WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.219
A buddy of mine had texted me last month with

00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:08.460
three dreaded words. I knew this was coming too,

00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:11.679
because I had seen the stories. I knew what Plex

00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:15.859
was doing and I dreaded it, but I got it. And

00:00:15.859 --> 00:00:22.480
his message said, Plex wants money. And he was,

00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:25.359
he's right. But you know, let me, let me back

00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:27.519
up and give you the full story here. He was sitting

00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:31.239
in a hotel room trying to watch a movie off of

00:00:31.239 --> 00:00:34.939
the server that he owns that is in his basement

00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:39.939
Again his movie his server his electricity bill

00:00:39.939 --> 00:00:43.420
his internet bill and plex stopped him at the

00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:48.539
door and asked to pay up asked for that dreaded

00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:54.320
subscription and you know I had to tell him yeah,

00:00:54.439 --> 00:01:00.609
man, that's that's real now and that's been rolling

00:01:00.609 --> 00:01:05.489
out since last spring and then he asked me the

00:01:05.489 --> 00:01:09.469
question I really didn't want to didn't want

00:01:09.469 --> 00:01:13.790
to be asked I dreaded this question for a year

00:01:13.790 --> 00:01:16.530
since Plex started making these changes he asked

00:01:16.530 --> 00:01:23.290
okay so what should I use instead now I run my

00:01:23.290 --> 00:01:27.829
own home media server I set it up over an afternoon.

00:01:28.030 --> 00:01:32.609
It's been rock solid. And I mean, I still really

00:01:32.609 --> 00:01:36.030
didn't have a good answer for him. This is the

00:01:36.030 --> 00:01:37.969
Tyler Woodward project. And today I'm talking

00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:42.430
about why running a whole media server, even

00:01:42.430 --> 00:01:45.849
in 2026, is still a pain in the ass for normal

00:01:45.849 --> 00:01:49.189
people. These opinions are my own. Everything

00:01:49.189 --> 00:01:53.390
here is from my point of view and nobody else's.

00:02:00.269 --> 00:02:05.069
Let's start with the Plex thing first because

00:02:05.069 --> 00:02:10.310
It's impressive how fast they burned 20 years

00:02:10.310 --> 00:02:16.889
of goodwill with their user base April 2025 the

00:02:16.889 --> 00:02:21.129
first price hike in over a decade The lifetime

00:02:21.129 --> 00:02:26.169
pass it goes from 120 bucks to 250 bucks fine

00:02:26.169 --> 00:02:30.520
Whatever companies raise rates we may not like

00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:36.400
it but they do raise prices that same day they

00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:41.939
put remote streaming of your own files behind

00:02:41.939 --> 00:02:45.699
the paywall stuff that had been free for the

00:02:45.699 --> 00:02:50.659
entire history of the plex platform you want

00:02:50.659 --> 00:02:54.620
to watch your own media away from home that's

00:02:54.620 --> 00:02:58.780
a plex pass or your viewers each pay a couple

00:02:58.780 --> 00:03:01.479
of bucks a month for something called remote

00:03:01.479 --> 00:03:05.680
watch pass which already went up 50 % by the

00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:14.960
way September 2025 they get breached emails usernames

00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:23.400
hashed passwords their third one and next month

00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:31.500
July That lifetime pass triples, again, $750

00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:36.620
for software that sits there and organizes files

00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:42.460
you already own. Meanwhile, the actual product

00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:46.979
is 600 ad -supported streaming channels and a

00:03:46.979 --> 00:03:54.039
social network with emoji reactions. The personal

00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:58.219
media server part. The reason anybody showed

00:03:58.219 --> 00:04:01.000
up to Plex in the first place is now the thing

00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:05.639
they monetize hardest and developed. I mean,

00:04:05.819 --> 00:04:09.199
the least. So everybody says the same thing.

00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:14.080
Just switch over the jellyfin. I love jellyfin.

