Black Friday is a great time to score big discounts on tech, but it's also a time many go looking for deals on their favorite streaming services. Be it Netflix, Paramount+, Disney+, or any of the others, there are savings to be had.
BUT...none of them are as big a saving in the long run as taking back control of your own media. Certainly not when you stack multiple subscriptions together. I'm here to say skip the streaming deals, grab a mini PC like this KAMRUI Essenx E1 for just $149 at Amazon with a Prime membership, and build your own Netflix at home.
Why you should build a home media server with a mini PC
The short version is to take back control of your own media. We've become so reliant on the "on demand" content model that we forget that it's actually beneficial to own a copy of our favorite media.
Prices will keep going up over time, movies and shows will come and go, and it's not even unheard of for first-party content to be wiped from existence. Remember when Disney+ remade Willow, only to remove all traces of it, so nobody can watch it anymore?
The cheapest Netflix subscription in the U.S. right now is just under $96 a year, or $215 if you want no ads. This mini PC is right in the middle of that, and guess what? You don't get ads on your own media.
When you consider that Netflix is just one service among many, how much are you spending, even with Black Friday deals, on all this convenient, on-demand content, most of which you'll never watch, anyway?
Having a home media server starts to make a lot of sense.
So, how do you build a home media server from a mini PC?
This could be a lengthy guide on its own, but I'll keep it brief. You don't have to use Plex, though it is very good; there are alternatives. Jellyfin is one of the more popular ones, and it's completely free and open-source.
It's perhaps not quite as beginner-friendly as Plex, but it's incredibly powerful and customizable if you're prepared to put in a little effort.
Essentially, you run the server software on your mini PC, tell it where to find your media files, and it will then deliver your content to any other device using the relevant client apps. Both Plex and Jellyfin have apps for the most popular TV platforms, as well as mobile and game consoles.
The mini PC recommended here, despite being cheap, is perfect for the task. Because it uses an Intel chip, specifically here the N150, it has support for QuickSync, which handles hardware transcoding.
You may not need this all the time, but it's particularly important if you need to scale down content to watch on a lower-resolution display. Or if you're limited on bandwidth when watching your server's content remotely, away from your home network.
Recent Intel chips all benefit from QuickSync support. Generally, for a budget media server, you're better off with Intel. AMD systems would need to leverage the CPU for transcoding.
All you need, other than a PC and the software, is storage and a way to digitize any of your physical media. I've written a guide on how I'm digitizing Blu-ray discs with Windows 11 that you can check out if you need help.
Essentially, you want to have MakeMKV and a Blu-ray drive for your PC. Optionally, you can use Handbrake to transcode the raw Blu-ray rips into a smaller file if you're limited on storage.
Speaking of, the SSD in the KAMRUI Essenx E1 can be upgraded, adding as much as you need. But if you have an external hard drive or a NAS, those can both be used. All you need is something large enough to hold all your media files, and then you can just point the software towards it.
I have a large physical media collection already, and I'm always adding to it. Buying and selling on the used market helps keep costs firmly in check. Some days, I can buy a stack of discs for the price of a single month of my Netflix subscription.
The initial start-up costs may be more, and you have to put the time in yourself, but the end rewards are well worth it. If you have a large collection of physical or digital media already, build a server and enjoy it on any of your devices. After all, owning your content is the only way to guarantee you'll have it in the long run.
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FAQ
When is Black Friday 2025?
Black Friday landed on Friday, November 28 in 2025, though its related discounts weren't restricted to the official day itself. Black Friday as an event started earlier in the week across multiple retailers, and continues to apply across the weekend.
What day is Cyber Monday 2025?
Cyber Monday starts on Monday, December 1, 2025, but, as with Black Friday, it has already begun appearing as the theme for deals at certain retailers. While its discounts are generally restricted to the day itself, some deals may extend into Tuesday and beyond.
When does Cyber Monday start on Amazon?
Cyber Monday has already started on Amazon US, with its promotional messaging shifting away from Black Friday in the early hours of Saturday morning, on November 29, 2025, and is expected to last until the end of Monday, December 1, 2025.
More Black Friday Cyber Monday 2025 — Quick links
- All our TOP recommended deals: Just the best
- Mini PC deals: up to 47% off tiny PCs
- GPU deals: early price drops on NVIDIA RTX before they go up
- Microsoft Surface deals: save up to $500 on premium PCs
- Xbox accessories: best deals on gadgets for your Xbox Series X|S and PC
- Gaming laptop deals: the best laptops for the best price
- Xbox controllers: our top picks for best controller deals
- ANC headphones: great Black Friday deals on the best ANC headphones
Even more Black Friday deals: - Dell deals: 13 deals from Dell.com that you shouldn't miss
- Best Buy: 34 hottest discounts on laptops, monitors, gaming, and more
- Walmart: 7 top laptop deals you shouldn't miss
- Samsung monitors: the best Samsung display deals we've found
- Retro gaming: handhelds, arcade machines, old school consoles, and more
- Gamer merch: Blizzard’s Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo IV collectibles
- Game keys: 10 PC game codes are even cheaper at Loaded (formerly CDKeys)
- Accessories: Even more PC accessories starting at $17
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