We configure DLNA server using the “Home Media Server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP)” program. Viewing files from a computer on a TV

After that, unpack the downloaded archive and run the "setup.exe" file.

The installation process will start. You will be prompted to select a directory for installing the application. You can leave the default:

In the next step, you will be asked to select the type of device with which our media server will work.

Basically, if the "Auto detect" option is checked, the program will determine everything and set the necessary parameters of your media device.

Now you need to select folders, or entire local drives that you want to make public:

Then the program will ask you to make backup copies of the settings. We will not do this, since not everyone has configured what we wanted yet. Therefore, we press the "Close" button:

At this step, the main program window will open. You can study a little to get comfortable. Then click the "Settings" button:

In the window that opens, select the "Scanning" tab at the bottom:

This will give us the ability to control the server and computer from the TV.

For example, after watching a movie, you will not need to go to the computer to turn it off. Everything can be done from the TV. Cool, agree?

Now select the "Devices" tab and click the "Search" button:

Here again, click the "Search" button at the bottom of the window. When asked to start the server, answer "Yes":

The program will start and its icon will appear in the system tray:

After that, a window with a list of found devices will be displayed. Find the TV and click on the red icon on the left in the form of a road sign "No entry":

It should now look like a green checkmark. This means that the TV and the server understand each other and are ready to work over the network.

After that, all found devices should be displayed on the "Devices" tab. Select the TV again and click the "Settings" button:

If you want to access the server from any device on your home network through a web browser, select the "Advanced" tab and check the "Web navigation" item:

I recommend disabling the option "Create playlists of media resources in Web-navigation mode".

You can now access the program through your web browser:

We check if this is so:

As you can see, everything works.

To view media resources on a computer, you need a VLC player.

If the program interface does not open, go to the "Settings - Server" path and check if the port number is correct:

Also turn off the firewall on your computer and try again.

Therefore blog not to miss interesting material.

Now I will briefly talk about the "Transcoder" tab:

For example, you downloaded a movie in a format that your TV cannot play.

In this case, you can select a transcoding profile that transcodes the video into the desired format. Moreover, the whole process takes place during startup, without any preliminary user action.

It should be noted that in the program you can set transcoding settings according to three main principles:

First: for all movies (example in the screenshot above).
Second: for certain types of video file extensions.

To do this, follow the path "Settings - Media resources - File types - Change":

Third: for a specific movie.

In the main window of the server, select the required video file, right-click on it and select "Transcoding Profile":

At first glance, a beginner may not understand all these profiles, encodings, and so on at all. It is very easy to get confused. To be honest, the author of the article, too, did not immediately get to the bottom of the matter. But it's actually pretty simple.

Look, at the very beginning of setting up the Home Media Server program, we indicated the type of our media device, in our case a Samsung TV:

After that, the application itself determines which formats of audio-video files your TV set supports.

And if, for example, you run a movie with a resolution that is not in the above list, transcoding will start for it in order to convert it into a format readable for TV. I hope the essence has become clear to you.

As a rule, nothing needs to be changed for Samsung TVs, so leave all the settings here as they are. We will solve all problems as they arise, since the topic of setting up transcoding in HMS is very extensive.

Now we move on to the final stage. Go to the "Advanced" tab and set the settings as in the screenshot below:

Now the program will automatically load and quietly "hang" peacefully in the Windows system services.

Let's go back to the main program window again. Let's describe the main control buttons:

The "Movies - Music - Photo" buttons are used to select folders with corresponding resources.

The buttons "Start - Stop - Restart" control the server. In working condition, the start button must be pressed (inactive).

That's all. The question of how the Home Media Server program can be downloaded, installed and configured can be closed.

