Watching movies and other media is one of the most enjoyed entertainment stuff, and people love to use different media player and systems to improve their viewing experience. And, this article is about that only in which you will learn about media server software and hardware systems.

A home media server software is a specialized system software that organizes and store your media files like movies, music, and images. So, if you want to organize your huge entertainment collection, we will be sharing with you a list of top 5 best media server software so that you can set up the most suitable media server software according to your need.

In this article, we are going to share 5 best media server software systems, and then we will share one media server hardware system so that you can choose the one as per your needs.

1.    Plex

Plex is a very popular media server software that offers an easy setup and quite a flexible system to manage your media. Plex can be set up on a NAS (network-attached storage device). Plex menus are beautiful, fast, and easy to navigate. It adds metadata like posters and ratings to improvise your viewing experience.

Though a lot of features are free, there are some nice features that you only get if you upgrade to a Plex Pass. Plex provides the visual enhancement to your media collection and is a great option for your media storage solution.

2.    Universal Media Server

Universal Media Server is one of the bestopen source media serversthat is a bit more complicated if compared with Plex. The software can be set up on NAS or PC. Universal Media Server scans defined locations automatically for new media content added every time, but you have to manage your files manually otherwise it will be a mess. Once you set it up, the software offers fast browsing through your media files and also it comes with a built-in transcode that helps it to play media of a particular format that your system may not support.

3.    Kodi

Kodi was originally the Xbox Media Center and now has become one of the biggest media centers for Windows and of course other platforms too. Kodi is a one-stop solution for almost all your media management needs. You can run it on most of the platforms, like Windows, MacOs, Android, iOS, Linux, etc. Kodi is an open source software and is freely available to download.  

Kodi is a media server software for pc that supports video, audio, image, network protocol clients, optical drive, and also the server and container formats. Kodi organizes your multimedia within its metadata databases, and you can play videos in almost all file formats, like Blue-ray Disk, DVDs, etc. You can also watch TV or do the live recording of your favorite show, stream the television shows or movies, and also listen to the radio broadcasts.

4.    Emby

Emby is also an open-source media server software. Emby features plugins that include Vimeo and an IPTV plugin for Emby. You can also install an Emby addon for Kodi. Emby lacks device compatibility but it’s available on Amazon Fire TV, Raspberry Pi, Chromecast, and even PS4 and Xbox One. You can also sync your personal media to smartphones and tablets with Emby and easily access it offline and it also syncs new content automatically whenever added.

Though you can download and use it for free, if you buy Emby Premiere, you will get additional features, like Cover Art, Mobile Sync, Cloud Sync, and free Android apps.

5.    Subsonic

Subsonic is another best home NAS media server that helps you organize your media library. You will have one-click album metadata information of any music album, lossless audio support, and also a great podcast management system. Though it may not be the best choice for everyone mainly because of the lack of video convenience, for the music lovers like myself, Subsonic meets up my requirement. But if you are a passionate movie and show watcher and want to organize your video collection, it might not suit you.

DVDFab Movie Server - the media server hardware to manage and play your movie files

The above ones were the software systems, but now, the one we are sharing is a hardware media server.

DVDFab Movie Server is the best media server hardware for managing your movie files. Its various unique features and technologies, like DVD and Blu-ray navigation menu, exclusive poster wall, all format audio support, smart media managing and searching, etc. give you the freedom to navigate and select your desired media in seconds and of course you can show off your well managed library a bit.

The movie server sorts your media files automatically and arranges them by different categories. Not only this, it organizes the files with the poster and metadata information, like title, genre, ratings, etc. It is top media serverbecause of many unique features, one such feature is that it supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio. You can do a lot of things besides watching movies and shows of your choice, like playing a video game, online shopping, news reading, and much more. The media server supports 3D, H.265, 4k UHD, and all video formats so that you can get the best experience in every manner.

Conclusion

Now, you have 5 best media server software and one hardware media server. Software works quite well but when you have the hardware, you have more control over it. Especially in the case of DVDFab movie server, you will get what you want since it offers the best media viewing experience among similar systems.