Why I Ditched Plex for Jellyfin and Never Looked Back

A Long-Standing Love Affair with Plex

For years, Plex was my go-to media server. It was the first solution I ever set up in my homelab, and honestly, it was fantastic for getting started. The user interface was slick, the client support was extensive, and the 'just works' nature of it was incredibly appealing when I was first dipping my toes into self-hosting. I loved being able to share my meticulously curated movie and TV show collection with family and friends, and the mobile apps made streaming on the go a breeze.

The Cracks Begin to Show: My Search for More Control

As I delved deeper into the world of homelabs and self-hosting, my priorities began to shift. I started to appreciate the power of open-source software and the control it offered. With Plex, I found myself increasingly wanting more transparency and ownership over my data and my server's functionality. While Plex's cloud-based authentication and 'Plex Pass' features were convenient for many, I began to feel a slight unease about relying on external servers for core functionality, especially when I wanted to ensure my media was accessible even if my internet connection was spotty or Plex's services had an outage.

Another point that nudged me towards exploring alternatives was the occasional performance hiccup, particularly with transcoding on less powerful hardware, and the desire for more granular control over those processes. I wanted to truly understand and optimize every part of my media delivery pipeline.

Discovering Jellyfin: A Breath of Fresh Air

Enter Jellyfin. I first heard about it in a homelab subreddit, touted as a completely free and open-source alternative to Plex and Emby. The idea of a fully self-contained media server, without any external dependencies for its core features, immediately piqued my interest. No cloud authentication required, no premium features locked behind a subscription – just pure, unadulterated media serving.

The Migration Journey: From Plex to Pure Open Source

Step 1: Installation – Embracing Docker

My first technical dive was getting Jellyfin up and running. Being a Docker enthusiast, I opted for the Docker container setup. This was incredibly straightforward. A simple docker run command, or even better, a docker-compose.yml file, had Jellyfin spinning up in minutes. This approach immediately felt more 'homelab-native' to me, allowing for easy updates and isolation from the rest of my system.

version: '3.8' services:  jellyfin:    image: jellyfin/jellyfin    container_name: jellyfin    user: 1000:1000 # Optional: Use specific user/group ID for permissions    network_mode: host # Or use port mapping: - '8096:8096' - '8920:8920'    volumes:      - /path/to/config:/config      - /path/to/cache:/cache      - /path/to/media:/media      - /path/to/transcodes:/transcodes # Optional: for temporary transcoded files    restart: 'unless-stopped'    devices:      - /dev/dri:/dev/dri # Optional: for Intel Quick Sync hardware transcoding    environment:      - PUID=1000      - PGID=1000      - TZ=America/New_York # Set your timezone Step 2: Importing Libraries and Users

Once Jellyfin was running, the next step was pointing it to my existing media libraries. This was a breeze. The web interface is intuitive, and adding folders for movies, TV shows, and music was just a few clicks away. Jellyfin quickly scanned and pulled in metadata, matching most of my content without issues. Creating users was equally simple, and I loved the ability to set very specific permissions for each user right from the start.

Step 3: Conquering Hardware Transcoding

This was where I learned a significant amount. My homelab server has an Intel iGPU, which is perfect for hardware transcoding. Configuring this in Jellyfin involved ensuring my Docker container had access to /dev/dri (as shown in the Docker Compose example above) and then selecting the appropriate hardware acceleration method (like VAAPI for Intel GPUs) in Jellyfin's dashboard settings. There was a bit of trial and error with driver installations on the host system and ensuring the correct permissions, but once it clicked, the performance boost was phenomenal. This challenge taught me a lot about Linux device permissions and how Docker interacts with host hardware.

The 'Never Looked Back' Moment: What I Gained

The switch to Jellyfin wasn't just about getting an alternative; it was about gaining a level of control and peace of mind I hadn't fully realized I was missing:

• Full Ownership and Control: My server, my data, my rules. No external accounts or cloud dependencies for the core functionality. This was a huge win for privacy and uptime resilience.

• Open Source & Community: Being part of an active open-source project is empowering. The community is vibrant, responsive, and always pushing new features and improvements. I love that I can even contribute if I wanted to.

• Customization: From themes to plugins, Jellyfin offers a fantastic degree of customization. I could tailor the experience exactly to my liking.

• Performance: With proper hardware transcoding setup, Jellyfin handles multiple simultaneous streams with ease, often feeling snappier than my previous setup.

• Learning Experience: The process of setting up and optimizing Jellyfin, especially the hardware transcoding, was an invaluable learning experience in Linux system administration, Docker, and media server architecture.

Final Thoughts: A Homelabber's Dream

Ditching Plex for Jellyfin wasn't a decision I took lightly, given my long history with it. However, after making the leap, I genuinely haven't looked back. Jellyfin perfectly aligns with my philosophy of self-hosting and open-source empowerment. It's a robust, flexible, and constantly evolving media server that puts the user firmly in control. If you're a fellow homelab enthusiast looking for a powerful, open-source media solution that gives you ultimate control, I highly encourage you to give Jellyfin a try. You might just find yourself never looking back either!