Example of why I went to Plex

[MSattler 387]

Here is an example of something minor, but for me is huge.  Valid Release notes that actually point to issues that were resolved.

 

Version 1.3.0.3059

New

 

(Web) Updated Plex Web to 2.11.0.

(Photos) Optional automatic tagging of photos in Photo libraries. (Requires a Plex Pass.)

(Photos) Massively improved performance of photo library scans.

(Music) Improve matching of local album art. (#5654)

Fixes

 

(Apple TV) Improve seeking behavior. (#5029)

(Sync) Issues syncing photo sync items on folders with lots of subfolders. (#5284)

(Sync) Occasional issues syncing from multiple sync clients. (#5767)

(Sync) Errors syncing playlists inside folders. (#5780)

(Transcoder) Boost audio using a rematrix adjustment, instead of simply increasing volume. (#4594)

(Scanner) Music scanner fails to scan in files with replaygain_seratogain_gain. (#4352)

(Scanner) Issues refreshing libraries when library locations contained trailing slashes. (#5396)

(Scanner) Issues scanning certain Hawaii Five-O episodes.

(Scanner) Duplicate status alerts generated for Camera Uploads. (#5150)

(Metadata) Adding an album to Various Artists was causing other albums to be refreshed. (#4418)

(Metadata) Preserve user edited text fields when unmatching and rematching a media file. (#4999)

(Video) Improve performance when direct streaming video on some TV apps. (#5532)

(Music) The music library created during setup wasn't premium for Plex Pass users. (#5775)

(Music) Support local per-track music videos, stored globally. (#5564)

(Music) Replace 'Popular New Music Videos' hub with 'Recently Added Music Videos'. (#5564)

(Relay) Cache host keys to improve relay startup performance. (#5516)

(DLNA) Issues with TV show watched status on DLNA clients and LG Medialink. (#5609)

(DLNA) Crash generating DIDL for videos with no video streams. (#5731)

(Sharing) Issues with content rating restrictions containing diacritics and other non-ASCII characters. (#5565)

(HTTP) Return 503 errors when server is overloaded. (#5530)

(Search) Duplicate search results in certain cases. (#5657)

(Safari) Downloads weren't resuming correctly. (#5548)

(iTunes) Importing iTunes playlist from a non-default location wasn't working on Windows. (#5755)

Artwork and images might not display in certain clients when the server wasn't signed in. (#5748)

A number of user-reported server crashes. (#5465) (#5773) (#5788) (#5804)

 

It isn't rocket science.... and it makes a huge difference, as opposed to seeing Emby release notes, and taking a leap of faith that sometimes leaves me splattered on the ground surrounded by caution tape.

 

 

[Luke 37094]

Thanks for the report. We will improve our release notes.

[MrWebsmith 598]

 a leap of faith that sometimes leaves me splattered on the ground surrounded by caution tape.

 

 

 

 

now thats an image

[CBers 6771]

I'm gonna check out Plex this weekend.

 

See how the competition stacks up.

[trifleneurotic 44]

I switched from Plex a few weeks ago and I am loving Emby, especially its more expansive metadata editing capabilities. That being said, I have noticed some issues with Emby playback (i.e. some local trailers not playing on Android app at all, or Emby Theater locking up on Xbox One with YouTube trailer playback) but they are relatively minor, although they may dealbreakers for other users.

[Luke 37094]

I switched from Plex a few weeks ago and I am loving Emby, especially its more expansive metadata editing capabilities. That being said, I have noticed some issues with Emby playback (i.e. some local trailers not playing on Android app at all, or Emby Theater locking up on Xbox One with YouTube trailer playback) but they are relatively minor, although they may dealbreakers for other users.

 

We work very hard. Just let us know and we'll look into it. Thanks !

[trifleneurotic 44]

We work very hard. Just let us know and we'll look into it. Thanks !

 

Will do. And I know you guys work hard - it shows. It's why I pay  And why I plan to contribute code.

