•  Whom   ( @Whom@beehaw.org ) 
      link
      fedilink
      English
      5610 months ago

      It’s a FOSS alternative to Plex, if you’re familiar with that. Less like a tv channel, more like a streaming service you populate yourself.

        • The advantages ofjellyfin are mainly its open source nature, and lack of needing to pay to unlock features such as downloads. It may be a little more effort to set up but still isn’t too difficult. Once set up, it works pretty much flawlessly, except for the occasional hiccup which can be resolved pretty easily.

          It has an official app available for android TV, which is in the store, and as for Tizen OS, there is an official app (on their github), however it is somewhat more difficult to install from what i’ve seen.

          If you want to check availability, there is a list of clients at https://jellyfin.org/downloads/clients/all/

        •  mhz   ( @mhz@lemm.ee ) 
          link
          fedilink
          English
          3
          edit-2
          10 months ago

          Android is no problem at all, Tizen however is a mistake I will never do again. I have a MU7000 samsung TV (2017 model), it has plex (came free in its store) but no emby (emby is another option that is mostly open source) or jellyfin (Emby fork that is fully open source). I had an Intel NUC5 celeron based that acted as a server, the cpu was pretty efficient (6w) but it was not powerful enough for transcoding (converting the video to something the tv can play)

          My experience with my Samsung TV.

          Plex: Can direct play almost anything (stream to the tv without converting the video). I’m a non-native english japanese anime fan who needs subtitles all the time. The problem is that plex will turn to transcoding if subtitles are on and my server was not powerful enough to handle fluent transcoded stream.

          Emby: it is not in the tizen store (at least for my tv), fortunately the emby team release a tizen binary that can be installed through a USB thumb drive. Now emby works pretty good with and withouth subtitles. It does not have ads (for premium subscription) on android but it does have a once every 24h add in the Tizen version. Not a big deal but just remember you are more likely to be treaded a 2nd class consumer for having a damn Tizen TV.

          Jellyfin: Not available on Samsung store, I had to enable devlopper mod on my tv and install Tizen studio with CLI on my pc to compile Jellyfin for my TV, then install it through Tizen CLI only to be surprised by how sluggish it worked, the UI was very unoptimized which is natural as it was not supporting my tv to begin with. Half my remote (samsung one remote black version) did not work so I decided it was not worth it.

          • That sucks, I only have Android TVs, but my I share the library with someone else who has a Samsung TV. I have a shitty CPU that’s not that great at transcoding, so I’m usually preconverting it (they call it “Optimized versions” in Plex). It works nice even with subtitles, it will hardcode them.

        •  Whom   ( @Whom@beehaw.org ) 
          link
          fedilink
          English
          210 months ago

          Possibly. You should be fine as far as apps go. The setup is a little more involved but the work is front-loaded. Once it’s set up, it’s very similar, if a bit less visually appealing. It supports some extra media types and such but really the main advantages are it being FOSS, privacy respecting, and having all features completely free.

        •  PhAzE   ( @PhAzE@lemmy.ca ) 
          link
          fedilink
          English
          210 months ago

          I’ve used plex and emby, both are good but plex is easier to setup and share, and has apps everywhere. Emby is a close second, but jellyfin isnt there yet imo, with apps and availability of those apps on everything.

    •  devdad   ( @devdad@programming.dev ) 
      link
      fedilink
      English
      510 months ago

      Unsure if your asking seriously (if not, whooosh to me), but it’s an open source alternative to Plex.

      Plex is a media server that you run to host your TV shows and movies. Think of a self-hosted Netflix.

  •  tun   ( @tun@lemm.ee ) 
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1710 months ago

    When the time comes for them to watch, they have their own version of our favorites - remake or remastered, adaptations or whole different series.

    Now the collection is for the dads’ nostalgia.

