Movies and TV shows come and go on Netflix all the time, which means you may be one season away through your most loved show when it gets yanked from the service. So, what would you do? Buy all your own content and set up your own private cloud-based streaming service!
PLEX
The best service here is Plex. It’s new Plex Cloud service, now in beta, gives you a chance to use an Amazon cloud locker to store every one of your movies and shows and stream them from anyplace in the world.
Earlier, the service gave you the option of hosting the files, which meant you had to leave a computer or network drive on all the time. With Plex Cloud, all you need to do is pay for a Plex Pass (from $4.99 a month) and sign up to some Amazon storage (it’s $59.99 a year for unlimited data storage).
You have a few more options if Plex Cloud doesn’t fancy your needs. They’re not exactly like Netflix – but if you pay for storage on these services, then they’re a great alternative you could consider.
Build Your Own Netflix
Every one of these services require you having your films and shows in DRM-free video format in the first place. If you’re looking for a good converter then you can use Handbrake. It’s important to note that while a lot of people think of it as good to rip media they’ve paid for to watch the contents anyplace they like. However, we’d say you must check the national laws before going ahead with the plan. We can’t ensure any of these services will deliberately ignore to copyright-infringement material, so continue at your risk.
Back then, Plex was already a good alternative for building your very own Netflix, and Plex Cloud makes it even better. All you need to do is transfer all that you have to Amazon’s servers, and Plex pulls it down from that point.
You have to pay up for unlimited Amazon storage or settle for the 5GB you get with Prime, then get a Plex Pass or use Plex Cloud beta. You can transfer your recordings through the Amazon web interface or using the desktop apps.
Once all of that is done, you get a Plex Cloud option when you sign in, and it works in the same as way to setting up your own server. Point Plex towards the content in your Amazon locker, and it sorts out them into a library for you. You get the alternative to consequently binge watch episodes, thumbnails and metadata pulled from the internet, and an instinctive interface to monitor what you’re watching and what you haven’t yet already seen.
Google Drive
Google Drive lets you store any file you like in the cloud, including most common of all video formats, which it plays in YouTube-style windows. You get 15GB of space for free, which you can up to 1TB for $9.99 a month or 30TB for $299.99 a month.
Files can be transferred by using the web interface or the desktop clients for Mac and Windows. Apps for iOS and Android let you get at your movies and shows from anyplace, and you can sync files for offline watching on other devices.
Google Drive does not have the instinctive media center-style interface of Plex Cloud, and isn’t really built to be like Netflix. All things considered, this is Google, so the cloud storage and sorting features are all easy to use. The simplest approach to using it is just to set up folders containing movies and shows and use the Drive’s search capabilities to fetch you whatever it is that you want.
Dropbox
Dropbox isn’t set up to provide a Netflix experience the way Plex Cloud does. However, it will play your movies and media content directly from the web. You get 2GB of space for free, but if you want pump up, you may settle for $99 a year or $9.99 a month for 1TB.
Dropbox is about more than playing your media documents. It’s a good alternative if you already use it to sync files and backups. For watching content, you’ll need mobile apps for iOS and Android as well as Wi-Fi, so you can easily save movies onto the local storage for offline viewing,
It’s the least creative alternative to building your own Netflix, but it’s the most ideal way to sync up your media library across multiple devices.