[Jdiesel 1114]

I just tried a one month subscription to Plex and couldn't really get hooked. After using it for a few weeks along side with Emby this is what I concluded:

 

Pros

-Much better Android/Android TV experience. More polished, HD-audio, just overall nicer to use

-More plugin/channel selection

-Easier access to apps, PS4 and smart TV apps in their app stores

-Better music metadata

 

Cons

-Limited live TV support

-Uglier web interface

-No hardware accelerated transcoding

-Remote sever connection dropouts (may be a unique case)

 

Both are very good products and both have their faults. Plex has a more mature app ecosystem, especially now that they have added an official Kodi plugin. Emby has a more customized experience that gives the user much more control and the live TV capability is much much better. If you like to set it and forget it, Plex is good. If you like to have full control, Emby is better. IMO.

 

I personally use Kodi as my player on any device that supports it and the Emby for Kodi plugin developers have done such a good job that it meets all my needs. I like to test the different apps but nothing comes close to Kodi as a player.

Edited December 6, 2016 by Jdiesel

[Deathsquirrel 741]

For me, PLEX was to much of a PITA to admin.  The metadata manager UI was, at the time, awful...but to each their own.

[dcook 265]

And the release notes should be published **BEFORE** the update is pushed down, or at least at the same time, not **DAYS** after.

 

 

 

Thanks for the report. We will improve our release notes.

Edited December 7, 2016 by dcook

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

My biggest issue with Emby currently is that the developers are overextended. Too many platforms or not enough developers. However, you look at it. Established platforms like Roku are ignored because the developers are always chasing the next platform. Now, I see threads about supporting VR headsets while Emby Theater languishes, even though it is new. Let's get the existing clients updated, up to speed and working before we move on to new clients.

 

Hopefully, we get release notes. That would help us know what is going on instead of trying to decipher megathreads with hundreds of posts.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Koleckai Silvestri

[CBers 6771]

Let's get the existing clients updated, up to speed and working before we move on to new clients.

And fix bugs before adding unnecessary features?

[Heckler 147]

And fix bugs before adding unnecessary features?

 

I cannot under estimate how much I agree with this... it is the most ESSENTIAL thing that should be worked upon.

 

Another is NOT CHANGING THINGS THAT AREN'T BROKEN... I've given up counting the number of times something has been changed 'to make it look better' that actually makes the process of selecting/changing/editing/playing your media longer.

 

Whilst I do appreciate all the hard work that goes into emby... at the core of the problem is the fact that software coders/engineers are making design choices... and we all know how that can be a massive setup for disaster. Show me something designed by an engineer and I'll show you something that needs a lot of improvement.  

 

I've worked in the software industry, as well as designing game map levels back in the early 2000's... The number of times the design team had to go back to the engineers/coders to explain why things didn't work was incalculable. 

 

Designing software for non technically minded people is a very important factor in any technology product, the emby team could possibly make massive leaps and bounds if they allowed a designer to influence direction.

 

As it stands, there is nothing about the cosmetic look of the server, browser or media centre client that needs changing... unless they can improve upon now defunct themes like subdued (my personal fave) that are crying out for next up/suggested views from the home page.

[MSattler 387]

I just tried a one month subscription to Plex and couldn't really get hooked. After using it for a few weeks along side with Emby this is what I concluded:

 

Pros

-Much better Android/Android TV experience. More polished, HD-audio, just overall nicer to use

-More plugin/channel selection

-Easier access to apps, PS4 and smart TV apps in their app stores

-Better music metadata

 

Cons

-Limited live TV support

-Uglier web interface

-No hardware accelerated transcoding

-Remote sever connection dropouts (may be a unique case)

 

Both are very good products and both have their faults. Plex has a more mature app ecosystem, especially now that they have added an official Kodi plugin. Emby has a more customized experience that gives the user much more control and the live TV capability is much much better. If you like to set it and forget it, Plex is good. If you like to have full control, Emby is better. IMO.

