Everyone likes to watch movies, share images, listen music etc, actually you, me, and everyone have a wide variety of those media files in our collection in physical drive or any third party server. In this case, a physical drive may be crashed and you may lose all the valuable files or third-party cloud-based server may restrict the ultimate access or provide limited sharing options. So what’s the best solution for storing all those favorite media files but without much hassle?
Jan 9, 2018 - Make sure you get the best DLNA media server with our handy guide. Covers both free and paid home media servers for streaming media painlessly at home. Universal Media Server (Windows/Mac/Linux).
In this situation, Linux Media Server software can help you to set up a cost and resource effective media server which ultimately let you from a remote location on Smartphone or desktop. You, your friends and family, all can have the access to the media files through a secured network protocol locally or remotely. 13 Best Linux Media Server Software In this article, I will share a list of 15 Best Linux Media Server Software which is not any specific order. Remember, when you go for setting up any media server, you need to have a system running lightweight Linux ( preferable to save resources) or a cloud server and one suitable media server software that suits your requirement best. Resource Link: Here I will help you to choose the best Linux media server software or any video streaming server software by reviewing a set of various free and open source media server software.
Kodi – Home Theater Software is one of the best free and open source media server software available in the market. It offers an intuitive graphical user interface with lots of customization options. Kodi is an all in one entertainment software center which supports all the major OS including Android, Linux, Windows, iOS, and MacOS. It supports a web interface and functionality can be increased with the help of add-ons. Kodi creates a sustainable network where you can store all the media files and share or enjoy those with friends and family from a local computer or network server. How to Install Kodi on Ubuntu Linux You can easily install Kodi on Ubuntu and Ubuntu based on other by running the following command: sudo apt-get install software-properties-common sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install kodi 2. Universal Media Server Universal Media Server is a free, cross-platform, and open source media server software for Linux, Windows etc.
It focuses on system stability and a wide range of files compatibility. This home media server software comes as nice and clean web interface and easy subtitle integration. Universal Media Server 3. Plex – Media Server Plex is a secure and powerful media server software for Linux, Windows, MacOS, and many other OSes. This home media server software comes with lots of amazing features which is very easy to install at users end.
Plex – Linux Media Server. Plex supports almost all the major file format and offers an easy to use interface.
All the access to the accounts is encrypted and let you have full freedom of what to share and watch. It also supports cloud sync and gives offline access to the media files. 4. MythTV MythTV is a free and open source media server software for all the major OS including Linux, Windows, and MacOS. It has a built-in UPnP support for sharing multimedia content.
Best Free Media Server For Mac Windows 10
Subsonic – Personal Media Streamer Subsonic is a solid, feature-rich, and secure home media server for Linux, Windows, MacOS etc. It supports all the major file formats and offers a collection of 25 supported apps that help to stream music and movies into various type of mobile devices. It’s highly configurable and supports secure SSL connections.
Subsonic – Personal Media Streamer 6. Serviio Serviio is java based free and cross-platform DLNA media server for Linux, Mac, and Windows.
Like any other Linux media server reviewed here, it also streams various media files and supports both local and online content. Serviio – Home media server 7.
Madsonic – Music Streamer Madsonic is a well known, secure, and open source media server software for Linux, Windows, and other Unix based system. This media server software is developed by using Java. It offers Madsonic API for the developer to make own add-ons and scripts. Madsonic is a basically a music streaming software with some unique features like jukebox functionality, Chromecast support etc.
Madsonic – Music Streamer 8. Emby – Open Media Solution If you are searching for a powerful, cross-platform and simple to use media server software then Emby can be the best choice. You can run this neat and clean media server software on a machine running Linux, MacOS, Windows etc.
It offers web client for browser-based access on various mobile devices or simply use emby TV app. Emby – Open Media Solution Once you get settled installing emby media server software, it will be very easy to manage personal videos, music, images etc via an easy to use and intuitive graphical user interface.
