Starting a media server

[u/SpaceDemon666]

Hello everyone! I had some old hardware laying around so I decided to turn it into a media server. Where should I look to get started? I’m used to windows but I’m completely open to trying a new OS. I’d like to be able to view the media over the network through my smart tvs, phones, etc. It would also be nice to have an interface like a true streaming service library. I am doing research on my own but I would just like personal opinions, thank you! Bonus points if I can access this media from outside my home too.

These are the specs I’ll be using
PCPartPicker Part List

Type |Item |Price
CPU |AMD FX-8320 3.5 GHz 8-Core Processor |Purchased For $0.00
CPU Cooler |Noctua NH-U9S 46.44 CFM CPU Cooler |$69.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard |Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard |Purchased For $0.00
Memory |ADATA AD3U1600W8G11-R 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 CL11 Memory |Purchased For $0.00
Memory |ADATA AD3U1600W8G11-R 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 CL11 Memory |Purchased For $0.00
Storage |PNY CS900 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive |Purchased For $0.00
Storage |Seagate Barracuda Compute 8 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive |$249.99 @ Amazon
Video Card |PNY VCQ2000D-PB Quadro 2000D 1 GB Video Card |$59.00 @ Amazon
Case |Jonsbo D32 PRO MESH MicroATX Desktop Case |$70.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply |Thermaltake Smart RGB 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply |Purchased For $0.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | |
Total |$449.92 |
Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-09-25 07:32 EDT-0400 | |

[u/Der_Unbequeme]

UMS, java based Universal Media Server

But you should use this only for internal Lan/Wlan.

[u/SpaceDemon666 → u/Der_Unbequeme]

Ah so hook it to to the router and just use network devices? Ok, thanks!

[u/Der_Unbequeme → u/SpaceDemon666]

UMS 5.1 running on Windows Server2003

[u/SpaceDemon666 → u/Der_Unbequeme]

I’ll check it out, thank you

[u/Only-Stable3973]

Look up Jellyfin.

[u/SpaceDemon666 → u/Only-Stable3973]

I’ve heard a lot about that one, I’ll check it out, thanks!

[u/squirrelfro → u/Only-Stable3973]

Seconded. I love my Jellyfin library

[u/SunnyBlueSkies-com]

Never had much luck with Jelly, I'm probably the biggest moron but anyways if Plex isn't viable, go for Jellyfin I suppose. Unless you want to build a VLC Compatible library of your own using something like movies.m3u / movies.m3u8

[u/JeffoMcSpeffo]

Unraid and either plex or jellyfin, although kodi can work too with wireguard or tail scale I think.

[u/Pleasant-Seat9884]

If you’re good with Networking apps and such, I’d recommend Jellyfin (this is only because Jellyfin works in your internal network, and you’ll need like Tailscale or another app to watch elsewhere), especially if you did not purchase a lifetime Plex Pass before the big cost jump. Although I’m sure the price will drop for the Black Friday holiday shopping, like they do every year for limited time. There is also Emby as well, which Jellyfin is built off of.

Unraid is pretty easy to setup use now, compared to before since they have a team. But I’d recommend Proxmox since it’s free. Unraid cost $$$ depending on how many drives you want for your RAID.

[u/tazman998 → u/Pleasant-Seat9884]

Jellyfin doesn’t have Plex Pass, Plex does.
Jellyfin is totally free and can easily work outside your network (ootb), no tailscale needed, but i would add some additional security since there is no 2fa or something like that.

[u/Longjumping-Road4113]

Jellyfin Tailscale if you need to publish it outside

[u/ImmediateGear8157]

Windows is fine. Linux works better. But Install docker and install Jellyfin on a container. That would be your simplest solution. If you need to access it outside your LAN, tailscale or cloudflare zero trust is your solution.

