My 10TB Media Folder 😶🌫️
Okay 10TB is definitely overkill, but but, why not!
(Managed to get a trusted refurbished Hard Drive off Carousell for less than one month of Google Photos of the same size)
📸 This post is shining a light on one of my most used self-hosted programs. Immich!
✅ Pros:
1. You own your data entirely (Not sending it off to some data farm)
2. Has all the features you need & More
3. You can upgrade as much storage as you want without subscription! (even too much like what I did loll)
❌ Cons:
1. Slightly Technical to set up (Their getting started guide is friendly though)
2. Your Data is ONLY owned by you! (You got to do the proper backups to prevent data loss!)
3. I lied, the flat fee does not include the electricity bill from running the server 24/7.
But these cons are honestly more significant when starting out a home server journey. WIth more services you set up it gets easier and the cost spreads across too! (Check out my other post on the topics!)
🤩 Features I'm Amazed by in Immich.
1. In Built Facial Recognition (All on your machine!) 😬
Easily search through your entire media history purely based on face
2. Realtime AI searching 👾
Can't believe how many time this feature came in handy. Often when sharing a story about a certain obscure events, finding a picture or video just based off description was accurate enough for me to show the content without stopping the flow of the story!
They can even tell many different animals apart, like the picture of ants that I searched for on my actual instance of Immich! (I have muliple ant pictures, don't judge haha)
3. Geolocation Mapping 📍
Allowed me to track every location that I took the picture during my trip to climb Mt Ijen! Visually see the path highlighted by pictures!
4. External Libraries 📂
While it seems boring. This feature single handedly brought me over to Immich. The abilitiy to showcase ALL old pictures and videos in this modern system (with all the fancy AI searching) just by linking an external folder with the content is so powerful.
With this, I brought in decades of family digital media that would have otherwise rotted or go missing in random hard drives. And was able to view them all in a timeline! Talk about memory lane
Setting up a personal media server with a hefty 10TB storage capacity might seem excessive to many, but for avid photographers and media hoarders, it’s a dream come true. I personally transitioned to using Immich, a remarkable open-source self-hosted media management platform, primarily because of its robust feature set and cost-efficiency. One of the biggest advantages of owning your media server is complete control over your data privacy. Unlike cloud providers who store your photos and videos on third-party servers, Immich lets you keep everything on devices you own, which is crucial for sensitive or private content. I appreciate that knowing my media won’t be scanned or used by corporations provides peace of mind. The technical setup of Immich was a learning curve at first but guided by their clear documentation, I managed to get my server up and running smoothly. For enthusiasts who enjoy DIY projects, this hands-on configuration adds a layer of satisfaction. Plus, scaling storage by adding refurbished hard drives sourced economically—like I did from Carousell—means no costly subscriptions or storage limits. Features like built-in facial recognition and real-time AI searching genuinely transform how I interact with my media collection. The ability to instantly find pictures by typing descriptive keywords or identifying faces without uploading data externally is impressive, especially considering my server runs on an older desktop CPU. It’s not just about pictures of people; Immich’s AI can distinguish animals and other objects, which has helped me find forgotten photos quickly. Geolocation mapping elevates my travel memories by plotting every photo’s location onto interactive maps. For instance, during my Mt Ijen trek, I could visually retrace my journey through the photos’ locations—this added dimension helped me relive experiences in a way that mere folders never could. A game-changer for me was the external libraries feature. Before Immich, I had decades of family photos scattered across old hard drives and devices, many at risk of being lost. Bringing them all into one accessible timeline with AI-powered search made reminiscing and sharing so much easier. Of course, owning your media server means managing backups diligently to avoid losing your precious collection. There’s also the ongoing electricity cost for running the server 24/7, which should be considered. However, as I’ve added more home services, these costs feel justified and well-spent. Overall, Immich provides a powerful, flexible, and privacy-first alternative to mainstream cloud storage, ideal for those ready to take ownership of their digital memories. If you’re considering a home media server, I’d recommend giving Immich a try—you might just fall in love with controlling your 10TB media empire as I have!
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