No server, no account

When Plex or Jellyfin is more than you need

Media servers are built to stream a library to many devices, anywhere. If what you have is a folder of videos on one computer and you want to browse it properly, that is a lot of machinery: a server to run, an account, and file names that have to follow a film database's rules. Media House takes the other road.

It reads the names you already have

Most collections are folders of names like the ones below. Media House reads them as they are, including home videos, concerts and regional films that no film database knows.

Harbor.Lights.2021.1080p.BluRay.x265.starring.Maya.Holt.and.Daniel.Reyes.mkvHarbor Lights · 2021 · actors Maya Holt and Daniel Reyes · 1080p · BluRay · x265

Paper Kingdom 1998 FRENCH 1080p BluRay.mkvThe 1990s · French

Films of Theo Marsh / Northbound 2012 720p.mp4Theo Marsh, from the folder

Northline.S01E02.Ice.Road.1080p.WEB-DL.mkvSeries Northline · season 1, episode 2 · in episode order

Lantern Street (1975) / movie.nfoStudio, country, language and cast from the NFO file Kodi, Plex or Jellyfin left behind

From that it builds a library you browse like a cinema: by actor, year and decade, language, country, studio, movie, series or clip, with category suggestions from the words that keep coming back. When it guesses wrong, one table (Review & fix) corrects it, and the correction is remembered.

How it compares

	Needs a server	Needs an account	Organises files no database knows	Watch on other screens
Media House	No	No	Yes, from file names, folders and NFO files	In the home, via a PIN-protected page in any browser
Plex	Yes (Plex Media Server)	Yes	Limited: matched against online databases	Yes, apps everywhere; remote play needs Plex Pass or the Remote Watch Pass
Jellyfin	Yes (self-hosted)	No cloud account	Limited: strict naming rules for scrapers	Yes, apps and browser
Kodi	No	No	Limited: unmatched files stay out of the library by default	On the device it runs on
Infuse	No	No	Limited: built around TMDB matches	Apple devices

Checked 28 September 2026 on each project's own pages; see the sources below. Prices and plans change, so check them before you rely on them.

What Media House is not

It is not a streaming server. It does not send your library outside your home network, and it has no Apple TV, Fire TV or Roku app: other screens in the house use the browser page. If you need your library on the road, or on many TVs with native apps, a server such as Plex or Jellyfin is the right tool.

Private by design

No account, no analytics, no uploads. Online look-ups (actor photos, film details, subtitles) happen only when you ask, and send only a name or a title. The library lives on your Mac or PC, and can be kept in a plain-text file next to your videos so it travels with the folder.

Download on theMac App Store Get it fromMicrosoft Store

Free for 15 days with every feature and no sign-up. Pricing.

Sources

Plex plans and the Remote Watch Pass: plex.tv/plans; lifetime pricing: plex.tv blog, May 2026.
Jellyfin naming and metadata: jellyfin.org documentation.
Kodi and files without an online match: LibreELEC forum.
Infuse metadata: Firecore, Metadata 101.