Support

Home Stream plays your own library from a server in your own house. Here is how to get it going, and how to reach a person.

Getting started

You need a server first

The apps are the windows; the server is the library. It runs on a Raspberry Pi, a spare Mac, or any machine that stays on, and it reads the folders of films, television and music you already have. Setting one up is on the front page.

Finding it from the app

Open the app on the same network and your server should be listed by name — it announces itself, so there is usually no address to type. If it is not listed, choose Enter address and type the one the server shows. iOS asks permission to look at the local network the first time; without that permission nothing can be found.

Signing in

Sign in with Apple on the iPhone or iPad. On the Apple TV you can do the same, or enter the code it shows into Settings on a phone that is already signed in — pairing is there because typing an Apple ID with a remote is miserable.

Everyone in the house gets their own account, so watch history and favourites stay separate, and what you start in one room you can finish in another.

Common questions

A film will not play

The app says so on the item rather than failing at the tap. Most often the file is in a format the device cannot decode; the server records why, and the menu on the item explains it.

Something resumes in the wrong place

Positions are kept per person, on the server. If a television is signed in as somebody else, it keeps its own idea of where a film got to — check the account on the Apple TV's account screen.

Turning trailers off

Trailers that are links play in YouTube's player. They can be turned off for the whole household on the server, and per person in settings.

Deleting your account

Settings on iPhone and iPad, or the account screen on Apple TV, has Delete Account. It erases your playlists, favourites, watch history and watch list from your household's server. The library itself is not touched — it belongs to the household rather than to your account.

Privacy

Nothing is collected: there is no Home Stream service to collect it with. The details are on the privacy page.