In this video I walk you through an update on my self-hosting journey where I’m trying to make Plex way more kid-friendly for my son with autism. It started with a super cool idea from a comment (shoutout to naddoooi): build an RFID card reader using an ESP32 so my kid could scan a card and instantly launch the right show or movie. I flashed the ESP32, wired up the RFID module and a buzzer for feedback, and built a Home Assistant automation that turns on the TV, launches Plex on Roku, and plays the right media based on the scanned tag. But then I hit the classic “computer says no” moment—my automations wouldn’t run on my kid’s TV. After way too much troubleshooting, it turned out to be a network security setting I’d put in place that was accidentally blocking the Home Assistant traffic needed to control Plex. Once that was fixed, the hardware worked… and then I realized I was overcomplicating it. Since there’s already a tablet mounted under the TV, I pivoted to a Home Assistant dashboard with big, simple buttons. I split everything into one script per show, used input_booleans for visual feedback (color to grayscale while it runs), and built the UI with a grid card plus Custom Button Card from HACS. Cleaner for me, lower learning curve for him, and no physical cards to lose.