RatchCarson
vkc via PeerTubeI stream nothing, and I am happy.
PeerTube
shut
Eric de Redelijkheid 
@vkc I have too many, and hardly ever watch. A lot of the times I will stop mid season in a show. I never really bothered with e-books and use UpnP for playing flacs from my NAS
Raymond Russell@vkc
I stopped paying for a TV license in the UK about 5 years ago
This means I cannot watch any live TV channels or use the BBC iPlayer streaming service.
However I can use all of the other UK TV channels free catch up services.
There was one show - Taskmaster - that I was watching regularly and mostly on catchup so I stopped watching live, cancelled my license and never looked back.
I have a decent sized DVD/Blu Ray collection and use mostly UK non-sub stream services.
I stopped paying for a TV license in the UK about 5 years ago
This means I cannot watch any live TV channels or use the BBC iPlayer streaming service.
However I can use all of the other UK TV channels free catch up services.
There was one show - Taskmaster - that I was watching regularly and mostly on catchup so I stopped watching live, cancelled my license and never looked back.
I have a decent sized DVD/Blu Ray collection and use mostly UK non-sub stream services.
Sparky@vkc Another point in favor of libraries: Some also give you access to digital media, possibly even a streaming platform.
And while one might not necessarily find loads of the latest Hollywood blockbusters on there, they can have a pretty interesting selection.
For example, my local library gives me access to Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, the original Pixels short movie, the show Fairly Oddparents and several fascinating documentaries, among others.
And while one might not necessarily find loads of the latest Hollywood blockbusters on there, they can have a pretty interesting selection.
For example, my local library gives me access to Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, the original Pixels short movie, the show Fairly Oddparents and several fascinating documentaries, among others.
Christopher@vkc I recently switched back to physical media. I started buying CDs for music and Blu Rays both HD and 4K for movies. Unfortunately a lot of content is not available in Polish language. I can watch in English just fine but for my 6 year old daughter Polish voice is a must.
I still use streaming from time to time. I was very unhappy about the quality of new content on Disney+ for example. There are many good cartoons and animations for my daughter but not much for me. I decide I am not gonna finance that anymore. The Aline TV show was the last straw 😅
RedSntYou forgot the engagement word/phrase! How will I be engaging in the comments if I don't know what to typ.. oh.
Regarding preferring AV1, there's nothing wrong with it, especially not if you're encoding 4K content, it's just that it'll always be slightly blurrier than H265, which in turn is slightly blurrier than H264. And I'm still perfectly happy with 1080p, so I'm definitely more of a fan of H265. Nice to see you go with Opus @ 192 kbps.
Perceptually indistinguishable from lossless.
Compression has always seemed like magic to me. I have a copy of Serial Experiments Lain in AV1 that is just impossibly compressed to around ~150 MB pr episode in 1080p. As someone that watched the same series back in the early 00s, I was probably watching it in 480p with files at least 200 MB, so it's nuts how far video compression has come.
Regarding preferring AV1, there's nothing wrong with it, especially not if you're encoding 4K content, it's just that it'll always be slightly blurrier than H265, which in turn is slightly blurrier than H264. And I'm still perfectly happy with 1080p, so I'm definitely more of a fan of H265. Nice to see you go with Opus @ 192 kbps.
Perceptually indistinguishable from lossless.
Compression has always seemed like magic to me. I have a copy of Serial Experiments Lain in AV1 that is just impossibly compressed to around ~150 MB pr episode in 1080p. As someone that watched the same series back in the early 00s, I was probably watching it in 480p with files at least 200 MB, so it's nuts how far video compression has come.
