More options in this area is always welcome, so if Kodi supports remote transcoding out of the gate at some point in the future that would be great. Just another option for users to have, like MediaBrowser and Plex.
(2015-02-11, 19:21)Mostlydave Wrote: 1. Huge blog post about "Plex Home" that's great but how do you call that a feature when only some of your clients can use it.
2. XBMC/Kodi's UI makes Plex look like it was designed ten years ago, and offers vastly superior features like skin support and collections that actually work
3. with Plex you're expected to pay $5 for the privilege of syncing your own media to your own devices, and it is in an alpha state at best, completely ridiculous
4. I left XBMC for Plex because of the integrated server, ios app and sync support but after spending some time with it I'm starting to regret switching. I'm looking a switching back to Kodi and using something like Air Video HD to sync to mobile.
5. If Kodi ever adds these features you're going to see a massive influx of disgruntled Plex users.
I added numbers to reply:
1. Plex Home was recently added and some clients just take more time to update than others, and have different processes they have to go through. Roku has to approve the Plex Channel, The Xbox team (2 different teams) have to approve the Xbox 360 and Xbox One apps. So on and so on...
2. I disagree here, but this is generally going to be user preference. The Plex Home Theater UI is more to my taste than Kodi's default UI. It also has skin support. Collections that actually work, sure. But in PHT, if I have two different qualities of the same movie, it combines them together and when I hit play it asks me to choose the resolution. Better than Kodi (in my opinion).
3. You don't have to pay for the privilege if you don't want to. Use another service. Developers, be they here or with Plex, need money to live. I'm more than happy to give people money for a program that I use almost constantly. Disclaimer: I'm a PlexPass Lifetime member.
4. AirVideo HD is another great piece of software that I've paid for and run for remote people that use it. I actually find that it transcodes/streams better than Plex but the interface is lacking for most users. My brother actually uses Plex to see what's new/what he wants to watch and then switches to AirVideo HD to play it. A downside is that AirVideo HD is only for iOS devices.
5. If Kodi ever adds these features it'll be awesome to try out and see how it works. I don't think you'll see a massive influx of disgruntled Plex users, but instead a massive influx of the same issues that people have with Plex. Most of the issues with Plex that people have are networking issues/server issues/media format issues from what I've seen, not from a server issues. There are some issues with Plex's default profiles and settings that I would love for them to make more of questions when installing instead of just buried in the settings.
With that said though...
(2015-02-13, 02:15)aaronb Wrote: You complain about having to pay for an extra feature, and then a couple sentences later say that Kodi doesn't have it? New software functionality doesn't happen by magic, someone has to put in time and effort to code it.
I use Kodi at home every day, and I use plex for syncing videos to my ipad, and streaming to ipad/phone/laptop when travelling, and everything works flawlessly. Also have 4 remote users who stream daily (often 3-4 at a time), with no issues. I frequent the Plex forum and see a lot of people complaining about issues when it's clear they haven't followed instructions. I'm sure there are legit bugs that need fixing, as there are in most software.
Don't know why people get so hostile about this stuff.
I do the same, aaronb. I love Kodi for home use and the support for external players so I can load up my iso files and play them with full menu support and even 3D BluRay ISO play which is hard to find. I love the add ons that Kodi has and the ability to use different skins to make it fit what I like. The customization of Kodi is second to none, and it's wonderful. For a HTPC, Kodi is generally the player to go to, but Plex Home Theater is a close second. I have everything synced between the two using Trakt, so no matter if I'm on Kodi or Plex, I can see what I have unwatched and quickly start watching what I want. Plex lets me sync to my devices to watch while I'm out and about (generally on lunch at work) or for my kids while we're traveling. It also generally handles 5-6 remote users who, granted, occasionally have a few networking issues (PSA - Wifi sucks), but are still really happy to be able to stream from me and constantly ask for a new show or movie.