8342 minutes ago
        Thank you. I was really confused about the story initially.
      • techjamie39 minutes ago
        I just looked at the thread and I think that comment might be gone entirely. Though some script on that page is breaking find in page on my phone so maybe I simply didn't scroll enough.
    • jmuguy38 minutes ago
      I think the comment has been completely deleted now.
    • supermanavan hour ago
      I have a player with wide compatibility, including P7 DoVi, for Apple TV (and iOS) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hanaplay/id6782382601 works with Plex and Silo - an up an coming media server that could be a replacement. Android/Roku are in beta. It's free and will be open sourced.
  • joshstrangean hour ago
    I don't want to be a jerk and I know engineers writing the code don't always make the decisions but the new Apple TV Player was dog shit. Just horrible. 10 steps back in UI/UX and frustrating to use. I've been using Plex for well over a decade and to throw that all away on that new player... Just damn.

    Not sure why Plex laid off the team, was it the response to the new updates (doubt it), was it "AI", are they planning on going in a new direction?

  • cdrnsfan hour ago
    I've got nothing but good things to say about Jellyfin, Infuse in Apple's ecosystem and Wholphin in Android's.
  • kraquepype26 minutes ago
    I switched over to Emby a while back for video, but kept plex in a limited capacity for music since I really like Plexamp.

    The thing I really like about plex was that 99% of the time, it would scan and match up my media, even if file formats were inconsistent. That was a growing pain for Emby, so it was another reason I kept plex for music.

    Is there a good alternative to plex for music?

    • paularmstrong11 minutes ago
      The closest alternative that I've found to Plexamp is MusicAssistant. It's still really rough around the edges as a full replacement. For example: Smart playlists are lacking and/or don't work at all; "Recently Added Albums" goes by file modified time and not when it was actually _added_ (and they fought me on this saying I'm wrong that it doesn't seem right)
    • ihsw18 minutes ago
      [dead]
  • hs86an hour ago
    I often run the server and the media player app on the same system. When the server analyzes a new movie, the spinning circle animation in the corner of the player app uses more CPU than the server’s transcoding and analysis processes.
  • AdmiralAsshatan hour ago
    Once upon a time, Plex started as a fork of XBMC/Kodi.

    I'm still using Kodi. It still does everything I need it to do, user complaints about "dated UI" be damned.

    About the only thing I wish it shipped was a built-in renamer utility to help organize the media to the naming scheme that Kodi expects in order to scrape metadata properly. Most of the leading third-party utilities for this are proprietary subscription apps, which is a huge shame when the core product is FLOSS.

    • gdulli2 minutes ago
      Ironically (or fittingly) given that origin, the Xbox version of the Plex app may be the best one to use now because it's been abandoned and was never updated to the terrible redesign.
    • znkynz39 minutes ago
      Kodi front end - emby back end. Best of both.
  • joshuat41 minutes ago
    Looks like the comment was deleted, insane to think dropping that in a community forum discussion was a good idea.
  • jmuguy34 minutes ago
    Question for Jellyfin users - how's the support for non-tech people that were using your library? Like my parents use my Plex, and getting them switched to something else is going to be a hell ride.
    • PorciiVorbesc25 minutes ago
      >Question for Jellyfin users - how's the support for non-tech people that were using your library?

      As much as I hate what Plex has been doing in the last period, here Jellyfin is not as good as Plex. Most shows I download, Jellyfin can't detect which show it is, and instead just lists them as raw video files in a folder since it expects a strict naming convention which most torrents don't follow. Plex probably has a much better content detection engine based on fingerprinting, since it rarely misses regardless of how fucked the naming convention is.

      Also, Plex tablet and TV UX feels simpler and easier than OOTB Jellyfin, unless you tinker with it or use alternative clients. My parents far prefer Plex's UX.

      Also 2, I noticed transcoding on Plex is somehow more power efficient than Jellyfin. When I monitor intel_gpu_top on my 12th gen NUC, Plex hammers the iGPU with far less interrupts than Jellyfin, resulting in noticeably lower power consumption.

      • 0x1ch21 minutes ago
        Are the shows foreign or rare media? I almost exclusively use Jellyfin for TV and generally the only media that breaks from weird metadata tagging is asian stuff like Animes. Naming convention of the episode titles usually has very little to do with how Jellyfin shows them, unless that's the only data it can see.
        • PorciiVorbesc19 minutes ago
          >Are the shows foreign or rare media?

          No, mostly US productions. Stargate SG-1 for example.

    • Quick28229 minutes ago
      I've had no issues getting my friends and my parents setup. Its easier than Plex, since it's all setup in Jellyfin (user admin).

