Creating your own personal Netflix

[Locked]

I cut the cord a bunch of months ago. My cable bill had reached 210 bucks a month with just cable and internet. I didn't watch 90 percent of the channels anyway so I figured it was the smart thing to do. Now I just pay 80 bucks for high-speed internet and rely on Streaming services and a personal server.
I figured I would share some of the things I did so others might also give cable the boot.

I have been a Netflix member since they first started and love them. I remember when they started switching to a streaming service and away from DVDs in the mail. I thought they were nuts, but they were not. Now I never rent DVDs and only stream.
I also have been an Amazon Prime member since the beginning. I love the Free 2 day shipping. Then they also started adding a streaming service and it was an even bigger win.
I have been big into downloading things via BitTorrent since that became a thing as well.
With those 3 things in place, it wasn't until I got into Plex and their free software that cutting the cord became a viable option. With Plex, you can create your own personal server that can stream things to your Smart TV's, Video Game consoles, and other smart devices like most Home theatre systems, DVD and Bluray Players etc.
I started out using Plex on my main PC and streamed things from the Hard Drive. That worked well but not great at times. Then I found out about Home Servers and got a 2 port from QNAP. That and a 4 TB Hard Drive gave me a personal server that could not only stream Movies, TV, Music, and Photos but it also serves as a Home surveillance Recorder.
For the casual user just using Plex on your home PC will do. The Home Server thing is not needed.

I figured I would share some of the things I learned with others in case they to wanted to lower their cable bill.
I can't promise that I can answer any and all questions but I can tell you what I did.

Some links to things you may need.

Plex>>> https://www.plex.tv/
QNAP Server>>> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L8GHOQ8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Utorrent for downlaoding Media>>> https://www.utorrent.com/
Express VPN>>> https://www.expressvpn.com/?refID=1...MIt_uO9r-h2wIVhAOGCh3UJwaCEAAYAiAAEgJzPvD_BwE

I recommend a VPN if you are going to download Media via BitTorrent. If you don't you risk getting copyright warnings from your IPN Provider.

Once everything is in place you pretty much have your own personal Netflix.
If you still feel the need for certain cable channels you can use a streaming service like PSvue, Sling TV, Hulu, etc.

 

[2RedEyes]

I did this as well, we have quite a number of over the air channels in my local...So I just stream anything else I want...I got a coupl of different apps that we access via appleTV including the internet, were at about $80 a month...

 

[Icecalibur]

Great guide thanks for the informative post Hamster Lewis, nice to see you still around bud, I miss your very old auto grows lol, do you still do journals from time to time ?

 

[Hackerman]

I finally talked the wife into cutting the cable a few months back. Streaming is obviously killing the cable companies as their market gets shared with so many new providers. We were paying almost $200 a month and we're down to $70 just for internet and no TV.

The wife went with Amazon Prime. Pretty neat, I guess. I'm not a TV watcher but it looked like it had a neat selection.

As for Plex, I never heard of it until you posted. Pretty neat. It looks like it does the same thing I use KODI for but from what I read, Plex does it better in almost every way.

I don't know how people can live without an NAS. LOL I have used Synology NAS's for many years.

 

[kaotik]

I did this as well, we have quite a number of over the air channels in my local...So I just stream anything else I want...I got a coupl of different apps that we access via appleTV including the internet, were at about $80 a month...

yeah that's great input.
should look into some cheap HD antenna too, hammy.. if you care about local news and stuff. *up here; it's vital for hockey ;-)
my buddy was surprised how many channels he got (all about location though)

cable's really losing people eh. i thought they'd be a more streaming type service by now (basically all PVR-like) but they don't learn.

 

[Locked]

yeah that's great input.
should look into some cheap HD antenna too, hammy.. if you care about local news and stuff. *up here; it's vital for hockey ;-)
my buddy was surprised how many channels he got (all about location though)

cable's really losing people eh. i thought they'd be a more streaming type service by now (basically all PVR-like) but they don't learn.

I actually did buy an HD Antena after I realized I couldn't get the Yankee games that play on WPIX NY. I subscribe to the PSVue TV package which gets me 40 or so channels including YES Network, which is where the majority of Yankee games are shown. Unfortunately, I live far from the transmitter and couldn't get any signals. I even signed up for a 7 day trial of MLB.TV but found out the games I want to see are blacked out. Ironic that I live too far to get a free HD Signal but close enough to be blacked out.

 

[Gone2pot!]

I actually did buy an HD Antena after I realized I couldn't get the Yankee games that play on WPIX NY. I subscribe to the PSVue TV package which gets me 40 or so channels including YES Network, which is where the majority of Yankee games are shown. Unfortunately, I live far from the transmitter and couldn't get any signals. I even signed up for a 7 day trial of MLB.TV but found out the games I want to see are blacked out. Ironic that I live too far to get a free HD Signal but close enough to be blacked out.

Have you downloaded KODI? You have to update frequently but very worth the 5 minutes every couple of months. Access to everything- even new movies in theaters

 

[Locked]

Have you downloaded KODI? You have to update frequently but very worth the 5 minutes every couple of months. Access to everything- even new movies in theaters

Yeah I went the Kodi route a while ago but didn't really dig it. Way too many times that I had to hunt for a working link to movies or TV and half the time the link would stop working.

 

[Gone2pot!]

Yeah I went the Kodi route a while ago but didn't really dig it. Way too many times that I had to hunt for a working link to movies or TV and half the time the link would stop working.

Sometimes I had problems but I usually just tried a different “build” until I found one that worked well. It can be great or very frustrating, but worth it it you find the build that works for what you like. I usually check YouTube to see what the most recent build is then just follow along. Sometimes I’ve had to try 2 or 3 different ones before I hit on a good one.