In the previous issue of the magazine, we told our readers about the capabilities of media centers produced today by Russian manufacturers (see article "Testing media centers of Russian manufacturers" in KomuterPress # 5'2007) and designed to become the basis for building a digital home. In fact, such a media center is just a computer system with advanced multimedia capabilities, albeit with a certain specificity. It is not only and not so much the hardware configuration that makes it a key component of the digital home, but the corresponding software, thanks to which it is able to become a service center for other multimedia devices, in other words, a media server. The capabilities and configuration of software media servers will be discussed in this article.

The increasing popularity of the concept of a digital home and the demand for components for its creation have led to the fact that today the number of models on the market of software media servers has already exceeded a dozen. What is a software media server and what are the basic principles of its operation?

A software media server is a software product that allows, through a wired or wireless network interface, to provide general access and sharing of various multimedia content stored on the server with other client devices, be it a PC or consumer electronics. Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology is used for interaction between the media server and clients. The UPnP Implementers Corporation (UIC), a non-profit organization with 69 member companies, was formed in February 2001 to promote it as the industry standard for hardware and software products. This organization tests and certifies products for UPnP standards. In addition, today the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is gaining more authority - another non-profit organization that develops and promotes standards for the interaction of various multimedia devices to gain access to digital multimedia content and multimedia services, including as part of creating a digital home. which are also based on UPnP technology. This alliance includes more than 230 companies, including companies - members of the UIC.

Certification of these organizations is the key to the correct collaboration of UPnP devices. Therefore, when choosing a media server, like, in general, any other UPnP device, it is better to give preference to equipment and programs that have passed such certification. So, a list of UPnP devices certified by the UIC corporation can be found on the website of this organization at: http://www.upnp-ic.org/certification/default.asp#devices, detailed information can also be obtained on the official website of the DLNA alliance : http://certification.dlna.org/products/. We will talk about some of these software products in this review.

Preset OC

Before proceeding to the description of the capabilities and consideration of the available settings of software media servers, we will briefly talk about the operating system settings that must be performed in order to ensure the ability to work with the UPnP protocol.

First of all, for this you need to make sure that the necessary modules are installed in the operating system and the appropriate settings are made. To do this, select the item Add / Remove Windows Components(Add / remove Windows components), you need to go to the window Windows Components Wizard(Windows Components Add Wizard). In this window, in the list of components, select Networking Services(Network Services) (Fig. 1) and by clicking Details(Details), in the window that opens, check the box next to the component UPnP User Interface(UPnP UI) if not already checked (Figure 2).

Rice. 1. Selecting components of network services in the window
Windows Components Wizard

Rice. 2. Selecting the UPnP User Interface service in the window
Windows Components Wizard

As a result, this service will be installed (for which you need to press the button Ok(Yes) in the window Networking Services(Network Services) and Next(Next) in the window Windows Components Wizard(Windows Components Add Wizard).

Then you should configure the Windows firewall, for which, by opening the window of this utility (this can be done, for example, by selecting the appropriate item from the control panel), go to the tab Exceptions(Exceptions) and check the box next to the UPnP Framework entry, thereby activating it in the exclusions table and disabling Windows Firewall control over UPnP connections (Figure 3).

Rice. 3. Adding UPnP Framework to Exceptions Table
Windows firewall

Software media servers

Nero MediaHome

Manufacturer: Nero AG

Nero MediaHome is a UIC-certified UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) AV (Audio / Video) Media Server that fully complies with the MediaServer V.1.0 standard. It can be used to organize access to audio, video and graphic files by various computer systems and other devices that support the UPnP protocol, including consumer electronics devices.

This application is included with Nero AG software products such as Nero 7 Premium Reloaded (price € 59.99, full 15-day demo version available) and Nero Digital Pro (price € 29.99).

Nero MediaHome Media Server supports the following media file formats:

• audio: MP3, MP4 (Audio), WAVE, AAC, HE-AAC, OGG Vorbis, WMA, AC3, AIFF;
• video: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DV-AVI, AVI, Xvid, ASF, WMV, MP4 (Video);
• graphic files: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF.