      Send them a hostname, username and password. Jellystat is a nice companion app if you like seeing metrics.

    • rfkjrjr20 minutes ago
      Its pretty simple to use and manage. I actually ended up creating an android tv (and phone) app that mimicks windows media center for live TV, and an on demand section that serves the jellyfin library. This has given the family I give access a more familiar interface. https://imgur.com/a/oUDr1Gu

      If anyone is interested I may do a post about this app, but I figure in the AI age you'd probably rather I keep it to myself!

    • BoxwoodSeed14 minutes ago
      It's usable, but there's plenty of room for improvement. Never got started with Plex since it's not free software. No matter how much better Plex was it would never have been worth it down the line. I learned that lesson by using Opera circa 2012.
    • 0x1ch23 minutes ago
      It's pretty easy and straight forward, the login UI is similar to netflix where you can have profiles per user and have them shown on the login screen, etc. They get placed straight into the view of your library, from there they can simply click play.

      I'm not up to speed on transcoding, but I do notice my web users always have to transcode, assuming due to their native browser playback support for codecs. Local installs of the Jellyfin player seem to avoid this on most systems.

    • inhumantsar20 minutes ago
      this is my main blocker to Jellyfin too. if it were just me, no problem. but my (divorced, over 60y/o) parents and my sister's family use my plex too. each of them has some mix of LG, Samsung, Roku, Android, and Apple devices. they all live half way across the country.

      every time i've checked in with Jellyfin, the ecosystem has been way too fragmented to consider migrating.

    • asdfqwertzxcv29 minutes ago
      Even easier to use, from what I've experienced. Feels like a middle ground between Roku and Plex's interface.
  • dudu24an hour ago
    Bummer. Anyway, the Nautilus Jellyfin client for the Apple TV rules.
    • deweyan hour ago
      Why is it so hard to find screenshots for this app? I've tried many apps the past days as they all are in a half-done state and I would be in the market for a good, Apple TV native client.
    • cr125rideran hour ago
      Swiftfin got a huge update recently too!
  • joshuat39 minutes ago
    Mismanagement and disastrous redesigns aside, the "lifetime" funding model was flawed from the beginning and imo played a serious part in leading Plex down this path.
    • expedition3211 minutes ago
      Plex seems to be the kind of software a lot of people would have acquired illegally.
  • maxprimesan hour ago
    Mad thread to drop that bomb in.
  • PaulHoulean hour ago
    Well.. I was really excited to experience HDR when I was reading conference proceedings about it in the early 2000s. But when I got to see how it was standardized I could think nothing for "For Christ's Sake, this is going to make sure it never looks right in either SDR or HDR"

    Dolby Vision addresses some of the problems of simpler standards but it is such a botch I wouldn't expect it work at all.

    • bhoustonan hour ago
      How is that related to this story? Are you commenting on the wrong Hacker News post?
      • wolrahan hour ago
        The actual thread the post being referenced is in is about Dolby Vision and HDR10 playback on Apple devices, so I can see where a rant might come out I guess...

        edit: Yup just saw GP's reply and they clearly have opinions about HDR.

      • PaulHoulean hour ago
        Did you read the story?

        Plex broke Dolby Vision. Plex is working fine for me because I'm not using this botched format and don't have a TV which is designed to make sure everything is too dark for you to see anything, the same way Chris Nolan poisoned movies by making sure you can never make out what people are saying.

        • dominotwan hour ago
          > Chris Nolan poisoned movies by making sure you can never make out what people are saying.

          why did he do that?

          • germinalphrasean hour ago
            It's mostly that Nolan makes camera and sound decisions based on the theater experience which assumes a certain visual scale, projector dynamic range, surround sound system, and so on. Because the format and equipment utilized in a high end movie theater is significantly more capable than everyday home televisions, these choices often lead to a poor viewing experience at home. All these issues could be resolved technically, but home theater formats are kind of a mess in general.
            • CamperBob243 minutes ago
              Unfortunately that's not it at all. He's widely quoted as considering dialogue to be just another sound effect.
              • germinalphrase23 minutes ago
                It is that, just not only that. You saying dialogue is "just another sound effect" collapses all nuance out of a broader artistic preference on Nolan's part for authentic performance recording and diegetic sound (of which the dialogue is one part of many). You may not care about this-vs-that filmmaking choice, but they are intentional decisions with a rationale. In a movie theater setting, the problems introduced by these choices aren't as acute because there is a physical and spatial separation between speakers dedicated to primary dialogue vs environmental sounds, etc. The same is true for scenes being "too dark" or characters being framed too widely to read their performance because it was framed for IMAX not an iPhone.
          • CamperBob2an hour ago
            Nolan doesn't want you to focus on the dialog, he says. He considers dialog to be just another sound effect. He's an overrated bozo who either needs more cocaine, or less.

