Time to UNSUBSCRIBE from Disney+, Netflix, etc!

Summary

In this video, Jeff Geerling shares his frustrations with streaming services, citing rising costs and poor content selection. He explains his decision to cancel all subscriptions and instead build a personal media library using physical Blu-Rays. Jeff details how he legally rips 4K Blu-Rays and stores the content on a NAS (Network Attached Storage), ensuring ownership and high-quality viewing without ads. He walks viewers through the necessary tools and steps to rip and transcode media, ultimately setting up a NAS for easy access across devices at home.

Takeaways

• 📺 Many streaming services are becoming too expensive, especially with rising prices and ads, leading to frustration with their poor value.
• 💰 Streaming services often don't offer the content quality (e.g., 4K) that's promised, pushing users toward alternative methods.
• 🛠 The user built a solution to own and watch media legally by ripping Blu-ray discs to create a personal media library.
• 📀 A Pioneer UHD Blu-ray drive is used to rip 4K Blu-rays, while software like MakeMKV is essential for converting disc content into MKV files.
• 🖥 Handbrake is used for transcoding the ripped files to smaller, more manageable sizes while maintaining high quality for playback on various devices.
• 💾 To store the large amount of media, the user utilizes a NAS (Network Attached Storage), specifically a 6-bay ASUSTOR Lockerstor 6 Gen 2, which allows for expandable and redundant storage.
• 🎥 The user prefers physical media like Blu-ray discs because they offer better quality than streaming, especially for 4K content.
• 💡 Software like Jellyfin is used on the NAS to stream the ripped movies and shows to any device in the house, ensuring an ad-free experience.
• 💻 The whole process involves setting up a ripping workflow, organizing files, transcoding for storage efficiency, and using a NAS to access the media anywhere.
• 🚫 The user is against piracy but prefers to legally own and manage their media collection due to frustrations with streaming services' limitations.

Q & A

Why does the speaker decide to unsubscribe from streaming services?

The speaker is frustrated with the high costs, the declining quality of content, and the removal of purchased shows due to licensing agreements, which makes them feel that they are not truly owning the content.

What example does the speaker give to illustrate the issue with digital content ownership?

The speaker mentions a person who bought two seasons of the TV show 'Final Space' on Amazon, only for Amazon to delete them due to a licensing agreement with Warner Brothers, showing that purchased content can be removed without warning.

What alternative solution does the speaker suggest instead of relying on streaming services?

The speaker suggests building a personal media library by ripping Blu-Rays and DVDs using a Blu-Ray drive and storing the content on a NAS (Network Attached Storage), allowing them to access the content without ads or restrictions.

What is a NAS, and why does the speaker recommend using one?

A NAS is a Network Attached Storage device that allows multiple hard drives to be connected and accessed over a network. The speaker recommends it for its ability to store large media libraries, provide redundancy, and offer access to content from any device in the house.

What hardware does the speaker use to rip and store movies?

The speaker uses a Pioneer UHD Blu-Ray drive to rip movies and an ASUSTOR Lockerstor 6 Gen 2 NAS for storing the media. The NAS is equipped with multiple hard drives for redundancy and fast access.

Why does the speaker prefer ripping physical media over streaming?

The speaker believes that physical media offers better quality, no ads, and true ownership of the content, whereas streaming services are becoming expensive, offer poor 4K quality, and don't provide permanent access to content.

What are some of the software tools the speaker uses for the ripping process?

The speaker uses MakeMKV to rip the Blu-Rays, VLC for video playback, and Handbrake to transcode the ripped files into smaller, more manageable sizes.

What does the speaker mean by transcoding, and why is it important?

Transcoding is the process of converting the ripped MKV files into smaller MP4 files that take up less space while retaining good quality. This is important because uncompressed MKV files are large and can quickly consume a lot of storage.

How does the speaker ensure redundancy in their media library setup?

The speaker sets up the NAS with multiple hard drives, allowing for redundancy in case one drive fails. This ensures that their media is safe and can be restored even if a hard drive malfunctions.

What challenges does the speaker face when ripping Blu-Rays, and how do they overcome them?

Challenges include identifying the correct movie file among multiple tracks and potential issues with Blu-Ray protection. The speaker overcomes these by ripping all large files and checking forums like the MakeMKV forums for help with tricky discs.