this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2023
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They're just driving us to self hosted content quicker. Honestly if you can afford a NAS like a Synology or an Asustor, setting up Plex is so easy.
Some edits to this comment:
You vastly over estimate the willingness of people to learn how a computer works.
I self host so much stuff but like.. the amount of time and effort that’s gone into that.. maybe $10 or $20 a month totally makes sense after all to most people haha
Definitely time and learning curve. I’ve really wanted to self host some apps for 1–2 months now. Currently taking basic sql and python courses so that I can do the installations and databases correctly. App documentation is usually lacking and YT tutorials lead to more products and terms I’ve never heard of. There’s a big learning curve for non-programmers.
I'm definitely not saving money by self hosting, but it's a fun way to drain my bank account.
Well, I mean on those vendor NASes it's pretty much just chuck in a hard drive or two, follow prompts for setup, install the Plex app from said vendor's app marketplace, make a login, and add your content to the specific TV, Music, or Movie folders...Admittedly this doesn't get you setup with running Plex outside the network, but as a basic setup it's fairly easy.
I'm also confident someone would mess those instructions up, but if you even understand what self hosting is I'm fairy confident someone could follow the above instructions to add their content. Obtaining content is a different story, but if you already have your content it is easy.
Even though many people suggest that, I don't believe you can compare any off-the-shelf streaming service with a self-hosted Plex.
You have to find and download content to your Plex. You don't get recommendations. You don't get a built-in interface on your smart TV. You have to deal with network configuration, VPN, private trackers, seeding ratios etc.
How on earth is that comparable to pressing the Netflix button on your TV and selecting a recommended show? Even my boomer parents managed to do this on their own.
I think we gotta work on building community if we want to see people really move away from streaming services. One person with a NAS in a small apartment building could help a lot of their neighbors out with entertainment. It would be more work for the person hosting, but if the folks who benefit help their friend out too it might end up being less work overall.
I'd give someone access, teach them how to use the software, and download some of their favorite shows if they let me borrow their truck when I needed, shared dinner sometimes, or helped me clean house. I think a lot of folks would benefit from that kind of thing, but it would require us making friends with our neighbors. Which, on reflection, is actually really really hard. I imagine it would be kinda awkward to start the conversations around this, but you'd get around the step of everyone getting their own NAS at least!
I remember in the zeroes everybody knew a guy who sold burned dvd's. At first they came as a bare dvd in an envelop, but eventually they came in an actual dvd case with a copy of the original sleeve as welll. Some guys would even sell from a stand in public markets.
I could see these guys sell local hosted streaming services to their neighbours, friends and anyone else through word of mouth.
If you take the time to RATE everything you watch in Jellyfin the recommendations start getting pretty good.
I have a built-in interface on my smart TV for Jellyfin, and I had one for Plex.
I didn't have to deal with any network config, just login once.
Your concerns over obtaining the content are valid, but concerns around the user experience are not.
Plex gives recommendations and has apps for smarts TVs.
Agreed that obtaining the content can be difficult but the user experience is top notch. It even skips credits and jumps to next episodes for tv shows now too.
For obtaining content, Nefarious is my go to solution. It’s nearly as seamless once you get past initial setup (which is not simple)
You still need to get content generated.
Yep you do and some may argue that, depending on how you obtain that content, it's even easier than the setup of the NAS and Plex itself.