For downloading and streaming media I recommend this system:
- Dedicate a computer to downloading and streaming video — preferably with a wired connection (ethernet cable)
- Set up a private cloud service for storing your downloaded music, e-books and your own photos and videos
- Get a 4K streaming media player like Roku Ultra or AppleTV
A Computer Dedicated To Download and Streaming Video
This computer is where you download all your video. Typically, video is best stored on your local computer, rather than streaming video from remote location. If you use a streaming srever like Plex, you can then stream your videos to your mobile devices or a Roku Ultra or AppleTV
For the desktop computer I recommend the following:
If you are comfortable with Linux, then get a Linux Desktop from System 76 with an internal 2 TB (terrabyte) hard drive
Otherwise, you can use a Mac Mini desktop computer, and for extra storage you can get an external hard drive like a 2TB Western Digital My Passport Drive
On this computer install the following:
- Whatever tools you use for downloading
- Plex – a media manager and streaming server
This computer can run 24 hours a day, and Plex can be set up to stream videos to your devices worldwide.
A Private Cloud Service To Store Music, Photos and E-Books
I recommending storing your music collection in a private cloud. I suggest using pCloud or Sync.
You can download media to any computer and upload to pCloud, after install the pCloud app.
I recommend storing your photos and e-books in this cloud storage.
Depending on your comfort level, you can choose to store your media in the encrypted pCloud or the non-encrypted pCloud.
A 4K Streaming Media Player
Using 4K streaming media player like like Roku Ultra or AppleTV is a convenient method watching media. Most computers lack a remote control, and the apps tend to crash more often than their media player apps.
