Set up a Plex server, own your media.

Why owning your media still matters

Catalogues change constantly. Streaming libraries are built on licensing deals that expire, so a film that’s on a service this month can be gone the next. If it’s the one you were planning for Friday, that’s the end of the plan.

Digital “purchases” are usually licences. Buying a film on most storefronts gives you the right to stream it for as long as the store keeps that right. When a licence changes hands, titles can disappear from libraries people paid for.

The cut you see isn’t guaranteed. Services sometimes swap in altered versions, trim scenes or replace music when rights lapse. A disc on your shelf is the film exactly as it was released.

Quality and extras. A Blu-ray typically carries a higher bitrate than a stream, and it often comes with commentaries, deleted scenes and documentaries that never make it to a streaming page.

No DRM, no black screens. Streaming services block screen sharing, which is why a Discord or séance stream of Netflix comes out black. Files you own play anywhere, including in a shared screen with friends.

What you’ll need

Very little. Any computer that can stay switched on will do, whether that’s an old laptop, a desktop or a network storage box (NAS). Add storage to match your ambitions: a feature film runs from a few gigabytes to around 30 for a full-quality Blu-ray copy, so an external drive of a few terabytes holds a substantial collection.

Then the software. Plex Media Server is free and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and most NAS devices. If you’d prefer fully open-source software, Jellyfin does a similar job.

Where your collection comes from

The point of a home server is to keep media you legitimately own. That might mean DRM-free digital purchases, your own home videos, public domain classics, or copies of discs you’ve bought. The rules on copying discs vary by country, so check what’s permitted where you live before you digitise your shelf. Plex is a library for your collection, not a way to download films you haven’t paid for.

Setting up Plex, step by step

Watching away from home

Playback on your home network is free. Streaming your library remotely, or sharing it with friends who watch from their own homes, now needs a paid plan: either the server owner has a Plex Pass, or each viewer gets a Remote Watch Pass. Check Plex’s current pricing before you rely on it.

Using Kuvacult with Plex

Plex is excellent at holding and playing your collection. Kuvacult takes care of everything around it: deciding what to watch, watching it together and remembering what you thought. The two work side by side, and owning your media is exactly what makes the pairing work so well.

Plan from your own shelf. Keep a shared watchlist in Kuvacult of the films in your library that the group wants to see, so movie night starts from a real shortlist.

Settle the pick. Run Veto Sacrifice on that list, or have everyone play a hand in the movie night picker from their own phones.

Screen share without the usual problems. Play the film from Plex on your computer and share it in a Kuvacult séance, our built-in screen sharing (currently in beta). Because the file is yours, there’s no DRM to black out the stream. Your friends don’t need a Plex account or a Remote Watch Pass, since they’re watching your screen rather than connecting to your server. And with one person hosting, everyone sees the same frame at the same moment, so nobody is counting down to press play.

Keep the record. When the credits roll, everyone logs and rates the film in their diary, and your library slowly becomes a history of every movie night you’ve hosted.

Hosting on Discord instead? Our guide to hosting a Discord movie night covers the rest of the evening.