After installing the Nero MediaHome application, you need to configure it. By running this utility, on the left side of the window that opens, you can see the control panel, which consists of a set of icons; by selecting one of them, you can go to the corresponding settings window. Let us consider each of them sequentially.

The first window that opens by default when you first start and if the media server has not started is General directories(Shared Directories) - fig. 4. In it, you can configure the settings for sharing files and directories of the media server (group Network Sharing(Network Shares)).

Rice. 4. Settings window Shared directories of the Nero MediaHome utility

Here you can set access both to all files indexed using the Nero Scout utility, and only to files in the selected directory (which is recommended). By choosing the last option (by checking the box Share only specific folders(Share individual folder only), you can set a list of shared directories, for which you need to click Add. joint…(Add Share) and one by one select all the folders that you plan to open for sharing.

In the window Options(Options) opens access to the settings of the server (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. Settings window Nero MediaHome utility options

Here you can activate the automatic launch of the Nero MediaHome utility when the computer is turned on, the automatic launch of the media server when the program window is opened, the options for opening the window (starting in a minimized state, placing in the tray when minimizing the window and permanently displaying the application icon in the system tray). If the computer is constantly used as a media server and does not require changing the settings each time it starts, then it is recommended to select all the autostart settings offered in this window.

The button in the same window Reset messages(Reset Message Boxes) allows you to reset previously received warnings in dialog boxes regarding media server operation (we will look at these messages a little later). This button is disabled during initial setup.

In the settings window Net(Network), you can set the network name of the media server, the network port it uses (random - the recommended setting - or a fixed number set in the range from 1024 to 65535) and the associated network interface (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Network settings window of the Nero MediaHome utility

By selecting the settings window Devices(Devices), you can see all UPnP devices detected by the media server on the network (they will be searched only after the server is started), - Fig. 7.

Rice. 7. Device settings window of the Nero MediaHome utility

For each device displayed in the list, you can individually set the rules for accessing the server's media content (allow or deny access). In order for all newly discovered UPnP devices to have access to the media server files by default, we recommend activating the corresponding setting in the group Access control(Access Control).

Settings window Transcoding(Transcoding) allows you to set the transcoding (or transcoding) settings of the transmitted media files (Fig. 8).

Rice. 8. Settings window Transcoding utility Nero MediaHome

In this window, you can separately set the parameters for transferring audio, video and graphic files. It is worth explaining why this media server function is needed at all. The fact is that situations are likely when a UPnP player accessing a media server may not support playback of files of one format or another available on it. In this case, the transcoding feature comes in handy: the media server automatically detects the formats supported by the UPnP player, and recodes the original file unreadable by the UPnP client into a format that it understands, and this operation is performed on the fly in real time. Nero MediaHome can transcode to the following formats:

• for audio files: MP3 (MPEG-1 Layer 3), AAC (Nero Digital), HE-AAC (Nero Digital), Wave, LPCM, WMA;
• for video files: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 (Nero Digital);
• for graphic files: JPEG, PNG, BMP.

The Nero MediaHome media server allows you to independently set the preferred format for transcoding, and for video files it is possible to set the bitrate settings during encoding, which will take into account the bandwidth of the communication channel used (low bit rate, high bit rate), as well as for video and graphic files, the standard images (PAL, NTSC or original resolution). But to ensure the most correct operation, it is recommended to use the default settings: Autodetect(Auto-detect) and Original permission(Original Resolution) respectively.

Settings available in the window Tv(TV) are useful if the computer with the Nero MediaHome media server is equipped with a TV tuner. In this case, you can organize broadcasting of streaming television in the local network. To do this, you need to use the Nero TV Wizard setup wizard, which is launched by clicking the button of the same name in the window Tv(fig. 9).

Rice. 9. The TV settings window of the Nero MediaHome utility

In the first window of this setting wizard - Device selection(Device Selection) - in the drop-down lists you can select: the video device associated with the media server, the video signal source used (video input), sound source and audio input, and also set the recording quality of the captured video signal and its storage location (Fig. 10).

