I bought the Emby lifetime license about 2 years ago when the plex remote streaming stuff first started getting talked about. It coincided with my server refresh so it ended up working out. I have been really happy with Emby so far.

One thing to note is that music streaming on remote devices is WAY better on plex, Emby behaves more like a mapped network drive running over the internet to a local music player that then forgets your position on pause or when you move away from the remote app/device whereas Plex is actually functional as a modern music player. I keep a local copy of my music library on my phone anyways and okay through Gonemad so it is a non-issue for me but Emby should work better than it does in that case.

Plex also allows/provides “live” tv (with ads) which can be nice if you are into that, and there is the “free” streaming library too which Emby doesn’t offer. I’ll keep plex around for those features but non-of my stuff is/will be hosted on Plex.

Oh look, another example of a product that worked fine without internet connectivity and was improved by adding extra bullshit you don’t actually need that then gets worse when those features can’t function properly because their server is offline.

We got a basic roomba 650 (the one that crashes into stuff and randomly cleans) like 10 years ago and it still works fine (well, as well as it ever worked which wasn’t great), you program the time and day of the week with physical buttons, and leave it alone.

Don’t worry it’s engine nerd shit, no one there is having any sex.

On the fedira ws vm, I just layered it because its easy. I tried running openjdk in distrobox on bazzite but I didn’t have time to screw around with getting the program (Tunerstudio MS) that is already on my bazzite install to “find” the java in distrobox. I’m also REALLY new to distrobox so I was probably using it wrong. I’ll checkout toolbox later today.

Yeahh java is a pain in the ass to get setup on bazzite without breaking stuff when you have an os update. I spun a fedora vm up and just installed it there but I need to redo that because the program I need java for is on my main os and I can’t move the license without javing java installed on the main os…

Setup was easy, it just works, its stable, and if you want the regular updates, just get the lifetime model on sale. I bought it becaue I didn’t want to spend time screwing with setup and just wanted to get my data moved snd running.

I have not kept up with their raw disk lineup to be honest, they may be garbo but I am not sure. I have been using toshiba and seagate drives for the last 8 years which have been great.

The WD devices also offer very limited long term support. The MyBook Live had a software exploit found a couple years after launch that allowed remote access to your files and enabled third parties to wipe your drives. Wd said “wow, that sucks, here is a $15 coupon for a new one. No, we aren’t gonna patch it. Buy a new one” I will never buy another wd device except for the raw discs.

Unrelated but did you know that Libraries oftentimes have cd’s, dvd’s, and even audiobooks available to borrow?

Not op but Bazzite is excellent.

I am using syncthing to directionally sync my music from my server to my phone. I like having the local copy on both devices so I don’t worry about losing cell service/internet.

The only game I have not been able to get work has been pubg. Everything else has been great and run fine once proton was up and running. I am using bazzite 41 as my current distro.

What program are you using for your rpg campaigns?

Minecraft server is fairly universally supported.

Yeah the docs are not good, I have been lucky to have a friend with lots of experience in their ecosystem who has been schooling me up on it. Once I got the basic configuration setup its been fine.

I may regret saying that in a bit when I go to add my other components, like my adguard/pi-hole, vpns, ip cameras, and other networked devices but the basic test setup I have now seems to be stable enough to deploy.

I have not seen the connection loss issues but I will keep an eye out for it.

The op mentioned wanting open source. Just providing information and it got me curious.

They are not open source but I just started dipping my toes into the Mikrotik ecosystem and the hardware has been pretty nice from what I have seen. I am not a network guy, just a homegamer coming from normal asus routers though. They have a couple of options for adding cell service via sim cards but I have not looked too far into it.

Edit: it looks like there is an openwrt release for the rb5009ug I am using. I may need to check that out.

Emby is a good option if you don’t want to hop to jellyfin. I have been pleased with it so far. I found the media tag/idenifier to work better/quicker than plex’s.

Up: My unraid server with media library, emby and my kids Down: the fiber internet line into the house that the contractor working on our siding snapped. No one is upset so the system is working.

I have been really happy with hosting my stuff via Emby even with my friend’s library on Plex. I have found the media recognition and identification system in Emby to be much better/easier to use.

While the music player in Emby is nowhere near as good as plexamp. I mostly store a local copy of my music on my phone anyways so it is not really an issue. I am going to start playing with navidrome when I get time but a one directional sync with syncthing fromy server to my phone would also work for my needs.

The Emby app on android tv is decent but not flashy and does not have streaming content by default, it is fully functional as a media player for library files.

They still exist for now.