As the prices of streaming services continue to get more expensive, I couldn't help but look at the shelves of DVDs that I had and wonder why I couldn't just use those still. Plex was the first product I found to solve this issue. I happen to have picked up a home server machine that I was using for a Minecraft server that had plenty of extra storage. Plex was a great way for me to turn those physical discs into something I could stream whenever and whereever.

Online, I had found a Powershell script to automate the digitization of the DVDs. I modified it to be my own and it sped up the process tremendously for the workflow I had set up. My mom has even helped me out. While the process is still going on, I have most of what I was looking for now.

This was my system for the longest time and, to be honest, it still works just fine. The issue I have come to find is that Plex charges for certain features like offline watching, extras, and even the mobile app (which I paid $5 to access). To me, this defeats the whole purpose of the app. I figured I owned all the media on the server, why couldn't I take it with me? If the feature exists, why couldn't I use it? I also had to finally get on my own mobile data plan which made this issue more pressing.

All of this combinded, I decided that it was time to change some things around. First, I cancelled my Spotify subscription. Then, I added Jellyfin to run side by side with Plex. Finally, I began ripping my CDs to my server machine library. I figured I don't listen to that much music anyways, so this, in theory, works well for me.

So far, this has been amazing. On top of Jellyfin's free, open-source software, many developers also take it upon themselves to create their own software that interfaces with it. One such application is called Finamp. This will likely be my Spotify-alternative for some time, but I am always open to trying new ones. I will likely be deprecating Plex in the near future on my network just to avoid paying for those features that should come standard.

We will also see if I can resist the temptation of Spotify's almost-limitless library forever.