Plex is beginning to implement its new guidelines, which stop customers from remotely accessing a private media server with out a subscription price.
Beforehand, individuals exterior of a server proprietor’s community may entry the proprietor’s media library by means of Plex without spending a dime. Underneath the brand new guidelines introduced in March, a server proprietor must have a Plex Go subscription, which begins at $7 monthly, to grant customers distant entry to their server. Alternatively, somebody can remotely entry one other particular person’s Plex server by shopping for their very own Plex Go or a Distant Watch Go, which is a subscription with fewer options than a Plex Go and that Plex began promoting in April for a $2 monthly beginning worth.
Plex’s new guidelines took impact on April 29. Based on a latest Plex boards put up by a Plex worker that How-To Geek noticed right this moment, the adjustments are rolling out this week, with a subscription being required for individuals utilizing Plex’s Roku OS app for distant entry. The Plex worker added:
Plex began as a Mac port of the Xbox Media Heart undertaking in 2009 earlier than evolving right into a media server firm and, extra just lately, a streaming service supplier. Its new distant entry guidelines can be a take a look at for the corporate, which has been difficult long-time customers with quite a few adjustments over the previous yr, together with a Plex Go worth hike, a foray into renting out formally licensed films, and the introduction of social options and a cellular app redesign.
Plex has beforehand emphasised its have to sustain with “rising prices,” which embody offering help for a lot of gadgets and codecs. It has additionally mentioned it wants cash to implement new options, together with an integration with Frequent Sense Media, a brand new “bespoke server administration app” for managing server customers, and “an open and documented API for server integrations,” together with customized metadata brokers,” per a March weblog put up.
In January 2024, TechCrunch reported that Plex was nearing profitability and raised $40 million in funding (Plex raised a $50 million progress fairness spherical in 2021). Theoretically, the brand new distant entry guidelines may improve subscription income and assist Plex’s backers see returns on their investments.
Nonetheless, Plex’s evolution may isolate long-time customers who’ve relied on Plex as a media server for years and those that aren’t fascinated about subscriptions, FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels, or renting films. Plex is unlikely to surrender on its streaming enterprise, although. In 2023, Scott Hancock, Plex’s then-VP of promoting, mentioned that Plex had extra individuals utilizing its on-line streaming service than utilizing its media server options since 2022. For individuals looking for software program packages extra squarely targeted on media internet hosting, Plex options, like Jellyfin, more and more look engaging.
This story initially appeared on Ars Technica.
