Caveman

Jellyfin is not there yet but it definitely can be. It can be done pretty easily without any centralised server.

1. Sending people magic links to their accounts on their phones that auto log them into Jellyfin.
2. Make IP dictionary to have people type “cat mug door end” which pings the server with a login from an IP.
3. Show QR code.
4. Scan with an authorised app which pings the server to authorise the device on behalf of the user.

It’s passwordless 4 word input + phone scan that can be optimised for TV pretty heavily since you only need make something 10^12 unique to account for all IPv4.

It will take around 15-30 hours to code though for a person familiar with Jellyfin on android TV and server.

I haven’t tried Plex but Jellyfin is super easy. Type in IP, username and password and you’re done. Only need to setup port forwarding on the router to make it work.

Doing it now with a not so mini second hand pc

Nextcloud is a really good all-in-one solution for self hosting data

Buying a used desktop is very nice for these things. You can set up a steam gaming thing.

Maybe be more specific?

For traveling I would suggest a laptop to behave as a server but the IP address changes a lot when traveling.

I’d personally opt for something hosted at home if possible like Nextcloud and Jellyfin with static IP and port forwarding to access on the go.

Tbh though, if you just want storage on the go buying a portable 1-4TB drive that connects via USB-C is enough.

I started using docker myself for stuff at home and I really liked it. You can create a setup that’s easy to reproduce or just download.

Easy to manage via docker CLI, one liner to run on startup unless stopped, tons of stuff made for docker becomes available. For non docker things you can always login to the container.

Tasks such as running, updating, stopping, listing active servers, finding out what ports are being used and automation are all easy imo.

You probably have something else you use for some/all of these tasks but docker makes all this available to non-sysadmin people and even has GUI for people who like clicking their mouse.

I think next time you find something that provides a docker compose file you should try it. :)