Media Server Software Pros and Cons

[GreySkies]

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
Platform: Windows
Pros: Free; Easy-to-Use; UPnP
Cons: Limited Functionality; Buggy; Doesn't Run as a Service; Sorts Album Tracks Alphabetically

Firefly
Platform: Windows; Linux; FreeBSD; AIX; Solaris
Pros: Free; Runs as a Service; Plays iTunes, Including Apple Lossless; Transcodes
Cons: Not UPnP

FUPPES
Platform: Linux; Windows; FreeBSD
Pros: Free; Transcodes
Cons: Not Fully UPnP-Compliant Yet; No Mac Support

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
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
Platform: Windows
Pros: Bundled with Nero Burning Software
Cons: Not Free; Windows Only

JRiver Media Center
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
Platform: Windows; Mac; Linux; NetBSD; NAS
Pros: Free; Integrates With MusicIP; Controls for Paging Through Large Collections; Appears to be UPnP
Cons: ???

Tversity
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
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
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
Platform: Windows XP, Vista
Pros: Free; UPnP; Plays Protected WMAs
Cons: Windows XP and Vista Only

WIZD
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

[digitalkid2]

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

[GreySkies]

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

[digitalkid2]

Originally Posted by GreySkies

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

[GreySkies]

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

[BradMajors]

Tversity will only run on a Windows machine.

Twonky will run under Windows, Linux, or MAC.

[goofygrin]

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.

[GreySkies]

Originally Posted by goofygrin

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.

[digitalkid2]

Originally Posted by goofygrin

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!

[GreySkies]

Originally Posted by digitalkid2

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.

[skingery]

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.

[GreySkies]

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?

[skingery]

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.

[satgeek]

Freenas basically uses the ushare 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 is another that seems interesting, though I haven't gotten around to trying it yet.

[GreySkies]

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.

[skingery]

@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]

Originally Posted by skingery

@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.

[satgeek]

The UPnP service thats included with FreeNAS IS uShare.

[JAHarris]

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

[GreySkies]

Originally Posted by JAHarris

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.

[skingery]

Originally Posted by GreySkies

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/

[skingery]

Originally Posted by satgeek

The UPnP service thats included with FreeNAS IS uShare.

Is there a way to replace the version that comes with FreeNAS?

[kk131]

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.

[skingery]

Originally Posted by kk131

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/

[GreySkies]

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.

[domerdel]

Swiss Center doesn't support Mac

[kk131]

Originally Posted by domerdel

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'

[GreySkies]

According to SwissCenter's FAQ, Mac OS is supported.

[skingery]

A couple I didn't see above:
Windows Media Player 11 (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. 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.

[GreySkies]

Thanks Scott, I've added them.