Saw this deal pop up this morning for 20% off lifetime plex pass. Use the code GEEKOUT. https://www.plex.tv/geek-pride-sale/
I jumped on it myself this morning.
The code dropped the price to A$127.99 from A$159.99.
Code expires 23:59 UTC on May 27, 2022 (= 09:59 AEST on May 28th)
Hardware transcoding for me is what its about
How does this work compared to what it does already?
Yes
How does this work compared to what it does already?
It does hardware transcoding instead of software if your hardware supports it.
Sometimes streaming content to devices requires the source media be transcoded (converted). Plex pass unlocks more power in your CPU/GPU to do this
Nice, Plex was less clunky for me when I last tried jf
Trying to get HW acceleration to work for jellyfin on my Synology Nas has been a pain in the ass. I've spent about 10 hours following various guides which most are out of date, only to give up.
Heres hoping Jellyfin 1.0.8 will make it less painful.
And skip intro!
Just to support devs. Love plex since 2014
Legit, this implementation changed my plex experience and made me realise I was happy with the purchase more than anything!
If only the other plugins like Radarr/Sonarr had the backing that plex does!
@Supreme101: Radarr and Sonarr are pretty fully featured as is and work brilliantly. I can't really think of much else I want them to do, other than Sonarr missing the ability to have a fallback option when it can't find a version that matches your filter (x265 in my case - when it's not available I would like it to get an x264, but then upgrade to an x265 when available).
@MrFunSocks: I'm pretty sure it can do this… I need to test but I have this setup. I'm sure mine will look for 265, if not available download 264 and will upgrade to 265 when available.
EDIT: Just tested, Sonarr does do this.
@jaymzrsa: What version are you running? I'm running the linuxserver docker version on my Synology. I have x265 set as a tag in the "must contain" section in Quality settings. Looking at it now, do you set them up in the "preferred" section instead?
@MrFunSocks: 100%, you need to use preferred words. Follow this guide, it's exactly wheat you need.
https://www.reddit.com/r/sonarr/comments/iy6zvo/x265_preferr…
Skip intro is amazing, if you aren't' using it you are missing out.
@samfisher5986: It's great, but man my Synology has been finding the intros in my collection for almost 9 months now haha. It is slooooooooow going on a huge existing library.
@samfisher5986: It's a Synology DS920+. It's just that I have like 25TB of shows for it to find intros for haha
Almost always, skip intro puts my audio out of sync. Does anyone else get this? Always on latest plex version, synology nas.
There's quite a list of reasons, maybe you didn't look carefully?
Jellyfin at this point in time is really only useful in your own home and those that live there so that you can spend the time buying hardware, setting up software and other related tasks. Things start to get complicated if you want to share with family/friends.
Why only your own home? Setup friend profiles and enable reverse proxy and away you go.
You still need the same hardware and config setup in plex.
Plex still offers easy library share and a better intro-skip, but apart from that it doesn't offer much else over the competition
Because physically going to your friends house for setup, forcing them to buy specific TV's, stop using a console, stop using a specific device etc is a lot to ask.
@samfisher5986: Tell them to download the jellyfin app and connect to server x? Again, plex requires the same
@hellbound: Plex just requires a free account and an invite or adding to your home group
It has the benefit of working on someone's existing devices which is huge for the average user who is likely using existing services etc.
Not only that but Plex has features that many are used to for example skip intro.
i use both the free version of plex as well as jellyfin and i can assure you have carefully looked for this list
Nah jellyfin is quicker and easier to set up and can be configured for external network with a little effort. It's features are growing steadily and I have no doubt it'll surpass plex in every way soon enough.
The direction plex is moving is terrible these days. What they offer for subscription/their ludicrous 'lifetime' price is sfa and awful value no matter how you spin it. Anything I'd need from it is free via Jellyfin.
Just to name a couple of problems Plex has: issues with accessing local media when your net is down if not correctly configured (some having problems even when they believe to have it correctly set up), as it wants to dial home. If your net drops it will lock you out of profile switching and various things associated with their premium subscription as it can not verify your license without internet.
