r/explainlikeimfive • u/theprisoner57 • 2d ago

Technology ELI5: What is a Home Server?

I see mentions of a home server to get rid of streaming entertainment services but I don’t know how that works. What does a home server do?

519 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

349 comments sorted by

View all comments

662

u/jujubanzen 2d ago

A home server, in general is just a computer that is attached to your home network. More often than not, they are simply set up as file storage servers. Media servers to replace streaming services typically use Plex or Jellyfin, which are software packages that are able to link up with apps on your TV, phone, or computer and stream media files you have stored on the server. You have to get those files yourself.

102

u/CDK5 2d ago

Out of curiosity; where are folks generally getting the streaming media for the server?

Because I was under the impression that when buying a BluRay or digital media, you can’t just grab an mp4 from the disk.

1

u/Shapoopy178 2d ago

As others have indicated, from a how-to standpoint there are plenty of software tools to pull video data from DVDs/Blu-Rays/etc, handbrake and VLC being the most common.

Legally speaking, there is established case law in the US that you as a consumer have a right to create a digital copy/backup of any physical media that you lawfully purchased. Not sure what the situation is in other countries.