I'm of the opinion that the server software one uses is as important (if not more) than the actual media extender chosen. That said, I'd like to get a master list of different server software and the pros and cons of each, perhaps something we can use as a sticky.

I'd like to avoid any Apple flames; I know many people who use iTunes and love it, and just because it doesn't work for me doesn't mean that I don't think it's a legitimate choice for others; one needs to weigh the pros and cons.

I'd also like to avoid any XBMC flames; I know many people who use XBMC and love it, and just because it doesn't work for me doesn't mean that I don't think it's a legitimate choice for others; one needs to weigh the pros and cons.

I'll start out with what I've tried (disclaimer: I'm currently using Tversity). Feel free to correct me if what I've written is incorrect. I'll change/add to this list as others post.

Basic File Server
Platform: Windows; Linux; Mac
Pros: Included with Most Operating Systems; No (little) Configuration Needed
Cons: No (little) Configuration Possible; Few Media Extenders Can Use; Requires Beefy Media Extender, Such as XBMC or HTPC.

D-Link Media Server (http://www.dlink.com/products/support.asp?pid=318#applications)
Platform: Windows
Pros: Free; Easy-to-Use; UPnP
Cons: Limited Functionality; Buggy; Doesn't Run as a Service; Sorts Album Tracks Alphabetically

Firefly (http://www.fireflymediaserver.org/)
Platform: Windows; Linux; FreeBSD; AIX; Solaris
Pros: Free; Runs as a Service; Plays iTunes, Including Apple Lossless; Transcodes
Cons: Not UPnP

FUPPES (http://fuppes.ulrich-voelkel.de/faq/)
Platform: Linux; Windows; FreeBSD
Pros: Free; Transcodes
Cons: Not Fully UPnP-Compliant Yet; No Mac Support

GMediaServer (http://www.nongnu.org/gmediaserver/)
Platform: Linux; FreeBSD
Pros: Free; UPnP; Easy to use web based UI
Cons: No Windows or Mac; Larger Collections Take More Memory; Doesn't Appear to Transcode

iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/)
Platform: Windows, Mac
Pros: Free; Ubiquitous; Built-in Media Store; Easy-to-Use; Windows or Mac
Cons: Doesn't Run as a Service; Doesn't Work with UPnP Devices

Nero MediaHome (http://www.nero.com/nero7/eng/Nero_MediaHome_Features.html)
Platform: Windows
Pros: Bundled with Nero Burning Software
Cons: Not Free; Windows Only

JRiver Media Center (http://www.jrmediacenter.com/)
Platform: Windows
Pros: UPnP; Advanced Library Features; "Theater View" With HTPC; Works With iPod (and other devices); Transcodes
Cons: Not Free; Windows Only; Doesn't Run as a Service

SwissCenter (http://www.swisscenter.co.uk/)
Platform: Windows; Mac; Linux; NetBSD; NAS
Pros: Free; Integrates With MusicIP; Controls for Paging Through Large Collections; Appears to be UPnP
Cons: ???

Tversity (http://www.tversity.com)
Platform: Windows Only
Pros: Free; UPnP; Many International TV Feeds Built-In; Runs as a Service; Transcodes On-The-Fly
Cons: Crashes when a User Logs Off the Server; Still a "Work in Progress"; Menu Structure Not Customizable; Doesn't Play Protected Content; Difficult to Work With iTunes; Windows Only

Twonky (http://www.twonkyvision.de/)
Platform: Windows; Mac; Linux
Pros: Runs as a Service; UPnP; Rock Solid; Customizable Menu Structure; Windows, Mac or Linux
Cons: Not Free; Doesn't Play Protected Content; Difficult to Work With iTunes

uShare (http://ushare.geexbox.org/)
Platform: Linux; FreeBSD; FreeNAS
Pros: Free; UPnP; Easy to use web based UI; Included with FreeNAS
Cons: No Windows or Mac; Larger Collections Take More Memory; Doesn't Appear to Transcode; Doesn't Read All Tags Correctly

ViiV
???