Rice. 10. The Select device window of the TV Wizard

Rice. 11. Window Search for analog TV channel of the settings wizard
TV Wizard

In this window, as you might guess from its name, a search is performed for the TV channels received by the TV tuner. In order to make this setting, in the drop-down list Country selection(Select country) you need to indicate your location, and in the other - Source type selection(Select source) - method of signal reception (antenna or cable). After that, by pressing the button Search(Search), you should search for receivable TV channels.

In the next window of the TV Wizard - Change TV channel- you can sort and rename the found TV and radio channels (Fig. 12).

Rice. 12. The Change TV channel window of the TV Wizard

In the last window of the TV Wizard - Channel group management- you can distribute the received radio and TV channels into groups (Fig. 13).

Rice. 13. Window for Managing TV channel groups of the settings wizard
TV Wizard

Button press Complete(Finish) will return us to the first window of the TV Wizard, which can then be closed.

Speaking about the possibilities of broadcasting TV channels, we note that this media server supports the Timeshift function (pause viewing).

The last window for Nero MediaHome media server settings is Status(Status) - displayed by default when the window of the started server is opened (Fig. 14).

Rice. 14. Settings window Status of the Nero MediaHome utility

It displays information about UPnP client service sessions, showing the client's name, IP address, the name of the file being accessed, and the progress of the transfer. It also contains full statistics of requests for viewing content and transferring media content, as well as the amount of data transferred.

After setting up the media server, to start it, you need to press the button Server start(Start Server). When you start the media server for the first time, a warning will be displayed stating that by starting the Nero MediaHome server you will make your media data available to all network users (Fig. 15). By agreeing to this, you will get a working UPnP media server on your network.

Rice. 15. Warning window displayed when starting Nero MediaHome for the first time

The structure of the shared directories of this media server is shown in Fig. sixteen.

Rice. 16. Structure of shared directories
Nero MediaHome Media Server

Advantages:

• transcoding is supported;
• broadcasting of television channels is supported;
• it is possible to monitor the progress of the transfer of media data;
• Russian language is supported.

Flaws:

• the complexity of the setup;
• the complexity of the directory structure.

InterVideo Media Content Server

Manufacturer: InterVideo

Like the above product from Nero AG, InterVideo Media Content Server is a DLNA and UIC certified UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) AV (Audio / Video) media server that fully complies with the MediaServer V.1.0 standard. This application is included in the InterVideo WinDVD Media Center software suite ($ 69.95, fully functional 14-day demo available).

The InterVideo Media Content Server supports the following media file formats:

• audio: MP3, MP2, WAV, AAC, HE-AAC, WMA, AC3, AT3P, L16, WPL;
• video: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, AVI, DivX, ASF, WMV, MOV, RM, MP4 (Video);
• graphic files: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, PCX, TGA.

Setting up this utility is very simple and does not take much time. To execute it, after installing the InterVideo WinDVD Media Center program, you need to launch the InterVideo IMC Server Tool, which will set the main parameters of the server operation. By running this utility on the left side of the window that opens, you can see the control panel, which consists of a set of icons; by selecting one of them, you can go to the corresponding settings window.

First settings window General Settings allows you to activate the autorun function when you turn on the computer, as well as select the server operating mode ( Start or Idle) (fig. 17).

Rice. 17.Utility General Settings window
InterVideo IMC Server Tool

Experience shows that even if the autoload function is not activated in the settings of this media server, then after turning on the computer, this service will still be launched. To avoid this, select Idle as the server operating mode.

The second settings window is Shared Directories- allows you to select the directories that will be available for the clients of the media server (Fig. 18).

Rice. 18. The Shared Directories settings window of the utility
InterVideo IMC Server Tool

By default, these are the directories My music, My pictures and My Videos and it is not possible to cancel sharing of these files. In addition, you can set the types of media that will be shared. However, it should be borne in mind that the number of file types associated with a media server is limited by the number of media formats it supports, the list of which was given above.

