Oderus

Oh boy I feel old.

That's funny. I'll just jump in my time machine and go back 11 years.

You could be right about the CPU transcode vs. GPU transcode. It was a long time ago when I setup my Plex but I do recall having performance issues with CPU transcoding. Either way it's a valid point.

I had to use relay only once at a Hotel and it was decent enough but the TV they had was pretty lame so I couldn't tell how bad Relay was vs. the TV quality. Either way I got to watch what I wanted without commercials.

Never heard of ATV4K but I'll check it out. Thanks.

What phones have removable batteries?

They aren't charging users to cover their costs to stream your data from your server. It's to help them with their developper costs. Transcoding is something your server does and it's only unlocked with Plex Pass so if you don't have that, you can't use it anyway. I have only 4k movies so if I want to watch them at any resolution smaller than 4k, I need transcoding which was the primary reason I got the pass. They can also proxy your connection in case you have issues connecting directly so they are somewhat using their own resources for that. They offer a great service at a very low price, much lower than Netflix and it's much better. Everyone that connects to my plex server love the experience so it's well worth it for me. If it's not worth it for you, that's cool. Use something like JF and then deal with a lack of device support and any other issues that come with JF. I hear it's a also a great service but I also hear there are more issues with JF than Plex so I'm happy with Plex.

Their default Movies and Live Channels are bad, but that's not why we're using Plex right?

$120 is to support the platform and it provides the option to download movies/tv shows locally and allows for Transcoding to name but 2 benefits. It's also got clients for pretty much every device out there.

If you can't afford $120 for life then that's too bad. Move to JF.

It's deceptive because it leaves out the most important part. That is if you aren't using the free version of Plex (AKA you have the lifetime pass), this doesn't affect you. It's a non-issue for anyone smart enough to get lifetime subscription.