I've recently been using an old Android TV stick as a UPnP/DLNA server for a "personal Netflix" if you will, but it's a bit annoying as I can't mount NTFS drives on it and there may be an issue where my Wifi on my phone randomly disconnects or can't easily find the server via VLC.

I was trying to revive a Raspberry Pi 3 to use for the same purpose but it seems to be so out-of-date that I can't even update the software to install the right software. :nancy I'll probably keep looking into it, but otherwise both the Android HDMI stick and the Pi collect dust.

Lots of people use Plex or Kodi for that purpose. Do any of you guys have a home network for playing videos or shit?

Ended up downloading and using OSMC on my RPi. Connect the external HD, and BOOM!: my own cloud media server. :chewy



If anyone else is a video/music glutton, you can get a RPi with a case for $50 or less and the OS is free to download and easy to install. All you need is a home network (probably WiFi) and storage that you can connect to USB. Pretty sure most smart TVs can read that stuff, too.