00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:18.939
It's free. I mean, actually free, not freemium,

00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:24.060
not, you know, it's it's open source. no phone

00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:27.519
home to a central server. Hardware transcoding

00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:32.500
costs nothing, which is the one feature Plex

00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:37.519
always held hostage. The TV apps used to be rough

00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:42.800
and they're genuinely pretty good now. The Roku

00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:47.399
app went from this broken piece of dumpster fire

00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:52.180
to pretty solid in about two years. If you run

00:04:52.180 --> 00:04:56.180
it, it's the better product. I mean, full stop.

00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:00.519
So why isn't this episode over? Well, remote

00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:04.540
access. That's the problem. Plex's whole magic

00:05:04.540 --> 00:05:09.319
trick was the relay. Their servers brokered the

00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:12.279
connection. So streaming from grandma's house,

00:05:12.620 --> 00:05:16.860
it just worked. No router settings, no networking

00:05:16.860 --> 00:05:23.550
degree was needed. Jellyfin doesn't have that.

00:05:23.709 --> 00:05:27.089
And I guess it's sort of on purpose. It's fully

00:05:27.089 --> 00:05:32.269
self -hosted. So you are the relay company now.

00:05:36.089 --> 00:05:42.089
Your options are a reverse proxy with SSL certificates,

00:05:43.029 --> 00:05:46.470
a VPN your whole family has to remember to turn

00:05:46.470 --> 00:05:50.120
on before movie night or tailscale installed

00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:55.079
and signed in on every device, which, I mean,

00:05:55.300 --> 00:06:00.839
tail scale is great. I use it. It's also a sentence

00:06:00.839 --> 00:06:04.920
that means nothing to probably 95 % of people

00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:09.459
who just want to watch a movie off of their home

00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:13.259
computer. Even if you do nothing, right? Your

00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:15.980
internet provider can kill it anyway. A lot of

00:06:15.980 --> 00:06:19.860
ISPs now stick you behind carrier grade NAT,

00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:24.779
CG NATing, where you don't even get your own

00:06:24.779 --> 00:06:29.379
public IP address anymore. Port forwarding, it

00:06:29.379 --> 00:06:35.259
just doesn't work on CG NATing. It's hard, not

00:06:35.259 --> 00:06:39.740
that it's impossible, and no setting on your

00:06:39.740 --> 00:06:42.779
router is going to fix that, because the problem

00:06:42.779 --> 00:06:47.529
lives on equipment you don't get to touch. So

00:06:47.529 --> 00:06:51.170
the free option requires a little bit of networking

00:06:51.170 --> 00:06:53.389
knowledge. Most people are not going to have

00:06:53.389 --> 00:06:58.509
You know to solve a problem Their ISP might make

00:06:58.509 --> 00:07:06.129
unsolvable anyways fine, so You tell people skip

00:07:06.129 --> 00:07:10.790
all that buy an appliance I Don't want to reckon

00:07:10.790 --> 00:07:14.149
recommend Synology, but you know, maybe a Synology

00:07:14.149 --> 00:07:20.139
maybe a QNAP Little box that just works But yeah,

00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:24.360
let's talk about that Synology part because April

00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:29.920
2025 Synology announces their new plus models

00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:34.199
will basically require Synology branded hard

00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:38.019
drives third -party Seagate or WD drives the

00:07:38.019 --> 00:07:42.259
ones everybody actually owns got you some sort

00:07:42.259 --> 00:07:46.069
of cryptic warning Disabled features and in some

00:07:46.069 --> 00:07:48.310
cases you couldn't even install the operating

00:07:48.310 --> 00:07:52.709
system and that at all Drives that cost more

00:07:52.709 --> 00:07:56.310
for the stupid sticker that's on them because

00:07:56.310 --> 00:08:00.129
Synology doesn't make drives. They're just rebranding

00:08:00.129 --> 00:08:05.629
them Sales as you can imagine they cratered reviewers

00:08:05.629 --> 00:08:10.829
walked away in an October they backed down mostly

00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:17.259
The walk back only covers the 2025 models and

00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:22.160
VME drives are still locked and They have flat

00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:27.040
-out refused to promise the 2026 Hardware won't

00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:29.779
do it all over again. They didn't learn a lesson.

