1) Find one on eBay and try to keep an unsupported system limping along.
2) Finally put in the time to set up something under my control.
Several things have been bugging me:
* The complexity & expense - but mostly complexity - of streaming video in 2026.
* The looming worry that one random whim from Google could wipe out my most valuable data (the photos & videos of my kids growing up).
* The overall awfulness of the Google Home app & the unreliability of Google Home devices, like speakers.
* The amount of personal & family data I implicitly share with Google by just living our regular, daily lives.
Someone, somewhere has built exactly the sort of setup I want, and there's a good chance they're on HN. There're probably several "unknown unknowns" that I'm blind to, so I'd appreciate any tips from HN users with homelabs (is that even the right term these days?).
Design goals:
1. A shared, collective archive of family photos taken on Androids & iPhones, stored privately, with some backup system.
2. A streaming server that can host the couple of shows my wife & I care about, plus shows we've selected for our kids. Our TV and laptops should be able to stream from the server.
3. Speakers placed in various rooms in the house (we have ~8 of them now) that are wirelessly controllable. When they happen to work, our Google Home speakers have been awesome with kids and with hosting.
4. Everything must be usable by non-tech friends & family. They're used to shared Google Photos albums, the Google TV interface, playing music in various rooms in the house via Apple Music / Spotify -> Google Home speakers.
5. Stretch: I'd love to be able to host small / simple / fun services from my house. Just toys that today I'd stick on Netcup or Hetzner.
6. Stretch: I'd love to be able to locally host models and even do light training. Maybe a framework desktop in a closet?
I'm researching options now but I'd love guidance from humans who have already taken this journey. I'm moderately comfortable with linux (Fedora is my daily driver) and I have a 1 GB symmetrical fiber connection. Thanks!
