Plex is locking remote streaming behind a subscription in April

Submitted ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Sl00k@programming.dev⁩ to ⁨selfhosted@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/

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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Cocodapuf@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I gotta be honest, when I look at the problem pragmatically, it’ll be a lot easier to pay $20 a year than to switch to jellyfin and get all my users to figure out how to install clients and make it work for them.

I’m already at the point in my life where my primary concern is making things work smoothly, and if I need to throw money at something to make it work smoothly, the choice is a no brainer. (At least for some values of “money”)

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- ByGourou@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Jellyfin works in the browser just like Plex.
  
  And for now you can do that, but that’s not the first, and not the last update trying to prevent people selling access to their server.
  
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  - Estebiu@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Yeah, but jellyfin’s clients apps are all pretty bad. And I say this as a jellyfin user.
    
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  - lud@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Browser apps are very annoying though. The support for some codecs (like HEVC) is usually worse in a browser.
    
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- brot@feddit.org ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  If you’re not selling access, why should you care? You are providing a service to your users and if they want to stream from you, they will figure out how to do this
  
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  - Cocodapuf@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Well my users are my family and close friends, so I just do care about them… Some of them use a smart TV app to access Plex, which is pretty convenient as it doesn’t even require additional devices or remote controls.
    
    The fact is, as the family tech guy I spend a lot of my effort trying to make tech as easy to use for everyone as possible. And more than anything else, making things intuitive and simple is what eliminates the most amount of hassle for me.
    
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  - MonkeMischief@lemmy.today ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    That was my thought…
    
    “Somehow they got the Plex app installed…”
    
    Jellyfin somehow works on freaking Roku, even, and WELL. Just give the URL to connect to, they pick a profile, and boom, “Netflix who?”.
    
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LandedGentry@lemmy.zip ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
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- kieron115@startrek.website ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Ease of setup was how I just got one techie friend and two non-techie gamer friends to set up Plex servers and we had libraries shared to each other within 15-30 minutes. I don’t want to think about explaining VPNs and SSL to them for the alternatives.
  
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cantankerous_cashew@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
So basically… this is a blatant cash grab, and a nearly 200% one depending on the level of service you pay/paid for. Wonder how long it will be before the lifetime pass is discontinued and everyone gets forcibly moved over to a monthly subscription model

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- sudo@programming.dev ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Every service is doing this as expenses and interest rates go up. Its the driving force of enshittification. All the VCs want internet startups to finally turn a profit.
  
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tane@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
All these comments mentioning jellyfish and I haven’t see a single mention of emby. Is it considered bad or something? Because I switched over to it and I am liking it a lot better than plex so far

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- bishbosh@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I believe emby went proprietary, and jellyfin is the fork that stayed open source. Naturally Lemmy prefers the FOSS one 😅
  
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  - sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Yup, that’s why I was on NextCloud, why I avoid MongoDB like the plague, and why I’m here on Lemmy (I justified Reddit because of their open API).
    
    So yeah, that tracks.
    
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  - Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Ironically Plex users cling to their solution like it’s life or death without considering the other side.
    Just like when someone mentions that Windows has it’s place too and sometimes Linux isnt the be all and end all of all OS.
    
    The hyprocrisy of some users here…
    
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- rdri@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Emby subscription costs a lot even if you just want to use it on a home server. It can work without subscription but will display a warning before playback. Jellyfin is free.
  
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  - tane@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Yeah the warning is definitely annoying and especially the ten second counter on it pisses me off. But honestly I would much rather see an unskippable ad for the premium version of the program I am currently using and enjoying than an unskippable ad for literally anything else
    
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- EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I greatly prefer Emby to Jellyfin.
  
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- ISolox@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I use Emby with the lifetime premier (their ‘premium’ version).
  
  Works great, but honestly I would just point people to Jellyfin unless Emby provides something specific you need. I just use it because it’s what I’ve had for years.
  
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- ripcord@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I like Emby a lot. It’s my backup for Plex. I even give them money as development isn’t free (frequently)
  
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- pory@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  If you’re leaving Plex because it’s subscribeware, Emby is also subscribeware.
  
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- turnip@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Its quite annoying how licensing is tied to devices. I can’t even sign in after reinstalling my OS.
  
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  - tane@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Interesting. Thanks for the warning I’ll make note of this one
    
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MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Well this is a good reason to finish my migration to Jellyfin I think.

I only use remote streaming a couple times per year, so paying for plex pass just for that seems a bit silly.

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- whatevercomeon@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I use Jellyfin and VPN into my home network to stream on the go.
  
