I've been a long term fan of kodi. I love the interface; how it works with not so powerful systems like RaspberryPis. However, there is just one problem which has proved too much of an issue. Our main media Tv runs a chromecast, connected to the UK via wireguard VPN (That is another blog post in itself) and an Xbox. The Xbox originated as a gift, as I would never buy one for myself.

The xbox is great for gaming and also I discovered it had kodi on it. This was great but there was one problem. Bufffering. Kodi has native support for NFS, which is frankly pants. It is a poor implementation and in all other situations, I've been able to use a native NFS mount to avoid all network issues. This frankly wasn't going to happen on the Xbox. The connection was bearable but recently the buffering became unbearable.

So, I've migrated the house over to Plex and these are my thoughts about it:

1. A plex server requires a lot of power. It is only worthwhile having whilst i'm using my desktop and working at home. This could be replaced in the future by a nuc-esq computer but I'm not sure how good the experience would be on a RaspberryPi4
2. The set-up was confusing and not the easiest. I have some configurations issues that I don't know how they were fixed :)
3. It doesn't play well with a subnet.
4. The updates are regular but not in automatic way - its download and install
5. The Plex interface is good and enables some nice features like deleting media from the xbox; playlist
6. The android apps (when registered) can stream music/tv really well. It means I can listen to podcasts in the kitchen or my monster MP3 collection with no issues. Tv can be recollected to the bedroom on a table and be at the same place
7. Multiple streaming is possible
8. It works well unattended. I'm not regularly hacking/coding/poking services to get things running
9. The xbox app works without buffering and if there is an issue, I can reduce the streaming quality interactively from the comfort of my chair with no typing required.