Hi there,

I’m thinking about what kind of opportunities there is for a portable media center you can have with you in the car, train or whatever.

I imagine that the media center would create its own WiFi, so that devices would be able to connect to it and access the media.

I know you could do something with a Raspberry Pi, but how could this work in practice? What would be an easy way to access the media from an iPad fx? What software could be used?

As a bonus, it would be pretty cool if the media center could connect to a hotel WiFi and then create a hotspot from that.

Edit: This would be used when on the move. So you would have the media with you on the media center.

  • rhacer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    2 months ago

    My Plex server runs in my home and all my media is available outside my home. A travel server seems like a solution for a problem that doesn’t really exist.

    • Meldrik@lemmy.wtfOPEnglish
      3·
      2 months ago

      If you are on the road or simply travelling a place with bad internet, then what?

      • UnrefinedChihuahua@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        7·
        2 months ago

        When I know I’m travelling, I always download a few select movies and the next few episodes of whatever we’re currently watching to my devices.

        Plex allows me to download using my PlexPass. My family/everyone else that uses my server download the media they want via my JellyFin server (serving the same media as my Plex server).

      • entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        At least in the case of a Jellyfin server, you can download media locally when you know you’ll be without internet

        • Meldrik@lemmy.wtfOPEnglish
          2·
          2 months ago

          True, but if your devices, in this case; iPads with only 64GB, it quickly gets filled up.

      • rhacer@lemmy.worldEnglish
        41·
        2 months ago

        I use Plex’s download feature to make sure I always have music available. The same could be done for other media but I don’t bother.

      • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        2·
        2 months ago

        Not sure if this helps, but e-sims are extremely cheap and can be set up on the go through an app these days. You could get a 5g plan in the area with bad internet and use it as a hotspot to download content to your other devices. I use Nomad, but there are a lot of providers with plans that are unlimited or pay by the gig—all affordable with time periods as short as 7 days.

        A $10 solution, in a pinch, is a good choice.

        • Meldrik@lemmy.wtfOPEnglish
          1·
          2 months ago

          It’s not a bad solution and I have used eSIMs before when I was traveling in Asia. However, all of these “unlimited” eSIM plans has a lot of buts. Either the speed is limited to close to unusable for streaming and/or you are limited to only use x amount of GB when using hotspot.

          Also depending on the country, the coverage can be awful.