Is a plex subscription worth it?
I want to unlock the ability to view content on my mobile device. I can do that with a one-time purchase (payed with google opinion rewards) or with a subscription. I want to unlock the ability for my entire family though, across multiple devices. Do I have to pay the "one-time payment" for every device? If so, the plex subscription might be worth it. Is there any other major benefit to having a plex subscription?
Normally people are using https://jellyfin.org/ although i have never used it so I'm not sure if it offers the same functionality but it's worth a try.
Jellyfin has more functionality but is a lot more technical to set up. I didn’t think it was worth the effort since I already have a Plex server running, but I could see going through that if I didn’t.
Been running Plex with a lifetime pass for around a decade. Worth it for me for sure.
I've run both, and I found both required about the same level of technical understanding for an in house setup.
I started with Plex as it worked nicer with my remote, then moved to Jellyfin when I picked up an Android TV. It was the hardware transcoding (without having to pay) that sealed the deal for me.
The dealbreaker about plex for me was having to use their auth servers and having to route traffic through them.
::: spoiler I haven't used Plex but Jellyfin is as easy as throwing this in Docker:
If you like Ansible and docker, check out saltbox. It's a great project and if they don't have what you need, it's in community. They also use authelia sso. I've contributed to their community repo.
https://github.com/saltyorg/Saltbox
It’s really easy to set up if you use Docker.
I want to use Jellyfin, but the clients just aren’t up to par with Plex and last I checked Jellyfin won’t transcode downloaded media.
Jellyfin does hardware transcoding.
Last I checked, if you wanted to download media to a mobile device to watch later, you could only do that at full quality. Has that changed?
Ah I see, I have misunderstood. I checked and you are correct that it is not possible to download anything but the original file.
If you use Linux Mint, its a one click install from the software manager GUI and the config happens in a web browser. I use a VPN to connect and play videos from it on my phone. I like it and have it set up everywhere I can.
The only thing I can think of when people say jellyfin is more technical. Is there you have to set up port forwarding and some kind of DNS for your server for remote access.
Yes and you'll need to handle security and authentication yourself. Plex is way better in this regard even if it means the very occasional issue when their servers are down.
My main bone to pick with Plex is that I believe that free and open source software should be gratis (free as in beer). You're right about the authentication though. I have mine set up with a simple user name and password over http. I rely on the VPN to limit access to the network through a forwarded port. I don't really like the idea of authentication being done on someone else's machine for privacy reasons, which is why I choose jellyfin that runs on my local machine. I'm not currently sharing it, and if I did I would change some of my security practices.
If you really need public remote access and you can set up jellyfin, it's not much more difficult to set up authelia or LDAP with a reverse proxy and valid certs. I use tailscale and just leave simple auth with jellyfin since it's only myself and family accessing. I used to run Plex for the offloading of authentication to them but I'm with ya, FOSS should be free.
It’s weakness is client side apps. Most are web apps and not native. It’s getting better but in comparison plex has native apps on almost everything.
I’m a lifetime plex pass user since 2016
I personally dislike the Plex apps, but yeah its native support is unmatched. The official Jellyfin app for Android gets the job done but isn't native. However, Findroid seems like the future to me on Android and I use the Kodi plugin on my TV (which is amazing).
This. I use game consoles as my base so I can stream and play games from one place.
Jellyfin for xbox is using the controls to move a cursor around
However Swiftfin and Findroid are making slow but steady progress for mobile devices.
Even as a lifetime plex pass subscriber, I have ditched it completely in favor of Jellyfin.
Jellyfin is just great and easy to configure
Yeah I used to use Plex, Jellyfin all the way now.
Literally everything that makes plex better is pay walled. Support FOSS.
I used to have one. Then I asked myself why I was paying someone else to access my own stuff.
you're not wrong.. but you gotta give credit where credit is due. Plex does a good job of having a client on every platform. Telling family and friends "search for plex on your devices app store" is a whole hell of a lot easier than having them jump thru all the hoops that it takes for jellyfin to work.
This is the main reason I will continue to use Plex over jellyfin
Done. Doesn't seem like that many hoops.
OK great. Now to that on your Roku, Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, smart phone, etc. There aren't clients for every platform and the ones that do exist frankly are just not even close to as polished looking as Plex is.
Fortunately Roku doesn't exist in my country. Jellyfin has apps for AndroidTV, AppleTV and smartphones. It really only lacks an app for consoles
Not a good option, at least on desktop it doesn't direct play hevc
Through a subscription fee, no less.
So you built your own software to access your own stuff?
Because Plex provides you with the user interface to access your own content. Atleast that's how I like to think about it
Jellyfin is the way
Jellyfin with Jellyseer and all the *ars
Jellyfin is a great alternative if you’re okay with webports.
Plex is definitely worth plex pass though. Many features and it works well on any device.
What sealed the deal for me was skip intro. Incredible feature I don’t believe any other option has.
Wait for lifetime memberships to go on sale if you can. There are a few sales a year. Usually on Black Friday.
Jellyfin has a skip intro plugin that is easy to install and works great from my experience.
Jellyfin plug-in to skip intros: https://github.com/ConfusedPolarBear/intro-skipper
Jellyfin also has skip intro
Interesting. Detected the same way, audio scan? Maybe I need to finally try it out.
