Plex doesn't require account linking IIRC, it's heavily suggested but you can just access Plex locally without an account.[1]
But otherwise I've switched to Infuse[2] since then, it indexes sources reliably on its own (no manual editing though) and saves the entire need for a server if you use it with some cloud storage. Basically replaced my Plex server, with the added bonus of out-of-home streaming without needing high upload. The major disadvantage is that it's Apple-only.
This is not correct. I've tried the LAN no-login settings and it does not work for many devices (Roku/smart tv/phones). They also fail if you're not on the same subnet as Plex.
For this infuriating reason, moving off of Plex is on my to-do list.
yup--the weekend my internet went out was a real eye-opener and a number of things in my house got the axe including plex. i use kodi now and while its UX is nowhere near as good as plex, at least it works with a LAN-only connection
Oh definitely, once you connect it to an account it nearly refuses to work locally. I tried to set up a cloud-based Plex instance once and I connected it too early, breaking it because UPNP/port forwarding didn't work (yet) and local access was auto-disabled. Even enabled it only half-worked.
It is very client device dependent. And I found that when my internet went out, most devices would not work. But after several hours and some restarts it finally started working on some devices. I think this was because of some dns caching issues.
I recently tried this on my setup, two Roku clients and a plex server. Despite my best efforts I could not get subtitles to work unless I had an account signed in with the preferred subtitle options configured for the account.
Being hard of hearing, subtitles are a big deal. I wonder if this is an ADA violation?
It'll probably get answered with "Oops, this is an app bug and it's best if you log in anyway!"
What if you change the global accessibility settings to prefer subtitles? (Or just set SDH/CC somewhere in system settings) I know on Google/Android TV and Apple TV it default-enables subtitles in some apps.
Since you have an AppleTV, what is the advantage to you of using Plex instead of just an iTunes instance with Home Sharing turned on? Do you have non-Apple devices you're trying to stream to, or something else?
I tried Plex years ago, and it wasn't to my liking because it was philosophically like Windows (Load the filename up with show information and constantly ping the internet for matches) instead of macOS (Metadata where it belongs — with the file).
I'm considering adding a Sony phone to my household, so now that Plex is in the news, this reminded me to check it out again.
Well are you pirating stuff? I've been using Plex for years now and so its mostly just what I know but when I first started using it the main things it did were a) handle codec issues (transcoding on the fly when needed) b) pulling metadata and images for movies and shows based on title and year in the file name. C) allow remote users (friends, family, etc) access to your library via the app, which works out to being very similar to a regular streaming service from their perspective. Basically nothing else did that and so it had a big leg up over XBMC and other apps folks used back then.
If you're purchasing everything through iTunes (do people still purchase stuff through whatever is "iTunes" now? I guess I don't know that either) I assume its handling transcoding/different device playback and delivering all the metadata for you.
Also once Plex pulls metadata down you're right that it doesn't store it with the file but AFAIK its not constantly hitting the net to pull that info down - it keeps a local cache.
I will say at this point - I wouldn't bother switching to Plex and look for an alternative like Infuse. The company is clearly under pressure to monetize beyond the Plexpass subscription you can buy. They've been steadily adding crap no one wants and automatically jamming it into the home screen of the app where you then have to go turn it off. Its just a matter of time before they cross a line somewhere and people jump ship. When that happens I imagine some of the open source alternatives (Jellyfin) will see a huge influx of development. I haven't switched just because I don't want to be hassled with figuring out a new system.
Not pirating or buying from iTunes. I rip my own media — CDs, DVDs, blu-rays, and records — which means I don't have to worry about a million distant codecs. From your description, it sounds like that's the only benefit of using something like Plex.
The Apple TV was the last purchase a few months ago, and my main PC is Windows. I used iTunes as a media library years ago but Home Sharing never worked well for me, it regularly just didn't work (Bonjour for Windows' fault) or it lagged.
Ironically I like Plex & Infuse for the reason you hate them, I just give them files whose metadata is just their filename and they can match them to what they really are. No need to keep all the data in media container tags, and a thumbnail/poster that will be pixelated in a few years because something will scale it wrong.
Sony is a valid option given their love for DLNA but I just never really liked the tech. Hell, I have statically-reserved IPs & DNS-registered names for everything in my home.
EDIT: Oh, I forgot -- the main reason I moved off Plex (and would hate iTunes Home Sharing) is I don't leave my PC on. I switch it off daily and don't like to treat it like a server, and to keep using Plex would require setting up a NAS or something (I had my collection on a local SSD for a while).
For me, the primary issue is that the Apple TV isn't good enough to be the most-commonly-used device driving the display. FireTV (4K version) wins the battle for the living room display (and it's not even close, with TiVo being 2nd and Apple TV a pretty distant 3rd).
To some extent, it's self-reinforcing. Once the FireTV gets a lead, all it has to do to maintain/extend that lead is reasonably support playback of whatever new format/source and Plex works great on it. If FireTV supported TV as well as TiVo does, it might end up with 100% of the living room display share.
(I also have Plex sharing to devices outside the house, but that's a <1% use case, mostly when it's us traveling somewhere and the kids wanting to watch something that's on Plex.)
Fair, I used Android TV (picked a TV with a decent chipset) before, and it played what I wanted well. The reason I got an Apple TV was because I loved Infuse on iOS, wanted some (easier) AirPods integration and found out all the apps I use are dramatically better on tvOS. Plus Android TV was starting to really annoy me with bugs and slowdowns.
I'm not in the US or mainland Europe so Fire and TiVo devices aren't really available or working well here, half their apps would just be blank.
But otherwise I've switched to Infuse[2] since then, it indexes sources reliably on its own (no manual editing though) and saves the entire need for a server if you use it with some cloud storage. Basically replaced my Plex server, with the added bonus of out-of-home streaming without needing high upload. The major disadvantage is that it's Apple-only.
1: https://support.plex.tv/articles/207538527-do-i-need-a-plex-... 2: https://firecore.com/infuse