Media server review: Jellyfin
A year ago, I set up a Plex server on my Mac, to stream my own digital media to my TV and other devices at home. While I still like streaming services, their recent antics (content removal as a residual dodge, price hikes, etc.) led me to start buying DVDs/Blu-rays again, and ripping them to said server.
Several months ago, I noticed Plex, while nice to use, has its own downsides. Most of its newer features feel less about being a media server and more about competing with Netflix and the like. Plex also charges a monthly fee for mobile app features (such as downloads), when one reason for running a media server is to avoid adding yet another monthly bill.
As such, I decided to give one of Plex’s major alternatives a go, and installed Jellyfin. Jellyfin is open source media server software that does much of what Plex does, but all for free.
Below are my experiences so far with Jellyfin. I note my usage is pretty basic: streaming 480p SD or 1080p HD TV shows, movies and music to my TV set, iPad, and other devices over home WiFi. Thus, those looking for comments about advanced features (external streaming, transcoding, 4K, audio quality beyond stereo sound, an NAS setup, etc.) might want to look elsewhere.
My setup
My setup is pretty simplistic: I’ve installed Jellyfin on a 2020 M1 Mac Mini with a 2TB Western Digital external USB hard drive, which holds my media files.
Jellyfin’s site offers downloads of its software for all major operating systems (Windows, MacOS, Linux), as well as instructions for installing on such. (There’s also a “Quick Start” page.) Go to Downloads > Server and pick your preferred operating system. If looking for a desktop or mobile player, “Clients” links to such.
Installation went pretty smoothly. I’d suggest having whatever computer you use as a server attached via Ethernet cable (versus WiFi), to make serving files easier. I also recommend writing down the IP address of your computer (Jellyfin runs on port 8096 by default), which will make setting up some mobile apps easier.
Adding and managing media files
Since I’m not big on piracy and wanted to do everything “right,” my media files are sourced from buying and ripping DVDs and Blu-rays. I’ve written about ripping discs in my Plex review, but basically, I use two programs:
MakeMKV: Rip the disks to MKV files.
Handbrake: Convert the MKV files to MP4 files. This gives a compressed, smaller file, plus the file is in the more widely compatible MP4 format. (Yes, you can play MKV files as-is if you want/have the hard drive space, but...)
Like Plex, organizing TV shows and movies on Jellyfin relies on naming files properly. (See Jellyfin’s site for how to name/organize TV shows and movies.) Jellyfin pulls its media information from (among other options) the sites The TVDB and The Movie DB, so looking up your shows or films there to double-check naming will help.
Jellyfin uses libraries to store content. I’ve set up libraries for: TV shows; movies; Looney Tunes; specials; and music. I gave the “Looney Tunes” shorts their own library; they originally ran as theatrical shorts, and I didn’t want those mixed with the feature-length movies. ”Specials” are holiday specials, which I also separated from regular content (and used the “movies” setting).
“Collections” is a Jellyfin feature that offers the ability to organize different movies, TV shows, etc. into custom categories. I use this to create a few collections by category, such as “Taz collection” (every Tasmanian Devil Looney Tunes short), “Halloween specials,” or “Winter themed collection” (winter-themed TV shows and films).
Jellyfin also has a “playlists” feature, though it’s slightly more barebones than collections, and is tied to a specific user account (versus across all user accounts like collections). I’ve mostly been using it for music playlists.
Adjusting metadata
Some of the names or included TV show/movie images might be inaccurate. To adjust them, you can click on the three-dot icon on each movie, TV show, or TV episode, and select “Edit metadata” or “Edit images,” then make any needed adjustments. “Refresh metadata” also can be useful for updating a whole library, after adding new content or making major changes.
Advanced features
Jellyfin supports adding extra features through the use of plugins (under Administration > Dashboard, scroll down to Advanced and find “Plugins”). You can also add extra repositories alongside the default included one. I’d strongly recommend activating the TVDB plugin, if it hasn’t been turned on already.
Pros and cons of Jellyfin
So far, Jellyfin has worked well for me. Adding my media files went smoothly, with the only adjustments needed coming in renaming a few TV show files, or swapping out a few images. I’ve also installed the Jellyfin app on my Roku, iPad, and Android phone, as well as a few third-party apps for the iPad/phone that offer more features (such as downloading for offline viewing). On iOS, Infuse is a decent choice. On Android, Findroid (for videos) and Finamp (for music) work well. The Roku app is a little more barebones, however, not offering all of the features found in the default Web-based version of Jellyfin. Roku’s Plex app is also easier to use than Jellyfin for a few features, such as switching audio tracks.
On the downsides, Jellyfin’s user interface isn’t as slick as Plex’s; mostly a sign of Jellyfin’s open source, volunteer-based nature (versus more money behind Plex). It’s also got a few rougher edges compared to Plex in terms of some features and setup. I also ran into Jellyfin hanging at one point early on (processing a large number of files), leading me to force-quit/restart Jellyfin.
Finally, Plex is probably a bit easier to get going if you’re doing something advanced like transcoding or serving files externally (i.e. away from home).
Conclusion
Overall, I’ve been satisfied with Jellyfin so far. It serves up my media files to my devices; it hasn’t been as buggy as last time I tried it (several years ago); and it’s free, open source, and privacy friendly (versus Plex’s recent privacy concerns). While it’s not as slick as Plex, it works just fine for my purposes.