The next window is Client Settings- allows you to get information about UPnP devices detected on the network (network name, IP address, MAC address), and set access rights for them to the media content of the media server, for which it is enough to put (access allowed) or remove (access denied) a label opposite the customer record (fig. 19).

Rice. 19. Window of settings Client Settings utility
InterVideo IMC Server Tool

In this window, you can also set a rule for accessing server resources for newly discovered UPnP devices: Always Permitted or Always denied.

In the Network Settings window, you can specify the network name of the server (Fig. 20).

Rice. 20. Utility Network Settings window
InterVideo IMC Server Tool

In the window Information you can get information about the number of the network port used by the media server, the number of directories that are open for public access, and the number of calls to them (Fig. 21).

Rice. 21. Information utility settings window
InterVideo IMC Server Tool

The structure of the shared directories of the InterVideo Media Content Server is shown in Fig. 22.

Rice. 22. The structure of general directories
media server access
InterVideo Media Content Server

Advantages:

• easy to use and customize.

Flaws:

• complex directory structure;

CyberLink Media Server

Manufacturer: CyberLink

CyberLink has in its arsenal of four software products that have passed the UIC certification for compliance with UPnP standards - these are CyberLink Media Server and CyberLink TV Server applications that meet the requirements of the MediaServer V.1.0 standard; SoftDMA compliant with MediaRenderer V1.0 standard; CyberLink PowerCinema, combining UPnP server and client capabilities (MediaServer V1.0, MediaRenderer V1.0).

In this review, we will only consider the CyberLink Media Server application, which, by the way, is also DLNA certified. This utility is included with CyberLink Media Deluxe Pro ($ 69.95, 30-day demo available) and CyberLink Digital Home Enabler Kit ($ 79.95).

Configuring the operating parameters of this media server is extremely simple: by launching it, the user only needs to specify the directories, the contents of which will be available to UPnP clients (Fig. 23).

Rice. 23. CyberLink Media Server Utility Settings Window

There are no other settings available in CyberLink Media Server. It is worth noting that after at least one shared folder is specified in the media server settings, the server will automatically start and the corresponding service providing access to this media data will automatically start on all subsequent computer system start-ups. This fact should be taken into account, since the work of the server is not explicitly displayed in any way - it can be established only by viewing the list of running processes.

The structure of CyberLink Media Server shared directories is shown in Fig. 24.

Rice. 24. Directory structure
shared media server
CyberLink Media Server

Advantages:

• ease of use and customization.

Flaws:

• transcoding is not supported;
• broadcasting of television channels is not supported;
• it is impossible to monitor the progress of the transfer of media data;
• uncontrolled autorun;
• Russian language is not supported.

All of the above media servers are not supplied as a separate software product, but as part of a comprehensive solution for the digital home, which, in addition to the media server itself, includes a number of utilities, including media players that support the UPnP standard (MediaRenderer V1.0). For example, to play media content accessed through the Nero MediaHome media server, the manufacturer recommends using the Nero ShowTime, Nero Home or Nero MediaStreaming plug-in utilities (for Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows Vista Media Center). The InterVideo company offers the InterVideo WinDVD Media Center software product for working with media server content. CyberLink intends for this purpose a certified UPnP client CyberLink SoftDMA, and in addition, the popular and well-known CyberLink PowerDVD 7 player supports working with media server content.

In addition to these solutions, there are many other media servers from developers who are not so famous, but, nevertheless, offering very original solutions, in terms of their functionality, they are not inferior to the above-described software products. An example is the On2Share Pro media server from On2Trade AG. Let's get acquainted with it in more detail.

On2Share Pro

Manufacturer: On2Trade AG

The On2Share Pro media server from On2Trade AG, unlike previous solutions, has not passed UIC and DLNA certification, but fully complies with the requirements of the UPnP AV Media Server specification. In addition, this product has a number of interesting features, so getting to know it as one of the alternative solutions for sharing media content on a local network can be quite interesting.

