Its because of things like this that I self host all my media.
As an example why buy games from Steam when I can get them on gog.com DRM free and make them portable (without a setup or installation step on future machines)? So, I run my own Steam Store/Library like experience on a home server using Game Vault.
I use JellyFin for video. It works for music files, but I don't really like it for audio. So, I wrote my own music app that works in the browser/phone securely across the internet from my own server.
This is so much better than paying for subscriptions..
It's really nice - and it's not really the cost ... it's the avoidance of the rugpull.
I've spent WAY MORE on my hardware and setup in time, money, and DVDs than I ever would have for streaming services, but I know if it goes down, it's on me.
Absolutely. If there is a fiber cut in my driveway I still have my home network running just the same.
If hardware ever cheaper I will also run an instance of Project Nomad:
https://www.projectnomad.us/
If you don’t need the local LLM feature that I don’t see why that shouldn’t just run on a Raspberry Pi 4+.
I deleted my Steam account recently after I realized I hadn't logged in for 5 years. I just can't tolerate a store also being a launcher middleman.
Steam is probably the best example of how you can be a middleman and a store. I’ve never felt wronged by them unlike Sony and Discovery.