Windows Media Connect
Platform: Windows
Pros: Free; Plays Protected WMAs
Cons: Windows XP and Vista Only; Not UPnP

Windows Media Player 11 (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/readme.aspx)
Platform: Windows XP, Vista
Pros: Free; UPnP; Plays Protected WMAs
Cons: Windows XP and Vista Only

WIZD (http://wizd.sourceforge.net/)
Platform: Windows, Linux
Pros: Free, open source, compatible with Windows OS, Linux and NAS, easy to setup, low memory usage, no restrictions on the number of drives/folders/files, no restrictions on root directories, provides capabilities like playing ISO, VOB, file deletion, customizable skins and menu, ts file play, DV avi file play, does not hang up, runs solid day in and day out, runs as a service; Windows or Linux
Cons: The GUI could be a bit better, no NFS, does not play protected content, not UPnP

I would add;

WIZD
Pros: Free, open source, compatible with Windows OS, Linux and NAS, easy to setup, low memory usage, no restrictions on the number of drives/folders/files, no restrictions on root directories, provides capabilities like playing ISO, VOB, file deletion, customizable skins and menu, ts file play, DV avi file play, does not hang up, runs solid day in and day out, runs as a service
Cons: The GUI could be a bit better, no NFS, does not play protected content

Added. Is WIZD UPnP? IIRC, I think it is, but am not sure.

Added. Is WIZD UPnP? IIRC, I think it is, but am not sure.
I am not sure, just that it is based on Syabas middle ware. A visit to their site might clear things up. http://wizd.sourceforge.net/

Also, since you added WIZD to your list I have made a few more additions to my post regarding WIZD

It's not. After looking at the Pros list, I was wondering why I didn't install it.

Tversity will only run on a Windows machine.

Twonky will run under Windows, Linux, or MAC.

I don't understand the need to run software on the backend to simply serve up media?

I had a device that used a backend software and it was just a pain to use...

XBMC... no software = goodness.

I don't understand the need to run software on the backend to simply serve up media?

I had a device that used a backend software and it was just a pain to use...

XBMC... no software = goodness.
You're still using software on the backend, even if it's just a basic file server. When you open a directory to sharing, you're enabling the file server in the operating system to serve that directory.

Not to knock an XBMC (I like them; I just don't have one), but they're closer to an HTPC than a pure media extender. And as such, can be well suited to working with a basic file server.

I don't understand the need to run software on the backend to simply serve up media?

I had a device that used a backend software and it was just a pain to use...

XBMC... no software = goodness.
More XBMC rhetoric!

More XBMC rhetoric!
Yeah, but it's sort of on-topic. Many people forget that a file server is still a server. I've added a "I'd also like to avoid any XBMC flames" caveat on my first post, and am adding File Server as a legitimate server type.

I'm just getting in to this whole realm so this thread will be interesting.

How about Freenas (www.freenas.org)? Build a pc out of old bits and serve up files.

Pros: Runs FreeBSD but even a monkey could set it up. UPNP. Gives you access to your files from anywhere on the network. Easy to use web based UI.

Cons: UPNP works but you have to manually restart the task to view new media added since the last time the task was restarted. It only takes a second but I haven't figured out a way to script it. (Im the monkey that installed it and don't know BSD enough to know if there is a way to script it). There are methods of restarting the whole box on a regular basis but that is a bit extreme to my mind.

I've also used TVersity to stream files from the FreeNAS box via a UNC path. This works well but you need to have both boxes on. Also TVersity is a little off on it's Vista support. I had to restart the service for my DSM-520 to see it.

I tentatively added it. I looked at the UPnP compatibility list and it shows "Winamp + On2Share for Winamp v0.1 Plugin." Is this the actual UPnP server and it's just running on FreeNAS? Or is the UPnP server actually embedded in the OS?

It's part of the FreeNAS OS. Just as you can run CIFS shares or SSH you also have the choice of UPNP.

And yes, it is still a work in process but it is a nice solution.

Freenas basically uses the ushare (http://ushare.geexbox.org/) UPnP server. I installed the latest version of ushare on my unRAID box and it didn't have the bug that it has in Freenas where it needs to be restarted.

FUPPES (http://fuppes.ulrich-voelkel.de/index.php) is another that seems interesting, though I haven't gotten around to trying it yet.

I changed FreeNAS to uShare and added FreeNAS to the supported platforms, with being included with FreeNAS as a Pro.
Does uShare do any transcoding? It doesn't look like it from the website.

