BrooklynMan

You know Plex is trying to become a streaming platform, right?

no they’re not. they’ve had streaming options for many years. you can also just turn it off. it’s very easy.

also… so what? they offer some streaming content alongside their media managements capabilities. people just like you have been crying foul over that for a solid decade, claiming that Something Bad™ would happen. Guess what? It hasn’t.

From someone who’s spent around 20 years with xbmc/Kodi. Even better, it’s free.

they’re free because they’re far inferior. they lack many features Plex has which my users and I use constantly. Same with Jellyfin… none of the alternatives can do all of what Plex does. not to mention that I strongly dislike the interfaces of the alternatives. they’re, at best, undercooked, unrefined. If they work for you, fine, but they don’t work for me.

Finally, Plex is also free. There is a premium tier that’s paid which includes a few premium features, but, as a Kodi/Emby user, it’s nothing you haven’t already been living without. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

18 years with Plex, and I have zero regrets. I always knew this age of streaming would sour sooner or later. I’ll admit, the good times lasted longer than I expected.