 

I personally use Kodi as my player on any device that supports it and the Emby for Kodi plugin developers have done such a good job that it meets all my needs. I like to test the different apps but nothing comes close to Kodi as a player.

 

There is limited TV support and no hardware acceleration but the latter is changing I believe as the Shield supports hardware transcoding.

 

For LiveTV support and external use Emby is great, but the Android app has been much better on the Plex side.  Will have to test the new client on the Emby side.

 

As for the web side of things, I don't mine plex at all.

[Guest asrequested]

I agree, also. My thinking is, perfect the functionality first, then improve the aesthetic. Theater has so many issues that would seem to be getting pushed aside. I really don't want to sound like I'm complaining, because I love Emby. But what good is 'pretty' if the software doesn't work correctly?

[Jdiesel 1114]

I cannot under estimate how much I agree with this... it is the most ESSENTIAL thing that should be worked upon.

 

Another is NOT CHANGING THINGS THAT AREN'T BROKEN... I've given up counting the number of times something has been changed 'to make it look better' that actually makes the process of selecting/changing/editing/playing your media longer.

 

Whilst I do appreciate all the hard work that goes into emby... at the core of the problem is the fact that software coders/engineers are making design choices... and we all know how that can be a massive setup for disaster. Show me something designed by an engineer and I'll show you something that needs a lot of improvement.  

 

I've worked in the software industry, as well as designing game map levels back in the early 2000's... The number of times the design team had to go back to the engineers/coders to explain why things didn't work was incalculable. 

 

Designing software for non technically minded people is a very important factor in any technology product, the emby team could possibly make massive leaps and bounds if they allowed a designer to influence direction.

 

As it stands, there is nothing about the cosmetic look of the server, browser or media centre client that needs changing... unless they can improve upon now defunct themes like subdued (my personal fave) that are crying out for next up/suggested views from the home page.

 

I tend to agree with this but another major factor is that everyone has a different preference on how things should look/work. The call for skin development has been put forward multiple times in the blog entries and Luke has offered to assist anyone who wants to try their hand a creating a new skin but nobody with the technical ability to do so has stepped up to the plate. Once we have a few choices in skins we can stop having discussions about whether or not the next episode should be shown in the episode view and the developers can spend more time on squashing bugs and core issues.  

Edited December 7, 2016 by Jdiesel

[Jdiesel 1114]

There is limited TV support and no hardware acceleration but the latter is changing I believe as the Shield supports hardware transcoding.

 

For LiveTV support and external use Emby is great, but the Android app has been much better on the Plex side.  Will have to test the new client on the Emby side.

 

As for the web side of things, I don't mine plex at all.

It is kind of funny that the day I post this a beta version of the Android TV app is released addressing all/most of my dislikes about it. TV support is kind of an interesting feature as well, for most people it is either a must have or completely irrelevant. There is no middle ground. 

[speechles 1920]

 

 

Established platforms like Roku are ignored because the developers are always chasing the next platform.

The roku still had love from some users, a certain blue themed app. I see what you mean, officially developers just let it grow old and outdated. A new interface and UI was possible more than a year ago, but instead of take advantage of this they looked elsewhere.

 

It would be nice if there was collaboration, but there isnt really. The roku app is being redesigned, but this new codebase isnt public on github. I am guessing because of this, there will be no sideloadable nowtv/roku app either. Since this requires a zipfile, it will give away the source code and allow others like me to modify and create themes for it. For an open source project this mentality is very frustrating. I hope this changes in the future. One can hope.

[speechles 1920]

The call for skin development has been put forward multiple times in the blog entries and Luke has offered to assist anyone who wants to try their hand a creating a new skin but nobody with the technical ability to do so has stepped up to the plate. Once we have a few choices in skins we can stop having discussions about whether or not the next episode should be shown in the episode view and the developers can spend more time on squashing bugs and core issues.

