Hacker News Reader

Comment by number6 | Hacker News Reader

But it doesn't trick you into an account or subscription

And it doesn't require internet access to watch things on your local network.

That was the last straw for me with plex.

Having to log into a server on the internet to access local content isn't just bad, it's broken by design just like DRM.

Why? Do you not have an internet connection?

My ISP went down. Nothing I could do about it.

And you couldn’t just play the video over smb in VLC for the ten minutes it was down? Like it really seems like a non-issue that a paid SAAS would expect an internet connection.

Why does it have to be a paid says? It's locally hosted

Because developers have to eat? And my experience with Plex is that they handle all the network negotiation so you can smoothly stream from home anywhere, that’s the core of the service.

Although many projects are offered free of charge, individuals can choose to donate or seek sponsorship to ensure their continued development. Not all freely available software depends solely on financial support, with some projects choosing to develop without any monetary compensation. However, it can be frustrating to feel like the Plex Pass and associated account offerings are being pushed upon you.

The server is running on my local network. It was blocking watching content on my local network from within my local network because it couldn't phone home.

That's broken by design.

This alone, finally got me and my husband to switch. Jellyfin is FANTASTIC, and I wrote a simple script with ChatGPT to help with tagging and metadata for our home collection.

What does it do exactly? I'm always always looking to improve my jellyfin setup

corrects metadata, and adds some custom stuff like our own reviews from our family google account spreadsheet.

Two things that work OOTB with Plex, might I add.

Not for me they didn't.

Can't say I've ever had to script anything for Plex.

I found that Plex was pretty upfront about how membership works. I was happy to pay for a lifetime membership given the usage I’ve gotten out of it.

(though if I’m honest the lifetime membership concept feels like a bad idea on their side. Despite using their product regularly they now get no more money from me)

I paid for lifetime over 7 years ago. So, I'm not worried about that.

Where’s the trick? Pretty much every feature a typical user would use is free. Everything else is clearly outlined on their website. Just because you don’t want to pay for software you use doesn’t mean it’s a trick.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com