MeesI can relate. My living room looks more like a library: several big bookcases full of books. A large collection of music on lp and cd, ripped and accessible via Navidrome. And boxes full of dvds in the attic which I ripped and can watch via Jellyfin. I even have offline copies of websites like Wikipedia and off course the Linux man pages, served via Kiwix. But I first had to experience a major internet outage, lasting for more than a week, before I realized how dependent I was of the internet.
liffy 💜@vkc i was lucky that, through either stubbornness or paranoia, i could tell how much algorithmic helplessness sucks from the get-go and kept using offline copies of media throughout the rise of streaming..
also, i've gotta shoutout Scarecrow Video in Seattle for keeping the physical video rental dream alive (even from afar by mail); their collection goes so deep that it even dramatically outperforms online services in "okay, where can we watch this" when there's a thing i want to see
also, i've gotta shoutout Scarecrow Video in Seattle for keeping the physical video rental dream alive (even from afar by mail); their collection goes so deep that it even dramatically outperforms online services in "okay, where can we watch this" when there's a thing i want to see
DarkestDot@vkc I wish that the video on your peerTube didn't have the censor in it.
Any Self hosted RSS feed programs that run as a web site. The big problem with federation is it makes it hard to keep up with new posts as there all over the internet.
zblesk@darkestdot @vkc yeah, I came here in the hopes of learning what those words were :D
no dice :(
@darkestdot oh! it's answered here:
michael
squirrel
fyrfaras
Vri 🌈🐘
Lextor
Anonymous FreakDecided 7 months ago to ditch (nearly) all streaming. (I pay for Apple's "all services" almost exclusively for the iCloud storage, because to buy enough storage would cost *MORE* just on its own than Apple's "everything" plan.)
I have used the money I had been spending on streaming services to buy physical media instead.
Just got my boxed set of The Expanse for this month's spend a couple days ago, and promptly ripped the discs to my Plex server.
The annoying thing is that many "streaming created" shows or older movies aren't available on physical media! Or some things that are currently available on one or another streaming service that has been "out of print" on Blu-ray (or never released on Blu-ray in the US.) And I've done a couple instances of buying out-of-print shows/movies via eBay, only to get crap pirated/burned discs. (Although each one had great *PACKAGING*, looking completely legit… until you open it and look at the disc.)
I have used the money I had been spending on streaming services to buy physical media instead.
Just got my boxed set of The Expanse for this month's spend a couple days ago, and promptly ripped the discs to my Plex server.
The annoying thing is that many "streaming created" shows or older movies aren't available on physical media! Or some things that are currently available on one or another streaming service that has been "out of print" on Blu-ray (or never released on Blu-ray in the US.) And I've done a couple instances of buying out-of-print shows/movies via eBay, only to get crap pirated/burned discs. (Although each one had great *PACKAGING*, looking completely legit… until you open it and look at the disc.)
Lemonheep (Peeps Eater) 
@[email protected] @[email protected] The fight for privacy and open-source has been ongoing for years, but it seems that more and more of us are also turning against the hyper-convenient mindlessness of algorithms, and I'm fully in support of it. Digital freedom means the freedom to think for ourselves, but the algorithms in most internet platforms have been taking that away from us in favor of mindless addiction (maybe even mindless anger, or mindless consumption). I've personally have been trying my bet to avoid algorithms as much as possible, not only to pursue the creative endeavors Youtube has taken away time from, but also to get far away from the provocative-yet-meaningless political communities Youtube has pushed me towards before realizing the hard way that they seriously intend to erase queer folks like me. So, thank you for not only taking part in that push against algorithms, but also talking about the importance of that to your viewers.
Furbland's Very Cool Mastodon™@vkc physical media and libraries FTW! oh, and sailing the high seas. yarr, matey.
Looked at your guide for Handbrake, decided to try out AV1.
Nope, not yet.
Encoding at the same settings, my system supports hardware H.265 encoding at good quality and good size. ~300 fps encode.
Same basic settings in AV1? **15** fps.
Yeah, I'm not going to have it take literally 20x as long to encode. And I'm not ready for a new system yet for this. Maybe I'll re-rip and re-encode my collection again in a few years. But for now, my H.265 workflow will have to do.
