ARE HOME MEDIA SERVERS STILL RELEVANT IN 2021?

There was a time where you'd take a detour on your way home from work on a Friday afternoon, stop by the DVD rental store, and pick out a couple of movies as your entertainment for the weekend.

But, times have changed drastically. Now, it's commonplace to simply sign up to a monthly subscription service, such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, for all your movies and series. Plus, there are hundreds of music streaming apps and even ones for podcasts as well.

But the issue with all this is the fact that you are limited by what content these services provide. Your internet speed might limit quality at times too and, on top of that, what do you do with all your personal content that you've accumulated over the years?

The benefit of a home media server is the fact that you're in control of all your content, and that you can access it anywhere on the planet – provided you have an internet connection. Plus, the streaming speed are substantially faster, so buffering will be a thing of the past.

Most home media servers nowadays come with a basic, built-in operating system which allows you to easily categorise and access your media. It also remembers where you were in the movie when you paused, so you can continue watching at any given point and on whatever device you might have – similar to what most subscription streaming services you have ever used.

The down side to a home media server? Well, for one, if you have a huge back-catalogue of music on CD and movies and series on DVD, it'll take time to convert it all. Also, you have to purchase the new content you want to watch, which could prove quite expensive. On the other hand, you could download it illegally... At the end of the day, it boils down to how you feel about breaking the law. No pressure...

Take a look at the video below by the YouTube channel, Tech Quickie, on How To Set Up A Home Media Server...