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  - LeFantome@programming.dev ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    This is the way
    
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- SippyCup@feddit.nl ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Join us
  
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randomaside@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I just want to make sure I read this correctly. It says that if your a Plex plass holder already that remote streaming changes won’t affect your service. This means that if I have the lifetime subscription and host my own server than users whom have not payed for Plex pass can continue to access this server without issue correct?

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- Tinks@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Correct
  
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  - randomaside@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Thanks
    
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  - ryan@social.binarydad.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    @Tinks @randomaside what i don't understand is, what processing/compute are they using on their end? My server is transcoding it and I'm connecting directly to it.
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- nibble4bits@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Historically, that’s how they usually rolled out features requiring a Plexpass - It usually depended on the server owner owning Plexpass. This move, however, makes me think they’ll probably change that for shared to others via E-mail.
  
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- LeninOnAPrayer@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Yeah. The day they start making something subscription that isn’t included in the lifetime pass is the day they get their office burned down by a lot of angry people.
  
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secret300@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I’ve said it for years that Plex is shit because of their license and the fact that you have no control everyone said no it’s fine it’s my media fucking look at it now

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- SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Yeah exactly. I tried to set it up once, installed it on a NAS box, and it starts talking about me making a cloud account. Why do I need a cloud account to log into my own hardware on my own network?
  
  I do not want the cloud
  I do not need the cloud
  I will say it very loud
  No cloud, no cloud, no cloud.
  
  But apparently it’s set up so the only way to log into your own locally hosted software on your own locally hosted hardware is with an external cloud account.
  
  To that I said no thank you and uninstalled it.
  
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_cryptagion@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Yeah, my lifetime Jellyfin subscription wasn’t quite that much, thankfully. 😆

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jagged_circle@feddit.nl ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Why would anyone even used Plex since we have jellyfin?

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- filcuk@lemmy.zip ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  For working subtitles
  
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  - d33pblu3g3n3@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Jellyfin subtitles now work flawlessly and you can finally select colors compatible with HDR.
    
    Migrated to Jellyfin a few months ago and I haven’t looked back.
    
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- sudo@programming.dev ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  It was there first and you can share it with friends more easily. For Plex you just register with the central server and share your username with your friends or w/e. Jellyfin has nothing like that.
  
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  - pory@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    And now, that feature costs $240. Suddenly, jumping through hoops to configure Jellyfin’s external SSO plugin becomes a lot more rewarding.
    
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- BackwardsUntoDawn@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  the PS4/PS5 app was one of my deciding factors when I used it
  
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- tomkatt@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Plexamp full features are only available with Plex Pass. Jellyfin doesn’t have anything remotely comparable (though you could always just run Lyrion).
  
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  - UndeadDreads@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Have you tried Symfonium? I liked Plexamp too, but I think Symfonium is even better, and it’s compatible with just about any music server.
    
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  - Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Was does it do better than say ‘Symfonium’?
    
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kokesh@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Time to move to Jellyfin for the rest of their users?

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LodeMike@lemmy.today ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
“A subscription”

Its the same Plex pass subscription for people who don’t want to read a clickbait article.

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- ShortN0te@lemmy.ml ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  That is not really covering the topic for everyone, this only covers the article for ppl who are paying already for the pass.
  
  Not seeing how this is clickbait. The title sums it up on point.
  
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  - a_baby_duck@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    “a subscription” is ambiguous as to whether it’s being locked behind the existing Plex Pass or some new/additional subscription model. The title could have more accurately stated that remote streaming is becoming a Plex Pass feature. As is, Plex Pass users (many of whom bought the lifetime pass years ago,) can’t tell from the title whether this is a new subscription cost or if they’re completely unaffected.
    
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  - LodeMike@lemmy.today ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    they could have very easily put “plex pass” in the title, or “paid feature”
    
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  - ripcord@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Everything is clickbait, everything and everyone sucks, etc. To a large number of people here.
    
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dinckelman@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I feel like it’s just a matter of time, until they pull the rug from under lifetime subs.

But in any case, this is probably it for me. I’m not completely happy with jellyfin performance on my server, but the price hike puts me outside of what i’m willing to spend for this service. I already host it myself, and i can tunnel it myself too, if i ever decide to run it outside of my home network

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spacemanspiffy@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I used to use Plex, then one day my internet was down and since Plex couldn’t phone home, it wouldn’t let me log in to watch media ON MY LAN.

So yeah it’s inherently broken. That’s before you even consider the licensing.

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- kieron115@startrek.website ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  i’m not sure why it would do this, i’ve never had any issues with watching plex while the internet is down (in fact that was one of my original uses for it, to have movies and tv in a building without internet). I don’t have it turned on but I do know you can go into server settings -> network and set a list of IPs/subnets that can access without any authorization at all. That lets you use plex without even having a plex account afaik.
  
