jonp Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 http://lifehacker.com/home-theater-software-showdown-kodi-vs-plex-1746501974 Thoughts? Quote Link to comment
jonp Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 What, no Emby? Yeah, they went for the elephants in the room. I haven't played with Emby yet, but I've heard good things. Definitely no where near the user base of these behemoths though... Quote Link to comment
CHBMB Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I'm a Kodi guy but also run Plex purely to stream to mobile devices outside my LAN. I would disagree that Plex is easy to setup, if it all goes well then it's easy but if there is a problem with metadata or posters etc I find it very frustrating to sort out. I'm sure others will disagree.. Quote Link to comment
archedraft Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I'm a Kodi guy but also run Plex purely to stream to mobile devices outside my LAN. I would disagree that Plex is easy to setup, if it all goes well then it's easy but if there is a problem with metadata or posters etc I find it very frustrating to sort out. I'm sure others will disagree.. YOU'RE WRONG! Ahh alright I feel better now I currently use Plex exclusively now. It is just so nice to go anywhere and use any device and get streaming media (unless Plex mucks up the latest versions but that doesn't seem to happen too often) I do agree that it was a PITA to get the metadata working, I spent a week renaming all my folders, but once you figure out what Plex likes it's really easy. Quote Link to comment
CHBMB Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I'm a Kodi guy but also run Plex purely to stream to mobile devices outside my LAN. I would disagree that Plex is easy to setup, if it all goes well then it's easy but if there is a problem with metadata or posters etc I find it very frustrating to sort out. I'm sure others will disagree.. YOU'RE NOT WRONG! Ahh alright I feel better now I currently use Plex exclusively now. It is just so nice to go anywhere and use any device and get streaming media (unless Plex mucks up the latest versions but that doesn't seem to happen too often) I do agree that it was a PITA to get the metadata working, I spent a week renaming all my folders, but once you figure out what Plex likes it's really easy. FTFY Also I can't switch to Plex even if I wanted to as I use PVR, which Plex doesn't do I don't think, and I use Openelec on my HTPC, and I'm not sure such a mature equivalent exists for Plex either... Quote Link to comment
archedraft Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 YOU'RE NOT WRONG! Ahh alright I feel better now I currently use Plex exclusively now. It is just so nice to go anywhere and use any device and get streaming media (unless Plex mucks up the latest versions but that doesn't seem to happen too often) I do agree that it was a PITA to get the metadata working, I spent a week renaming all my folders, but once you figure out what Plex likes it's really easy. FTFY Also I can't switch to Plex even if I wanted to as I use PVR, which Plex doesn't do I don't think, and I use Openelec on my HTPC, and I'm not sure such a mature equivalent exists for Plex either... Lol why thanks. Yeah, I think your're right (it hurts) that Plex doesn't do the PVR. Currently I don't mess with live TV / Cable so doesn't really affect me but if I did I would want a media player that handled everything in one. Quote Link to comment
squirrellydw Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Plex all the way, hopefully they will add PVR Quote Link to comment
CHBMB Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Hmmm looks like I'm going to have to get Sparklyballs to join me here.... He loves detests Plex with a passion... lol Quote Link to comment
Squid Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Hmmm looks like I'm going to have to get Sparklyballs to join me here.... He lovesdetests Plex with a passion... lol As far as I'm concerned, Plex is terrible. Kodi all the way, at least on dedicated devices. Only touch Plex if I'm in a hotel somewhere. Quote Link to comment
ashman70 Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I use both for specific things; I use Kodi for watching my media and Plex to catalogue it in a way that is easy for me to access and search, I also use plex sometimes to stream to my iphone or iPad. Quote Link to comment
bungee91 Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I can't understand why Plex is so popular here, I have tried to understand and gave up... Minus the ability to transcode to a device while away from home, I see zero benefit.. The WAF is no better, as mine has no issues with Kodi... IDK, if you have devices at home that can't natively playback files, I feel like you should get better devices (my opinion). Kodi/XBMC/XBMP 4 life.... Quote Link to comment
Squid Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I can't understand why Plex is so popular here, I have tried to understand and gave up... Minus the ability to transcode to a device while away from home, I see zero benefit.. The WAF is no better, as mine has no issues with Kodi... IDK, if you have devices at home that can't natively playback files, I feel like you should get better devices (my opinion). Kodi/XBMC/XBMP 4 life.... +1 Quote Link to comment
interwebtech Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Plex: remote streaming, sharing libraries, transcode to suit client, lots of client apps, support for 3rd party channels Kodi: custom themes. So I lose the ability to have a pretty interface and gain... hmmmm my sister just started up a stream on her FireTV. I'm watching Comedy Central reruns on the Roku. My buddy one town over is watching something on his Roku. So the final tally is Kodi makes you look like the tech wiz IF they come over to your house to watch. Plex makes you look all tech guruish and they can stay home lol. I have one friend streams from Alexandria Egypt (when her internet is working lol) Quote Link to comment
BRiT Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Emby seems to be the best mix of features from those two. Quote Link to comment
Helmonder Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I use both Plex and Kodi intensively. The Plex interface is a bit nicer but that is no deal breaker. The main reason I use Plex is the syncing possibilities, I have my main tv shows sync to my iphone to watch without a data connection, great functionality. I would be very happy to use plex at home instead of Kodi but there are two main reasons I cannot do that: 1) Subtitle functionality in Plex is below standard, subtitles are only downloaded on initial media scan (that you can refresh, but you cannot do that while watching a media file). Kodi has great support for this, long press on subtitle button starts the plugin that does a fresh download, this is something I use A LOT.. Subtitles often take two or three attempts to get a correct one. 2) Plex removed the functionality to play VIDEO_TS folders, although it is easy to rip stuff to an MKV I simply have to much of them. I would love to have only one tool, but for me they both have their very precise values.. Quote Link to comment