The only limitations I've faced with Jellyfin are specifically the AndroidTV app which runs very minimal (but is having major focus on development at the moment) it doesn't support theming and some cool things like prerolls, some people have other issues also (tho it's worked perfectly for me on CCwGTV).
Their WebOS which works on every other platform is bloody fantastic.
Aside for waiting on improvements to theAndroidTV app, the only other thing is that I'm itching for is auto-skip intros, which is currently in the works.
Screw subscription services.
Support open source.
I'm annoyed they got rid of photo back up
@Caped Baldy: I didn't know that used to be a thing. I'd actually like to know how many things they offer for their subscription rely on their servers, as that's kinda the point of a subscription being worth what you pay over just buying software (and potentially add ons) outright. But I haven't looked deep, if anyone knows more let me know.
From what I can tell, little to nothing on offer is provided by their servers, and they have moot interest in catering to the communities requests for features and fixes.
$127 is a huge price to pay for software that doesn't (well, shouldn't) rely on their cloud. I understand supporting the devs and contributing a reasonable fee for software updates and features, but this ain't it.
@ilu: Think of it as paying to NOT have your data saved on their cloud and paying engineers to quash bugs and release improvements to the platform while not telling everyone what you are storing locally!
You are taking what I'm saying and just expressing what you dislike about Plex.. these are two different things.
I'm commenting that Jellyfin is not friend/family friendly without physically going there and setting up special hardware.
What if they use a PS4 for example? there are so many clients that don't exist for Jellyfin and people don't want to move their entire media setup just to use the thing you are offering.
I'm not defending Plex, I'm simply saying that Plex is best for compatibility and ease of use and some of these things will never change (such as Jellyfin will never have a Playstation app)
@notme: Because they don't have easy to setup native apps on a wide range of devices.
So unless your mum or cousin is tech savvy its way too hard to get it organised.
@samfisher5986: I can accept there's more convenience with plex for accessing your instance over the net.
As for apps, sure, no native app for ps4 and a few others, but you can just use a web browser on literally any device and get the full experience.
@ilu: Are you really going to ask your tech illiterate family members etc to use a web browser though?
Sounds like a headache.
@samfisher5986: My grandma can handle clickin a bookmark. Like damn, you should see her navigate facebook. But she also has a smart TV like the majority of folk. Not that she'd have interest in me setting up a media centre for her.
Honestly, I even managed to get my grandfather (who was not only tech illiterate, but loathed the 'damned things') to load up iview on a tablet when he wants it. Musta been like, an hour of time outta my life to help him with that and a couple of nudges in the right direction when I visited to get him keen. Maybe I have a strong constitution for headaches or something…
But like I said, I understand that one convenient feature is worth the price tag for some people. For others, it's over priced, or they're able to set something up themselves, or they don't nee that feature. In my opinion that feature is worth this kinda money, but it might be to you.
The fact stands that JF can effortlessly do basically everything else for free, and has no issues preventing it to be run on pretty much any client.
But please tell me more about how it's trash because it doesn't conveniently fit your one specific use-case (yet).
@samfisher5986: I dunno about that most people have android TV, Fire TV devices just put in the url of the server and off you go nothing complicated about that. You could even use the app on your phone to cast to the TV.
Nothing special about that lol.
The only limitations I've faced with Jellyfin are specifically the AndroidTV app
That's why I'm sticking with PLEX.
@boomramada: I use the free versions of Plex and Jellyfin and the latter is great to use if files are in DVD and Blu Ray (discs) formats. AFAIK Plex doesn't support these formats.
Only problem I'm having with Jellyfin ATM is that their latest software version is corrupt and cannot be installed in Windows.
@boomramada: The current version of the Android TV app is way better than it used to be.
I have stopped using Jellyfin for kodi and just use the jellyfin app on my TV to play my content now.