Immediately, we emphasize that to install this application, you need Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 installed in the system, as well as Microsoft Media Player version 9.10 or 11. The On2Share Pro software product, in addition to the media server itself, includes three add-ons: Windows Media Player Plug-In , Winamp Plug-In and Windows Media Center Plug-In (Fig. 25), which will be installed only if the appropriate players are found during the installation process.

Rice. 25. Window for selecting components to be installed
On2Share Pro utilities

Thus, the user, thanks to the listed plug-ins, has the opportunity to use the standard Windows player or the popular Winamp player as a UPnP client (versions that support working with media libraries (Media Library)), although to access the media content of this media server it can be used and any other program that conforms to the UPnP AV Control Points specification.

Let's consider the available settings of this media server and its capabilities.

Like all the solutions discussed above, the On2Share Pro media server has a windowed interface, switching between settings windows is carried out using the buttons located on the left side of it. In the first settings window - Status- UPnP devices detected in the network are displayed, and there is also a server restart button (Fig. 26).

Rice. 26. Window of the Status settings of the On2Share Pro utility

The next window is Shared Media- opens access to the settings that allow you to organize the general access to the server's media content. This window has four tabs. The first one is Source- allows you to specify directories, the contents of which will be available to clients of the media server. Here you can also open shared access to libraries and playlists of Windows Media Player and Winamp (Fig. 27).

Rice. 27. Shared Media settings window,
Source tab of On2Share Pro utility

In the tab File Type you can specify the types of files associated with the media server that will be available to its clients (Fig. 28).

Rice. 28. Shared Media settings window, File Type tab
On2Share Pro utilities

The Podcast tab allows you to set an RSS feed address that will be available to all clients of the media server (Figure 29). This makes it possible, using the RSS format, to organize a search for media content by its episodes or headlines (similar to RSS news feeds).

Rice. 29. Shared Media Settings Window, Podcast Utilities Tab
On2Share Pro

On the last tab - Streaming URLs- you can set the addresses of the hosts of streaming broadcasting on the Internet (for example, various Internet radio stations), but you need to take into account that UPnP clients must support the format of this streaming broadcast and have an Internet connection (after all, in this case, we are talking only only about the addresses of resources, and not about the streaming itself), - fig. thirty.

Rice. 30. Shared Media settings window, Utility Streaming URLs tab
On2Share Pro

By going to the settings window Broadcast Settings, you can set the parameters for the function of remote control over the playback of media content by the clients of the media server (Fig. 31).

Rice. 31. The Broadcast Settings window of the On2Share Pro utility

There are two settings available in this window: and. When the first of them is activated, the server works for reception, "listening" to the broadcast commands transmitted in the network. The choice of the second parameter, in turn, makes the configured media server a broadcast source, while in the list available here, you can set for which media servers operating in the local network this transmission will be intended.

This function of the On2Share Pro media server works as follows. When playing any file in Windows Media Player or Winamp on a computer with On2Share Pro media server running and setting enabled Broadcast to other AV Media Renderers on another media server (marked in the list of broadcast clients), provided that its installation is activated Listen to broadcasts from other media servers, the On2Share Pro built-in player window will be automatically launched Broadcast Player in which the same media file will be played. In this case, all actions (pause, stop, start) performed in the player of the broadcast source will be repeated in this window as well.

The last window of On2Share Pro media server settings available to the user is General(fig. 32).

Rice. 32. The General settings window of the On2Share Pro utility

It has two tabs: of the same name - General where autostart parameters are set, and Log Message, where the log file of the media server operation is displayed.

We will illustrate the structure of the shared directories of this media server from On2Trade AG using the example of the Nero Home utility (Fig. 33).