It also syncs media files on mobile and cloud sources seamlessly. Gerbera – UPnP Media Server Gerbera is a unique Linux media server software that comes with a set of tools and features, allowing you to customize and set up the home media server as like as you just need. It let you get metadata from various file formats and allow you playback media through UPnP. There are lots of plugins and scripts available which let you flexible transcoding of various media formats. Gerbera – UPnP Media Server How to Install Gerbera – UPnP Media Server in Ubuntu sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stephenczetty/gerbera sudo apt update sudo apt install gerbera 10. Tvmobili – Smart TV Media Server Tvmobili is a cross-platform and lightweight media server software for Linux, Windows and Mac OS.
This software also runs on low-end devices and demand very fewer resources. Embedded and ARM devices are also well supported. It offers easy server configuration and supports full 1080p high definition. Tvmobili – Smart TV Media Server 11.
OpenELEC – Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center Unlike any other Linux media server, OpenELEC is a lightweight and secure Linux OS which let you set up a high performed and configurable Linux UPnP server using Kodi. It’s a basically a foundation hub on top of that you can run Kodi media server software.
OpenELEC – Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center OpenELEC is an all in one solution for managing and browsing media files including movies, music, audiobooks, TV shows etc. Moreover, you can also record your favorite TV series for watching afterward. The overall performance and functionality can be increased with the help of Add-ons. OpenFlixr – Media Server OpenFlixr is an energy efficient, secure and automated home media server software.
It takes help of other media server software to get its full capability. Like, it uses plex for managing music, movies, images etc. It provides a browser-based reader for comics and ebooks using Ubooquity.
OpenFlixr – Linux Media Server. OSMC – Open Source Media Center OSMC is free, open source and featured rich media management and streaming server software for Linux.
It’s based on Kodi and supports all sort of media files. It’s easy to setup and provides a nice looking GUI with a variety of sharing protocols.
OSMC – Open Source Media Center #Honorable Mentions 1. Obmin – HTTP File Server for GNU/Linux One of my Google+ friend has requested to check Obmin as media server software. I have a look and found that this piece of HTTP file server software is under heavy development and doesn’t offer many features right this moment.
But it has a possibility to become a good choice for file sharing and media server in near future. Obmin – HTTP File Server for GNU/Linux Obmin is easy to install and multiplatform HTTP transfer protocol available everywhere in Linux, OSX, Windows, Android, iOS so. Moreover, it supports various like Gnome, Mate, KDE, LXDE, XFCE, Unity, and much more. Final Thought At last, it’s an obvious question that what’s the best Linux Media Server Software?
Choosing best Linux media server software is like what tools and features you are searching for. The answer to this query heavily depends on few things like the types of device you want to use, types of user you are (newbie or admin), types of file format you want to run (video or audio or both), easy web interface, transcoding, metadata scraping, media recording facility etc. All those matters will help you to set and get best Linux media server software. If you are a newbie then I recommend you use Plex and Kodi if you are an admin which provides lots of tools and features for a home media server. Moreover, OpenFLIXR is worth trying. Besides of Plex, Kodi or OpenFLIXR, all other media streaming server software are also worth trying so that you understand which one is best and fulfill the demand. Did you like this list of Linux media server software?
Did l miss any other best media server software in this list? Let me know in the comment section. Share it with your friends and family on social media. Thanks for the time you spent here.
The benefit of using a media center software is that you will get an appliance look and feel that is user-friendly. This top 10 list will simplify your task by highlighting the most popular HTPC software. Kodi (was XBMC) Media Center I’ve tested all available media center front-ends and I think Kodi (was XBMC) is clearly the best, but it is not the easiest to set up to make it user-friendly. Kodi was originally designed as a media center interface for the Xbox game console. It is a powerful entertainment center for Windows, Linux, Android and Mac OS X that is capable of playing most available media file types.
The user interface looks elegant even without any customization. However, you can customize the interface with skins that you can download online. There are several add-ons available, which allow you to truly customize your media experience. To get started, read. Plex Plex Media Server is a back-end application for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X-based computers that is great for streaming media files across your home network. In addition to its own front-end software, Plex Media Player, the back-end server application is compatible with many other front-ends like Kodi.
