• blackstampede@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I should probably thank Netflix for helping me save money. Their shenanigans pissed me off enough that I’ve entirely withdrawn from all paid streaming - I have a media server and a VPN now. Total media cost, $70 /year or ~$5.83 /month. For that, I have:

    • Access to any movie or t.v. show any streaming service has ever provided
    • No ads
    • Shows/films don’t get removed from from the platform without warning.
    • JasSmith@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Right there with you! Though I must be honest, I spent a lot more time and energy on automating the thing than I expected. Now that it’s up and running, it’s bulletproof and very low touch. I’m now permanently out of the streaming ecosystem. Which is really testament to how badly these companies screwed up. I still subscribe to Spotify because I get access to everything for a fair price. Visual media streaming could have been the same thing, but no. They created 10 different competing services, constantly switching where content could be located. All the apps are different and many suck. They’re full of DRM so I struggle to watch them on planes or car trips, depending on the service. They gave us a terrible experience and continue to jack up the prices. I’m out.

        • Rising5315@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          Here is a good matrix of which media server app supports what.

          That being said, I’d still recommend Plex for anything more than just a project.

        • JasSmith@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          Yes, Plex, and a super cheap Intel G5400 plus some disks running Unraid. Very low energy so I can keep it running 24x7. It also supports QuickSync, so can transcode x265 content easily without a GPU.

          My two favourite pieces of software in the world are Sonarr and Radarr. And they’re free! They’ll automate everything for you. Then you just tell them which movies and shows you want and they’ll do all the heavy lifting for you.

          I’ve got them set up with some public trackers, but I also pay for a cheap Usenet subscription ($3/m). Between these I grab almost everything I want.

    • moe93@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Interesting, do you mind elaborating? I’ve been contemplating something similar but not sure where to start.