00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:34.179
They learned a timing lesson Cuneaps problem

00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:38.210
is a little different ransomware deadbolt hit

00:08:38.210 --> 00:08:41.090
back in 2022 and infected thousands of internet

00:08:41.090 --> 00:08:46.990
exposed qnap boxes over 13 000 at its peak a

00:08:46.990 --> 00:08:50.889
thousand bucks a box to get your files back and

00:08:50.889 --> 00:08:55.690
qnaps official advice boils down to don't expose

00:08:55.690 --> 00:09:00.149
your nas to the internet disable upnp patch immediately

00:09:00.149 --> 00:09:04.610
which let's be honest is correct advice it is

00:09:04.610 --> 00:09:07.950
exactly the discipline that the person buying

00:09:07.950 --> 00:09:12.429
appliance was trying to avoid needing the appliances

00:09:12.429 --> 00:09:16.169
was supposed to be the easy button the device

00:09:16.169 --> 00:09:21.289
button that now comes with vendor lock -in on

00:09:21.289 --> 00:09:26.269
one brand and ransomware history on the other

00:09:26.269 --> 00:09:33.350
you know and i want to be honest my media server

00:09:33.350 --> 00:09:37.700
took me an afternoon Docker containers hardware

00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:41.639
transcoding on Intel quick sync tail scale for

00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:45.220
remote access a used mini PC can do this for

00:09:45.220 --> 00:09:49.080
I don't know about 150 bucks and it'll push multiple

00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:54.500
4k streams while Barely sipping on power It has

00:09:54.500 --> 00:09:57.159
needed almost nothing from me since except the

00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:02.059
occasional update but that afternoon was easy

00:10:02.059 --> 00:10:06.159
because of my extensive years of Linux experience

00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:10.159
standing behind me. I knew what a compose file

00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:14.440
was. I knew what CG netting was. I knew why the

00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:18.759
cheap Atom chips were a trap and the N100s weren't.

00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:21.919
An afternoon for me is a month of frustrated

00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:25.220
weekends for someone else and there's a real

00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:27.820
chance their ISP fails them at the finish line

00:10:27.820 --> 00:10:31.659
anyways and no fault to their own because right

00:10:31.659 --> 00:10:36.120
now is when normal people finally want this.

00:10:36.460 --> 00:10:39.899
Six streaming price hikes in 2025 alone. The

00:10:39.899 --> 00:10:43.100
average household is paying probably like 70

00:10:43.100 --> 00:10:45.200
bucks a month and I'm sure plenty are paying

00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:49.059
over 100 bucks a month. Shows you paid to watch

00:10:49.059 --> 00:10:54.379
get deleted now as tax write -offs. A 90 million

00:10:54.379 --> 00:10:58.840
dollar movie get erased before anyone even even

00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:03.019
saw the damn thing. People are fed up. They're

00:11:03.019 --> 00:11:05.440
ripping their DVDs and their blu -rays again.

00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:09.259
They're CDs people are buying CDs ripping them

00:11:09.259 --> 00:11:12.279
and streaming it that way instead of paying for

00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:16.019
even Spotify or Apple music and Yeah, don't get

00:11:16.019 --> 00:11:19.519
it twisted people are selling sailing the the

00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:23.220
high seas again I'm not gonna tell you what to

00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:25.220
do with your evens, but whether it's your own

00:11:25.220 --> 00:11:28.779
legally purchased collection or media of more

00:11:29.980 --> 00:11:33.740
Flexible whatever, you know the desire to own

00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:38.899
a shelf of stuff that can't be repriced or Deleted