sparklyballs Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 plex's scraper is just plain awful at times to the point of being useless, i had so many movies not being identified at all or misidentified, i gave up in the end. the plex "interface", poorly laid out, a nightmare to find settings, on the whole not very nice. transcoding, big deal, it's not the only game in town....... Quote Link to comment
SlrG Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I'm not an awid plex fan myself, but more of a kodi user. But if you hate the plex scraper, you can use Metadata agents for exported XBMC library to scrape your Kodi/Ember metadata. Quote Link to comment
sparklyballs Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I'm not an awid plex fan myself, but more of a kodi user. But if you hate the plex scraper, you can use Metadata agents for exported XBMC library to scrape your Kodi/Ember metadata. you can, but the last time i used it, it didn't work. Quote Link to comment
cirkator Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I am using Kodi and Emby. Gives me the best of both worlds. My HTPC is running Kodi with the Emby for Kodi plugin. And for outside streaming I use Emby. Emby is running as a backend and the Emby for Kodi plugin is keeping my library between Kodi and Emby in Sync. Very useful because I am away a lot. Quote Link to comment
Frayedknot Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I like openelec it speaks to what what I want but I use Plex because I want a central database and not have to setup each device's source material manually. Especially when it comes down to manually adjusting the results being returned by the scraper. Also, the thought that all my would be scraping data just bothers me on the wasted cpu and internet usage. I've considered trying to make my own SQL central db with kodi/openelec but i use my laptop and a couple of tablets and I have different versions of Kodi/openelec devices anyway (IE Openhour Chameleon) so that isn't going to work for me. I've setup a Emby docker, but i haven't tried connecting to it yet. Honestly, Plex does everything I want and does it pretty good. Quote Link to comment
detz Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I've been using plex for years and it's great. It's just so easy, I never have any issues with Plex itself and everyone no matter how tech savy can figure it out. I have people streaming from all kinds of devices and it "just works". I see no reason to even try Kodi. Quote Link to comment
jamerson9 Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Currently using all three for years; Kodi, Plex and Emby, for most of the before mentioned reasons. Wish it was one app, but can't really complain as the only monetary outlay was $1.99 (on sale) for the android Plex app and everything works fine. Should really thank unRAID for being such a stable platform. Just one bone of contention with all these apps is that I wish they would come up with a more efficient way of storing the metadata. As my library grows having hundred of thousands of files to back up is getting a little ridiculous. Can't even tell you how many files my Plex metadata library has right now as explorer is still counting files... Have to add that Filebot is a life saver for trouble free metadata acquisition. Quote Link to comment
StevenD Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I haven't looked at Kodi since before its rename, so I cannot speak to its capabilities. I use a combination of Emby and Plex. I have a full-blown HTPC on every TV in my house running Windows 8.1 with Windows Media Center. I like the WMC interface, and its very wife-friendly. And the DVR features are a must. I run Emby inside of WMC on each of these, connecting to an Emby docker on my unRAID server. It works VERY well...in the house. I haven't done any testing outside of my house, or on any device other than a Windows PC in more than a year. I know Emby has made a LOT of changes in the last year or so, so maybe I will try it out again. I have Plex installed in a docker on my unRAID server specifically for mobile usage. I really like how it works on my Android phone and iPad. I also provide access to my Plex server to other family members. They all access it remotely either with a Smart TV/Roku/FireTV, or a phone or table. This works very well for them, and me, so I have no desire to change how this works. I do agree others that when Plex has a "problem," it can sometimes be quite tricky to track down what's causing it. I'm still running 0.9.12, because I have had problems with all of the 0.9.14 PlexPass releases. Maybe its time to do some testing with Kodi again. Although, like I said, I'm very happy with how Emby is integrated into WMC. I even have been doing some testing with WMC on Windows 10 lately! It works exactly as it did on 7 and 8.1. Quote Link to comment
NotYetRated Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Plex user here for multiple years... I have to say I am incredibly happy with where it is at today, and how it has always simply worked for me. I have only ever run in to 1 or 2 file identification problems, and that was with some odd names anime movies. Have never had an issue other than that. My files always come in as "filename [release year]", and plex picks them up flawlessly. Maybe my usage is not nearly as heavy as other people's, who have come across such id and metadata issues. My house is wired up with HDMI/ethernet to most rooms, terminated in my server room in the basement. I run VM's with Windows 10, as well as a couple of Smart TV's and a firestick to server my media around the house. It is quite flawless, just some occasional hiccups with my VM's needing a reboot here and there. All running off of unRaid, Plex in a Docker. I really prefer my Living Room and Home Theater running Windows 10. This way I get full bitstreaming audio of my movies, DTS-HD and such, but also the ability to pop on Chrome for some light browsing, youtube easily accessibly, Steam for streaming games from my gaming rig, or playing games locally. To me, it really beats any of the alternatives I have tried, firestick, chromecast, etc, for home theater usage that is. My current issue with Plex, is that they are discontinuing their "Plex Home Theater" app, in favor of "Plex Media Player". The new media player layout is flatout awful. As perfect as Plex has been at serving my media around my house, and to me when I am abroad, the direction of this new interface alone is enough to get me interested in an alternative. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.