Nah jellyfin is quicker and easier to set up
I can't see how it can be easier than Plex though. Plex you just add your library folders and that's it. Send invites to email addresses for sharing. Jellyfin could be as easy, but I don't think it could be quicker and easier.
Screw subscription services.
The Plex Lifetime Pass is a one-off purchase, not a subscription service. Nothing wrong with subscription services anyway, they're the only way some fantastic services can exist.
$127 is a huge price to pay for software that doesn't (well, shouldn't) rely on their cloud. I understand supporting the devs and contributing a reasonable fee for software updates and features, but this ain't it.
$127 is nothing for how often plex is updated, how many platforms it's available on, what it does, and how fantastic it is.
@MrFunSocks: Like I said, yes plex is indeed more convenient specifically for sharing outside of local network.
I was replying to the dude making out like jellyfin is some hassle with all this 'hardware' and 'tasks' involved to get runnin. Which is rubbish, it was quicker for me to set up than plex was.
Nothing wrong with subscription services
There's plenty wrong with a lot of them, thats one reason why people use plex to begin with. But if you're trying to say there are good subscription services, sure, I agree.
Plex Pass is a subscription service. Them offering to sell you a lifetime pass is also a subscription. This pass will end when the "lifetime" of the service ends (them changing the "service" they offer ends, or changes significantly enough, auth servers shut down, company goes down…)
You aren't purchasing a product or software, you're buying a service, for an unknown amount of time, under uncertain conditions that may change. They've already talked about removing lifetime pass before, that's why the prices have practically doubled.
Jellyfin does close to everything, handles some things better, and the shortcomings of it are quickly disappearing. Even if plex gave a pass that was guaranteed for your lifespan, there are almost certainly going to be vastly superior options within a couple of years, olmate I replied to is insanely short sighted.
Plex has advantages for some at the moment. Shortcomings too, and the devs don't seem to be headed in a great direction with their service models.
I realise we all have different use-cases for media servers. If you need or prefer plex for whatever reason, cool.
I'm just pointing out to people lookin at this deal that the vast majority of things this $127 offers can be had for free if it suits their use-case. Use-cases like, lan streaming, diy net streaming & can wait for the skip intro feature to launch.
Jellyfin does in fact work on basically any device, despite the comments above. The androidTV also works fine (tho less shiny)…
Jellyfin sucks. It would be good if the year was 1980.
why, is there a vic-20 port available?
It's built from the ground up specifically for Vic-20. Did you not know this?
Jellyfin has gotten good enough to the point where I've completely switched over to it. Does all the good stuff (incl hardware encoding), and I like how you can change the theme with CSS overrides in settings (I'm using a theme called Ultrachromic, which looks much better than the stock IMO)
That being said, it can be picky how you format the media otherwise it sometimes won't pick up the metadata correctly or at all. But as long as you format it as per the JF documentation it shouldn't have an issue
it's not for everyone though
Why not both
HW transcoding and intro skip. Plex amp is pretty good. Recently gave Jellyfin a look in. Still not good enough yet to give Plex the flick. It won in some respects but the overall stability of Plex won out.
What is Plex? Looks like another streaming service?
Your own personal streaming service - makes your personal media available over your home network or remotely.
Nice front end for local media plus some old free content and more recently a front end for other streaming services (bit like ATV+ but more open). Very good media tagging for local media. Has front end available on most modern smart TVs.
What is Google? Looks like another search engine?
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I use it mainly as HTPC which includes a backend server and frontends for a lot of OSs (with casting)
I don't envy these guys trying to monetize a service that (let's be honest) is almost exclusively used by pirates who aren't very keen on opening their wallets to pay for digital goods.
I've thought about Plex Pass a few times but (while there are some cool features) I'm not sure any of them are worth $120. Particularly when "lifetime" is a misnomer - there are a lot of FOSS candidates trying pretty hard to unseat the king.
