I currently have less than 800GB across 2 clouds and my laptop. I'm hitting my storage limit on Google and looking for a safe, local option. After losing everything on an old laptop that crashed, I started doing cloud storage, which is now becoming expensive.
My current laptop is an old HP and I have yet to decide between a new Windows laptop or a Chromebook. I have a Plex library I would like to expand, even bought an external DVD reader to start the library. I don't necessarily need NAS. Plugging something into the TV or my laptop would be fine when I want to watch something on Plex (which isn't very often). The same goes for when I need to do a regular backup of files. I would prefer to buy something once instead of paying a monthly subscription and to not add another constant draw on our power supply.
Most of the storage is for movies/shows, photos, and PDF scans of documents from when I went paperless. I would like to add music to this once I figure out a few things.
What type/size/brand of local storage would you recommend for my situation?