A self-hosted media center built for people who own their files and don't want a subscription, an account, or a corporation between them and their library.
Strøm Cinema is a minimal media server and TV client. Run the server on your Windows PC, install the APK on your Android TV, and stream anything in your local video library — no cloud, no accounts, no monthly fee.
Open the app, enter your server IP, and you're in. No sign-up, no login, no email verification — ever.
Your files stay on your machine. Nothing is uploaded, indexed by a third party, or phoned home.
MKV, MP4, AVI, MOV, WebM — if it's a video file, it plays. No transcoding, no format restrictions.
Direct file streaming via mpv on Windows and ExoPlayer on Android TV. Zero buffering overhead on a local network.
A single Node.js server file and a web frontend. No Docker, no database, no background agents eating RAM.
D-pad navigation, focus-ring UI, and a 10-foot interface designed from the ground up for Android TV remotes.
| Feature | Strøm | Plex | Jellyfin | Emby |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No account needed | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| No subscription | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| No transcoding delay | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| No background agents | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Native Android TV player | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Setup in under 5 minutes | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Plays all file formats | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free & open to share | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
Strøm Cinema running on Windows browser and Android TV — real library, real files.
Everything runs on your local network. No ports to forward, no cloud setup, no DNS tricks.
First public release — this is a personal project shared as-is. Expect updates and improvements over time.
TrackerFlix integration is still in development and will be released when it's ready and meets the quality bar. No ETA — it'll ship when it's done.
Nothing to install manually — the release zip is fully self-contained. Download it and extract it anywhere on your PC (e.g. C:\StromCinema\).
The bundle includes everything the server needs to run:
Start Strøm.bat · node.exe · mpv.exe · node_modules · plexus-server.cjs
No Node.js install, no mpv download, no npm install — everything runs portably straight from the folder you extract it to.
Double-click Start Strøm.bat in the extracted folder. A terminal window opens and shows your local IP address and a confirmation that the server is running on port 5000.
node.exe. Check Private networks and click Allow access — this is required for your TV or other devices on your network to reach the server.If the server crashes, the window stays open and shows an error message rather than disappearing.
Open a browser on the PC and navigate to the setup page:
http://localhost:5000/setup
Fill in your TMDB API key (free at themoviedb.org) and your library paths — the folders on the PC where your video files live, e.g. D:\Movies.
Save. This writes plexus-config.json and the server picks it up immediately — no restart needed.
When Start Strøm.bat runs it prints your local IP directly in the terminal — no need to run ipconfig yourself. It'll look like:
192.168.x.xxx:5000
Keep this visible — you'll type it into the app on the next step.
Install the APK on your Android TV and launch Strøm Cinema. At the connection gate, enter the address shown in the server window:
192.168.x.xxx:5000
Tick Remember host connection so the app auto-connects on next launch. Hit Connect Server — you should reach the main library view within a few seconds.
If it fails: check the PC firewall allows inbound traffic on port 5000, and confirm both devices are on the same network.