Apple movies/TV/music storage.

[iwtfamtyp]

I've been having some very strange storage issues with my iPads. I've spent thousands of dollars for Apple media, some (not all YET) of my favorite movies, TV series, music etc.. Everything will be fine but then I get a msg re: out of storage when I haven't installed anything. I'm also not synching it all between devices so that wouldn't cause storage usage to increase. A couple weeks ago on one device it said my Apple TV space went from 145gb to 190gb. The storage used by device for the same media varies, sometimes also, which is strange. I have multiple Apple devices. Glancing into my home office closet I can see at least 9 boxes from where I sit. It's not very convenient that Apple OS plus the mysterious "System Data" takes up 17gb to 20gb, but oh well. I'm a bit concerned because as I said, I've spent quite a bit of money on Apple products/media but if I can't watch vids/listen to music and if the media storage continues to grow (as picture usage has, example, old iPhone, no SIM anymore, has pics from 10 years ago at 250k. New iPad, they're 2.5>3.5mb for the SAME picture and I haven't edited the pictures, which does cause for some reason, usage to grow) I'm going to have to find another solution and I won't be buying anymore of my favorite shows from Apple. Does anyone know of a reputable storage device I can use that doesn't require external network bandwidth so I can access my media while at home from different devices? I have older 64gb phones I use when I'm out doing yardwork or other stuff that may result in possible damage to the phone in my pocket so I don't want to use my newest phone. I can't have all of my purchases on every device, actually I don't have even one device with enough storage to hold everything. If I could just put it all on one storage unit and access via bluetooth/local WiFi it would be great. I do NOT want to have to install extra programs. I was a UNIX/LIINUX engineer for quite a while, and the ability to access external storage shouldn't require extra spyware installed. Also the reason I don't want to rely on 3rd party programs/external network bandwidth is there have been spyware programs for storage devices from certain countries where even for a thumb drive you must install extra software and it runs in the background continuously, monitoring pretty much everything on the phone. It's nobody's business but me what I own/watch/listen to, or more importantly what my bank/credit acct info is. Also the reason I don't want to depend on iCloud/external network is because for some reason my area, a LARGE urban area, has begun having frequent power/internet/phone access issues. I'd like to not have to depend on anything external since we apparently don't have reliable network/power/phone infrastructure anymore. I bought a device called a personal icloud, something like that, but when I use it, network monitoring showed data being sent externally to the vendor site. I've posted this question on other forums and of course have been trolled. "That's just how it is, deal with it." "You just install stuff on different devices and make a list of what's where". "Why are you not using DVDs?" etc... At any rate, thanks in advance.

 

[twerppoet]

Many people (not me) use Plex as a way to keep and use their own library of movies, both on their local network, and remotely (with the addition of a solution like Talescale). A Plex service can be run on Macs, Windows, or Linux. That's about all I know, as neither my collection or my watching habits need this kind of solution. I'm not sure how well that integrates with Apple purchased movies.

The MacGeekGab podcast often talks about their Plex and Talescale setups.

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