00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:44.379
is the I think the most reasonable consumer Instinct

00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:48.500
of the decade The demand is here. The hardware

00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:50.919
is getting cheaper except those damn RAM prices

00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:55.259
the the software it's free and it's good and

00:11:55.259 --> 00:12:01.399
the bridge the day that Jellyfin or anyone show

00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:05.159
ships a built -in secured zero config remote

00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:08.139
relay. I know there was a lot of words something

00:12:08.139 --> 00:12:12.539
something that can work behind CG netting without

00:12:12.539 --> 00:12:16.159
an account and an app on every device this entire

00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:21.080
episode becomes obsolete I would love for this

00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:26.240
episode You know to become obsolete until then

00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:30.240
here's Where I land on all this if you only watch

00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:35.220
at home plexus free tier or Jellyfin on your

00:12:35.220 --> 00:12:38.779
local network either works local streaming is

00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:42.899
still free if you want the remote access and

00:12:42.899 --> 00:12:47.360
you're not a technically inclined person your

00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:51.360
honest options are unfortunately paying the company

00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:55.559
that just tripled its prices or finding a friend

00:12:55.559 --> 00:13:01.070
like me We are the relay now Be the friend with

00:13:01.070 --> 00:13:06.309
the server or go find one in 2026. That's the

00:13:06.309 --> 00:13:10.590
install guide I wish after all of that I could

00:13:10.590 --> 00:13:14.629
have get you know gave you better news and maybe

00:13:14.629 --> 00:13:19.210
we'll do a deep dive at some point where I don't

00:13:19.210 --> 00:13:23.350
know I do a YouTube video on how to Set up jellyfin.

00:13:23.370 --> 00:13:25.149
Actually, I don't need to do it. There's plenty

00:13:25.149 --> 00:13:28.960
of creators out there who show you how to set

00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:32.659
up a Jellyfin server, but it's not only just

00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:37.679
setting up Jellyfin and saying, cool, done. I

00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:42.600
mean, you got to do. You got to mess with the

00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:46.000
CG netting or tail scale or setting up a VPN

00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.480
to get access into the stuff or doing reverse

00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:52.850
proxy through engine X. there's a lot of layers

00:13:52.850 --> 00:13:55.750
to it. And unfortunately, Plex is still the easier

00:13:55.750 --> 00:13:58.490
way to go, even if they are charging a little

00:13:58.490 --> 00:14:02.909
bit more money. And at least that way you still

00:14:02.909 --> 00:14:07.210
have access to files, both that you may have

00:14:07.210 --> 00:14:09.289
got somewhere else that's a little questionable

00:14:09.289 --> 00:14:13.389
or your own media collection. Subscribe on Apple

00:14:13.389 --> 00:14:16.769
Podcast or Spotify. Also, I'm over on iHeartRadio,

00:14:16.850 --> 00:14:18.730
rate and review the show. Follow me on Facebook

00:14:18.730 --> 00:14:21.990
and YouTube at Tyler Woodward Project. Instagram

00:14:21.990 --> 00:14:24.210
threads and blue sky. I'm over there at Tyler

00:14:24.210 --> 00:14:27.450
woodward .me reach out and say hello Also, subscribe

00:14:27.450 --> 00:14:29.830
to the sub stack sub stack dot Tyler woodward

00:14:29.830 --> 00:14:32.750
.me. I put a blog up there for almost every episode

00:14:32.750 --> 00:14:36.250
with a few more details This is all independent.

00:14:36.250 --> 00:14:38.870
This is my own work. I don't have any sponsors.

00:14:38.990 --> 00:14:42.250
It's just me Talking about nerdy stuff that I

00:14:42.250 --> 00:14:46.629
like share it subscribe to it And that's all

00:14:46.629 --> 00:14:48.950
I got for you today. I'll catch you guys next

00:14:48.950 --> 00:14:49.210
week