Raspberry Pi Home Server for Video Streaming & Game Playing

This guide will walk you through the process of setting up a home server on your Raspberry Pi (RPI) to stream video and play games over your local network.

Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Setting Up the Raspberry Pi
3. Installing Video Streaming Software
   • 1. Plex Media Server
   • 2. Jellyfin
4. Setting Up Game Streaming
   • 1. Steam Link
   • 2. Moonlight (NVIDIA GameStream)
5. Accessing Your Server
6. Optional: Remote Access Setup
7. Useful Tips
8. Troubleshooting

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Prerequisites

Hardware Requirements

• Raspberry Pi 4 or 3 (4 GB RAM or more recommended)
• MicroSD card (16 GB minimum, 32 GB+ recommended)
• Power supply for Raspberry Pi
• Ethernet cable (optional but recommended for better streaming)
• External storage (USB drive or NAS) for storing videos and games

Software Requirements

• Raspbian OS (preferably Raspberry Pi OS Lite for a headless setup)
• Access to a PC/Mac for initial setup

Network Requirements

• A stable WiFi or Ethernet connection
• Local network access (port forwarding for remote access)

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Setting Up the Raspberry Pi

1. Install Raspberry Pi OS
   Download Raspberry Pi OS from here and flash it to your MicroSD card using Raspberry Pi Imager.

2. Enable SSH for headless setup
   After flashing, create an empty file named ssh (without extension) in the /boot directory of the SD card. This will enable SSH on first boot.

3. Boot the Pi
   Insert the SD card into your Pi, power it on, and connect via SSH using its local IP:

   ssh pi@<YOUR_RPI_IP>

   Update & Upgrade Run the following commands to update the system:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Installing Video Streaming Software

1. Plex Media Server Install Plex Add the Plex repo and install Plex Media Server:

curl https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-keys/PlexSign.key | sudo apt-key add -
echo deb https://downloads.plex.tv/repo/deb public main | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/plexmediaserver.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install plexmediaserver -y

Enable and Start Plex

sudo systemctl enable plexmediaserver
sudo systemctl start plexmediaserver

Access Plex Open your web browser and navigate to http://<YOUR_RPI_IP>:32400/web to set up your media server.

2. Jellyfin Install Jellyfin Run the following commands to install Jellyfin:

sudo apt install apt-transport-https
wget -O - https://repo.jellyfin.org/debian/jellyfin_team.gpg.key | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb [arch=$( dpkg --print-architecture )] https://repo.jellyfin.org/debian buster main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/jellyfin.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install jellyfin -y

Enable and Start Jellyfin

sudo systemctl enable jellyfin
sudo systemctl start jellyfin

Access Jellyfin Open your web browser and navigate to http://<YOUR_RPI_IP>:8096 to set up Jellyfin.

Setting Up Game Streaming

1. Steam Link Install Steam Link Install Steam Link from the Raspbian package repository:

sudo apt install steamlink

Launch Steam Link Run:

steamlink

This will open the Steam Link interface, where you can pair with your Steam account and begin game streaming.

2. Moonlight (NVIDIA GameStream)

Install Moonlight Add Moonlight repo and install:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:moonlight-stream/moonlight
sudo apt update
sudo apt install moonlight -y

Pair with GameStream Use the following command to pair with your gaming PC (make sure you have an NVIDIA GPU):

moonlight pair <Your PC IP>

Start Streaming Once paired, stream your games with:

moonlight stream <Your PC IP>

Accessing Your Server

Once your server is up and running:

• Plex Media Server: http://<YOUR_RPI_IP>:32400/web
• Jellyfin: http://<YOUR_RPI_IP>:8096
• Steam Link: Can be accessed via the Pi’s desktop or directly from a TV/monitor connected to the Pi.
• Moonlight: Use Moonlight’s commands to stream from a client device.

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Optional: Remote Access Setup

To access your media server from outside your home:

1. Set up port forwarding on your router for:

   • Plex: Port 32400
   • Jellyfin: Port 8096

2. Use a dynamic DNS service like No-IP to assign a hostname to your public IP.

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Useful Tips

• For better performance, always use Ethernet over WiFi, especially for game streaming.
• External storage is highly recommended for storing large video libraries.
• Keep your Raspberry Pi updated:

  sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

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Troubleshooting

• Video lag on Plex/Jellyfin: Ensure you're using a fast connection and try transcoding the video to a lower resolution for smoother playback.
• Steam Link connection issues: Make sure both the Pi and your PC are on the same network and firewall rules allow traffic.
• Moonlight not pairing: Verify that NVIDIA GameStream is enabled on your PC.

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With this setup, you'll have a fully functional home server for both media and game streaming on your Raspberry Pi!