I bought the lifetime pass when it went on sale a few years ago. I have used the hell out of it and loved plexamp before that feature was available to non Plex pass users. If I had to buy it now, I might just go with an open source alternative like jellyfin.
What worked for me was subscribing for a month, then cancelling. A couple months later, I got an offer for discounted PlexPass, including the lifetime subscription.
I sub for the skip intros alone, turns out it affects everyone who watches on your server which is great.
I don't really utilise any other aspects of Plex Pass but £4 isn't much to me and Plex is insanely useful to me.
I feel like it is, but, be on the lookout for a sale and get the lifetime option when there's a sale.
Do you know if there's any frequency to the sale? Like, once per year? Once per quarter? Every major holiday? Or you haven't a clue?
I don't really pay attention having bought the lifetime pass years ago, but I do see mentions of it being on sale at least a couple times per year. You may wait for black friday in November if you're interested but don't mind waiting.
I'm not sure. I remember I was waiting for it to go on sale when I needed it, and it happened pretty quickly. But I don't know if it happens at any set intervals.
Pretty sure they do the discount on Black Friday. Or used to, anyway.
It goes on sale a couple times a year. If you check Slickdeals, you can find the last few times it was on sale. It is always on sale during Black Friday though.
If you pay the one time fee or the subscription fee, the system unlocks all the paid features for all of the users on your account. Under your account you can have multiple users, each with their own viewing history (and restrictions, iirc). So if your users log into Plex on their devices using your account username and password - abbadon420 and Hunter1 - and then select their user profile, they will all have access to the features.
The one time fee unlocks forever (the lifetime of Plex, of course) and the subscription unlocks the features for the term of the subscription and then you revert back.
Also make sure to set up 2fa on your login
Also setup a pin on your main account so people can't get into it and cause mayhem (whether intentional or accidental).
No. Just use Jellyfin
I used to have a Plex Pass, but I dont think it's worth it anymore. I have remote access via Tailscale, which I use for a number of other services as well.
Can you access to all the Plex content and the UI from remote using tailscale?
Yes. Tailscale is an implementation of the Wireguard VPN. As far as Plex knows my phone is local, no need for remote.
Not sure if you wanna weigh this in as a reason to choose one or the other, but with the one-time purchase you can only stream via Plex on mobile. If you want to download the file and then watch it at a later time WITHOUT streaming you need Plex Lifetime (I made this error!)
I dig the hardware transcoding, the hdr-sdr tone mapping and the tablet App.
If you use Plex free and never found the limitations to be a burden, you have your answer.
All in all I personally find that a one time unlimited subscription is a great deal that is rarely seen nowadays
Plex subscription is crap, this is coming from someone who had one. I'd recommend using something else like emby or jellyfin
There are modded versions of the android app that let you play on mobile without the pass, check mobilism.
Yeah, but the on-time thing is only a couple bucks. I trust that money will be put to good use.
Pay anyone but google, amazon and meta. Fuck these companies.
There is a free source available called cloudstream(android) and multiplatform Stremio!
I had the same desires and switched to Jellyfin. It definitely has its idiosyncracies but I don't regret the switch.
The Plex Pass unlocks hardware transcoding, which is a huge benefit alone. As others have said, it unlocks things like skip intro, credits detection, playing trailers before movies. It also unlocks the DVR feature, allowing you to attach an inexpensive antenna to your network and start recording over-the-air channels. It is very worth it.
Absolutely worth it imo. I mean it helps the developers and along with what others have said, for me Plexamp music player is the nuts. Forked originally from Winamp it plays all my music across all my devices including Android Auto like a personal Spotify
Plexamp is literally the only thing keeping me with Plex. I probably have less than 2500 songs and it still blows Spotify out of the water for generating playlists. I absolutely love the random album radio and being able to shuffle music by the decade. I find that I actually explore my music more vs just selecting what I want to hear in the moment.
As a music collector the lifetime subscription is worth it just for full access to Plexamp.
https://www.plex.tv/blog/free-bird-plexamp-spreads-its-wings-for-every-music-lover/
your better off spending a couple of quid on getting Symfonium and use that instead of Plexamp - Plexamps great, but Symfoniums better
Absolutely not. Plex gets shittier with every update. Their Android app is abaolute dogshit and as been for years. The amount of useless scope creep on their software is insane, and I have a feeling that pretty soon the entire software will be paywalled.
For me, it's worth it for the doubled bitrate over the PLEX proxy. I'll probably be moving out of my parents' home next year into an apartment complex, and can't guarantee that I'll be able to set up port forwarding on the ntwork.
Just use Cloudflared then, no need to port forward. Or use a VPN with port forwarding and a dynamic dns
Note that Plex is against Cloudflare's ToS. No guarantee they will terminate your account, but it's a risk.
Could also consider Tailscale.
Most benefits require both the server user and the end user to have Plex Pass.
Personally I prefer Emby or even Jellyfin over Plex.
That's not true. Only the server needs to have Plexpass to offer downloads and whatnot to regular user.
Does skip intro not require everyone to have pass? Yes it does, https://support.plex.tv/articles/skip-content/
Also app installs requiring either a 1time unlock per user or the end user to have plex pass? Yes it does
That's not "most" benefits. The most sought after benefits do not require plexpass.
Yeah home users get all the perks that the server owner gets.
If you download to your tablet, yes