Finally found a Media Server that works well....

After chasing the impossible for the last three years, I believe I have finally found a Media Server to dish up my HD movies to my new Hisense 4k TV that is small (ish), minimalistic (ish) and works well without constantly crashing or rebooting !

I have tried : Samsung's own server that came with my BluRay player, Kodi, Home Media Server 64, Universal Media Server plus another dozen or so. Those listed here are my most recent attempts, BUT the one that has my vote ?

Plex. https://www.plex.tv/ It's also free.

It's played everything Ive thrown at it so far, passes DTS thru, has a great library function.

Finally !

Plex is a true delight.

The best thing about it, in my opinion, is its chromecast function. Any TV in the house is instantly turned it a smart TV with access to the full library of stored media with no compatibility issues for the grand cost of £20.

I have it running off a Gen8 Microserver in my bedroom and when guests come off and I Plex something to the Chromecast people think it's nothing shy of witchcraft!

been using it for well over a year, android phones/tablets/fireTv's/windows tablets & laptops & TV's it is a life saver, in that it just works!

shhhh it is witchcraft.....

How is it for streaming from the internet?

Have you tried Emby?

Prefer Kodi personally running on a 4k Fire TV box, super stable etc. I've built an auto searching, downloading, media box running Plex using this guide https://www.cuttingcords.com/home/ul...etting-started and it works well but I just prefer Kodi to Plex for some reason.

Havent tried Emby, will give it a go soon. Havent used it for streaming either, I have a big enough library.

Kodi crashed my TV !

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Originally Posted by g8ina

Havent tried Emby, will give it a go soon. Havent used it for streaming either, I have a big enough library.

Kodi crashed my TV !

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Was that a Kodi app installed directly on to your TV???

I currently have an Emby server running on an AMD E-2 based system and it's been great. Outputs to an App on my PC, Android phones/tablets and the TVs use the Roku app sideloaded onto a couple of those cheap Now TV boxes. I liked the idea of Plex, but I'm not sure I like their model and I prefer open source where possible.

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Originally Posted by jimborae

Was that a Kodi app installed directly on to your TV???

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No, Kodi running on the PC as server. Started the server, saw it on my TV, clicked on it, and the TV locked up, I had to disconnect from mains supply to do a cold reboot.

I run emby on my unRAID based server, its really excellent!

Part of the reason I preferred this to plex is because it integrates with Kodi (front end) so well. I've never really looked at Kodi as a server, I only use it on Raspberry Pi as a front end for my cheapo televisions. Part of the reason for this is because it has a lot of plug ins for home-brew DVR (I use NextPVR). I get no TV reception in my bedroom so I don't really have an alternative for freeview inside the flat. The other part of this preference is purely familiarity. I've been using Kodi since way back into the days it was still called XBMC, there was no such thing as a 'Smart TV'.
I have tried a separate SQL database with Kodi and that worked very well for organisational purposes, the problem with that is there is no additional features to assist un-supported file types, or if the network traffic is too high.
Despite the slight lag between OSMC (Kodi for Pi) booting up and it pulling the database from Emby, the advantage of the transcoding on the server far outweighs external SQL.

I have to add, the Emby front end has taken huge leaps recently. Once ports are forwarded on your router the external access is an experience on a par with some of the top streaming services such as Netflix.

I've been using Plex myself for quite a few years now both as a backend and with several front ends. It works so well I've never felt the need to look at anything else and I ended up paying for a lifetime PlexPass I was so impressed! I use Plex to stream to my TV (Samsung native Plex app), my iPad and iPhone and all give flawless experiences.

Jiff Lemon from these forums is a life time subscriber too.

One thing Jiff has noticed is occasional slow down when watching remotely. I think it needs the odd reboot.

The menu via PS3 is sloooooow but the thing works so well apart from that it's gotta be a high score from me too.

Lifetime subscriber here too.

It's on it's own Linux box with NFS shares to media content and it's bullet-proof.

The ability to set which age category of TV Shows/Movies users can see is something I couldn't cope without. That combined with the excellent media scanning tools is the best feature for me.

Just realised I can use Plex app which is already installed on my TV, just beginning to see how well I can use this now. I can stream to my tablet wirelessly online too.

Blimey, I was out of touch :)

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Originally Posted by g8ina

Just realised I can use Plex app which is already installed on my TV, just beginning to see how well I can use this now. I can stream to my tablet wirelessly online too.

Blimey, I was out of touch :)

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It's certainly worth paying the few quid for the app. If you keep your eye on Amazon's own app marketplace they regularly have it on for free (!). And then it's a license and I'm pretty sure you can install it in as many places as you want and just log in to use it.

This, combined with the functionality of Universal Remote really changed how I use my computer!

Yep, it's certainly opening my eyes today, bought the app for my tablet, and am happily streaming over my network. Will test in town later at a wifi hotspot and report back.

/\ he's still in town watching The Two Towers prolly ;)

maybe watching a season of 24? :)

Nope, Im still trying to get the server to braodcast to the net, something in the router may need to be changed.... Ill sort it ... ;)

You could try opening port 32400.

Yeah, trying that next, but as my tab is on my home network wifi and doesnt have 3g/4g, I have to go to town to find a hotspot to test it, slowly but surely :)

Can you not use your phone? Even if you've no app you can connect use a web browser.

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Originally Posted by Bluecube

Can you not use your phone? Even if you've no app you can connect use a web browser.

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This is how I tested similar things with Emby

Plex broadcast over net needs either port faffing to open 32400 (or whatever you're running it on) to outside, or the plex subscription to run the app.

Lifetime subscriber here too

Streams to my phone tablet, a few TV's and an apple TV to the projector. All work well but you can need a beefy CPU if multiple things are transcoding at the same time.

For web access, you will need to port forward from your router to your plex server IP on port 32400 (or a self configured port if you want a little more security)

Sat in Weather spoons watching Clockwork Orange ;) it works !!!!