2025-05-04, 05:19 PM
(This post was last modified: 2025-05-04, 05:20 PM by Rexleonum. Edited 1 time in total.)
Hi everyone,
I am looking for advice on setting up a home server for Jellyfin with cost as the top priority. I am a student living in a dorm so the cheaper the better. Power consumption does not matter in my case.
Here is what I am hoping to achieve:
Storage:
I want to start with 2 hard drives but I would like the setup to be expandable to at least 6 drives in the future.
Local network usage:
I want to support direct play of 4K remux (up to full UHD Blu ray remuxes) within my local network.
Remote access:
I want my family in a different city to be able to stream remotely. Realistically this would be 1080p remux direct play only (no transcoding).
Maximum usage scenario:
1 stream of 4K remux direct play locally and maybe 1 or 2 streams of 1080p remux direct play remotely at the same time.
No transcoding at all. I am happy to enforce supported codecs and containers to avoid that.
I do not need much raw processing power but I want stable direct play with good bandwidth.
What hardware setups would you recommend on a budget?
Would a used mini PC, a cheap desktop build or an old workstation be worth considering?
Also do you have any advice on cases or enclosures that make expanding drives easy later?
Thank you very much for any tips
I am looking for advice on setting up a home server for Jellyfin with cost as the top priority. I am a student living in a dorm so the cheaper the better. Power consumption does not matter in my case.
Here is what I am hoping to achieve:
Storage:
I want to start with 2 hard drives but I would like the setup to be expandable to at least 6 drives in the future.
Local network usage:
I want to support direct play of 4K remux (up to full UHD Blu ray remuxes) within my local network.
Remote access:
I want my family in a different city to be able to stream remotely. Realistically this would be 1080p remux direct play only (no transcoding).
Maximum usage scenario:
1 stream of 4K remux direct play locally and maybe 1 or 2 streams of 1080p remux direct play remotely at the same time.
No transcoding at all. I am happy to enforce supported codecs and containers to avoid that.
I do not need much raw processing power but I want stable direct play with good bandwidth.
What hardware setups would you recommend on a budget?
Would a used mini PC, a cheap desktop build or an old workstation be worth considering?
Also do you have any advice on cases or enclosures that make expanding drives easy later?
Thank you very much for any tips