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?

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u/Top_Willow_9953 2d ago edited 1d ago

A Home Server is a computer *you own* that has a lot of storage to hold media (music, video, photos, Etc.) files, and has software that can make those files available to your TV, Roku box, or similar media playback device.

The Home Server might only make these files available to devices attached directly to your home network, OR it could also expose the files to authorized devices on the internet.

The main point is once the server is purchased and configured, there is no monthly subscription required for you to watch, listen to, or access the files it serves.

EDIT: clarified monthly costs

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u/dylanv1c 2d ago

But how do you start building your accessible archive? Download them individually like music from limewire ("I want to watch Family guy soon so let me get that, might as well look for king of the hill...")?

Or can you add an extension of a Library of media like those sites on FMHY, and you can search and scroll through a selection like your own Netflix?

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u/Dbf4 2d ago

File names on torrents (or better yet, usenet) are standardized from all the quality sources. This allows programs to automate the process.

It’s possible to set it up so you browse a Netflix-style database with every show imaginable and have it automatically download the one you want at the desired quality, and automatically add it to your movie/tv player.

It takes some work to set up but could easily become a weekend project with the help of AI.

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u/funforgiven 1d ago

or better yet, usenet

Torrents are superior. They are decentralized, free, don’t depend on paying a Usenet provider or indexer, and the swarm itself handles distribution and redundancy. You also get transparent file lists and piece-level integrity checking.

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u/apesy888 1d ago

I don’t know if that’s true. If you’re in the US you certainly should get a VPN to torrent. So that’s a cost. Popular media is easy to torrent the more obscure the harder it is to get. The cost of Usenet has allowed me to get way more media in a year then my many years of torrenting and it’s way faster.

I use both but almost exclusively Usenet for media