Legitimately I’ve been using Plex for years and had no idea it even had vr support.
I didn’t have those hardware packs, and probably wouldn’t, but still…
I’m not really sure what I’d use it for though… is it for porn, in this case? (Serious question) I can’t think of any other media that would support it and be on plex…
But also who shares their porn library with people? That’s weird.
Edit to add: they really suck at making their integrations known… like… if they spend time and money working on it it should be listed somewhere so you know you can try it if you want to, no? Like somewhere under settings, like idk that fancy empty plugin page? That used to have stuff and doesn’t now?
If encoded as Full Side by Side, 3D Blu-ray content can be viewed in 3D with VR headsets instead of finding a 3D compatible TV or using a compatible projector. I’m not an expert on it and I’ve never used it since I have a 3D TV, but I’m assuming this is what the feature was for. And porn.
Fair point. I guess I could see that being an edge case use. I had no idea they could do that.
Are 3d files easier to come by these days? Haven’t looked in years but at the height of the 3d craze, when the TVs were available (are they still a thing? Serious question since you have one), the files were hard to come by.
I don’t think they make many, if any, 3D capable TVs anymore, at least in the US. Might be a different story overseas where the 3D tech took off a bit more. The files weren’t too hard to find using entry-level private trackers and forums. I have an almost complete digital collection of Half Side by Side for use with my 3D TV, and I know that people were somewhat frequently posting FSBS encodes for use with VR headsets. The two formats are actually totally different, HSBS uses half of the picture on each half of the screen for the TV to combine (or something similar) so it’s 3D when the glasses do their thing, whereas FSBS uses an entire image on each side, one for each eye. It’s a massive PITA for preservation since compatibility with both requires two copies of the same thing, often totaling more than 30GB for good quality.
Mike Johnson
Don’t forget his son! They can watch together in VR even when they’re apart.
Who?
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That’s super weird. Thanks for answering :)
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That would be so much easier to just load onto a laptop that runs the headset though, like…
But I get you, I just really can’t think of a non-porn use for it through Plex and while I’m sure there are some edge cases for porn probably, I don’t blame them dropping support. Doesn’t seem useful to maintain at this point.
Not sure if it’s a native plex feature, but I know people would often watch movies in VR in a sort of ‘movie theater’ setting. I heard it was nice since you can lay down or turn your head and still be staring at the screen. I never bothered to try it since the Quest 2 battery can drain fairly quick even with the dual battery setup.
You can still open plex in a browser on your headset to do that, doesn’t need vr support within plex itself.
I’ve seen a videe of a fella doing his dishes while watching YouTube video in vr. Like there are cameras to see your surroundings. It actually sold me on wanting vr…
This is the reason I no longer use Plex. They’re just throwing shit at the wall to appease their VC funders. They’re doing their damndest to become “profitable” and they’re implementing little shit changes here and there just a little bit at a time.
The only real benefits to using Plex over Jellyfin is Plex makes the remote access easier, and it’s got better app support.
But unless you’re not capable of figuring out how to share Jellyfin servers securely, or you need an app on one of the few device Jellyfin doesn’t support, the smartest thing would be to start the move to Jellyfin now.
Plex is still in its early stages of enshitification but its direction is very clear. We all know how this ends. Get used to using jellyfin now, you will be scrambling to shift over to it eventually anyway.
Wouldn’t the better move be the exact opposite? If you really want to move go for it, but barrier to entry only gets lower as time goes on, not higher.
I don’t know what “scramble” you would need if you did move to Jellyfin. If your library and setup is already working on Plex, why wouldn’t it just be a matter of installing Jellyfin, adding the library folders you already use with Plex and letting everything scan in? Ask your users to create accounts and add them?
And if it’s not that simple, then it’s hard to argue that it’s on the same level as Plex, isn’t it? Who even knows what the future holds? If Plex eventually collapses, Jellyfin might not even be the best solution. More time allows them to continue to improve it, or other solutions to emerge.
Plex literally has no purpose outside of the core library product. The other revenue streams exist to fund the core product, and it’s not a public company. AFAIK, Elan is still the creator, founder and CTO of Plex. If he leaves or they make moves to go public, then I’ll begin the arduous task of clicking on an installer 5 times and adding some folders to a new service.
For now, I think I’m good.
And PlexAmp
Agreed. PlexAmp is done very well.
Symfonium works with most everything and is arguably better.
unless you’re not capable of figuring out how to share Jellyfin servers securely
For me, it’s not about figuring out how, but rather not wanting to remotely host either a Jellyfin server or a remote proxy into to your local server. I like keeping everything in a walled garden, only accessible via Tailscale or, if I want to share my Plex server access, via Plex’s interface, which is pretty secure. Also, my friends that I do share Plex access with are all accessing it via a Plex app on smart tvs, which tragically have little or limited support for Jellyfin (which you admittedly mention). I have a lot of respect for Jellyfin, but the service Plex offers is, in my opinion, well worth the money you pay for it.
