OwnMedia
Guides / Windows

Server on Windows

One program turns a Windows PC into the server for OwnMedia. A few minutes, once.

Before you start

  • A PC with Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) that stays on while you watch. Your movies, shows and music are on it, or on a drive connected to it.
  • Administrator rights and an internet connection: setup downloads Jellyfin, about 200 MB.
  • Jellyfin already on this PC? Fine: setup only adds OwnMedia to it. Its users and libraries stay as they are, and the folder and password steps are skipped.
Download OwnMediaSetup.exe

Version 0.3.13, 26 MB. SHA-256: bd54e4d5ef11a54a8e6793ba451914f8c728282d1a8a18dbfedd86e2522d3d50

The installer isn’t digitally signed yet, so Windows may say “Windows protected your PC”. Click More info, then Run anyway.

Step by step

  1. Run OwnMediaSetup.exe and allow it to make changes. If Windows says “Windows protected your PC”, click More info → Run anyway: the installer isn’t digitally signed yet.
  2. Your movies, shows, music and photos. Point each line to a folder. TV shows want a folder for each show. Leave a line empty to skip it. New files you put into these folders later show up by themselves. Photos backed up from your phone go into the last folder.
  3. Your name and password. You will sign in with them in the app; the password needs at least 4 characters. Keep “This computer is at home: let phones on this Wi-Fi connect to it” ticked so that phones at home find the server.
  4. Watch from anywhere. Keep “Let friends watch from anywhere” ticked if you want to watch away from home or invite friends. Setup installs Tailscale, a free service that gives the server a safe internet address without router settings.
  5. Install. Setup downloads and installs Jellyfin and sets it up; this takes a minute or two.
  6. Sign in to Tailscale (only with “watch from anywhere”). A browser window opens: sign in (the Google, Microsoft or Apple button is quickest) and press Connect. If Tailscale asks, press Enable Funnel. Then setup waits until the address works on the internet, up to 10 minutes.
  7. Finish. The page “Your server is ready” opens in the browser, with a QR code and the server’s address. It stays in the Start menu as OwnMedia – connect a phone, for the next phone.

On the phone

  1. Connect the phone to the same Wi-Fi as the PC.
  2. Get the app: point the phone’s camera at the QR code and open the link, and OwnMedia downloads. Open the file and tap Install; if the phone asks, allow installing from this source, and if Google Play Protect warns about an unknown developer, tap More details → Install anyway. Or download it on the phone from ownmedia.app/download.
  3. Open OwnMedia and tap Add your server. It finds your PC by itself. If not, type the address shown on the page, for example http://192.168.1.10:8096.
  4. Enter the name and password from step 3 and tap Connect.

Next: invite friends.

If something goes wrong

  • “Jellyfin could not be downloaded.” Check the internet connection and run setup again.
  • Opening to the internet didn’t work (nobody signed in to Tailscale in time, or Funnel wasn’t allowed). The server works at home as before. Run OwnMediaSetup again to try once more: steps that are already done are skipped.
  • “Its address is still new.” The server is on the internet, but invite links may not open for a few more minutes. Wait a little before sending them.
  • The phone doesn’t find the server. Make sure it is on the same Wi-Fi, or type the address by hand.
  • What happened during setup is written in C:\ProgramData\Homeplay\setup.log (it never contains your password). Send it to support if you’re stuck.

Updates and removal

A new version of OwnMediaSetup installs over the old one; your settings, users and libraries stay. To remove it, use Windows Settings → Apps: OwnMedia Server, and Jellyfin and Tailscale separately if you no longer need them. Your movies, music and photos are never touched.