Media server software capabilities charted for your easy reading

Nearly every device sold these days is packing a network jack and whether TV, set-top box or game console many of them are capable of easily tapping into DLNA compatible servers, but which one is right for you? The folks over at tubeCore have gone to the trouble of trying each one out (PlayOn, PS3 Media Server, TVersity and other familiar names are on the list) and presented their impressions in easy to digest chart form. Sure you could investigate the specs on your own, but when it comes down to it, price, ease of use and media formats supported will be the key factors, and here you can quickly get an idea of them. So, which one are you using for easy cross platform media streaming, or did you go a different route entirely?

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 3:13PM]

Nice list. Personally, I'm a PlayOn user, though I got it for $20. The ease of use for PlayOn should be 9 or 10; if you can't figure out how to use PlayOn, throw away your computer cause you probably think its a doorstop. Also, the list of "included TV streams" is kinda pointless. Its like saying "this phone comes with only 1 phone number included". PlayOn can do many more streams thanks to playonplugins.com and TVersity Pro also has many more streams. See here: http://tversity.com/support/premium-websites/

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 18th 2009 9:38AM]

I would normally agree with Playon being easy to install, but after spending 2 weeks troubleshooting it with their support, I can't give it that high of a score. When it works, it's great, no doubt... but they kept telling me something was wrong with my computer. The problem ended up being that they never installed a Netflix Movie Player plugin for WMP, which is why it didn't work. After all that troubleshooting, that was something THEY overlooked. Instead, they blamed AVG and Comodo Firewall, even though Hulu/Youtube worked.

So, ease of setup - probably pretty accurate at 8. But support? I think they could have done MUCH better for such a simple issue.

In the end, I bought it too, so I can't complain with the solution... it works very well for Netflix (I haven't done much on YT/Hulu yet). And, I'm looking forward to updates to improve it via plugins (counting on that "Yes" in the plugin column!)

[HotBBQ Posted Aug 17th 2009 3:24PM]

For what it's worth, PlayOn does have audio/photo streaming. The functionality is part of local file streaming. It is in beta at the moment, but it works flawlessly for me.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 3:55PM]

It says some support itunes media, but will it stream itunes store bought movies?

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 4:01PM]

I use TVersity for media thats ON my PC, and PlayOn soely for Netflix....for some reason the Netflix movies look better thru PlayOn on the PS3 than it does on the 360....

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 8:37PM]

Either you need your eyes checked or you love the blur.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 4:10PM]

Should have included a column for Mac compatibility.

I found the perfect setup over the weekend though. Plex for my Mac. It picked my library with little work and populated everything with all the IMDb info I could ever need. Supports subtitles and MKV. Has Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, and Daily Show plug-ins. iTunes and Front Row support for audio. Very customizable and it's far faster then Boxee and XBMC. It has Apple Remote support (if only the Mac Pro supported it). May have Harmony support too (again computer issue). And it's completely free.

[Jamus Posted Aug 17th 2009 4:23PM]

I have also had good luck with Plex, but have noticed it produces a much higher temperature on my MacBook Pro when left running than Boxee. Since i wanted something to leave on most of the time, I went back to Boxee.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 4:33PM]

Hmm... Boxee has that CPU performace setting, didn't it? That is a nice feature for laptop users. Boxee was nice but once I attached my library, it completely crashed my system and the app never worked properly again.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 4:15PM]

There should be a quality column in that table. PlayOn beats TVersity as far as stream quality is concerned. Also, there are a couple plugins that let you import RSS feeds for PlayOn.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 5:22PM]

I thought I was the only person who used PS3 Media Server.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 6:00PM]

I was able to run the PS3 Media Server v1.10.5, no problem on my 1GB G4 Power PC Mac Mini. It also shows up on my PS3's XMB more reliably then Nullriver's MediaLink v1.72 which I paid for.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 6:53PM]

I have PlayOn and PS3 Media Server installed. Basically only use PlayOn for the Hulu and Netflix Streaming.

But I really love the PS3 Media Server. Very lightweight on CPU compared to TVersity and you can add all of your favorite streams to the web.conf file for easy access.

Also love being able to pick the transcoder directly from the PS3... don't think that I could stream HD movies without TSMuxer.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 8:01PM]

How about including a mobile device support column? I have been looking for a way to stream stuff on my (non-HP) WHS to my iPod touch over WiFi! Firefly has some capability, but it would be great to see a more capable solution. The UPnP solutions in the app store SUCK.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 17th 2009 8:39PM]

I have PlayOn and tVersity installed.

but to be honest 90% of the time I just use Windows. Why isn't the native - already in your operating system - DLNA suppport included?

And then there is MCE, which rocks but is a whole new can of worms.

[glennS Posted Aug 17th 2009 10:45PM]

I use PlayOn. Got it for the 19.99 sale price. Super easy to set up. I agree with the other poster who said you should throw away your PC if you get install PlayOn. I use it to get Netflix/Hulu to my HTPC running Ubuntu Linux/XBMC, and my 1st gen XBOX, also running XBMC. It works very well, but once in a while it a stream will play, until I try it 3 or 4 times.

[ArhcAngel Posted Aug 18th 2009 10:15AM]

Um....It'd be kinda hard to use PlayOn if you threw the computer you are running it on away....wouldn't it?

[glennS Posted Aug 18th 2009 10:38AM]

I my comment, replace the phrase GET INSTALL, with the phrase CAN'T INSTALL, and it makes a whole lot more sense.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 18th 2009 1:43PM]

I have had good luck with ZeeVee's Zinc video browser. There are currently some limitations with regard to playing certain types of video files stored on your computer, but it gives you access to Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, etc. and has rss feed support, plus the price is right- Free.

[Nicnac Posted Aug 19th 2009 12:12PM]

just a comment on one part of your article: "and whether TV, set-top box or game console many of them are capable of easily tapping into DLNA compatible servers"

What set-top boxes are you referring to? Are there really MANY of them capable of EASILY tapping into DLNA servers?
And, tell me a single TV model that is fully DLNA compliant. Heck, tell me a TV that is basically compliant: Sony Bravia: gimped DLNA compatibility because they want you to use their software and hardware to make it work. Sharp: claims they have TVs with DLNA but one cannot find a real-world review of such features anywhere. Samsung: TVs with the DLNA logo are a plain lie. They do not work with tversity, arguably the friendliest media serving app out there, instead requiring one to install a Samsung media application on your server PC...

That being said, I too use PlayOn for Hulu and Netflix, and PS3 Media Server for my media.