  •  Whom   ( @Whom@beehaw.org ) 
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1610 months ago

    It’s really satisfying having someone to share your collection with. I moved in with my now-fiancée late last year and it’s so fun watching it grow to suit us both. Currently still using Plex since there isn’t a Jellyfin client for the Xbox One and we have yet to get a Shield or something else superior to it, and I don’t feel like figuring out the networking side of things until we’re at our next apartment.

    • It’s really satisfying having someone to share your collection with. I moved in with my now-fiancée late last year and it’s so fun watching it grow to suit us both.

      Ditto. I started my Plex server about 11-12ish years ago for myself and my wife. Nowadays we’re sharing 30TB to almost 20 of our combined friends and none of em pay for subscriptions anymore lmao.

      •  neardeaf   ( @neardeaf@lemm.ee ) 
        link
        fedilink
        English
        510 months ago

        Yuuuuup, same. I do wonder though how much longer we’re gonna be able to get away with it though… the sharing I mean. I know my wife and I can always have things here locally, but we’re definitely at the mercy of Plex eventually shutting down their sharing capabilities

        • Technology and piracy always will find a way. Even if Plex goes tits up, we have options with Jellyfin and Emby. Sharing may not be great or even possible in some or all circumstances, but I’m sure if Plex shuts down today they’ll go into overdrive to bring things more up to speed since there’ll be a real need for it. If not, someone else will come up with something to replace it, or something new.

          Hell only reason I started using Plex in the first place was because I was using Universal Media Server and was tired of putting up with it’s shit. Only reason I was on that was cause I was tired of Playstation Media Server beforehand, and if I hadn’t smoked my brain cells away I’d tell you the same thing for whatever I used before that too lmao. We’ll always find new ways to pirate, and to share that content. Plex just became so commonplace cause it’s so damned easy and (…mostly…) works well.

    • NAS vs Jellyfin isn’t really how to look at it. You still need to have the files stored somewhere, and Jellyfin can just access the files from wherever you store them. As others say, Jellyfin adds some convenience. Think of it like Netflix but for your local files. You can install an app on your phone, laptop, tablet, or just access Jellyfin’s built in web interface on laptop/etc… It pulls down thumbnails and show information automatically, and you can set up different accounts/profiles to track show progress and favorites for multiple people.

    • The files are still stored on a NAS.

      But, Jellyfin/Plex has the advantage you get a nice pretty “app” that works on your TV/Roku/AndroidTV/etc. It handles transcoding if needed, keeps track of what you have watched, and lets you know when new things pop up.

    •  grue   ( @grue@lemmy.ml ) 
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1210 months ago

      It keeps track of which files you’ve played (e.g. to automatically pick the next episode in a series), it automatically downloads metadata and cover art so you have a nice browsing interface, it manages multiple profiles so that e.g. you can limit your kids’ access to only G and TV-Y or filter out genres a user doesn’t like, it lets you set parental controls to limit the amount of time watched in a day (or disable it at certain times of day), etc.

    •  Stephen304   ( @Stephen304@lemmy.ml ) 
      link
      fedilink
      English
      8
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      I use both plex and jellyfin and my files are on a nas. Previously truenas but now synology. I just mount my collection over smb to my Intel nuc with quick sync so that Plex/jellyfin can provide me and my friends a slick UI as well as transcoding (can store stuff in hevc, flac, 5.1 or 7.1 dts hd ma and not worry about codec support on each device), a nice web player with subtitles /audio track selection, and nice apps on every device to access the collection.

      But yeah NAS and jellyfin aren’t mutually exclusive, many people use them together.

    • Jellyfin and plex are basically just GUIs to make playing videos from your NAS feel like you’re using a streaming service. They do a bunch more stuff, but in general that’s what they’re for.

      Like, you don’t need a GUI for Linux, but it can certainly make the experience better.

    • How does one get a NAS without spending an arm and leg these days? I started pirating because I was broke, I don’t have triple digits to spend on hardware.