Pay to pirate… quite the oxymoron
I know a few people sailing the high seas on the black Pearl. Paid for offshore gsuite, newsgroup subscriptions and websites to host request forms for automated downloads along with plex pass for all his crewmates to use. Probably spends hundreds every year on upkeep. But they've basically combined all the streaming services into one.
Some pirates stash their plunders on a $700 NAS. Collecting and curating is a hobby in itself, pirates really have no issue paying for a fancy way to stash their plunder.
Plex has been around long enough, and enough people have had Lifetime long enough that its well worth it for those people.
I don't see Jellyfin catching up fast enough unless its current feature set already does what you want.
Jellyfin will shine once they have sufficiently caught up because then we can have all the features Plex are too stubborn to implement.
I use the livetv feature
Lots of "pirates" are happy to pay for things.
You'll find most people pirate because:
1) You get access to everything, not just a small selection of media studios' licence agreements allow.
2) Most of the the time the apps available for streaming services suck.
3) People want one single app for all their media, not Disney Plus, Netflix, Stan, Binge, iView, 7plus, 9Now, SBS On Demand etc. apps to wade through.
4) The hardware supported by streaming services is limited, I shouldn't have to buy multiple streaming devices to get access to all the media I want.
5) A show you like can be removed at any point from a streaming service.
6) An old show you like may be censored or may have entire episodes removed.
7) Poor internet connections may result in streaming having lots of buffering or low quality, compared to downloading media over night and then watching it locally.
8) Steaming services may have a delay for content being available in certain regions. We now live in an online global community. People want to be involved in online discussions about shows/movies without risking spoilers.
Lots of pirates aren't "cheap", they are normally just more clued on than the average consumer and know how to get a better experience.
That's exactly what I told my parents, the better experience was watching spooky grainy VCD quality horrors on shared laptop screen with as many friends that can fit around the laptop screen with 10deg viewing angle.
Real media and asf for the win
While you are right I'll also point out that what pirates want, which is a streaming service that has all media content, and for a reasonable price.. is simply impossible.
If we had what we wanted then most shows would have a huge budget cut, and many shows would be canceled, Game of Thrones likely wouldn't even exist.
Companies try to extract as much money as possible which is used for their own profit but also creating new shows that we like.
Netflix US nearly was this though, until other media groups got greedy. Now everyone has a streaming service. It's too much.
I will add
-Most streaming services are terrible at having subtitles available.
The amount of time the pilot episode is complete with subs and then the rest of the series is missing them is too damn high. Especially on so called free to air catch up services like 7plus and 9Now.
I'll add that most streaming services have terrible subtitle management, no skip intro, hit-and-miss picture quality at times and generally abysmal support for most home theatre sound. Not everyone watches via stereo and some have higher end HTs
there are plenty of part time pirates these days, e.g. have 1 or 2 streaming services but still need the occasional show from one of the 17 that now exist they don't have. I have a plex pass i think i paid $100 and i understand that 'lifetime' is for the company not for me but so far so good i have used plex for about 7 years, it installs on my NAS, and turns messy/unorganised videos dumped into folders with stupid names into an interface on my tv, phone, or laptop remotely. i think i have had plex pass for about half so so far i am up to about ~30 a year as a cost and don't regret it.
Pirates are often happy to pay, they’re just selective about what they pay for. You don’t get 50-100TB of films without dropping a lot of cash on storage to house it. To that end $127 to support that hobby as a one time cost is super reasonable.
There’s pirates selling acces (basically subscriptions) to guest accounts to access their library by people who want access to a library but don’t want to have to source the content themselves, so the $127 can be recouped if they want too.
I've been using Plex for a number of years now and bought the lifetime pass at $99. All I can say is that you should be wary that the Plex company are looking at ways to truly monetise this platform (unlike a few years back where it was made by the community for the community)
Not necessarily a bad thing, but considering that some of the bugs that still exist and feature requests that go ignored for years while they try to add features that appeal to potential buyers, the app itself is struggling to keep up.
