Many believe media server apps are a thing of the past. However, some users heavily rely on their personal media serve to organize and distribute media content that they have collected over the years. Of course, with the advent of Netflix and other cloud-based streaming services, the space for personal media servers have shrunk. But it’s still a viable way to stream shows and movies without traffic congestion and buffering issues. What I like about these new media server apps is that they allow us to access our media from any device and even online when we are not at our home. So here in this article, we are going to list out 7 best media server apps which you can install on your system and access media content from anywhere you want. So without further delay, let’s get started.

1. Plex

Plex doesn’t need much introduction but if you don’t have any idea about it then here is a quick run through. It’s a powerful media application which organizes all your media content at one place and you can access it from anywhere you want. In a nutshell, it’s a perfect application for users who want to have full control over their collection of music, movies, TV shows, images, etc. It works on a server-client model where you create a server, say on a PC, where all your media content is stored and through a client, say smartphone, where you can access it. And the great part is that while streaming media content, the videos are transcoded in real-time which saves you time and resources. And for this very reason, Plex is the best media server application you can have.

  • Complete client-server media application
  • Organize your local media with cloud file syncing
  • Live TV and recording
  • Premium library of music and podcasts
  • Access content anywhere you go
  • Real-time transcoding; supports a wide range of media formats
  • Sleek UI

Kodi is another media server application which rivals Plex, or you can say that it’s the other way round. It’s a free and open-source software intended to bring seamless experience across different media contents. Similar to Plex, it organizes all your local media content at one place with banners, synopsis, and metadata scrapped from the web. However, unlike Plex, it doesn’t support media streaming over the web. Simply put, you can’t access your media library from anywhere. You have to be in the local device or network to n access the content over SMB, UPnP or FTP protocol.

  • Free and open-source media server app
  • Organize your local media at one place
  • Live TV and recording
  • Add-on support
  • Access content locally
  • Powerful transcoder; supports a wide range of media formats

If you don’t like Plex for some reason, Emby can be a great alternative. It’s a complete media server application built on the client-server system. It offers server application for multiple platforms which you can install on any device of your choice. You can add your local media content to Emby and it will organize all your files with proper metadata and interesting details. With Emby’s client,you can stream content directly through your media server on any device. Since the device you are using may not support the format of the content, so Emby server converts the file in real-time so that you can play without any delay. Also, there is a unified portal for Emby on the web where you can access all your files by just signing into your Emby account. It’s like a complete repository of Netflix, created by you and only for you. How cool is that?

  • Complete client-server media application
  • Organize local files with cloud file syncing
  • Access content anywhere you go
  • Live TV and recording
  • Real-time transcoding and supports a wide range of media formats
  • Unified portal for web-based access

Universal Media Player is a free media server application based on the fork of PlayStation 3. It uses the UPnP protocol to stream media content with other DLNA compatible devices. Basically, it’s a no-frills media streaming application which can play any kind of video format you throw at it. Once you install the server and provide the media library, you can stream the content on any device using a third-party client. And it performs extremely well either it’s video, music or image. There is also native support for subtitles through multiple subtitle providers. The only downside is that you don’t get cloud sync so you can’t access your library anywhere, but only locally within your network. Further, you don’t get first-party media client and have to rely on third-party applications to access and stream the content.

Key Features:

Platform Availability: Windows, macOS, Linux, NAS Devices

Serviio is a partly-free media server application where you can host your local media library and stream on other locally connected devices. At the outset, it looks pretty good with all the standard features. As it’s based on DLNA/UPnP, it doesn’t have a cloud relaying service so you can’t play your content anywhere you want. Anyway, it has inbuilt support for subtitles and transcoders which reduces the hassle significantly while streaming video contents of any format. Other than that, there is Trakt integration which is quite useful for tracking and syncing your progress of movies and series.

While most of the service is free, there is a paid version which lets you access your content on the web through a MediaBrowser application. Recently, Serviio added Alexa Skills to its media client so you can control your library using voice commands. That’s kind of a unique feature in this list. All in all, it’s a good alternative to Universal Media Player since the paid version allows you to stream content anywhere you want. So install the Serviio media server and check if its services make sense to you.

OSMC is a free and open-source media server which looks quite stunning with its modern design. Its features are very similar to Kodi since it’s based on parts of Linux Debian and Kodi itself. You can create a local media server with OSMC and export all your media contents, be it music, video or images. And you can access the content on other devices in your local network through FTP, SMB, or UPnP protocol. There is also an App Store which is quite similar to Kodi’s add-on. Through OSMC’s App Store, you can download and install lots of music and Live TV services.

Platform Availability: Vero, Raspberry Pi, Apple TV

7. Media Portal

Media Portal is our final media server app on this list. Like most other apps, it’s free and open-source and works great for the most part. Media Portal is intended to bring a cohesive multi-media experience on your PC. You can connect your local library of movies, TV shows, music, pictures, etc and it will scrap all the metadata from the web to make it look visually pleasing and organized. Further, you can watch TV in sync with your local media files and record it too. Basically, you will have a complete media entertainment hub which can be accessed from all your local devices. Also, you can access your media content through the web, but can’t stream it.

Platform Availability: Windows, Android, Web

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