Rice. 33. Directory structure
shared media server
On2Share Pro

That is, perhaps, all that I would like to tell you about the capabilities of the On2Share Pro media server. The undoubted advantage of this model is its integration with such popular media players as Windows Media Player and Winamp. But, importantly, the add-ons for these players included in the On2Share Pro software package allow them to access media content not only on the On2Trade AG server, but also on any other UPnP server (at least all of the above media servers were capable of working with these plugins).

It's no secret that over time, we accumulate a lot of all kinds of films, photographs and the like, and this is all usually stored on a computer.

But it would be nice to watch a movie that you just downloaded from the network on a big TV, and not on a PC screen, but for this you need to transfer this movie to a USB flash drive, or burn it to disk.

In a word, a lot of unnecessary movement. But there are solutions, this is a multimedia server.

Don't be alarmed, this is not exactly a separate computer with hard drives. This is a program that performs strictly assigned tasks.

Let's take a look at several programs that can provide access to media content from other devices or programs.

Let's start with the theoretical basics of what DLNA and Smart Share are.

DLNA(in its own words) is a technology that allows devices that are connected to the same network and support DLNA technology to exchange media content (video, photo, music).

Now, almost all devices support DLNA technology: computers, TVs, smartphones, game consoles, etc.

Smart Share Is a proprietary application (technology) by LG. If I can say so, then this is a kind of shell for working with DLNA.

Other TV manufacturers call these programs differently. Samsung has AllShare. SONY - VAIO Media Server.

And so, without a doubt, you can watch photos, films, etc. on TV that are on your computer or even smartphone.

But from the beginning you need to set up DLNA (Smart Share) between PC and TV. (TV must be able to connect to the network)

What does it mean?

This means that both the TV and the computer must be connected to the same No matter how they are connected. (via Wi-Fi or cable)

And so you have a router, but there is no Wi-Fi in the TV. We can simply lay a network cable from the router to the TV.

Our router must be connected to the Internet and configured. Also, we need a network cable. We connect one end of the cable to the router, into the yellow connector.

On the TV, we connect the other end of the cable to the network connector.

And you can debug the router itself from the knowledge gained in this article:

Next, we need to set up the distribution of files from the computer so that the TV can play videos from the necessary folders, or show photos. We just need to open access for this. You can even do this with the standard Windows Media Player.

But there is a very good and absolutely free program “ Home Media Server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP)», Which is an excellent analogue of Smart Share from LG, or for example AllShare from Samsung.

And so, friends, a media server for a computer that will pump your TV and make it much more functional.

Home Media Server

Home media server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP) is a program that provides media resources (photos, audio and video files) of your computer to other UPnP (DLNA) devices on your home network.

For example, TVs Philips, Sony, Samsung, LG, Toshiba, game consoles Sony Playstation 3, XBOX 360, media players WD TV Live, Popcorn Hour, Dune, Boxee Box, IconBit, ASUS O! Play, iPad / iPhone / iPod, mobile and PDA devices.

The program includes various transcoders for audio and video files that allow converting media resources into a format supported by the playback device.

It is also possible to convert the frame format of video files to the display format of the playback device (the color of the padding is set by the user), the choice of the audio track, subtitles. You can choose transcoding from any minute.

The program includes transcoding profiles for VLC Media Player, you can redirect streams of Internet radio, Internet TV from your computer to your media devices.

The program supports Digital TV (C, S, T), you can redirect digital TV streams from your computer to your media devices.

The program supports control of DMR (Digital Media Renderer) devices, you can use the "Play to" function for an individual device and a group of devices.

This is a whole combine, the functionality of which knows no boundaries.

The only drawback will be the terrible interface of the program, but since it is needed to play movies on TV, this will not be a big problem. The program is absolutely free and is only available in the version for Windows.

First, we need to download and install the program itself. I recommend downloading from the official website: https://www.homemediaserver.ru/index.htm... There is always a new version!

After installation, launch the program with a shortcut on the desktop. Let's go to the program settings. We will not do anything special there. We will simply indicate local drives, flash drives, external hard drives, or folders, the contents of which we want to see on the TV.

