Best/safest remote access

Hello! I have been toying with the idea to set up some kind of NAS to play ripped movies we own that didn’t come with a digital copy (most of our 4k discs came with a digital copy, but many blurays and dvds didn’t) As I look more into this idea, I figure why not have photo back ups/storage, music, and general file access?

We currently have Microsoft 365 Family (cloud back up) and Apple Family Music. We have Echos in pretty much every room in the house connected to Apple Music, plus handsfree access in the car via CarPlay. We have a pair of 3 TB HDDs with external drive enclosures. Our TP Link mesh network nodes lack USB, but apparently can replace/add a single compatible node with a USB port.

As I have looked here and there on this, I have concerns about hosting things with external access. It sounds like software that manages this on their end, like Plex, is way safer than trying to open up a bunch of ports. It’s also a lot easier to set up. How well does a prebuilt NAS (Synology, Ugreen, etc) handle remote access compared to buying a mini PC to set up with a DIY solution?

I understand tech enthusiasts don’t mind self-hosting when it comes to perhaps an extra couple of steps or losing a capability or two. With a wife and two younger kids, Apple Music + Echoes work fairly easily. Setting up OneDrive to auto back up photos on iPhones/iPads - even our 7 year old understands what to do. How easy are each option for non-techie people to use? What functionality do we gain/lose that we currently have?

Lastly - the videos and articles I have read are usually skipping over these details, making it too technical for my level of understanding, or coming from a biased perspective. I’m trying to figure out, in early 2026, what are feasible options? What are the pros/cons of each? I have some basic IT experience and grew up with computers, but I have never tried any of the following ideas outside of playing video from an external drive directly connected to the TV.

Just connect an external HDD to the TV and call it a day?

Connect an external HDD to a TP Link router?

Get a Raspberry Pi 5?

Get a Mini PC (like Beelink’s new 2 SATA bay)?

A prebuilt Synology/Ugreen?

I am guessing this is already in order from most basic/least feature rich to most features/least compromises.

Sorry - I know there are a lot of parts to this, some might be irrelevant as the experience is awful or if things are incompatible. Thank you for any guidance!