for FREE

The convenience of having a media server to share multimedia content (such as movies, pictures or music) with others is significant. Not only that distributing such content gets easier but, considering the very low costs of owning a media server, this option is definitely worth considering.

One of the options you can try out is Universal Media Server (or, in short, UMS), an open-source tool that works as a DLNA, UPnP and HTTP/S media server designed for sharing various media files over a dedicated server, without requiring complex configuration.

Powered by open-source tools in its turn, the Universal Media Server makes it possible to stream your media to various devices, whether we are talking about other PCs, mobile phones, consoles, audio receivers, and so on. The server supports various output devices and facilitates the communication between your PC and the target hardware by taking care of the transfer process and the transcoding operation.

The application tries to keep things as simple as possible, requiring minimum user interaction. Thus, it can automatically detect connected devices and initializes the transfer without prompting you to enter additional configuration options.

Upon first launch, Universal Media Server prompts you to go through a quick configuration wizard, but note that these settings can also be configured at a later time. What you should pay attention at this point is to instruct Universal Media Server to scan shared folders at each launch to make sure the media library is always up-to-date.

The main window displays information about the detected media renderers, the memory usage and details about the current and the maximum bitrate. The shared folders and files can be easily managed within the dedicated tab, while subtitles can be automatically disabled for every streamed video.

There are various options related to thumbnails, file sorting and naming and virtual folders. Universal Media Server features iTunes and AviSynth support and comes with a plethora of transcoding settings that you can freely tweak.

The web-based interface of Universal Media Server makes it easily accessible from anywhere and any device. The web dashboard allows browsing the media library and managing folders without a lot of hassle. It also features an integrated subtitle translator.

Universal Media Server allows fast browsing and sharing of your media library. It is a streaming server that helps you stream multimedia files without compromise on quality. It is released under an open-source license, which is another plus you can take into consideration when making your choice between the media servers available out there.