Plex launches feature to discover content across streaming services | Hacker News Reader

Plex launches feature to discover content across streaming services

plex.tv

30 pointsshifty127 comments

I get that most people use streaming services these days, but I don't think I've used one in over a year and rely solely on local media. I understand _why_ Plex adds these features, but I'd much rather see them put time into the core product.

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.

> 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.

> I'd much rather see them put time into the core product.

....what's wrong with the core product? I've used it since at least 2013, and the core product has been flawless.

Just some features I'd love to have:

- 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'm with you on this, what features is Plex missing that other services have? Intro skipping was the big one that comes to mind and Plex was a bit behind the competition (if streaming services can be called that) but they also had to do it from a "zero knowledge" position (using ML to guess where the intro was, which was genius IMHO) verses being able to just hardcoded it per-episode.

Why would they need to use ML to find intros? Most implementations I have heard of just analyze the sound at the beginning of episodes and mark out the "theme song" that recurs.

Hmmm, well it might be that my memory is faulty and/or I read someone else's comment somewhere when the feature first launched that said it was using ML. But you are correct, both the initial blog [0] and the support article [1] makes no mention of ML, only audio fingerprinting. My mistake.

[0] https://www.plex.tv/blog/go-ahead-and-skip-that-intro/

[1] https://support.plex.tv/articles/skip-content/

One major issue for me is that you cannot have movies and TV shows in the same folder on hard drive, you need to split them to separate folders, if you want correct metadata discovery.

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.

My one wish for Plex is that I could remove all these features that Plex is putting on my server.

I tried some of the other Media Servers but they tend to be even worse.

Same here. What I want from Plex is simple. What Plex wants from me is complex. I get that part of their funding comes from commissions on things they get you to consume from their partners but I'd much rather pay for a "no extra crap" license, which unfortunately is not what the one thing they do sell, the Plex Pass, does.

I've been happy with Jellyfin. It's entirely open source.

I’m kind of confused by these comments. When I open my plex I only see my local libraries and my Live TV (with my HomeRunHD tuner and antenna)

They are pushing news, podcasts and all kinds of stuff.

It's unfortunate that each streaming silo will probably never allow their content to be streamed to a client like Plex. Amazon Channels seems to have not had a great run from what I've heard (IIRC some services left after initially being part of it) so I have little hope of Plex being able to swing something similar. Apple TV (The app, not the device or the service, terrible naming) is just a launch board to kick you into other apps which is slightly better than having to navigate multiple apps but only slightly. I understand it's because the streaming services want to "own" the experience (and all that data you generate while moving around and using the app) but I hate it.

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.

If I want a movie, I’ll generally wait for it to go on sale on iTunes, buy it there, and then strip the DRM so I can put it in Plex. That worked for everything except Dune; Apple improved their DRM for recent movies and nothing I’ve found can remove it. So, I pirated it. And I plan to do the same in the future (buy then pirate).

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.

100% this. I pay for all the streaming services and I would happily pay for shows/movies on a per-title basis but getting a DRM free version (or sometimes even a high quality version, some stuff doesn't get released on Blu-ray) is like pulling teeth. I've said more times than I can count "I'd pay 200+/mo for a fully legal version of Plex" (in this case referencing a platform that had all my shows, one UI/UX, ability to watch offline/cache locally, etc), it just doesn't exist.

I don't know about $200/month but I am 100% on board with paying for DRM free entertainment.

> buy then pirate

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.

Bought this little guy[1] back in 2015 to get around DRM and rip, with the exact same philosophy as you. I'm happy to buy, but if I buy it I'm gonna own it forever, regardless of account changes or ["AI" based auto-]shutdowns.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0089DSLMY/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_B3R9...

It's crazy how cable was getting regulated: we realized how shitty lock in was, there were upcoming OCUR standards to allow freedom of device accessibility, dvrs & media pc's wanted a Carterphone like.in & the FCC was in agreement, pushing for compatibility & consumer rights.

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.

Which will probably work fine until there is consolidation, which ironically is what many people are asking for even though it's unlikely to lead to the results they desire.

> "How do I get the subtitle selector up?", "Does left/right skip forward 10/15/30/60sec or does it start RR/FF?"

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.

I use JustWatch for this. Justwatch shows the new / popular / interesting content across streaming services, with a comprehensive search and wishlisting.

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.

So did we finally get Boxee back?

That was far and away the best platform back and we had it 11-12 years ago.

Wow that brings back memories. What was that other one? Started with a J I think.

And Boxee had such a better UI than most of the current platforms.

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 just remembered, it was called Joost.

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