Sounds like Stream Links on steroids.
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The scary possibility is that all these efforts will fail, not for any technological reason, but because they rest on the assumption that there really is plenty to watch, you just can’t find it. It might be, however, that in fact it isn’t true.
My use case for Channels is content aggregation and a having one-stop shop, so I'm the right audience for this (especially with my nearly untouched Plex lifetime pass).
That said, I took a quick dip into this and have just one adjective: Uuuuugggggghhhhh
Plex's solution suffers from all of the same problems that GoogleTV and TiVO Stream do:
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Watchlist is one giant mess in order by a combination of date added and some proprietary nonsense with no way to organize, filter, or separate out.
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Watchlist is only for streaming content. Personal media, DVR'd shows, et al are still treated as separate items.
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Because recordings and streaming content are treated separately, you cannot mix and match sources.
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Watchlist does not filter to your available services. You have to get down to the movie/episode level to know if it is available to you.
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At the movie/episode level, it shows services the program is available on even though you have already indicated what you have access to. Would be fine in an "also available on" drop-down or sub-area, but not taking up space in the main launch area.
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When you click to launch an episode on the service, it does not link to the individual episode, but to the generic landing page of the show.
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When you click to launch a movie on the service, it just launches the main landing page and does not even go to the movie.
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Due to both of these, it does not autoplay when you click to launch content.
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You cannot "delete" individual episodes; you can only mark them as "played". This means you will always have to know where you left off.
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No way to mark "seen until this point", especially when dealing with a show you may be all caught up on. You can mark by season.
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Only way to "delete" is to remove from Watchlist. So if you catch up to a show but new episodes may be coming, you have to just leave it there on your Watchlist.
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No indicators for new episodes added or if episodes/movies have been made available on one of your services.
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Plenty of metadata misses. Way better than when I last tested TiVO Stream a year and a half ago, but still fairly significant. If you can't find a match, then there is no way to add.
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Navigation is basically the back button. Really enjoyable after getting several layers deep.
This is what I found in just 10 minutes; I'm sure I could go on forever. Unfortunately, another quarter thought out and 10% implemented solution. If you have GoogleTV, TiVO Stream, or Apple TV, Plex's solution here adds absolutely nothing but another layer.
But really, the solution is still Channels. Don't get me wrong: I would love for the Devs to add a search & add function to automatically generate the equivalent of Steam Links (while still leaving the original functionality of Stream Links for things that cannot be found or matched), and I would go gaga for something that keeps track of where my programs are and updates the links to them automatically as they move around. That said, I would a million times pick manually updating Steam Links over Plex's, TiVO's, Google's, and Apple's terrible idea of what content aggregation is.
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Your post convinced me to not even bother playing with new feature. Lol.
Edit:
I just clicked the plex page to read about feature.
As a consumer, it’s the “what,” not the “where,” that matters.
Reel Good has been doing a great job of what not where.
Edit: Edit:
Plex stop trying to temp me away from channels. I already drank the KoolAide over here. Leave me alone.
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Plex definitely peeked my interest with this but still don't think you can add media that's been purchased the same way you can with Channels stream links. That's a deal breaker for me!
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So this Plex development was mentioned in April of 2021 - and look at that, it took them almost a year to develop and get it pushed out.
Still reminds me of Boxee though.
John
Yeah, I used to use Reelgood and now use Justwatch. Basically, I have a "what's new/been added/been re-added on your services" query that I check in on once a week and then create/modify Stream Links based on that. It's not perfect, but like 90% good on that front. On the "what has left and is not available on any of your services" front, I don't have a good solution yet. One Channels feature I'm waiting on is same program, multiple sources. That way I can just add Stream Links and/or recordings/files for the same program and not end up with multiple listings, but one that let's me pick which source to launch from. At least then I would not have to care as much if the Stream Link were still active or not as things move around.
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This sounds interesting and is definitely what TiVo started to do years ago but failed in an impeccable fashion.
I haven't found anywhere that explains how the suggestions are generated. Is it purely on the server or does it send your watching habits back to Plex for their use in addition to providing suggestions. Plex already went down the advertisements road with the 'free' channels. That kind of data would be very valuable for Plex and for their advertiser deals.
Lon explains that local and cloud search are different ... no local search data is sent to plex.
Yes, they don't send Plex data about what local files you have on your server when you search. That doesn't preclude them sending themselves data on what video you watched, how long you watched it, and all the other information they need to send you a personalized 'curated' list of things to watch, along with upcoming programs or movies or what ever else they think you need to see.
I've learned with Plex that you have to really listen to what they don't say instead of what they do say.
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I always figured if TVE streams all go DRM or something else big happens, the Channels devs would do something like this for subscribers - like auto strmlnks for the major streaming services so you could just subscribe to a show and always have a one-stop shop to play them through Channels (even though like strmlnks and the Plex solution it'd have to launch the outside apps).
Plex's attempt is interesting, but you can't just make new episodes of a show appear integrated with your other content to watch - which is how I'd want to use it. If the Channels folks do something similar, I'd bet they'd do it "right" 
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Yeah. I think the underling “stream link” approach to viewing content has been demonstrated so that will work unless providers decide to block it. There will likely be a lot of aggregators out there but most will suck. I have not been impressed with Plex or Apples recommendations so far but will continue to check in to see it it improves. Cracking the nut of decent recommendations could be huge but nobody’s managed it yet. Confirms my skepticism of AI not being so “I” but will see.
And just in case anyone was still tempted for some awful reason, here's a reminder that Plex is building a graveyard just as filled as Google's (and note the date of the post vs. the end-product date):
In other words, I have zero trust that once Plex launches a new component that it will be maintained, expanded, bug fixed, etc... Feel free to take a dive into their forums and watch Plex ignore issues until they shut down a "feature".
Just want to give an extra thanks to @tmm1, @maddox, and @eric for being extremely responsive, available, and transparent. I passed my Channels anniversary a little bit ago and I cannot believe the positive difference in the customer experience compared to the likes of Plex and TiVO.
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Yikes.
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Yep.
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This is what their "Gag" order from a goverment agency will force them to say
The conceit from them is that they are "helping you discover" but they being paid to push content from content sellers
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Wow. One week's notice?!
OMG! I just read as much of that thread as I could. What a mess. No thanks on any of this!
That's my hunch too. This comment from that linked thread in the Plex Forum stands out:
One thing keeps bugging me about this whole Discover thing, what discussions were taking place inside of Plex where they decided NOT to include a “Disable” option as they have for all their other outside sources offering?
It wasn’t just a mistake. It was deliberate.
So, what were the reasons where Plex decided not to include the Disable?
I believe those reasons would be very telling about what type of company Plex has become.
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this was my post btw. lol. fun times with plex.
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