If you’re like most people, you probably have a few devices that can be used to access your home media. You might have an Xbox, a Playstation, a computer, or even a set-top box. But what if you want to use all of these devices in the same room? Or if you want to keep them all in one place and use them as one big media center? That’s where a home media server comes in. A home media server is a device that helps you keep all of your devices connected and organized so that you can watch your favorite shows and movies from anywhere in the world. Here’s how to set up a home media server:
- Choose the right device: The first thing you need to do is choose which device you want to use as your home media server. There are many different types of devices that can be used as home media servers, so it’s important to find one that will work with all of your devices. If you only have one device, it might not be able to handle all of the tasks required for setting up a home media server.
- Connect your devices: Once you’ve chosen which device will be used as your home media server, it’s time to connect it to the network. This will allow everything on that device to communicate with each other and create an overall networked environment. You’ll also need to connect each device individually so that they can share files and play games together.
- Set up security: Once everything is connected and secure, it’s time for the next step—setting up security! This will ensure that no one else can access your data or make changes to your files without permission. You’ll also need to create passwords and other security measures so that no one can get into your system without knowing what they’re doing (or even knowing where it is).
- Start playing! Now that everything is set up correctly, it’s time for some fun
Local media servers have gone out of style. Microsoft no longer makes Windows Home Server and is phasing out Windows Media Center. But there are still great solutions if you want to run a home media server and stream to all your devices.
Sure, you could just connect a PC to your TV, but these provide convenient interfaces across all your devices. That means apps for TV streaming boxes, smartphones, tablets, and web-based interfaces for everything else. They even work over the Internet.
Bring Your Own Media
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There are some good free software packages for this, but you’ll need to bring your own media. If you have a large collection of local video and music files — perhaps videos ripped from DVDs and music ripped from audio CDs — this may be the ideal way to access that content on all your devices without relying on streaming services like Netflix and Spotify.
These apps often allow you to browse and access photos, too — perfect if you’re the type of person who keeps a local photo collection, too.
Plex vs. Media Browser: Choose One
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The two biggest solutions to recommend are probably Plex and Media Browser. Both work similarly, offering a server you install on a desktop PC, laptop, NAS device, or dedicated home server. You could also try Kodi, formerly known as XBMC — it can be a bit more complicated to set up and works a bit differently.
Plex and Media Browser both offer servers that run on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, BSD, and various NAS devices. You can install it on a desktop computer, a dedicated server, or get a pre-made NAS device that supports the server software.
Media Browser offers clients for the Roku and some other TV-streaming devices, including Chromecast support. There are also mobile apps for for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 8. Want to use it on a computer? There’s a convenient web-based interface.
Both have fairly similar features, although Plex definitely offers a more comprehensive suite of apps — PlayStation, Xbox, and Fire TV support, for example. However, some Plex services cost money. The iOS Plex app costs $5, and the Xbox and PlayStation app both require a “Plex Pass” subscription that will cost you $5 a month.
Media Browser and its apps are completely free, so there’s no monthly fee or per-app purchases you’ll have to deal with — then again, Media Browser doesn’t even offer PlayStation or Xbox support you could purchase if you wanted to. So, you’ll need to pick one — or, better yet, consider trying both and figuring out which one works best for you.
Set Up the Server, Install the Apps, and Start Streaming
The setup process should just take a few minutes, no matter what server you choose to use. Install the Plex or Media Browser on your system of choice and set it up to point at your media. Both Plex and Media Browser offer an optional account system, which can simplify signing into the mobile and TV apps and connecting to your server remotely over the Internet.
You can then install the appropriate apps on your TV-streaming boxes, smartphones, and tablets. Use them to access your streaming media. This part is fairly easy. If you have a Chromecast, remember that you don’t need any special Plex or Media Browser app on your TV — you can install the appropriate app on your smartphone and then use it to cast media directly to your Chromecast.
You’ll also need to run your own home server for this. If you have a desktop PC or laptop and are happy just accessing the server while your computer is running, you can just install the server software on your desktop computer.
You could also set up a dedicated server system to run the server, of course. That’d be a computer you could leave running all the time and even access your media server remotely over the Internet. It doesn’t have to be a full, high-powered computer — it could be a low-power, small-form-factor NAS device with a large hard drive for holding all those media files.
Image Credit: gsloan on Flickr
