Unless you want to be completely dependent upon streaming services for your content, you’ll need a computer to host your own media files. These will include DVDs and Blu-Rays you’ve ripped as well as content that might have … “fallen of a truck.” We’re not here to judge.
You can purchase an NAS, or network-attached storage. Something like a Synology Diskstation is guaranteed to work on the network but is a little expensive. To save some dough, you can re-purpose an older computer to serve as a media server. Even ancient computers will work, provided they have about a 1 GHz processor, gigabit Ethernet and a giant hard drive. Cheap enterprise computers off Craigslist or your outdated tower can work perfectly. You can also buy so-called home theater PCs (HTPCs) for a more custom build.
If you’re building your own media server, you’ll need some software to make it run properly. While you can use any OS you want, FreeNAS is a perfect option for media-only services. This operating system provides the functionalities of an NAS operating system, stripping out the broader functions of standard OSes. It’s more reliable than a standard OS, requiring less frequent rebooting and playing nicely with all your output devices.
