Can’t figure out why you would use Plex over jellyfin, I have a life time pass to Plex, I haven’t used it in years, this isn’t about money, it’s about not having garbage running on your machine.
Can’t figure out why you would use Plex over jellyfin
Probably the biggest reason is that it makes it so easy to securely share across the internet. With JF you’re on your own and you can really fuck things up. If you’re just running it on your LAN the JF is the obvious choice.
Jellyfin is ugly, buggy, and the options to secure it aren’t really up to snuff.
If Jellyfin implemented proper SSO support (without needing the plugin) and the clients worked with it as well, I’d be much more willing to use Jellyfin.
Jellyfin for me sucks. Not the server, the client. It works great on my wife’s machine but whenever I wanna watch something I get constant issues with crashing and seeking not working.
I get why people switched, and I’m open to it eventually, but Emby is much more polished. That’s not to say the Emby clients don’t also crash from time to time.
I recently had a weird bug with Jellyfin, are you by chance using a domain name? Try accessing Jellyfin using direct IP, e.g. http://192.168.1.123:8096/
You absolutely need to be careful sharing your own media with people outside your household as that’s probably illegal. If you still need to you can setup a VPN.
The Jellyfin music player has recently seen a lot of love
This hasn’t been a notable issue in a while. That’s why Plex’s https-by-default was such a big deal. With https, even your ISP can’t see what you’re streaming. They can see that something is being streamed, but not what specifically.
Also, you totally glossed over the fact that Plex is simply easier for non-savvy people to set up. Plex provides a unified login experience similar to major streaming services, which Jellyfin simply can’t provide; If your mother-in-law can figure out how to log into Netflix on her TV, she can figure out how to log into Plex too.
And the unfortunate truth is that Plex’s remote access is much easier for 90% of users to figure out. It doesn’t require VPNs or reverse proxies at all. You just forward a port and anyone with access can easily see your server. But my MIL’s TV doesn’t even have access to a Jellyfin app without sideloading. Not to mention the fact that I’d need to walk her through actually setting the app up once it is installed, because there is no unified system for logging in. And if I’m not using a reverse proxy for my Jellyfin server, then I also need to walk her through setting up Tailscale, assuming her TV is even capable of using it at all.
Any single one of those hurdles would make Jellyfin a non-starter if I want to walk my MIL through the setup over the phone, and they’re all currently present. And some of them will never be fixed, by design. For instance, the lack of a unified login page is by design, because a unified login would require a centralized server for the app to phone home too. That centralization is exactly what Jellyfin was made to rebel against, so it’s a problem that will never be “solved”; It is seen by the devs and FOSS enthusiasts as a feature, not an issue.
From a FOSS perspective, Jellyfin is a modern marvel. But it’s definitely not at the same level as Plex when you compare ease of setup or remote access. Jellyfin is fine if you’re just using it locally, or are willing to run Tailscale to connect back to your home network. But if you’re looking for true seamless remote access and need to consider the mother-in-law factor, then Plex is hard to beat.
Can’t figure out why you would use Plex over jellyfin, I have a life time pass to Plex, I haven’t used it in years, this isn’t about money, it’s about not having garbage running on your machine.
This.
Probably the biggest reason is that it makes it so easy to securely share across the internet. With JF you’re on your own and you can really fuck things up. If you’re just running it on your LAN the JF is the obvious choice.
There are plenty of VPN solutions.
Get something like Netbird and share the port.
That’s what you have to do for sharing!?
Someone definitely told me that there was library sharing for jellyfin… Is this the only option?
Jellyfin is ugly, buggy, and the options to secure it aren’t really up to snuff.
If Jellyfin implemented proper SSO support (without needing the plugin) and the clients worked with it as well, I’d be much more willing to use Jellyfin.
Jellyfin for me sucks. Not the server, the client. It works great on my wife’s machine but whenever I wanna watch something I get constant issues with crashing and seeking not working.
This is why I’ve stuck with Emby.
I get why people switched, and I’m open to it eventually, but Emby is much more polished. That’s not to say the Emby clients don’t also crash from time to time.
I recently had a weird bug with Jellyfin, are you by chance using a domain name? Try accessing Jellyfin using direct IP, e.g. http://192.168.1.123:8096/
Can’t remember but ill switch to direct IP and see if that helps. Thanks :)
agree in principal, but in practice:
parents who live across the state
plexamp for music
You absolutely need to be careful sharing your own media with people outside your household as that’s probably illegal. If you still need to you can setup a VPN.
The Jellyfin music player has recently seen a lot of love
Also, you totally glossed over the fact that Plex is simply easier for non-savvy people to set up. Plex provides a unified login experience similar to major streaming services, which Jellyfin simply can’t provide; If your mother-in-law can figure out how to log into Netflix on her TV, she can figure out how to log into Plex too.
And the unfortunate truth is that Plex’s remote access is much easier for 90% of users to figure out. It doesn’t require VPNs or reverse proxies at all. You just forward a port and anyone with access can easily see your server. But my MIL’s TV doesn’t even have access to a Jellyfin app without sideloading. Not to mention the fact that I’d need to walk her through actually setting the app up once it is installed, because there is no unified system for logging in. And if I’m not using a reverse proxy for my Jellyfin server, then I also need to walk her through setting up Tailscale, assuming her TV is even capable of using it at all.
Any single one of those hurdles would make Jellyfin a non-starter if I want to walk my MIL through the setup over the phone, and they’re all currently present. And some of them will never be fixed, by design. For instance, the lack of a unified login page is by design, because a unified login would require a centralized server for the app to phone home too. That centralization is exactly what Jellyfin was made to rebel against, so it’s a problem that will never be “solved”; It is seen by the devs and FOSS enthusiasts as a feature, not an issue.
From a FOSS perspective, Jellyfin is a modern marvel. But it’s definitely not at the same level as Plex when you compare ease of setup or remote access. Jellyfin is fine if you’re just using it locally, or are willing to run Tailscale to connect back to your home network. But if you’re looking for true seamless remote access and need to consider the mother-in-law factor, then Plex is hard to beat.