Alternatives like Kodi and Jellyfin aren't quite up to the quality of Plex and still have 1-2 years before they catch up, but once they do (which they will), you may regret buying into Plex.
I do wish Plex kept their game streaming platform and just put it on Plex Pass holders, instead of making it a whole separate subscription
I shudder at the sound of the word Kodi
Plexkodiconnect is the best of both worlds. Shits all over native plex and you can actually have bitstreamed audio.
I just wish it was as sleek as the native plex interface :(
Have you tried emby? i've been using emby for about 3 years now, alongside plex and recently jellyfin….i've found that most my family tend to favor emby over the other 2.
I totally forgot Emby existed! I've been using Plex and Jellyfin side-by-side for about 3 months now and like Jellyfin, but it's not as feature rich as Plex and is missing good quality apps, but I like the potential it has. I'll try out Emby
Jellyfin is basically an offshoots of Emby which is completely free to use while Emby has to be paid for after few trial uses.
@pacificstorm: for me it comes down to end user ease of use.
I have all 3 running, and all pulling from the same library's, so all the content is there, all features are in full use aswell…but for some reason most my users prefer to use emby. After asking them why, it seems to come down to them saying it just runs smoother and "easier" on the device they are using it on. Which is a mix between android/ios smartphones, tablets, PC/laptops, browsers, chromecasts, and ofcourse the various versions of smart TV's.
Now although Jellyfin is making ways and constantly improving, from the feedback i'm getting it doesn't run as smoothly as plex or emby on ALL of the devices mentioned above, sure it may run just as smooth on some of the devices, but not all…and when people are looking for 1 system to replace them all, they will look for what will work well on most of their devices.
I'm sure it will improve, and when that day comes i already have jellyfin in action and ready for anyone that chooses to make the switch.
@whitepuma: Interested to know who your users are? Do you have some kind of private streaming service?
@DeToxin: my "users", as mentioned in my previous comment are my family….and as far as being a private streaming service, well that is literally what plex, emby, and jellyfin are….its a self hosted streaming platform.
@whitepuma: I was mainly interested in whether you were dealing with people who are relatively tech literate, or less so. To know how much your comment may be relevant to me.
@DeToxin: a bit of both.
My siblings: High tech literacy. to such the extent that they build their own PC's
My partner: Medium tech literacy. knows the difference between a hdd and a CPU, can explain a problem she's having with a computer, but not the best at resolving those problems beyond turning it off and on again or disconnecting and re-connecting.
My parents: Low tech literacy. if there is any slight imperfection with how their tech is working they struggle to diagnose and resolve the problem or just learn to live with the problem.
@whitepuma: Cool, thanks for the info. The main one I was wanting to see was the parents section. So guess I'll check out Emby 👍
@DeToxin: my parents didn't understand the idea of needing to enter a URL or ports even when in the app (they were accustomed to the netflix method where all you have is a username and password). So after first time setup was done it got much easier. But this added difficulty exists with plex, emby & jellyfin….the other user groups didn't have this issue.
Having your own registered domain can make this much easier for the end user aswell
Kodi will never catchup, their use case is a bit different, standalone vs server + client. Not to mention the current quality of the Kodi experience.
I had set it up about a month ago and everything was running fine streaming at 4k to my tv and now all of a sudden it can't stream for shit! I tried the flex pass trial and that didnt do help. I have no idea what could of gone wrong
Did you get a PS5? We found it way worse for certain videos and completely at random. Same codecs, but some videos just constantly buffer.
I recently found out that some subtitle formats can ruin Plex 4k HDR streams. PGS I believe - the player has to render the subtitle onto every frame of the video and at higher resolution/bitrate that can cause issues.
Yep stick to SRT, anything else seems to not work for me on higher resolutions (even 1080p).
What a load of garbage, plenty of people rip their own bought media to digital and use PLEX, plus loads of other benefits.
don’t really see the point in this over the free version or jellyfin. fyi there’s a plexamp equivalent for jellyfin called gelli (android only)