I need a media server? What's the best provider please

[IR76]

So I have just got my parents old pc (not sure how old but it's still relatively modern. And I want to host my own media server where I can store photos and videos and stream to my family's devices.

 

Main question how would I do that and who is best to go with? Ideally free I've heard of one called Jellyfin but don't know anything else and would like some advice on where to start looking please.

 

Thank you very much. Any questions please ask. 

[Dedayog]

6 minutes ago, IR76 said:

So I have just got my parents old pc (not sure how old but it's still relatively modern. And I want to host my own media server where I can store photos and videos and stream to my family's devices.

 

Main question how would I do that and who is best to go with? Ideally free I've heard of one called Jellyfin but don't know anything else and would like some advice on where to start looking please.

 

Thank you very much. Any questions please ask. 

Jellyfin is good, I personally use Plex on Windows machine.    How deep do you want to get?  Some folks run Unraid, while I find Windows just easy since I use it daily anyway.

[Levent]

I have been solely using Jellyfin for over 2 years now. I haven’t wanted more it works great for me.

 

I run Jellyfin as a jail in TrueNAS and also have a file server with truenas.

[Nayr438]

Id also recommend Jellyfin along with tinyMediaManager to organize your library.
For Photo storage you may also consider immich, we use it and love it but do be aware its still under heavy active development.

[IR76]

11 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Jellyfin is good, I personally use Plex on Windows machine.    How deep do you want to get?  Some folks run Unraid, while I find Windows just easy since I use it daily anyway.

I'm happy to get as technical as you want to if it will optimise my experience 

[IR76]

6 minutes ago, Nayr438 said:

Id also recommend Jellyfin along with tinyMediaManager to organize your library.
For Photo storage you may also consider immich, we use it and love it but do be aware its still under heavy active development.

What would cause an issue with immich, are you saying my stuff may accidently get wiped?

[ToboRobot]

Jellyfin on a linux box is great. 

Client apps can be hit or miss, depending on what device you are using, but it's generally very usable.

[ToboRobot]

1 minute ago, IR76 said:

What would cause an issue with immich, are you saying my stuff may accidently get wiped?

Your data should be backed up, so your data shouldn't get accidentally wiped.

Like any application, new updates can change or break things, like small issues or game breaking bugs, but you can always pick and choose (and test) which software you run.

[ToboRobot]

23 minutes ago, IR76 said:

 

 

Main question how would I do that and who is best to go with? Ideally free I've heard of one called Jellyfin but don't know anything else and would like some advice on where to start looking please.

 

 

Install linux like Ubuntu and then jellyfin.  Then set it up, add media and you are good to go. 

[Nayr438]

1 minute ago, IR76 said:

What would cause an issue with immich, are you saying my stuff may accidently get wiped?

There could be changes that break things some of which could cause you to lose access to your data.
With that said, they do post when there are breaking changes, https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases, and you should always keep a backup.

[IR76]

Thank you all for your advice, I would mark all of you as the solution but unfortunately I can't. Any further info please present and thank you for helping me get set up.

[PenguinNexus]

Jellyfin all the way!

[IR76]

So i haven't done anything yet but let's say I have a Jellyfin account up and running as a media server for my home. 

I have dvds I bought, can i put those dvds onto my jelly fin server with no legal issues? UK.

 

I did put this in a separate thread but it got moved.

 

[Needfuldoer]

[ Threads merged ]

 

Jellyfin itself is perfectly legal, and as far as I know it does not report the contents of your library to any central service.

 

Where those contents come from is your business.

[Nayr438]

1 hour ago, IR76 said:

I have dvds I bought, can i put those dvds onto my jelly fin server with no legal issues?

It's kind of a gray area. It is legal to rip and consume media for private use, it is however technically not legal to circumvent drm. There will be some form of drm on pretty much every movie. With that said so long as your not sharing this media across the internet no one is likely to come knocking on your door. If you do want to access it remotely and are concerned that your isp may say something, throw it behind a self hosted vpn.

[IR76]

1 hour ago, Nayr438 said:

It's kind of a gray area. It is legal to rip and consume media for private use, it is however technically not legal to circumvent drm. There will be some form of drm on pretty much every movie. With that said so long as your not sharing this media across the internet no one is likely to come knocking on your door. If you do want to access it remotely and are concerned that your isp may say something, throw it behind a self hosted vpn.

Alright, thank you very much so as long as I keep it local it should be fine.