I don't disagree in premise, but you're vastly overestimating the average person's computer knowledge (which is annoyingly easy to do).
Even figuring out where Plex wants the video files to be is going to be a lot for some people, much less figuring out how to get the torrent files into that location. That's assuming they've already figured out how to get the drives in, plug it in correctly, partition the system, figure out what software they need, and installed it.
The non-IT people I've talked IT with would struggle with that. E.g. a common misconception is that Explorer is the only way to see or interact with files. They're going to be confused as soon as they have to use something other than Explorer. I don't even know if NFS would help, or if it would be more confusing that a file exists both "in Explorer" and "in the browser".
I think that's why Popcorn Time drew so much heat. It was easy enough that your grandma could use it, which was a problem for IP owners. Usenet doesn't form an existential threat, and the users are motivated enough to find other ways if they need. My grandma is sure as hell not going to be setting up a Plex server running rtorrent with auto-downloaders and auto-sorters to make sure that she gets the latest episodes of her soaps.
Even figuring out where Plex wants the video files to be is going to be a lot for some people, much less figuring out how to get the torrent files into that location. That's assuming they've already figured out how to get the drives in, plug it in correctly, partition the system, figure out what software they need, and installed it.
The non-IT people I've talked IT with would struggle with that. E.g. a common misconception is that Explorer is the only way to see or interact with files. They're going to be confused as soon as they have to use something other than Explorer. I don't even know if NFS would help, or if it would be more confusing that a file exists both "in Explorer" and "in the browser".
I think that's why Popcorn Time drew so much heat. It was easy enough that your grandma could use it, which was a problem for IP owners. Usenet doesn't form an existential threat, and the users are motivated enough to find other ways if they need. My grandma is sure as hell not going to be setting up a Plex server running rtorrent with auto-downloaders and auto-sorters to make sure that she gets the latest episodes of her soaps.