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  - Ushmel@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    It has to do with the app used. I think it will work with web player and maybe the windows app, but it won’t work on Android/iOS.
    
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  - spacemanspiffy@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    This is provably what I would have needed. But since I couldn’t log in, I couldn’t do anything.
    
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- parrhesia@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I can watch it without Internet
  
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- hedgehog@ttrpg.network ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Depending on setup this can be true with Jellyfin, too. I have a domain registered, use dynamic DNS, and have Traefik direct a subdomain to my Jellyfin server. My mobile clients are configured using that. My local clients use the local static IP.
  
  If my internet goes down, my mobile clients can’t connect, even on the LAN.
  
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LoopingRiver@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
So I have a lifetime Plex pass, but my friend (who is remote) does not. Does this change mean they have the have a Plex pass to connect to my device remotely?

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- bishbosh@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  
  Option 1: Remote playback with a Plex Pass
  
  Upgrading to any Plex Pass subscription is a great option for server owners, as it ensures all users accessing the Plex Media Server can stream remotely, without an additional charge. Even if you don’t run your own Plex Media Server, a Plex Pass subscription will not only allow you to stream remotely from any server to which you have access, but also lets you make use of other Plex Pass functionality like Skip Intro and Skip Credits.
  
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- Mendicant_Bias@feddit.uk ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  From reading the article, sounds like you’re situation won’t change.
  
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- Habitforming@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  No. You’re good.
  
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- jeanofthedead@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  From what I saw, they will be able to remotely stream from your PMS (if you don’t have Plex Pass) for a fee of $2/month or $20/year.
  
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ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
If I didn’t already have my lifetime pass, I’d use Jellyfin as my primary media server platform instead of Plex.

One of these days though, I’m sure Plex will make a mistake serious enough that it impacts me, and I’ll end up switching to Jellyfin as my main media server platform.

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- shadshack@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I’m in the exact same boat. I have a Jellyfin server configured and ready to go whenever something happens to really piss me off. This nearly was it until I saw that my lifetime Plex pass I bought 10 years ago will make it still be free for my family.
  
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aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I absolutely love that Emby is such a third thought that they don’t even get a mention anymore. They fucked their loyal users over so much that they don’t even get mentioned anymore. Can’t wait for plex to suffer the same fate

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RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I dumped Plex years ago even though I paid for it. Too many issues with it. Constantly losing movie folders, unable to stream to the device I wanted to watch on, wrong codec, wrong sound, etc, etc. I gave up. I’m sure it worked fine for most, but it got to be a pain. Switched to Jellyfin and a DDNS address and have had zero problems since. And it’s free.

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TheGreenWizard@lemmy.zip ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Man, my Jellyfin subscription just rose in price too.

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solomon42069@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
How exciting, I’m getting a kick up the arse to change platforms! Seems to be the theme of 2025!

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yarr@feddit.nl ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
A big part of the appeal with Plex is that you can run a server and friends can sign up for a FREE account and stream remotely. When you take this away, you’re going to just kneecap the whole offering. This is such an arrogant move from Plex: they are thinking that when this change goes live they will get a flood of subscriptions. The more likely outcome is they will get a few subscriptions and a lot more angry and frustrated people that walk away.

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JasSmith@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I’m seeing a lot of negativity but I think they offer a great service and deserve to be paid for their work. I bought a lifetime pass many years ago and I almost feel guilty how much value I have received over that time.

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splinter@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I’m inferring from the language of the post that OP is against this policy change, but I’m not sure I follow the argument. Why is it problematic that Plex is asking for money?

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remon@ani.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
" 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"

So as a plex pass holder it shouldn’t affect any of my (current?) users? Am I reading this right.

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JASN_DE@feddit.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
What a load of BS.

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shan23@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
As someone looking to get into self hosting and was researching plex. What’s been the experience like using jellyfish with non techy people? This is mainly something I want to set up for my parents

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LovableSidekick@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Dammit, my friend just said he would give me access to his file server, all I have to do is install Plex. Presumably this announcement means that will become impossible without a subscription.

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greedytacothief@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I don’t really have a problem with this. I paid for a lifetime quite a long time ago. Right now I only use Plex for plexamp and everything else is on jellyfin.

Is finamp at a point that it can replace plexamp yet?

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zer0bitz@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Any Kodi users here?

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aeharding@vger.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Just saying…

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kratoz29@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Huh, I was somewhat excited about the elimination of the playback limit for mobile apps (we are in 2025 ffs!) and then re-read that this will be only applicable for the subpar preview version once it is released… Which doesn’t fucking has the watch together feature lmao.

The only good news in a nutshell is that I am still a Plex Pass Lifetime User, so in a nutshell I don’t get good news lol.

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