How to choose a DLNA Media Server for Windows, Mac OS X or Linux

Posted by Robert Green on Mon, 08/20/2007 - 23:00

With so many new DLNA media receivers emerging on the market, including the PS3 and X-Box 360, there are many options for media server software to run. Each server application has its own set of pros and cons. I researched all of the known products and listed out prices, supported operating systems and features. I also took the time to make a few notes and award best-in-class to a few select products that are the easiest to use, have the best features overall and provide the best end-user experience. Read on to find out how to choose your media server software.

Comparison Chart

The products are listed in alphabetical order. All servers are UPnP compliant. The Server column is the name of the server and a link to the vendor's product page. The Price column is how much the server costs. The Windows, Mac and Linux columns show support for those operating systems. The Music column indicates that the software can stream at least 1 type of music. The Photo column indicates that the software can serve at least 1 type of image. The Video column indicates that the software can stream at least 1 type of AV. The Transcoding column indicates that the software can transcode from one format to another.

Server	Price	Windows	Mac	Linux	Music	Photo	Video	Transcoding
Allegro Media Server	39.95	X	X		X
Cidero Internet Radio Station Server (Java)	Free	X	X	X	X	X	X
Cyber Media Gate (Java)	Free	X	X	X	X	X	X
Cyberlink Digital Home Enabler Kit	79.95	X			X	X	X
Elgato Eyeconnect	49.95		X		X	X	X
Fuppes	Free	X		X	X	X	X	X
Geexbox	Free				X	X	X
GMediaServer	Free			X	X	X	X
JRiver Media Center	39.95	X			X	X	X
MediaTomb	Free		X	X	X	X	X	X
Mezzmo	24.95	X			X	X	X	X
MiniDLNA	Free			X	X	X	X	?
MythTV	Free			X	X	X	X	X
Nero MediaHome	79.99	X			X	X	X	X
Nullriver Medialink	20.00		X		X	X	X	X
On2Share	19.95	X			X	X	X
PS3 Media Server	Free	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Rhapsody	12.99/month	X	X	X	X
SimpleCenter Premium	19.99	X			X	X	X	X
Tversity	Free	X			X	X	X	X
TwonkyMedia	39.95	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
uShare	Free			X	X	X	X
Winamp Remote	Free	X			X	?	X	?
Windows Media Connect	Free	X			X	X	X	X
Yahoo Music Jukebox	Free	X			X

What is transcoding?

The average consumer doesn't care about what technology is used to encode their media. They just want it to play. The problem is that many devices only support certain types of encoding and much media circulating around is in other formats. The solution? Transcoding. Transcoding means to convert a potentially unsupported encoding into a supported one for the receiving device on the fly. Wikipedia has more details on transcoding.

Analysis

While basic functionality is indicated on this chart, there is no way of knowing how many types of music, photo or video formats are supported. It is also difficult to tell what formats can be transcoded. Most of the informational pages for these products don't give enough details, so without setting up every single product and testing all formats against a variety of devices, it's very difficult to know for sure what the level of support is.

Four products support every operating system: Cidero, Cyber Media Gate, Rhapsody and TwonkyMedia. Both Cidero and Cyber Media Gate are Java-based ports of their original C++ open-source counterparts. They appear to run on any Java 1.5 platform.

TwonkyMedia not only supports every operating system but has every main feature covered as well. Their transcoding support is new, as last time I looked into their tech specs I didn't see support for it, so time will tell how good it is.

Geexbox has no OS listed because despite being Linux-based, it runs its own distribution to work. To get similar DLNA server functionality in Linux, uShare can be compiled and installed, which is what Geexbox uses for its own server.

SimpleCenter has a free version without transcoding support.

The 2007 Winners

After reading user feedback all over AVS Forum and Sony's Playstation Boards, researching the product specifications and performing some basic tests of the products, I can say definitively that for Windows, Nero Mediahome and Simpecenter Premium offer the best ease-of-use, transcoding and overall functionality. Neither product is free, but as of right now they are currently the best in class. I have not been able to test enough products for Linux or OS X yet to give a good recommendation for those, but the chart provided should give you at least an idea of what may or may not suit your needs best.

2008, 2009 and beyond

New server are showing up every few months and existing ones are always adding new features. I will do my best to try to keep this list up-to-date, but I count on you to post your reviews and especially the corrections for prices, features and products for this list. Things have changes since I compiled the first list in 2007 so please read through the comments and discuss on the forums to make sure you have the latest information.

This list was last updated 1/5/2010

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120 Comments

Post a comment here or discuss this and other topics in the forums

Media server

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 16:13.

