tl;dr is: scrounge up some hardware, preferably on a recent-ish Intel platform with an igpu (i think 8th gen+ is the sweet shot), and then get a slew of storage. Pick a base operating system (I like ...

Hang around in cord-cutting circles long enough, and you’ll likely come across the Plex Pass subscription service. Plex Pass can be a valuable asset if you run your own media server, but it can also ...

I turned a forgotten laptop into a full media server—no money, no pain.