Nope, not yet.
Encoding at the same settings, my system supports hardware H.265 encoding at good quality and good size. ~300 fps encode.
Same basic settings in AV1? **15** fps.
Yeah, I'm not going to have it take literally 20x as long to encode. And I'm not ready for a new system yet for this. Maybe I'll re-rip and re-encode my collection again in a few years. But for now, my H.265 workflow will have to do.
@vkc awhile back, some work friends and I banded together and got a group subscription to one of those big music streaming services. It is well known for its algorithms, but they are entirely optional -- most of the time I can just select what I want to hear and it will play it for me -- just like my old mp3 library of the past, but without the tedium of acquiring and managing the media... I wish this was the future we had -- a digital commons with the whole world at our fingertips, and less "algorithmic helplessness". Which "sucks".
Erin Brown@vkc Love that your “demo” movie is Mary Poppins! Yes!
Many years ago I "cut the cord" by getting rid of cable and switching to streaming so that our viewing habits would be more intentional rather than "whatever happens to be on when we turn on the TV". Now I'm wanting to cut the stream for the same reasons. I have also been accumulating a large Jellyfin library and ripping CDs and DVDs that have been packed away in boxes.
I actually really enjoy putting together playlists (naming them things like "_____ Mixtape"). I use Tailscale so I can stream from my personal library even when I'm out, but I also love to have my current favorites stored locally on my phone. I use an app called Symfonium which works amazing with local files and can even access my Jellyfin server. I can create smart playlists in it too.
I've been moving more and more things to my own personal cloud hosted on my NAS. Reclaiming my data.
I need to address the "smart" TVs next.
I actually really enjoy putting together playlists (naming them things like "_____ Mixtape"). I use Tailscale so I can stream from my personal library even when I'm out, but I also love to have my current favorites stored locally on my phone. I use an app called Symfonium which works amazing with local files and can even access my Jellyfin server. I can create smart playlists in it too.
I've been moving more and more things to my own personal cloud hosted on my NAS. Reclaiming my data.
I need to address the "smart" TVs next.
Solarbird 
YgorPhysical media is less appealing to me, living in a tiny European apartment, but I've also managed to cancel all streaming services except Nebula. I've been using the public library a lot more both for books and for movies, and I've been buying DRM-free digital media when I find it. I have like 2000 songs from Bandcamp, for example.
🍐 Perivi Yohanesburgo 🍐 
@vkc One of my reasons to learn how to (securely) selfhost from home is to access and easily share every piece of media I currently have archived on my NAS through the Internet. Commercial streaming services shows they are not reliable and prone to censorship.
Physical media is crucial, because most of it is DRM-free or DRM-broken an easily rippable.
István Nagy@vkc I totally get your point of view, I'm getting fed up with all the spam hitting me on these services every day. Though I'm also not yearning for managing a physical library. It's a lot of work, and if gets damaged or lost, it's going to hurt a lot to redo it. Do anyone here remember Murfie? It was a novel idea of used music CD purchasing; they stored the physical media in a warehouse and ripped it for you. Unfortunately it shut down in 2019.
Talya (she/her) 🏳️⚧️✡️@vkc i stream exactly three platforms.
the first is Nebula, for which i actually have a lifetime membership, meaning i no longer pay for subscription.
the other is DropoutTV.
the third is YouTube via Newpipe, for the creators that aren't on Nebula.
i don't stream podcasts, i always download them in advance.
all of my music is either on my laptop or on my phone.
the first is Nebula, for which i actually have a lifetime membership, meaning i no longer pay for subscription.
the other is DropoutTV.
the third is YouTube via Newpipe, for the creators that aren't on Nebula.
i don't stream podcasts, i always download them in advance.
all of my music is either on my laptop or on my phone.
Manix
Pa: 🇵🇸 from the river to the sea.@[email protected] @[email protected] It helps if streaming services provide subtitles. Watching everything in one language is dead boring, just saying. Same reason I don't use mkv, it's easier to manage missing languages.
