Apparently all your friends and family are comfortable with hostnames ip addresses. Not everyone’s are. Also, not everyone wants to buy a static ip or setup a dynamic dns service or similar. Plex is definitely simpler. I have used both.
Comment on Plex now will SELL your personal data
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks agoI have read many people say this, but I don’t understand what they mean by it. When I set up Jellyfin, it was a very simple process.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
pipes@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
I understand this but we have to realize that what makes Plex simpler is the fact that they are a network intermediary that does what it wants with your home networks; it’s like insisting that NordVPN is better than Mullvad
IMHO the only solution will be improving wireguard guis and stuff, Jellyfin is not lacking.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
I haven’t used Plex, so I’m not exactly sure what it’s doing, but I’m guessing it presents you some sort of search to find the server? Isn’t that pretty much the same as a domain name, just w/ a search bar instead of a URL bar? If your domain is easy to remember, I guess I don’t see an issue. I’ve also heard you can connect to multiple servers, so maybe that’s what people are talking about.
Regardless, I think Jellyfin could handle both. Get some community-funded STUN relay servers to handle discovery and implement a way (if it doesn’t already) to have your client connect to multiple servers. There should also be a way to copy all the configs from one client to another (say, a QR code or UUID, settings copied over the same STUN server).
My main issue is that this could open up servers to more potential attack vectors, and Jellyfin already has some security weaknesses. But other than that, I’d be happy to help implement this sort of thing, a STUN server can be run on as little as a $5 VPS.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
No, Plex lets you invite friends to your server with a link they can click and sign up. Then they can type a code into their TV app or login to a browser and watch basically like a standard streaming setup they already probably have used.
Jellyfin is less familiar. Arguably not much more difficult but people aren’t always rational. The unfamiliar is often intimidating.
pipes@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I haven’t used Plex in a decade and I use Jellyfin, what you’re describing sounds perfect. I read up a bit on STUN servers and it’s what Syncthing uses, but they also mantain discovery and relay servers (and anyone can host one and can be added to the public list). Security wise they seem to be doing fine?(I’m not an expert, just an informed user)
Idk what combo Jellyfin would benefit the most from; are relay servers needed? The workload is similar but probably higher on average, people stream more often than they do backups
borari@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
I wonder if having a “sign in” page within jellyfin that just fronts a wireguard configuration panel, saves the creds, and automatically connects and routes app traffic over the vpn iface is a remotely viable idea.
AbidanYre@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That depends on if someone wants it enough to make it happen.
pipes@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
That sounds good to me, we use wireguard in the family when out and about to access my homeserver, but I’d love if Jellyfin could create ad-hoc tunnels, it’d make us feel safe enough sharing our libraries with friends, perhaps it will convince many Plex users too. What are funkwhale users doing to share their music for example?
The other commenter wrote about STUN servers (IP), I’ve seen that Syncthing uses them as well, together with discovery and relay servers. Would wireguard be used at any of this stages or standalone? Personally I have no idea, I’m just an observant user 😅
AbidanYre@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
NordVPN is better than Mullvad
Off topic, but what? Is Nord doing wacky shit with network settings?
pipes@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I’m not a security expert but my guts (and the many things I read about this stuff over many years) tell me that cheap highly marketed VPNs like Nord seek the less informed users that sign up because half of their favorite youtubers sent them there, the default M.O. is install the (proprietary) app. It might be possible to use them safely but it’s not what’s happening to 99% of the customers.
They operate in grey legal areas, there are many scandals over the years, they write in their TOS that they can change the terms themselves without notice, if you use their service, you agree at any time.
When I wrote that they do what they want w your network, this is what I’m referring to; idk about the “settings”, more like selling access to your residential line (perhaps to other VPN customers)
Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Apparently all your friends and family are comfortable with hostnames and ip addresses.
I mean pretty much everyone I know uses web browsers and sometimes type in web addresses lol
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You seem a little out of touch with how people think.
Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
I doubt they’re thinking at all if writing a web address is too much lol
“Facebook dot what? Stop the tech speak, nerd!”
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Excuse me, I thought the comment I replied to was talking about the setup process of the jellyfin server itself.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Well yeah maybe that too, but a server no one connects to is a paperweight. The connection part confuses laypeople
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I mean, even in that regard, I did not find it that hard, but I do have a domain.
brygphilomena@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Setting up a server? Pretty darn easy.
Teaching all your friends and relatives to figure out what app to use and login with your dyndns random entry or IP address. Or even more difficult, using VPN.
It’s not the hosting that’s hard. It’s the watching for non-tech people.
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Maybe I’m just callous but I just don’t see that as a problem myself. If I’m offering my own self hosted services for friends or family, the least they can do is put in some effort to learn how to use it. If they couldn’t bother, that is their loss.
AtariDump@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
If people operate a car, the least they could do is learn how to change their brakes or do an oil change.
To most non-tech people, that’s the level of complexity you’re expecting them to adhere to.
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
That is a very strange equivocation to make and not at all like what I said. But if I did give someone a free car, yes I would expect them to take care of it.
Bongles@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
“Grab an app called jellyfin, type in this number, pick the profile with your name, password is X”
It’s not that different than “Grab an app called plex, here’s the username and password, pick the profile with your name” (or sign up yourself and I’ll share it with you)
RedditRefugee69@lemmynsfw.com 4 weeks ago
Simplicity is relative to each person’s abilities and the tool in question.