You need to encourage users to do this. What are the perks/rewards for users? So if you make a complete emby theater skin, does emby send you an emby t-shirt and mug? Is there a few months of premiere offered? Are there any incentives for furthering development? For the main devs they get premiere funds, so they are always incentivized. Independent developers should get something from emby to show appreciation. Emby needs to spend some of that premiere money on t-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, etc that can be given to users as rewards. This would help make users feel "connected" for their contributions. Why isnt this already being done? Edited December 7, 2016 by speechles

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

I tend to agree with this but another major factor is that everyone has a different preference on how things should look/work. The call for skin development has been put forward multiple times in the blog entries and Luke has offered to assist anyone who wants to try their hand a creating a new skin but nobody with the technical ability to do so has stepped up to the plate. Once we have a few choices in skins we can stop having discussions about whether or not the next episode should be shown in the episode view and the developers can spend more time on squashing bugs and core issues.  

 

Skin development is interesting to me. However, there is no documentation on doing so at all. The instructions are "Download this, Load it in your browser, Make changes." When I tried, I couldn't even get the changes to show in the client and there was no help whatsoever doing so. I mean, all I wanted to do is enable vertical scrolling in Emby Theater, a feature that was promised before it was released.

 

As for Live TV, I can't really care. It is never going to work where I live and cable is still going to be required.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Koleckai Silvestri

[dcook 265]

100% Agree

 

I said months ago that the developers should halt all new projects and get the CORE EMBY working perfectly, all the bugs resolved, and only then look at adding new features and new clients.

 

Also think that most of these new "features" should be added as apps or plugins so if we don't want them we don't have them forced on us.

 

 

 

And fix bugs before adding unnecessary features?

[Heckler 147]

I tend to agree with this but another major factor is that everyone has a different preference on how things should look/work. The call for skin development has been put forward multiple times in the blog entries and Luke has offered to assist anyone who wants to try their hand a creating a new skin but nobody with the technical ability to do so has stepped up to the plate. Once we have a few choices in skins we can stop having discussions about whether or not the next episode should be shown in the episode view and the developers can spend more time on squashing bugs and core issues.  

 This is why it's important to have the distinction between designing and coding...  Designers create the look and feel and the coders implement that... or explain why it's not possible. Brining those two different sides of the equation together will make emby better.

 

As for the comment made in another post about emby for VR... seriously?  Is there a point to that?  It feels like jumping in the latest fad without any real progress mapped out. VR is a niche product, emby is a niche product... So you are efficitively trying to create a niche within a niche... the time required to develop this isn't going to pay of in the number of new users and an increased income stream.

 

I know it sounds like I'm always critical... but I do have experience in this kind of thing.

[denz 426]

I agree with everyone what has been said I am very frustrated as well with all these new apps but the ones that are already there are half finished like emby theater recorded tv looks like dog's breakfast I have been reporting that for over 6 months and just given up on reporting as nothing or very little gets done. I tried emby theater after few months and it seems to have gone backwards.

 

Regarding skins my personal opinion is that it is just too hard I tried but given up as I have no javascript skills to do it. I did a number of mod's for kodi especially live tv part and it is so easy to do a skin in kodi. In kodi you can basically take everything apart and create it how you like it in emby everything is controlled by the server so you have very little control that is how I see it but I could be wrong. If I could do a skin I wouldn't need any recognition from developers just recognition from users is more than enough.

[MSattler 387]

I agree, also. My thinking is, perfect the functionality first, then improve the aesthetic. Theater has so many issues that would seem to be getting pushed aside. I really don't want to sound like I'm complaining, because I love Emby. But what good is 'pretty' if the software doesn't work correctly?

 

Yup,

 

It's like having a Ferrari in your driveway with no motor.

[dcook 265]

Hopefully the developers will read this thread and fix all the bugs, and finish the apps that they have already before starting on new ones.