"Wild Media Server" is the best.
Also free

Please add Serviio to List of DNLA Server apps

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 17:03.

Add More DNLA Server apps to your List

http://www.Serviio.org (Open Source / Mac Windows Linux / Java Based)

DLNA Problems

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 02/25/2010 - 22:35.

I'm having problems, I tried Eyetv and Twonkey, Eye tv sees my tv but i dont know how to play files. Do i need a piece of hardware, My Samsung is hooked up to the internet, receives firmware updates for tv and says connected. how do i file share, I dont see any option to play music.

The idea of DLNA is that your

Submitted by Rene Lergner (not verified) on Sun, 03/07/2010 - 14:18.

The idea of DLNA is that your computer is a media server. Your TV has a built in DLNA-client, because the software sees your TV. You should be able to browse the media you share on your PC with the menu of your TV.

how to use my mac to stream video to my samsung dlna tv

Submitted by Lars (not verified) on Wed, 02/10/2010 - 15:45.

I have both a macbook and a iMac, I would like to be able to use them to stream film/dvd to my Samsung tv with DLNA. what to do and where to find userfriendly guides and also a simple mediaserver.
thanks

/Lars

try www.serviio.org

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 17:35.

try www.serviio.org

the USB works best on my

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 02/11/2010 - 19:07.

the USB works best on my samsung. To get it to work any better, you'll want to check out SammyGo on sourceforge and look at enabling CIFS/NFS/SMB and other file systems that you can then mount as a virtual USB and it plays close to as good as the local USB. It doesn't play MKV and other more complicated file formats, so finding something very configurable to use to stream to the box and transcode into the supported formats is probably more ideal, but more work. I'm still trying to get it to work, but look into mediatomb if you're geeky enough to install fink or darwinports then install/compile mediatomb 0.12 from SVN and then get the transcoding working. I have it installed, but haven't got the transcoding scripts to work properly. There's a lead for you if you're looking for a fun project.

I tried all freeware

Submitted by sormariano (not verified) on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 07:40.

I tried all freeware softwares on Windows with my new Sony Bravia 40W5800 and it works perfectly with Wild Media Server and Nero Media Home (trial version).
Fuppes is seen by the client TV but generates an error.
I'm trying now with Linux OS. If I'll be able to see something I'll post here ;-)

Sony Bravia KDL46W5150 w/ PlayOn

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 02:23.

I've been using the PlayOn media server with my new Bravia W 5150, and it works very well. The media sharing is still beta, but it has been working seamlessly for me. PlayOn also has a variety of plugins available. www.playon.com

DLNA connection for Philips

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/21/2010 - 16:20.

Hi there, i recently got a philips PFL9664 which has DLNA on it but i can't get it connected with my desktop. Can anyone here guide me through this? I have both the PC and the TV wired with CAT5 .
I would appreciate some help. Thanks

May be this helps?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 12:07.

Had same problem with my PFL9664. Could initially neither see Windows (Vista) MediaServer nor PS3 Media Server running on Vista.

Cure 1 that worked for me:

- Start PFL9664 and getting it looking for servers first
- Then start Windows MediaServer or PS3 Media servers

Cure 2 that made it even better:

- Although the automatic Firmware update utility in TV itself told I had the latest FW, a newer was available on Philips homepage.
- Downloading the new FW on a USB stick and updating the TV through the USB port made the DLNA experience more agile, if not even impressive

Hope it helps

Transcoding & subtitles

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 01/19/2010 - 03:30.

My TV doesn't support external subtitles...
Does anyone know of a media server with transcoding and subtitles "burn in" capability?

Wild Media Server (UPnP,

Submitted by Evgeny Lachinov (not verified) on Tue, 01/26/2010 - 13:33.

Wild Media Server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP) can overlay subtitles (external and internal) when transcoding video:
External format subtitles: 890, aqt, asc, ass, dat, dks, idx, js, jss, lrc, mpl, ovr, pan, pjs, psb, rt, rtf, s2k, sami, sbt, scr, smi, son, srt, ssa, sst, ssts, stl, sub, tts, txt, vkt, vsf.
Internal format subtitles: ssa, txt, dvd, dvb, pgs.

try TVersity. it uses ffdshow

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 01/25/2010 - 15:05.

try TVersity. it uses ffdshow codec pack to transcode and u can set subtitles in ffdshow options to visible.

Where is PlayOn?

Submitted by seeit360 (not verified) on Mon, 01/18/2010 - 12:34.

