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Plex is locking remote streaming behind a subscription in April (www.plex.tv)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/fucksubscriptions@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/27204525

We are also changing how remote playback works for streaming personal media (that is, playback when not on the same local network as the server). The reality is that we need more resources to continue putting forth the best personal media experience, and as a result, we will no longer offer remote playback as a free feature. This—alongside the new Plex Pass pricing—will help provide those resources. This change will apply to the future release of our new Plex experience for mobile and other platforms.

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[–] 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CURRENT PLEX PASS HOLDERS:

For users who have an active Plex Pass subscription, remote playback will continue to be available to you without interruption from any Plex Media Server, after these changes go into effect. When running your own Plex Media Server as a subscriber, other users to whom you have granted access can also stream from the server (whether local or remote), without ANY additional charge—not even a mobile activation fee.

If you're already paying for a Plex Pass subscription, or have the Lifetime Plex Pass, this change won't affect anything. You'll continue streaming Plex remotely and any friends/family who have access to your server will still get to stream it remotely as well.

The cost of the Lifetime Plex Pass is more than doubling in price at the end of April, so if you don't want to pay for a monthly/annual subscription, buy it now while it's only $120. I bought it several years ago and it's more than paid for itself over the years.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    I bought it several years ago and it's more than paid for itself over the years.

    Same, who takes a monthly subscription when you can have a lifetime license? If there was no lifetime I won’t be using plex because !fucksubscriptions@lemmy.world, but when they offer a one time payment license it is just as any software license.

    Well, any software license from before the subscription era.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    If there was no lifetime I won’t be using plex because !fucksubscriptions@lemmy.world

    100%. I'm very anti-subscription, which is why I'm using Plex. I recently dropped subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+.

    I only maintained them because I was sharing with family members who couldn't afford their own subscriptions, but those companies have decided to limit sharing, so they're gone now.

    Now I share my Plex server instead. Still free for my friends and family, and I'm in control of the content now. No more favorite shows or movies disappearing because a license ran out or something.

    I'm dreading the eventual enshittification of Plex, but as long as it's still functional for my needs, I'll keep using it.

    Others like Jellyfin or Emby weren't as functional or user friendly as Plex for me, so I'm hoping Plex holds out for a while longer.

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  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Life time subscriptions are just like pre-ordering games. You're paying ahead of time for features that may not get developed and your concerns are no longer valid since you have no leverage to leave.

    They have your money. Why should they cater to you?

    And because you paid for a lifetime subscription, you're likely to keep using them due to the sunk cost.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    I paid sometime approaching 10 years ago at this point, like $75. I honestly feel like I got my money's worth at this point. And I'm not sure this is a sunk cost scenario, maybe not yet, because I still get all the features impaid for out of the gate. I'm willing to adjust my perspective if (and realistically when) Plex starts taking things away from me. But I will not borrow trouble, I have a functioning interface that works well, and I'll continue to abuse it with my creatively procured media.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    I don't agree with that analogy because games are a set price. If you pre-order, you're paying the same one-time price, but you don't get a chance to learn about the product before it releases.

    Plex has a subscription service. Whether you pay the subscription fee or buy a lifetime pass, you're getting the same product that is already available for free. You can test it out, decide if you like it, then if you want advanced features, pay the extra cost for it.

    True, it could turn to shit later. But a one-time payment is far cheaper than paying monthly or annually forever. I'm saving money AND getting access to the same product.

    As I said in another comment in this thread, my Lifetime Plex Pass has already paid for itself. I would've paid more for a subscription by now if I had gone that route. And it has all the features I currently want, so I'm pretty happy with my purchase.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    I bought a lifetime pass a while ago, and I've already gotten my money's worth. Plex is great, but there's nothing stopping me from moving to jellyfin if I'm not longer happy with Plex. Given that jellyfin is free, and you can run it side by side with Plex, there's no sunk cost. The fact of the matter is Plex is a better product than jellyfin for many things.

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