I also alphabetized the list to be more agnostic w/re my choice of server, and added a link to the website for each server.

@GreySkies: I found a con for FreeNAS. While I do like the product the UPNP does have a downside: I doesn't show all the tags of a mp3 file when played through my dsm-520 (and I assume other clients as well)

@satgeek: ushare looks interesting. Do you know if I can use it on FreeNAS as a replacement for the UPNP service built in?

@GreySkies: I found a con for FreeNAS. While I do like the product the UPNP does have a downside: I doesn't show all the tags of a mp3 file when played through my dsm-520 (and I assume other clients as well)
Added.

I had a similar problem with my DSM-320 with all of the servers I tried until I started using MediaMonkey to edit my tags.

The UPnP service thats included with FreeNAS IS uShare.

Hi,

How about JRiver Media Center. It supports upnp and has some great library features. If you should decide to use a full pc as the client then the latest version offers a very nice "Theater View" for use on the tv as well as a nice library server feature built in.

J

Hi,

How about JRiver Media Center. It supports upnp and has some great library features. If you should decide to use a full pc as the client then the latest version offers a very nice "Theater View" for use on the tv as well as a nice library server feature built in.

J
Added. Do you have a website for it? I'd g00gle it myself, but I'm cooking dinner at the moment and am waiting for a cast iron pan to heat up.

Added. Do you have a website for it? I'd g00gle it myself, but I'm cooking dinner at the moment and am waiting for a cast iron pan to heat up.

Googled
J River Media Center: http://www.jrmediacenter.com/

The UPnP service thats included with FreeNAS IS uShare.
Is there a way to replace the version that comes with FreeNAS?

Hi,

You should add Swisscenter. Quoting from the web site 'SwissCenter is a (free) replacement interface for a variety of Network Media Players made by manufacturers such as Netgear, Pinnacle, Buffalo, Lite-On, etc. The goal of the SwissCenter software is to provide a powerful interface that can cope with large media collections whilst remaining simple and intuitive to use.'

It's actively updated and has some nice features such as support for musicip.

Hi,

You should add Swisscenter. Quoting from the web site 'SwissCenter is a (free) replacement interface for a variety of Network Media Players made by manufacturers such as Netgear, Pinnacle, Buffalo, Lite-On, etc. The goal of the SwissCenter software is to provide a powerful interface that can cope with large media collections whilst remaining simple and intuitive to use.'

It's actively updated and has some nice features such as support for musicip.

Googled
http://www.swisscenter.co.uk/

I haven't heard of that one before. I'll have to try it out this weekend and see how well the MusicIP part works.

Swiss Center doesn't support Mac

Swiss Center doesn't support Mac

I think it does. I can't post links here (haven't made 5 posts yet) but search the forum on the swisscenter web site there's a discussion 'Easy Mac OS X installation'

According to SwissCenter's FAQ (http://www.swisscenter.co.uk/component/option,com_mambowiki/Itemid,73/), Mac OS is supported.

A couple I didn't see above:
Windows Media Player 11 (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/readme.aspx) (takes the place of windows media connect)
Windows only of course. One really great thing is that files added to watched folders are available on the server very quickly without having to manually refresh. This is a drawback of some of the other solutions I've tried. Additionally, you can create play lists to play on the server (at least the work on the DSM-520).

Another which I only just heard about is Nero MediaHome (http://www.nero.com/nero7/eng/Nero_MediaHome_Features.html). Not free. Windows Only.
Comes with the suite of Nero burning software. I'm going to see if I can get this one working and report back.

Thanks Scott, I've added them.

I am using a D-Link DSM320. I find the D-Link software (1.09) works pretty darn good and doesn't hog much memory on my PC. I tried Tversity and it became a memory hog even though it did offer more online content. I may try Nero MediaHome from Nero7 and see how that does.

