A lot of movies can be picked up pretty cheaply second hand. In some cases with people looking to unload massive collections all at once.

Ripping them is something you only really need to figure out once, and apps like handbrake make it pretty simple.

I don’t think someone needs to replicate something like the catalog of Netflix, they would just need the movies they actually want to watch, or ones they want to watch more than once or twice.

Another things I often think about is the future. Some of these streaming services have already pulled episodes of shows because of some content that got people upset, which can really hurt the continuity of the show. Plus, as contracts expire and change, the movies/shows may no longer be streamed or the services could shut down. I don’t know about you, but when I’m old I still want a way to watch my favorite movies. The way things are going it’s hard to know if that will be an option unless taking matters into your own hands.

For someone who only watches a couple movies per month, it would be cheaper/easier to do digital rentals from Apple or whomever, for $4/movie. Those selections are usually a lot better than the streaming selections. It’s only when you start taking about watching multiple movies per week, or getting into TV shows, that streaming services, or investing your own time and money into a self-hosted option, make sense.