## Core Features

- **Media Playback:** Support on-demand playback for media files in various formats.
  - **Caching & Performance:**
    - Use cached segments for seamless seeking and fast resume.
    - If another user starts playback with the same parameters, reuse existing cached data to minimize transcoding and bandwidth usage.
- **CDN Capabilities and P2P Federation**
  - **Lightweight CDN Node:**  
    - Each CDN node runs as a standalone executable binary that can be easily deployed by both technical and non-technical users.  
    - Minimal configuration required:
      - **Data Directory:** Defines where cached media files are stored.  
      - **Optional Name:** Human-readable CDN identifier (used for UI labeling and dynamic DNS registration).  
      - **Mode:** Can operate as a **shared CDN** (available to multiple users) or a **local-only CDN**.  

  - **Secure Connectivity:**  
    - Each CDN connects to the **main metadata server** using a **pre-shared key** for authentication and trust establishment.  
    - This ensures only authorized CDNs can register and exchange data with the main network.  

  - **Dynamic Registration & Discovery:**  
    - Upon startup, the CDN connects to the **main metadata server** and automatically registers itself.  
    - The main server assigns a **dynamic DNS name** to each CDN for seamless connectivity.  
    - CDNs periodically update their metadata to report available content, storage capacity, and health status.  

  - **Content Awareness & Distribution:**  
    - The main server maintains a global index of all available CDNs and the content cached on each.  
    - Users can choose which CDN should serve their content in the client UI.  
    - If a requested content is missing from the selected CDN, users have two options:
      1. **Request content replication:** Copy or prefetch the content from another CDN or the main server.  
      2. **Stream fallback:** Stream the content directly from the main server or the nearest available CDN.  

  - **Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Sharing:**  
    - CDNs and the main server interconnect via **P2P protocols** to simplify file transfer and reduce reliance on centralized infrastructure.  
    - This enables faster, bandwidth-efficient distribution of popular content between geographically distributed CDNs.  

  - **Federation & Collaboration:**  
    - Multiple CDNs can share content and metadata within a trusted federation network.  
    - The system can automatically balance or replicate popular content across CDNs to optimize bandwidth usage and ensure availability.  

  - **Future Idea – Predictive Caching:**  
    - CDNs may automatically pre-cache upcoming content based on user activity patterns.  
      - If a user watches the first movie in a series, the CDN pre-fetches sequels (e.g., parts 2, 3, etc.).  
      - If a user starts a new TV show, the CDN preloads subsequent episodes or seasons.  
    - This predictive caching minimizes latency and improves the user experience by ensuring likely-next content is available instantly.  

- **Metadata Management:**
  - Automatically identify and fetch metadata from databases like IMDb, TVDB, etc.
  - Allow users to edit and correct metadata manually.
- **Transcoding Options:**
  - Pre-encode media into multiple formats for reduced compute load (at the expense of storage).
  - Or use dynamic, on-the-fly transcoding for flexibility and storage efficiency.
- **Clients**
  - Web Client
  - Native Clients: Desktop (Windows, Linux, MacOS), Mobile (Android, iOS), TV (Android TV, Apple TV, WebOS, Roku, Someone could create one for Xbox)
  - Multiuser Support in clients: You are able to login with multiple users and change between them.
- **Offline Access:**
  - Clients can batch-download content for offline playback.
- **Scalability:**
  - Support distributed and remote ffmpeg-based transcoding pipelines for high availability and load balancing.
- **User Management:**
  - Authentication, profiles, access control, and session tracking.
- **Library & Personalization:**
  - Organize and manage libraries by media type (movies, shows, etc.).
  - Create and manage playlists and collections.
  - Track user history, progress, and play counts.
  - Allow users to group media into watchlists, favorites, or custom categories.
  - Provide statistics and usage insights (e.g., most watched, time spent, active users).
    - Show statics for users about themselves
  - Resume from last position across devices.

## Nice to Have / Later

- **Sync Play:** Watch movies or shows together in real time across multiple clients.
- **Integration with ARR Stack:** Compatibility with Radarr, Sonarr, Lidarr, and similar automation tools.
- **Parental controls**
- **Jellyfin-Compatible API** and **Plex-Compatible API**
- **Plugin Support:** Extend functionality with custom or third-party plugins.
- **Smart Playback Features:**
  - Intro, outro, recap skipper.
- **Recommendations:** Personalized movie and series suggestions based on user history and preferences.
- **External Sync:** Sync watch history, ratings, and metadata with services like Trakt.tv.
- **Subtitle Management:** Automatic subtitle fetching, editing, and syncing with playback. - Probably bazarr is enough for that.
- **Multi-Format Detection:** Detect multiple versions (e.g., 1080p, 4K, HDR) of the same media and show them in a unified view.
- **IPTV / Live TV:** Stream and manage live channels alongside on-demand content.

## Architecture

- **Frontend/Backend Separation:** Clearly separated user interface and backend services.
- **Microservice-Ready:** Modular, loosely coupled components that can scale independently.
- **Resiliency**: Temporary outages in one service should not disrupt the viewing experience.
- **Extensible Protocol Support:** Easily add or replace streaming and media delivery protocols.
- **Telemetry & Observability:** Built-in tracing, logging, and metrics collection.
- **Plugin System:** Enable community and custom extensions.
- **Robust API Design:** Clean, well-documented REST and gRPC interfaces for interoperability.

## Patrik's Dreams (Not Necessarily Realistic Goals)

- On-demand streaming over QUIC. *(WebRTC was suggested but may not fit our use case.)*
- **Segmented Formats:** Support CMAF alongside traditional MPEG-TS for more efficient adaptive streaming.
- **Streaming Standards:** Full compatibility with both HLS and MPEG-DASH.
- **Processing Backends:** Flexible support for ffmpeg, GStreamer, or alternative media frameworks.