Silux Media vs Jellyfin
58% less data at 1080p
Jellyfin streamed about 2.5 GB per hour at 1080p in our tests; Silux Media matched it with about 1.0 GB.
Adapts mid-film
Jellyfin picks one bitrate when playback starts. Silux Media re-measures every few seconds and changes quality without stopping — ideal on mobile and satellite.
Remote access without networking skills
Jellyfin leaves port forwarding, VPNs and reverse proxies to you. Silux Media works the same way for free — or Plus (£2.99/mo) does it all for you, even behind CGNAT.
AV1 + Opus by default
Modern codecs chosen automatically per device, not configured by hand.
Optional managed cloud
Don't want a server at home? Silux Media Cloud hosts your library for you.
In fairness to Jellyfin
Jellyfin is fully open source with a big plugin ecosystem, music, books and Live TV. If you want to modify the code or need those features, Jellyfin is a great choice.
Price
Jellyfin: Free and open source (GPL). No paid tier; remote access is up to you (VPN, port forwarding or reverse proxy).
Silux Media: Free forever when self-hosted — including remote streaming and the full low-bandwidth engine. Optional Plus £2.99/mo for the whole household, Pro £4.99/mo, Cloud from £14.99/mo.
Feature by feature: Silux Media and Jellyfin
| Feature | Silux Media | Jellyfin |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted media server | Free | Free |
| Stream your own media remotely | Free | Free (you set up networking) |
| Managed remote access — no router setup | Plus £2.99/mo for the whole household | |
| Hardware transcoding | Free | Free |
| Data per hour at 1080p (same quality)Measured live — see /bandwidth | ≈ 1.0 GB | ≈ 2.5 GB |
| Built for 1–2 Mbps connections | ||
| Quality adapts every few seconds as your line changesJellyfin/Emby keep one bitrate per transcode session (measured) | ||
| Never exceeds the bandwidth you pickOthers overshot their own caps in our tests | ||
| AV1 + Opus streaming | ||
| Skip Intro and Skip Credits | Free | Plugin |
| Watch together (synced playback)Plex removed Watch Together from its new apps in 2025 | Free, every app | SyncPlay |
| Offline downloads, incl. smaller copies | Free | |
| Live TV and recording from a TV aerial tuner or your TV provider | Free | |
| DLNA server for TVs and consoles | Free | Plugin |
| PIN-protected folders, enforced by the server | Free | |
| Ads in the app | Never | Never |
| Optional fully managed cloud server | From £14.99/mo | |
| Open source |
Switching from Jellyfin
Run Silux Media alongside Jellyfin on the same machine and point it at the same media folders. Nothing is moved or rewritten.