The following table compares the operating system support and basic features of various UPnP AV media servers.
Name | License | Cost | OS X | Unix-like | Windows | Audio | Images | Video | Transcoding | Web Interface | DLNA support | Multilingual [lower-alpha 1] | Implementation | Subtitles [lower-alpha 2] | Still Supported | Misc. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
360 Media Server | GPL | Free | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Java | Unknown | No | |
ALLMediaServer [1] | GPL | Trialware | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Delphi/Python | Yes | Yes | |
ArkMS | Prop. | Non-free | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Unknown | C++ | Yes | Yes | |
aVia Media Player | Prop. | Free | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Unknown | Java | Unknown | Yes | |
BRisa | MIT | Free | Partial [lower-alpha 3] | Partial [lower-alpha 3] | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 4] | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Python | Unknown | Unknown | |
Coherence | MIT | Free | Partial [lower-alpha 3] | Partial [lower-alpha 3] | Partial [lower-alpha 3] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 5] | Yes [lower-alpha 4] | Yes | Unknown | Python | Unknown | No | |
DivX | Prop. | Free | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | C++ | Unknown | Yes | |
Elgato Eyeconnect | Prop. | Non-free | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | No | |
Foobar2000 [lower-alpha 6] | Prop. | Free | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Unknown | Unknown | C++ | Unknown | Yes | |
FUPPES | GPL | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Unknown | C++ | Unknown | No | |
GeeXboX uShare | GPL | Free | No | Yes [lower-alpha 7] | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Unknown | C | Unknown | No | |
Gmediaserver | GPL | Free | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Unknown | Unknown | C | Unknown | No | |
Home Media Center [2] | GPLv2 | Free | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | .NET 4 | Yes | Yes | |
Home Media Server [3] | Prop. | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Delphi | Yes | Yes | |
iSedora Media Server | Prop. | Non-free | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Objective C / C++ / JavaScript | Unknown | Yes | |
Jamcast | Prop. | Free | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Unknown | C++ / C# / Java | Unknown | Yes | |
JRiver Media Center | Prop. | Non-free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | C++ | Yes | Yes | |
Kodi (formerly XBMC) | GPL | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 8] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | C++ | Yes | Yes | |
KooRaRoo Media | Prop. | Non-free [4] | Yes [5] | Yes [6] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | C++ | Yes [lower-alpha 9] | Yes | |
LimboMedia | Prop. | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Java | Yes | Yes | |
LXiMedia | GPL | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, mandatory | Yes | Yes | Unknown | C++ | Yes | No | |
Majestic Media Server | Prop. | Non-free | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |
MediaMonkey | Prop. | Non-free | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Delphi | Yes | Yes | |
MediaTomb | GPL | Free | Partial [7] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | C++ | Unknown | No | |
Gerbera [8] | GPL | Free | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | C++ | Unknown | Yes | Based on MediaTomb |
ReadyMedia (formerly MiniDLNA) [9] | GPL/BSD | Free | Partial [10] | Yes | Yes [11] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial [12] | Partial [13] | Yes | Unknown | C | Yes | Yes | |
Mezzmo | Prop. | Free | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | C++ | Yes | Yes | |
myiHome | Prop. | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Unknown | Unknown | Java | Unknown | Unknown | |
MythTV with uPnP | GPL | Free | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | C++ | Unknown | Unknown | |
Nullriver Medialink | Prop. | Non-free | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | |
PlayOn | Prop. | Non-free | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | C# | Partial [lower-alpha 10] | Unknown | |
Plex | Prop. | Non-free [lower-alpha 11] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | C++ / Python | Yes | Yes | |
PS3 Media Server | GPL | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 12] | Yes | Yes | Java | Yes | No | |
PyMedS | MIT | Free | Partial [lower-alpha 3] | Partial [lower-alpha 3] | No | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Yes [lower-alpha 13] | No | Unknown | Unknown | Python | Unknown | No | |
Rygel [14] | LGPLv2 | Free | No | Yes | No [15] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Vala | Unknown | Yes | |
Rivet [16] | Prop. | Free | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | No [16] | |
Serviio | Prop. | Non-free [lower-alpha 11] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 14] | Yes | Yes | Java | Partial [17] | Unknown | |
SimpleCenter Premium | Prop. | Non-free | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |
Skifta | Prop. | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Unknown | Java | Unknown | Unknown | |
Songbird | GPLv2 | Free | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | C++ | No | No [18] | |
TVble | Prop. | Free | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | C#/C++ | Unknown | Yes | |
TVersity | Prop. | Non-free [lower-alpha 11] | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Yes | |
TVMOBiLi | Prop. | [lower-alpha 15] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | C++ | Yes | No | |
TVShare | Prop. | Non-free | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unknown | Unknown | Java | Unknown | Unknown | |
TwonkyMedia server | Prop. | Non-free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 16] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | |
Universal Media Server | GPL | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Java | Yes | Yes | Based on PS3 Media Server |
Windows Media Connect | Prop. | Free [lower-alpha 17] | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [19] | No | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | |
Wild Media Server | Prop. | Trialware | Yes [20] | Yes [21] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Delphi | Yes | Yes | |
xupnpd | GPLv2 | Free | No | Yes | No | Yes | Unknown | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Unknown | C++ | Unknown | Unknown | |
Yazsoft Playback | Prop. | Non-free | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | No | |
Name | License | Cost | OS X | Unix-like | Windows | Audio | Images | Video | Transcoding | Web Interface | DLNA support | Multilingual [lower-alpha 1] | Implementation | Subtitles [lower-alpha 2] | Still Supported |
Monkey's Audio is an algorithm and file format for lossless audio data compression. Lossless data compression does not discard data during the process of encoding, unlike lossy compression methods such as Advanced Audio Coding, MP3, Vorbis, and Opus. Therefore, it may be decompressed to a file that is identical to the source material.