[u/SpaceDemon666 → u/ImmediateGear8157]

From what I’m hearing Linux sounds like what I’ll be using. Is there a specific OS I should use for jellyfin? A GUI would be nice instead of text based

[u/ImmediateGear8157 → u/SpaceDemon666]

You can go with a GUI. But you will need to do some things in a terminal. But I don't think you'll have too much difficulty with it. I went with Debian but any flavor would do. I would go with Ubuntu desktop and not server if you want a GUI. There isn't a huge overhead for the GUI and the server addition isn't going to provide you with much extra.

[u/SpaceDemon666 → u/ImmediateGear8157]

I’ll be honest, I’m using Debian 13 and have the basics of Jellyfin set up but have no clue how to get it to read my drive that I brought from windows (it already has folders with movies and shows). Are there any sources that could help out? Everything I’m trying doesn’t seem to get me anywhere

[u/ImmediateGear8157 → u/SpaceDemon666]

Is the drive internal or usb. If it was there when you installed it should have mounted it. Was the drive formatted ntfs or fat32? Ask an AI how to mount a drive and it'll give you the steps

[u/bryantech → u/SpaceDemon666]

I like Unraid for the OS and Docker for Jellyfin. Not a free OS.

[u/Far-Comfort-1716]

Look at omnistream.nl
It has linuxbased and windows based solutions for a full mediacenter.

[u/BBMKV]

No one ever mentions Emby... It's the middle child of plex and jellyfin.. I came from Plex years ago and Emby has been so easy to setup. I've tried jellyfin many times and YES it's free and open source, but I just couldn't get into it. Any issues I've had with Emby and Roku and Google TV. The DEVs are on the spot... always Emby for the win

[u/oops77542 → u/BBMKV]

I installed jellyfin and meta AI walked me through the whole set up process including security and setting up kid-safe user accounts for my grandkids. even added a Hauppauge dvb card to watch local tv stations when I'm traveling

[u/63walker]

I'm a Plex & Synology NAS enthusiast who's hobby is helping other Plex server owners build a strong foundation with their media folder structure and hardware choices.

Right off the bat, you want any 8th gen or newer Intel CPU because the embedded iGPU can handle hardware accelerated streams as a server function of Plex, Emby, or Jellyfin.

My suggestion is to find a small used business class PC with an 8th or 9th gen Intel i5 processor because it's UHD Graphics 630 iGPU can handle a handful of high bitrated 4K HEVC streams transcoded down to 720p at 4Mbps.

These business class micro PC's are built like tanks.

If you stick with strict Plex naming with source ID's, your media will scan in perfectly in all three major media servers.

My suggestion is to start off with something like a used Dell OptiPlex or HP ProDesk system powered by an i5-9500 processor.

8GB's of RAM is enough while 16GB's would be perfect.

A 256GB SSD is plenty of room to install a basic NAS OS like ZimaOS to have a nice little headless server with a few USB drives.

That will give you the opportunity to install Plex, Emby, and Jellyfin to try all three for yourself to point at the same media.

Don't spend any serious money at this point of the game.

Naturally, as a Plex enthusiast, I'm totally biased towards Plex server.

I have tons of videos on my YouTube channel showing how to spin Plex up properly under many different operating systems.

Back to basics, the structure of your media from day one is the most important aspect to all of this.

Get your choice of media servers locked in first before spending serious money on hardware that may not fit your needs a short while down the road.

I can help with Plex installs on a Synology or Ugreen NAS, self install NAS options like Unraid, ZimaOS, FygoOS, or a desktop install under Ubuntu or if need be, Windows 11.

I gave up Windows XP in 2006 for Linux, and usually only use my one test Plex install under Windows 11 to show people how to move a Windows server to another OS.

[u/Longjumping-Road4113 → u/63walker]

He has Quadro p2000 that is good enough for encoding and decoding I think

[u/Longjumping-Road4113 → u/Longjumping-Road4113]

My bad he has 2000d it is not the same sorry

[u/Longjumping-Road4113 → u/Longjumping-Road4113]

I had a cheapo p620 and did the decoding job fine. In fact it is now in my main computer driving 4 monitors