PlayOn, voted "100 Best" by consumer reports (Dec 2009) is not represented here. Retail $39.99 but promotional discounts exist when you use gamefly and random price cuts come out all the time. Comes with Hulu, Netflix, Youtube, CBS, Amazon VOD, and allows plugins to enhance the capabilities [Video Podcasts, Local Media (Music, Pictures and Video), and others...] PlayOn is the only media server I know that will work on the wii. You are missing the best of all of them on your list.

I suggest NERO

Submitted by self-made (not verified) on Sun, 01/17/2010 - 17:47.

My goal was to stream to my PS3's. PS3 does not play nice with many software apps even after many manual configurations. Additionally, if I did get it working with software, it was jittery in HD. I have a 1gb connection in my house so bandwidth was not an issue. Fast Forward and Rewind of streaming video was also sketchy.

I installed NERO MediaHome. No more issues. Streams HD quality with no jitters. Fast Forward, Rewind and Scene selection has no issues.

Just my 2 cents and weeks of trial and error.:)

self-made

Hi my windows media player

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/10/2010 - 23:26.

Hi my windows media player stopped connecting with my ps3. All the other computers on my network still work. So it must not be the ps3. I have downloaded crappier media servers online, and they work of the troubled pc. So it must be my media player? please help?

Rhapsody

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 12:14.

Rhapsody's client software that includes uPnP support only runs on Windows. They do support Mac and Linux for playing music on the computer through a browser plugin (Safari or Firefox), but that plugin does not include uPnP.

Mezzmo price reduction

Submitted by Mezzmo (not verified) on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 00:29.

Hello,

Since the new release of Mezzmo 2.1, it's price is now $24.95 US. If possible, can you please adjust the table to reflect that?

Thank you!

The table has been updated.

Submitted by Robert Green on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 10:29.

The table has been updated.

ps3 MS A+++++++

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 07:32.

ps3 MS A+++++++

TwonkyMedia

Submitted by Rambler52 (not verified) on Sat, 12/26/2009 - 15:29.

Hi,

Great resource Thought I point out that TwonkyMedia is not available for Mac OSX.

Thanks,

TwonkyMedia is not available for Mac OSX

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/03/2010 - 14:50.

Yes it is. I'm running now.

http://www.twonkyvision.de/downloads/TwonkyMediaServer_MOSX_5.1.2.zip

Samsung I8910 streaming video to LG Bd390 Blu ray player

Submitted by Shawn UK (not verified) on Wed, 12/23/2009 - 09:43.

Im having problems trying to stream video from my samsung i8910 mobile, which is DLNA certified to my LG Bd390 blu ray player. Despite LG claims that it support .mp4 it simply doesnt work with my phone and just the blu ray player... If I install the provided install disk for Nero media4 the blu ray player can play the mp4 files that ive had to copy manually to the laptop, however the blu ray player plays the video files without sound, even though sound is present on the original file.

Both devices are DLNA certified to version 1.5 which I think really makes a mokary of this standard.
My plan was to stream the HD video taken with this phone and stream it my blu ray player so I could watch it on my TV without having to burn DVD's and loose quality. However there does not seam any option out there that works. People have suggested that it is possible to stream from my phone to Xbox 360 but I cannot see how to get this working, I can the xbox to see my laptop but not my mobile.

Im stuck to know what to try next, if theres anybody technical on here with any knowledge in this are I would appreciate some help. Neither LG nor samsung seem to know anything about supporting the features in there products, and the poor customer as usual is left with products that dont work correctly.. grrr!!

Note that PS3 is also Java -

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/20/2009 - 19:29.

Note that PS3 is also Java - I just tried it on OSX snow leopard

DLNA client / player

Submitted by galonso (not verified) on Sun, 12/13/2009 - 20:07.

Great list of servers, does anyone know some good clients/players on the market?

greg.

Serviio

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 12/11/2009 - 18:00.

Serviio is a free DLNA media server for Windows, Linus and OSX. Get it at www.serviio.org.

Wild Media Server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP)

Submitted by Evgeny Lachinov (not verified) on Thu, 12/03/2009 - 02:39.

Hello !

Wild Media Server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP) - http://www.wildmediaserver.com.

Best regards,
Evgeny Lachinov

yes you can add a nas drive

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 19:56.

yes you can add a nas drive to it without it connected to a computer. but you have to have it networked to it as a drive and then setup sharing with it and add it to your folder under your media server.

NAS box on Router

Submitted by Derrick (not verified) on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 07:34.

All the configurations I have seen so far appear to be PC based, ie your PC/Laptop requires to be powered on with suitable DLNA media server software loaded.

Does anyone know of any solutions whereby a NAS box on a wireless router (BtHomeHub) can be accessed by DLNA devices without the PC being connected?

Thanks
Derrick

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