      An old PC with a bunch of hard drives (they shouldn’t be NAS drives necessarily) + TrueNas. The main cost will be the hard drives which is about 20$/TB

      •  Majestic   ( @Majestic@lemmy.ml ) 
        link
        fedilink
        English
        610 months ago

        $20/TB is a bad deal.

        You can get WD Red Pro’s on sale twice a year for $16/TB.

        Further you can order unused data center and enterprise drives for anything from $11-$16/TB and those things are built to take way more use and abuse than home users can throw at them.

        I would not pay above $17/TB for traditional magnetic spinning disk storage.

          •  Majestic   ( @Majestic@lemmy.ml ) 
            link
            fedilink
            English
            310 months ago

            https://diskprices.com/

            Beware MDD at the top is alleged to sell drives they’ve refurbished which are essentially used but with wiped smart. Other cheap deals… check sellers. If it’s not sold and shipped by Amazon it could be slightly used drives (usually third party sellers do a mix so some people get brand new, others not so much). Also beware third party sellers and Amazon itself often sell OEM drives without warranty. I always check the serials online before opening the anti-static bag to make sure it’s in warranty.

            Also: shucks.top

            You need to wait and watch for the good deals but they come around multiple times a year.

            Also, understand there are certain storage ranges to get these prices. Generally 8-18TB drives are best deals per TB. You pay a premium for 20-22 top size drives as well as for smaller drives like 2-4TB. 14TB seems to be the current sweet spot most of the time.

            Lastly. Understand SMR drives are alright for backups but not ideal for streaming high bitrate content from or using to seed files. CMR is better.

              •  Majestic   ( @Majestic@lemmy.ml ) 
                link
                fedilink
                English
                210 months ago

                Looking up technical specs for the drive it’s often mentioned on data sheets (often as conventional magnetic recording drive or else shingled if SMR). Other than that third parties have compiled lists and many but not all Amazon pages in tech specs mention it if you look closely. Try searching drive-model and cmr and then smr and see what comes up. Beware some drive families different sizes of drive may be cmr vs smr. WD red pro and ultra star DC line are all CMR, WD blues many are SMR. WD black as far as I know are all CMR. WD red (non-pro) can be SMR I believe.

                I’ll be honest, the real difference is getting a 7200 vs 5400 RPM drive, particularly one with a larger cache, I’d always go for 7200 except for purely offline backup stuff.

                In terms of external drives and shucking, it’s largely a crapshoot. You can try searching what drives others found in a model, however they’re subject to change.

                Bottom line: If money is tight and it’s just you, you can absolutely do SMR and 5400 RPM external drives and have a smooth experience as long as we’re talking re-encodes not raw Blu-ray remuxes (I have seen an external 5400RPM SMR drive choke and fail trying to smoothly play a file at 24MB/s bitrate but it worked fine with 10MB/s re-encodes, even those with burst rates of 17MB/s). If you can afford a bit more try to go 7200 and CMR.

    • You can even start with an old laptop and external drives. Plenty of people shuck them anyway, so you’re not exactly overpaying. They’ll just be a bit slow. But if you’re mostly planning on streaming video that doesn’t matter too much.

      If you do have a little to spend, you can do a ‘naskiller’ build. Just search for it and pick one. Basically some people put together lists of cheap, reliable used hardware you can get to build a pretty great nas, with different flavors. ‘Quiet’ ‘fast’ ‘compact’. I built one and went all out. I think it was about 600 bucks without the drives. Build up from there.

  •  fernandu00   ( @fernandu00@lemmy.ml ) 
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1010 months ago

    I have a small 1tb collection …love jellyfin and it’s UI but I miss kodi when it comes to scrapping metadata and playing all formats …I use jellyfin mostly because of its ui and because my crappy TV can’t handle kodi very well

  • There’s a large possibility that your kids will be apathetic towards the media that you watch now. When’s the last time you listened to a song or watched tv from the 50?

    (I can hear you typing right now; yes, I myself even watch the Adams Family and listen to psychedelic rock every now and again, but that’s not typical.)