Jellyfin

In short, Jellyfin is an open-source media server that can be used to hold all of your frequently-viewed content. You set it up, place your movies and shows on it, and then you can access them from other devices. This is, in essence, making your own hyper-local Netflix. Only, you're also managing the server and the content that it hosts. Jellyfin can pull metadata about your movies, and even stream them to a browser. Jellyfin can also handle other types of content, too, including music, books, photographs, and even DVR recordings. That server can be hosted on a spare PC or Mac, either as a sta

Users with an older Windows PC or laptop they want to repurpose as a simple backup/private cloud target. People who want Jellyfin, mobile backup, encrypted storage and remote access without manually assembling lots of separate apps. Families or small users who want convenience more than deep NAS administration. Tinkerers who understand crowdfunding risk and are happy to follow software updates.

Anyone who needs a production NAS with mature RAID, snapshots, permissions and vendor-tested apps. Users who are uncomfortable exposing a PC to remote access without mature 2FA and permission controls. Anyone expecting the dongle itself to provide NAS-grade CPU, memory, storage or networking performance. People who would rather install TrueNAS, Unraid, OpenMediaVault, Windows shares, Jellyfin and Docker manually.

Not necessarily. If Plex still works well for your personal media library, there is no reason to panic-migrate. But if you dislike streaming-service clutter, want a fully self-hosted stack, or are uncomfortable with the direction of Plex’s commercial features, it is sensible to test Jellyfin or Emby alongside Plex before committing to a change. Real-world Plex free movie streaming test.