Yeah, but it's sort of on-topic. Many people forget that a file server is still a server. I've added a "I'd also like to avoid any XBMC flames" caveat on my first post, and am adding File Server as a legitimate server type.

actually its just using simple file sharing, so no software overhead, or lag, i had the dlink and buffalo, and used swisscenter, wizd, and the software that came with it, all too slow for me to be able to stand.

the cons for the dlink was it didnt do anything 100%, so i returned it within a week, got the buffalo, was a little improvement, , its pros are it plays native hd nicely. but slow and cant do anything.

now i have xbmc, i used to hate when the xbmc people would flame everything else, but now using it, they have every right to, far superior product, only con is it wont play native hd.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMV_HD
Wiki says you can stream wmv-hd (VC-1) files to the xbmc. I dont have one so I wouldn't know. I'm trying to set up a server to stream to a PS3.....what a headache!

all ive trie were the mariposa hd episode off the internet, and they would studder with no sound

now i have xbmc, i used to hate when the xbmc people would flame everything else, but now using it, they have every right to, far superior product, only con is it wont play native hd.

As an aside, they are porting to Linux specifically to address this - it's an interesting project that is said to be built around 2 sets of standard hardware. There were also some developments recently on reseting the Kernel on the 360 by getting around the efuses. /OT

I guess I am a bit confused over what you all are calling a backend server. Yes, if you are just looking for a place to host your media, a file server is fine. That is basically what I have today with Linux (Ubuntu Server, to be exact) running SAMBA to host files but it is also streaming those files with different software - Jinzora. Jinzora is great for my audio, but now I am stepping up the video to something past just a file server.

Right now I have a TiVo Series 2 hooked up to the TV. I run a tivo server off the linux box so that I can rip DVDs or download video, convert it to the proper MPEG2 format for TiVo, and store it in the file share that the tivo server hosts for the TiVo. I can download these files to the TiVo from the server and all is good. It works, but it is a bit clunky and the file format (MPEG2) is horrible on drive space. For convinience sake, I have been using Amazon Unbox a fair bit, but that is getting to be

I would like to step it up, possibly go HD, and get rid of the TiVo. That means that I need to put a video capture card in the server and start doing my recording on the backend. I would also need a new frontend, be that either a hacked xbox for XBMC, a low-end HTPC that can do high-def playback, or a hardware extender. I really don't care about how pretty it looks or how much technical nursing it takes from time to time (I am a techie) as much as I am that it just works.

On the one hand, upgrading my XP PC to Vista Premium and adding a video capture card to it (isn't there a dual tuner card that does OTA HD and NTSC at the same time?) to handle the video capture. I could hang a xbox 360 off the front-end and call it done.

On the other hand, I could go for something like LinuxMCE as my backend and get a lot more functionality at the risk of requiring more technical TLC.

What advice do you all have for someone who is starting over?

I agree that the software plays a big part. Is there any software that will handle a dvd in true form? subtitles and menus and what not?

I agree that the software plays a big part. Is there any software that will handle a dvd in true form? subtitles and menus and what not?I use VLC for this, plays a DVD in a PC DVD drive, a ripped Video_ts file or an ISO file.

I agree that the software plays a big part. Is there any software that will handle a dvd in true form? subtitles and menus and what not?

Via a media extender? It would be tough-- I don't think it's capable of being done via the UPnP protocol, which seems to be the most widely used protocol outside of the iTunes universe, which, IIRC, also isn't capable of handling dvd menus, etc.

An XBMC may be able to do it, but as I said earlier in the thread, it's closer to an HTPC than a pure media extender, so it's a different animal.

This should be made a Sticky!

Great info about all media server software

Here's a relatively new server for the list... currently, the only hardware client available is the D-Link DSM-330, but the plug-ins SDK includes a PC client that allows you to stream to other PC's over LAN. It appears DivX will also be leveraging their current hardware partners to roll out clients/extenders from other big brands...

DivX Connected (http://labs.divx.com/Connected)
Platform: Windows
Pros: Free; Transcodes (some); Serves rich UI to clients; Plug-ins SDK for adding web services
Cons: Currently Not UPnP; Windows Only; You have to apply config hack to transcode additional codecs (pro or con?)

And there's ORB. Pros: Free, Provides online content and a mycast.orb, UPNP and DLNA
Cons: Transcoding sucks

My $0.02: Have multiple media server software running on the htpc and pick the one you want to access from the media player. A tad geeky and I'm hoping that one of these days we'll get a player and software that will play everything.

Here's my favorite:
http://www.lundman.net/wiki/index.php/Llink

Works on Linux, Windows, OSX, various NAS devices and also NMT players themselves. Source code is readily available.