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is a set of networking protocols that permits networked devices, such as personal computers, printers, Internet gateways, Wi-Fi access points and mobile devices to seamlessly discover each other's presence on the network and establish functional network services. UPnP is intended primarily for residential networks without enterprise-class devices.
FFmpeg is a free and open-source software project consisting of a suite of libraries and programs for handling video, audio, and other multimedia files and streams. At its core is the command-line ffmpeg
tool itself, designed for processing of video and audio files. It is widely used for format transcoding, basic editing, video scaling, video post-production effects and standards compliance.
Matroska is a project to create a container format that can hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture, or subtitle tracks in one file. The Matroska Multimedia Container is similar in concept to other containers like AVI, MP4, or Advanced Systems Format (ASF), but is an open standard.
WinDVD is a commercial video player and music player software for Microsoft Windows. It enables the viewing of DVD-Video movies on the user's PC. DVD-Video backups stored on hard disk can also be played. The player also can be used to play video and audio files in other formats encoded with different codecs, such as DivX, Xvid, Windows Media Video (video), MP3 and AAC (audio). WinDVD Pro 12 is the latest version with the most features and accommodations. However, competitors such as VLC have completely replaced WinDVD due to the lack of modern features WinDVD provides.
VideoLAN is a non-profit organization which develops software for playing video and other media formats. It originally developed two programs for media streaming, VideoLAN Client (VLC) and VideoLAN Server (VLS), but most of the features of VLS have been incorporated into VLC, with the result renamed VLC media player.
VLC media player is a free and open-source, portable, cross-platform media player software and streaming media server developed by the VideoLAN project. VLC is available for desktop operating systems and mobile platforms, such as Android, iOS and iPadOS. VLC is also available on digital distribution platforms such as Apple's App Store, Google Play, and Microsoft Store.
The following comparison of video players compares general and technical information for notable software media player programs.
Flash Video is a container file format used to deliver digital video content over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player version 6 and newer. Flash Video content may also be embedded within SWF files. There are two different Flash Video file formats: FLV and F4V. The audio and video data within FLV files are encoded in the same way as SWF files. The F4V file format is based on the ISO base media file format, starting with Flash Player 9 update 3. Both formats are supported in Adobe Flash Player and developed by Adobe Systems. FLV was originally developed by Macromedia. In the early 2000s, Flash Video was the de facto standard for web-based streaming video. Users include Hulu, VEVO, Yahoo! Video, metacafe, Reuters.com, and many other news providers.
Avidemux is a free and open-source software application for non-linear video editing and transcoding multimedia files. The developers intend it as "a simple tool for simple video processing tasks" and to allow users "to do elementary things in a very straightforward way". It is written in C++ and uses Qt for its graphical user interface, and FFmpeg for its multimedia functions. Starting with version 2.4, Avidemux also offers a command-line interface, and since version 2.6, the original GTK port has not been maintained and is now discontinued.
GOM Player is a media player for Windows, developed by GOM & Company. With more than 100 million downloads, it is also known as the most used player in South Korea. Its main features include the ability to play some broken media files and find missing codecs using a codec finder service.
Plumi is a free software video sharing content management system developed based on the open-source content management system - Plone. Plumi allows users to create a video-sharing website by adding it to an existing Plone instance. The software includes a wide array of functionality to facilitate video distribution and community creation.
TVersity Media Server is a software application that streams multimedia content from a personal computer to UPnP, DLNA and mobile devices. It was the first media server to offer real-time transcoding. Some examples of supported devices are the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii.
PS3 Media Server is a DLNA-compliant UPnP media server. Originally written to support the PlayStation 3, it has been expanded to support a range of other media renderers, including Xbox 360, various Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, and Sony televisions, as well as portable devices. Written in Java, it streams or transcodes many different media formats, with minimum configuration. The FFmpeg and MPlayer packages support the PS3 Media Server. A currently maintained fork of PS3 Media Server exists as Universal Media Server.
The following comparison of audio players compares general and technical information for a number of software media player programs. For the purpose of this comparison, "audio players" are defined as any media player explicitly designed to play audio files, with limited or no support for video playback. Multi-media players designed for video playback, which can also play music, are included under comparison of video player software.
Unreal Media Server is a streaming server software created by Unreal Streaming Technologies.
CineAsset is a complete mastering software suite by Doremi Labs that can create and playback encrypted and unencrypted DCI compliant packages from virtually any source. CineAsset includes a separate "Editor" application for generating Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs). CineAsset Pro adds the ability to generate encrypted DCPs and Key Delivery Messages (KDMs) for any encrypted content in the database.
Universal Media Server is a DLNA-compliant UPnP media server. It originated as a fork of PS3 Media Server. It allows streaming of media files to a wide range of devices including video game consoles, smart TVs, smartphones, and Blu-ray players. It streams and transcodes multimedia files over a network connection to the rendering device, ensuring that a supported rendering device will receive the content in a format supported by the device. Transcoding is accomplished through packages from AviSynth, FFMpeg, MEncoder, and VLC.