There are also mobile front-end apps available. Plex’s strengths are in finding all your movie and music metadata without any problem. Plex Media Server has the ability to transcode your TV recordings, depending on your device and network. This way, TV shows will play smoothly on your mobile phone or your iPad over a wireless network. Another great feature of the Plex is that you can continue the video file from where you left off on any device. For example, you can start watching a TV program with your HTPC in the living room and then continue watching it on your iPad elsewhere. Plex has a built-in live TV and DVR server, so you can also record and watch live TV with it.
Click here for a. Windows Media Center Windows Media Center is no longer included in Windows 10, so you’ll be able to use it only in Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 However, it is still great media center software for beginners (and for advanced users) who wish to, for example, get live TV working easily. Windows Media Center is one of the few media centers that will allow you to integrate a Blu-ray player into the interface.
It used to be the most mainstream media center thanks to Microsoft’s advertisement and bundling efforts. There is nothing too technical about Windows Media Center and it plays most media formats out there. Windows Media Center has been a favorite choice especially for those who enjoy watching and recording live TV. Since releasing Windows 10, Microsoft has left WMC to fade away, so many people need to transition to new media center software. Emby Emby is another great alternative to centrally manage all your media files and then watch them using the front-end application. Emby organizes your media files so that it never takes more than a few clicks to find the latest movie or TV show.
In addition, you can set up customized views of your library for each member of your family with the ability to pause and resume from different devices. Emby has a built-in live TV server, so you can also record and watch live TV with it.
Emby also has an add-on for Kodi that brings you a super easy way to view your content. NextPVR NextPVR is probably the best alternative to Windows Media Center to watch and record live TV. It is easy to set up and supports advanced features like recording series. You can use NextPVR as a front-end application, but the user interface is not as stylish as WMC or Kodi, but it is clean and simple.
You can also use NextPVR as a back-end and integrate it with Kodi using a PVR add-on. Media Portal Another good media center with TV tuner support is Media Portal. Media Portal turns your computer into a highly advanced media center. It is an open source application like Kodi, but the key advantage of this software is that you can turn your PC into a PVR (Personal Video Recorder). JRiver Media Center JRiver Media Center is a jukebox-style media center like Windows Media Player or iTunes. However, it comes with a 10-foot interface optimized Theater View, which works perfectly with your HDTV.
The great thing about JRiver is that it supports even the most advanced codecs out of the box, and it is known to playback your music with excellent sound quality. It even comes with Netflix, Hulu and YouTube services integrated, so it is suitable for playing online video content, too. It is a perfect choice for you especially if you are an audiophile and like to play lossless formats of audio like FLAC, APE, ALAC, WM and WAV files. JRiver costs $49.98.
Steam Big Picture Valve’s Steam is the most popular game platform available. Using Steam’s Big Picture mode allows you to buy and launch PC games from your sofa. When you integrate Steam’s Big Picture mode with Kodi Media Center, you will get a powerful combination that gives you much more control over your media experience in comparison to any commercial game console. HDHomeRun DVR HDHomeRun DVR is SiliconDust company’s attempt to fill in the gap in the DIY DVR market after Microsoft decided not to include Windows Media Center into Windows 10 anymore. HDHomeRun DVR works with your front-end device and NAS server adding the ability to watch, schedule and record live TV. It is still in the development phase, and I have not evaluated it myself yet since it is not available in the country I live in. However, features like DRM (for protected cable TV shows), Live TV pause, Kodi and Plex integrations will certainly make this DVR software popular in the future.
MythTV MythTV is the PVR of the Linux media center. You can record your shows and play them back at any time. It used to be a great alternative to TiVo. This one is for advanced users that want to set up their home theater computer to link to their television. Once linked, you will be able to record live television programs and store them on your PC. Unfortunately, MythTV development has been discontinued. Conclusion As you can see, there are several media center software available to choose from.
Which media center is the best depends eventually on your needs for the media center. Are you interested in basic DVD playback and music listening capabilities or more advanced ways to play online and high definition video content? Don’t know how to get started? My recommendation is to get started with and then set up a back-end with.