Media server hosting
Answer
Media server hosting runs Jellyfin, Plex or Emby on rented storage so your library streams from anywhere without keeping a machine at home. Incognito VPS storage servers offer 4 to 32 TB with unmetered transfer from $16 per month; GPU plans add hardware transcoding.
| Scenario | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Direct play only | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM |
| 1–2 transcodes (CPU) | 6 vCPU, 16 GB RAM |
| 4+ transcodes | GPU plan with NVENC |
| Library | 4–32 TB |
Transcoding is the whole sizing question
If every client can direct-play your files, a media server needs almost no CPU — it is reading from disk and pushing bytes. The moment a client needs a different codec, container or bitrate, the server has to re-encode in real time, and that is expensive.
One 1080p CPU transcode wants roughly four modern cores. 4K HDR with tone mapping wants considerably more. If you have several remote viewers on varied devices, a GPU with NVENC handles a dozen simultaneous streams at a fraction of the CPU cost, which is why the FORGE plan is often cheaper in practice than a big CPU box.
Jellyfin or Plex
Jellyfin is free, open source, has no account system and phones nothing home. Plex has better client applications and smoother remote access, but requires a Plex account and routes discovery through Plex servers, which puts a third party back into a setup you built specifically to avoid third parties.
For an audience reading a page on a privacy-focused host, Jellyfin is the obvious answer. Plex is the pragmatic one if your household will not tolerate rougher edges.
Bandwidth
A 1080p stream is roughly 5 to 10 Mbps and 4K is 25 to 50. Four concurrent 4K streams can sustain 200 Mbps, and over a month that is a lot of bytes. Unmetered transfer on the storage line means none of it costs extra.
A metered plan makes this arithmetic unpleasant, which is why we put media servers on storage plans rather than on a large VPS.
Frequently asked questions
01 Jellyfin or Plex?
Jellyfin if you want no account and no third party — free, open source, phones nothing home. Plex if you want the smoothest client apps and will accept a Plex account in the loop.
02 Do I need a GPU for transcoding?
Only if clients cannot direct-play. One 1080p CPU transcode needs about four modern cores; a GPU with NVENC handles a dozen streams and often works out cheaper than the equivalent CPU box.
03 How much storage do I need?
Roughly 4 GB per 1080p film and 20 GB per 4K film. A 4 TB VAULT holds about a thousand 1080p titles; 16 TB covers a serious library.
04 Is streaming bandwidth metered?
No, unmetered on all storage plans. A 4K stream is 25–50 Mbps and several concurrent viewers add up quickly, which is exactly why media servers belong on the storage line.
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