(Getty)

Many have grown dissatisfied with the limited streaming options of services like Netflix, YouTube, and Vimeo. And while there isn’t one perfect networked media solution for everyone, physical media enthusiasts and file sharers alike will find a happy medium in a dedicated media server.

These servers work like HTTP servers, but offer a dedicated user interface plus many other features, depending on which option you decide to go with. And though some incorporate streaming services, these options are best left to those who already have a strong media collection and are seeking a way to enjoy it in a curated manner. So whether you want to streamline your entertainment, reorganize your business media, or house a semi-legal collection of ripped movies, consider these options for home media servers below.

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1. Plex

(Plex)

Possibly the most popular media server software out there, Plex offers an easy setup and a highly flexible system for managing your media.
Plex can be set up on any hard drive, ideally a NAS (network-attached storage device), but since my PC is on pretty much 24/7 I had no problem making my main machine the host for my own Plex account.

Setting up your Plex server is a largely automated process, and getting a stream set up on the other end is usually as simple as downloading the free app for your chosen platform, be it a smart TV, web browser, XBox One, PlayStation, or Apple TV. Remote access is ready out of the box and does not require any port forwarding or extra setup.

One of the first things you’ll notice about Plex is that its menus are beautiful on every platform. The menus were fast and easy to navigate, though I did run into some hiccups trying to browse my stupidly large music collection. If you have multiple terabytes of media content with metadata, cover art, etc., it will only populate this information as fast as your connection permits.

Aside from this folder-specific issue, the menus are beautiful, fast, and easy to navigate from every platform I tested. Plex transforms your library, adding metadata like cover art and IMDB results to enhance your viewing experience.

Like other options, Plex also transcodes on the fly and automatically adjusts its performance and quality for available bandwidth. During my testing, I had no trouble with streaming wirelessly on my older router and mid-tier Internet service, nor did I encounter any codec errors from playing an incompatible file.

While the bulk of Plex’s features can be enjoyed for free, you do have to upgrade to a Plex Pass if you want to enjoy some nicer features. These include access to some nice features of the otherwise free Plex mobile apps, the ability to sync a cloud storage system, and much more. The Plex Pass has a couple payment options, the most economic for a serious user being the lifetime pass for $149.99. The remaining question will no doubt be: is a Plex Pass worth the price? And for many, the answer will be definitely.

Plex makes hosting your own media server incredibly easy, and the extra visual enhancements to your media collection piece together an experience that will surpass the quality of most streaming services, provided you’ve collected the content to populate it. An all-around solid choice, Plex is a top contender for your media storage solutions.

Pros:

Fast and intuitive user interface
Easy setup
Can provide cover art, music videos, trailers, and more

Cons:

Some features require a subscription or lifetime pass
Menus might not handle large media collections well (depends on connection quality)

Download Plex or find more information here.

2. Universal Media Server

Universal Media Server is an open-source and fully free media solution, that though quite a bit more complicated than Plex, is just as stable and reliable. This software can be set up on a PC or NAS open-source software, with about the same setup burden, but if any steps of the process get you hung up, a fairly robust support community will be able to help you out.

Installing UMS is a fairly hands-on process. The software walks you through configuring each setting before you can get your server up and running. To make things trickier, some of your devices might not find your stream if you set it up incorrectly. On the other hand, if set it up right, UMS will work with just about any streaming device.

UMS automatically scans defined locations for new media content, but if you don’t personally manage your files, UMS will look like a mess. Odds are that if you’ve got a serious collection going, you’ve taken enough care to tag everything properly, and even if you don’t the app is still plenty usable.

Once it’s set up, UMS offers fast browsing and built-in transcoding to play media on devices that may not support a particular format. You do have some access to plugins like SoundCloud, last.fm, and XBMC are nice, but selection is ultimately limited. You might find some nice new streaming services from it, but odds are they won’t be the ones you already use.

And this will be a deal-breaker for some, but UMS is unable to offer remote access, limiting your server to your local wireless network. For some, this is the whole appeal of a home media server, but for others, they will be okay using UMS exclusively at home.

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Though it can prove challenging, tweaking UMS is crucial to making this software your own. If you can handle the challenge of doing so, the reward is well worth it.

Pros:

Open source and free
Fast browsing
Highly customizable

Cons:

Confusing setup
Limited plugins
Lacks remote access options

Download Universal Media Server or find more information here.

3. Subsonic

(Wikipedia)

Subsonic is a longstanding contender in the media library game, albeit one that was originally designed for networking a large music library from a network. As such, video streaming as well

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