            See also: idiot directors who shake the camera constantly because it's "realistic," neglecting hundreds of millions of years of evolution geared towards stabilizing vision while moving.

  • bigbuppo39 minutes ago
    That reminds me... need to cancel plex pass.
  • VCFundedGenYeran hour ago
    I don't understand why anyone continues to give Plex the time of day. Jellyfin has far and away eclipsed them.
    • joshstrangean hour ago
      Do you have external users (outside your network)? My understanding (and the last time I tried) is that Jellyfin lacks in this department quite a bit. That and ubiquitous clients.

      Plex client is available almost everywhere and overall, Plex mostly "just works". The latest Apple TV client changes have me hot and there are things I don't love but that's what's kept me in the Plex ecosystem. I am looking around now though since I'm so disappointed with the new clients/UI.

    • deweyan hour ago
      Because I bought a lifetime pass a very long time ago, and their apps across all platforms look and work consistently. I only recently switched to Jellyfin because Hetzner blocks Plex, but otherwise I wouldn't have had a big reason to switch.
    • SpecialistK26 minutes ago
      I went with Plex AV few years ago for two major reasons:

      * a native Xbox app (I believe Jellyfin may now have one)

      * non-techie acceptance (Plex seemed more polished at the time, will need to reassess now)

      Either way, I'll be warning my spouse that things may be changing soon.

    • an hour ago
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  • vorpalhexan hour ago
    It's a shame Plex has failed to be functional. The moment a product has a bunch of UI refreshes but no core fixes is when you know the wrong work is being done.

    I'd still be happy if Plex could turn things around, but until then Jellyfin seems to be king.

  • platevoltagean hour ago
    There are several good alternatives to Plex. Time to give them your support.
    • iugtmkbdfil834an hour ago
      Sadly, the signs were all there, but it sucks that we need to start thinking of upending existing setups. That said, currently running jellyfin as a test to replace plex ( different reasons ). So far the experience was good. What seems to be missing is the ease with which you can share your library.
      • toomuchtodoan hour ago
        It's a great opportunity to use an open ecosystem that cannot be captured and enshittified. Better to build on a shared, open platform versus paying someone who is trying to squeeze the enterprise for all its worth over time.

        Where Jellyfin lacks, I would encourage contributions so that it lacks less, over time. Hopefully, it will eventually surpass Plex, making Plex redundant while Jellyfin remains open.

        (i run Plex and Jellyfin side by side on top of a multi PB library)

        • flumpcakesan hour ago
          > multi PB library

          Of? Ripped Blu-rays?

          • toomuchtodoan hour ago
            Library contents are out of scope and irrelevant imho. "You do you." I'm supporting end to end open media storage and playback in this context, regardless of underlying content or media. Legal content, pirated content, adult content, does not matter to me what folks want to store and serve up. The issue is digital sovereignty over your compute.

            Over time, it'll all be served out of archive.org eventually anyway as copyright slowly expires over centuries [1] (life of the creator + 50-70 years lol). We can find more valuable topics to argue about, imho.

            [1] HN Search: public domain day - https://hn.algolia.com/?q=public%20domain%20day

    • fishtoasteran hour ago
      Sounds about right. What have you (and/or fellow commenters) had good experiences with?
  • zzzeekan hour ago
    ive got plex and jellyfin running but jellyfin hasn't won me over yet for movies / tv shows. guess it's going to have to
  • PierceJoyan hour ago
    The new Apple TV app is terrible. It’s completely redesigned, and visually looks good I suppose, but it’s so buggy and has terrible UX. So terrible, in fact, that after a decade of using plex I finally became a cliche and switched to jellyfin. The player isn’t quite as polished as plex, but it isn’t as buggy, and I’ll probably just take an open source player and have Claude customize it to my liking. Honestly plex deserves to fail at this point. They’ve been doing stupid user hostile shit for years. They finally cross the line though and made the core experience of watching something on their app significantly worse.
    • joshstrangean hour ago
      Yeah, I can't believe how bad the UI/UX is for the new Apple TV Plex app. I switched to Plezy as a client (still Plex server) but don't love it either. I really did like the old Plex UI on ATV.

      I don't know what I'll do going forward. Jellyfin is rough (I've tried!) and especially for external users (family).

    • fetus8an hour ago
      I was watching a movie last night with the updated Apple TV app last night and said to myself, it's time, this UX update has pushed me over the edge. Jellyfish migration is happening this weekend.