Robbert@vkc I started out with a music library on a PC (MP3) that I used a HiFi component (I think it was called a DMP something or other - but it looked like a CD player HiFi box without a CD slot) back around 2000. Since then I have moved to XBMC (modding the original XBox to use it!) to Kodi, now Plex and slowly looking at Jellyfin for both video and music. The family loves the streaming stuff (Netflix etc), so we'll likely never completely move away from it, but it's nice to have alternatives and own your own media.
Leonardo Ferreira Fontenelle@vkc algorithmic helplessness sucks
BeorhthelmGreat video. I'm very similar in my media habits, though I've so far just stuck with MakeMKV and not altered the resulting files with Handbrake. So thanks for the blog detailing your Handbrake settings, I can't wait to mess around a bit. And as a Linux newb I've really struggled with ripping CD's and with music in general (I really, REALLY miss MediaMonkey), so I'm eager to check out your suggestions there. I think the one thing I'd add is that a tablet or ereader with Libby installed can be really handy for ebooks that may not be physically owned by your friendly local library. And for the handful of indie presses out there doing DRM-free epubs. Jellyfin can technically handle epubs, but the experience isn't great. I've heard some people recommend Kavita, but I failed to get it working on my server and haven't gotten around to trying again. For now I use Calibre on my laptop (Debian 12) to catalog epubs and transfer them to an old jailbroken (LineageOS) Galaxy Tab A via USB, then read with Librera. Not elegant, but it gets the job done.
Reilly SpitzfadenLove this video! I too feel strongly about not selling my soul to streaming, and it makes me happy to actually own things.
In addition to using Jellyfin for streaming TV/movies, I've been enjoying using Syncthing to sync music between my computer/phone. Similar use case to syncing from iTunes, but doesn't require everything to be Apple.
In addition to using Jellyfin for streaming TV/movies, I've been enjoying using Syncthing to sync music between my computer/phone. Similar use case to syncing from iTunes, but doesn't require everything to be Apple.
Pat
Marcial 🇨🇷🇻🇪@vkc This is a fantastic video, and one that I can send to non-F/LOSS friends to help them see where I'm coming from; thank you for the wonderful resource!
Marlin 
Preston Maness ☭@vkc "But I do want to implore all of us to think critically about how streaming media, auto-play, and the algorithm are impacting *us*. Not just you, and me, but... *us*."
I love the focus on the emergent phenomenon for the group, not just the direct impacts on individuals.
Ian R Buck@vkc The use of Autoplay and algorithmic suggestions today seems similar to people 20+ years ago who would just turn on the TV and let whatever is on play for hours and hours. According to _Bowling Alone_, that type of TV watching is the strongest predictor of low social capital in a community. So yes, I think your instinct that it's doing something to "us" is spot-on.
Paul Jewell@vkc Thanks Veronica - great video, and I absolutely agree with your points. I set up my jellyfin server about a year ago, and have ripped all my physical media (which thankfully I had held on to!). I use Symphonium on my android phone for listening to music - it also has a connection to Jellyfin, and can store media offline.
@vkc ... and now I have ordered a BluRay device from the list you shared so I can expand my library to include BluRay disks. Thanks again!
Excellent video. In my bid to de-big-tech, I've 'gone back to nature' too. Physical books and blu-rays are back on the menu (although I do download MP3s from something like Qobuz - which is a simple music store). I'm not as technically minded as you (not by a long way) but some of your suggestions sound great and I'll look into them. Great to watch you on PeerTube rather than YouTube too!
tob1as
Matthew 
@[email protected] As someone that's in the generation where we are used to the algorithmic helplessness and really expose to it, I really don't like how much tech companies encourage people to create and engage with ragebait content as well as create movies/show that felt manufactured and pandering rather than made with passion.
