Entertainment
Build a legal offline library of music, films, series, books, audiobooks and learning for every person in the household, store it safely on hard drives with the 3-2-1 backup rule, and play it on low-power devices within the solar budget. Add screen-free games, instruments and routines that keep children and adults well in a long blackout.
Why it matters
In a total, long-term blackout there is no streaming, internet or broadcast TV, and streaming app downloads stop working once they cannot check in online. Morale, routine and play matter for coping: CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics both link routine and play to lower stress in children. A well-planned library and a cupboard of games turn long evenings into family time instead of strain on the battery or on nerves.
Plan the offline library (Plan)
- List what each person needs, by age entertainment-1
- Choose what goes in each content category entertainment-2
- Estimate the storage you need entertainment-3
Acquire content legally (Plan)
- Understand why streaming downloads will not last a blackout entertainment-4
- Buy DRM-free downloads wherever they are offered entertainment-5
- Collect public-domain and openly licensed content entertainment-6
- Check the law before copying discs you own entertainment-7
Design storage and backups (Design)
- Choose formats that will still play in 20 years entertainment-8
- Choose between hard drives and SSDs entertainment-9
- Apply the 3-2-1 backup rule entertainment-10
- Store drives in stable, dry, cool conditions entertainment-11
- Set up a low-power home media server (optional) entertainment-12
- Organise and catalogue the library entertainment-13
Low-power playback and the energy budget (Install)
- Measure the watts of every entertainment device entertainment-14
- Choose the lowest-power device for each job entertainment-15
- Fit entertainment into the daily solar budget entertainment-16
- Set a charging schedule for portable devices entertainment-17
- Build a local Wi-Fi network without internet entertainment-18
Screen-free entertainment and protection (Install)
- Stock screen-free entertainment entertainment-19
- Make play and routine part of wellbeing entertainment-20
- Protect equipment from surges, damp and loss entertainment-21
Routines, age limits and maintenance (Run)
- Set up age-appropriate access offline entertainment-22
- Run family movie nights and content rotation entertainment-23
- Share with neighbours legally entertainment-24
- Check, refresh and update the library entertainment-25