Selfhosted

I don't know why everyone in the selfhosting community still even mentions Plex or uses it.

It's closed source, not free; Jellyfin is a no brainer yet people still go to Plex??

Relevant XKCD: https://www.xkcd.com/743/

Jellyfin is the way. Costs nothing other than the hardware needed and nobody is selling anything about you.

Our personal streaming library with Jellyfin is bigger than any public service and we can add to it from VHS, DVD, Blueray, though extra equipment was required for the VHS/Blueray.

It’s also available anywhere we go and we can set up separate accounts for different family members. There’s even a phone app.

content being watched) on my device(s) and share that information with Plex’s advertising partners

That is a honey pot rights holders will be falling over themselves to pay Plex for access to once they hear about it.

Been telling anyone that would listen that they need to get out of Plex since they implemented that first iteration of trying to require you to sign into your own self hosted server with a Plex.tv account. They were telegraphing what direction they were going in with that kind of user hostile move.

Lots of responses about how it was easy to get around so no big deal (or worse that they liked it for some coping mechanism reason) and that nothing else was as easy and feature rich as Plex so it was worth it.

Well now a few years down the road from that they are now going to use that beach head on everyone's Plex server they can to collect what is being watched and sell it to the highest bidder.

Seeing the replies in this thread it kinda makes me wonder what Plex actually has to do for these zealots to quit using their platform.

Like do they literally have to steal naked pictures of you and pass them around the office? Like wtf.

It is as if it is a general rule at this point that centralization breeds corruption. No matter how many statements people make early on in social engagements, centralization leads them to screw people depending on these systems. When making long term commitment to anything, check if it is centralized or how easy it is to unshackle yourself from it.

Me eating 🍿 and reading the comments of Plex users arguing with Jellyfin users, while myself being a user of Kodi which has it's own problems..

Can someone clue me in on the reason why anyone would prefer Plex instead of Jellyfin?

This is specifically related to watching their free content. You can opt out of the sale & sharing of said data, which is used to play you targeted ads when watching their free content. I am not a big fan, but this is the typical "free" TV spiel. Was there something that changed recently or is it just being recognized now?

I’ve had a lifetime plex pass for several years. Once I tried Jellyfin a few months ago it was all over. My “I’ll run both just in case” period lasted a week or two.

The downside is that Jellyfin will take more setup on your end, especially if you want to let other people connect securely to your server.

The upside is performance and responsiveness. Once I started using it I decided Plex had to go, even if I have to drive to each family member’s house to fix their shit. It was like moving between Linux and Windows, as far as one being designed to work and the other being designed to satisfy dozens of corporate KPIs.

Fortunately the setup for the end user is just as simple once your server is good to go. They just need URL, login, and password.

And since it’s all open source, there’s some fun diversity in clients. I use Finamp specifically for music, and there are audiobook focused ones.

Aww come on guys, my JF boner can only handle so much /s

Seriously though, why did they even give you the option to disagree, you know they're just going to force it 3-6 months.