I hadn't 100% gotten away from it but I have majorly reduce engaging it by owning CDs and DVDs. As silly as it sound, I like to think that I'm making my own museum that's screams me
I hadn't 100% gotten away from it but I have majorly reduce engaging it by owning CDs and DVDs. As silly as it sound, I like to think that I'm making my own museum that's screams me
@vkc Since I am presently experiencing an internet outage on the home network, another benefit of having all your stuff locally self-hosted or even on physical media is rearing its head:
You do not need an internet connection to keep watching your shows, put on a movie, listen to tunes or consume literature. You can let your ISP work in peace while you keep up with your media uninterrupted.
Johannes Palola@vkc
Algorithmic helplessness sucks. 😉
It's great that you are on both Youtube and Peertube because people on YT might follow your advice and come here. Who wouldn't want to watch videos without the need of an adblocker?
Algorithmic helplessness sucks. 😉
It's great that you are on both Youtube and Peertube because people on YT might follow your advice and come here. Who wouldn't want to watch videos without the need of an adblocker?
Morél
Tisha Tiger / NeligerThanks for posting on Peer Tube, by the way :)
Thomas MidenaThis is so good. Time to take back control and all that.
Sylvhem@vkc Thanks a lot for this video. As a library worker, it always warms my heart to see somebody defends physical medias.
Hippo 🍉@Sylvhem @vkc I would be totally on physical media (CDs, DVDs) too but unfortunately have had bad luck with a DVD drive that lasts more than a few plays (that's available in India) 🙁
My family still has full collections, including homemade DVDs with backups of photos and my childhood code and everything
@Sylvhem @vkc I do have this funny separation in my head between music that I've heard played off cassette tapes and those that I've heard streaming. There are songs I grew up hearing my parents play on the cassette player, but it usually doesn't occur to me to play those streaming (or even download them to play). And I think it might be vice versa if I had to choose what cassette to play, but I don't know, maybe I'd just be excited to play my newly discovered songs in the older medium!
@vkc seeing this video spurred me to finally take out the old mini-desktop that had been lying around and get #YunoHost + #Jellyfin running on it!
I came and watched the video right after
Jellyfin is so cool, with all the automatic metadata-fetching (of the movies, not of us humans 😎) and series sorting and stuff. I would say it's as good as or even *better* than Netflix! I'm out now and didn't get to making my new server outside-accessible but there's fun times waiting for when I get back 😁
@vkc oh yeah there is one issue which is transcoding takes a lot of resources and ends up being very laggy. I suppose I should convert my videos to a format that'll work well without requiring transcoding. Never expected to have to wait for buffering when my videos are streaming from the local network!
My hack for now is to copy the streaming URL and open it with something like #mpv which *does* support all formats rather than trying to play it in the browser
Blort™ 🐀Ⓥ🥋☣️I love the *idea* of #Jellyfin, and the movement to own your media rather than stream it.
It always seems to fall down in one area though. That area is automatic adding of new, relevant and legal content. Hopefully someone will prove me wrong.
You don't need to agree with me about paying for content legally. If you *do* though, it's really difficult to have new stuff you're likely to enjoy show up automatically in your media library.
I wish there was some way to have suggestions just pop up with a trailer, and if I clicked a button it would buy them, DRM-free and add them permanently, automatically to my library.
Maybe an add-on to do this could support #Jellyfin with commissions from purchases? (No #Amazon, please)
Right now everyone just seems to #torrent.
ForestAlgorithmic helplessness sucks 😔
Thanks to humans on the Threadiverse for spreading this video, and thanks to you for linking to that Smart TV YT video, cause it's horrifying how much worse they're tracking us than I thought they did.
I'm excited to start putting my Jellyfin to work, and I hope to move away from YT music step by step (I've already had History turned off for a year or two now anyway).
My family sails the high seas for a lot of stuff, so getting us to move towards home hosted media shouldn't be too hard 🤔
Well said