For example, you can only open a few folders with movies, photos and music.

A window with settings will open. In the first category, Media resources, we need to indicate which disks or folders we want to see on the TV. By default, there are standard folders with photos, videos and music open.

The program tries to sort everything. And in order not to get confused in all these folders on the TV, I advise you to open shared access to local drives. This means that you can open any file on the TV that is stored on these local drives (drives C, D, E, etc.).

You can also specify individual folders, or for example an external hard drive. To do this, click on the Add button on the right, and select the required folder, USB flash drive, or hard drive in the explorer. These are the basic settings, click on the Ok button, and agree to scan media resources.

Further, you can already start the DLNA server itself. To do this, just click on the "Start" button. Now, just turn on your TV. If everything is connected correctly, then it should appear in the "Home Media Server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP)" program.

To do this, go to the Playback Devices (DMR) tab, and on the right, click the Refresh button.

VIDEO:

So Plex .

The most popular and, perhaps, rather convenient option. Having started the server on a computer, you can control it from a browser, set up a media library, add subtitles, and more.

Plex downloads all information about the movie automatically and does it perfectly in most cases. The TV sees the Plex server without any problems and plays everything perfectly.

The disadvantage of Plex and other similar programs is that the TV does not see the subtitles embedded in the movie, but for me it doesn't really matter to you.
Plex is free, but you have to buy a subscription for additional features.
https://plex.tv/

PS3 Media Server.

Initially, PS3 Media Server was distributed as an add-on to the PlayStation 3, allowing you to play movies on your TV using the console.

Then the program began to live a separate life. Like previous alternatives, it supports DLNA playback and does not require any setup hassle.
http://www.ps3mediaserver.org/

Serviio is far from the most popular multimedia server. The application is free, but for $ 25 you can buy the PRO version, which allows you to access your content from any network, not just your home network.

And this allows you to play content from the WEB (this function is given as an introduction and in the free version). Serviio has applications for Android, however they act as a secondary control panel for the server side of the computer.
http://www.serviio.org/

Kodi or (XBMC)

XBMC was created to bring video playback functionality to the Xbox. Then the project spun off and now Kodi is one of the most popular media centers, supporting almost all platforms due to open source.

Kodi has iOS and Android apps that let you use your smartphone as a remote control. The service lives on donations and is absolutely free.
http://kodi.tv/

Good luck Friends!

It so happened that the tag DLNA server is more common in post-questions than in answers. And if some user experience has been accumulated in matters of installation on a home Windows PC, then it turned out to be difficult to decide on the choice of software for a home server / NAS / media center. Distributed among the sandboxes, the people separately solve the problems of each program separately. And to understand which of them is worth what and whether it is needed at all - I personally did not succeed.

And so, armed with a link from Wikipedia How to choose a DLNA server under Windows, Mac OS X or Linux - I tried almost everything that is under Linux.

DLNA - its place on the home network

Probably this path has already been passed by the majority - new media devices appear in the house, the number of family members who consume media content is growing, the very base of films, music and photographs is swelling.
At the same time, everyone builds a media infrastructure in their own way. Someone has a computer with TV-OUT, someone has a netbook or HTPC. Someone shares folders from NAS via NFS, someone connects HDD to a media player, someone uses the capabilities of Sony PS ...
Confusion appears in storage locations, formats, codecs, etc.
So, in my case it turned out:

• plasma in the living room is better served 720p than FullHD
• it is better not to feed a Sony TV in a nursery connected via Wi-Fi more than 15Mbit / s, H.264 needs a maximum of Profile 4.1, and it does not see files on network storages at all
• satellite receiver Openbox does not know how to play sound tracks in DTS, does not pull more than 30Mbit / s via SMB, does not display Cyrillic via NFS
• Nokia Lumia and iPhone are generally limited everywhere and everywhere

In general, the only way to make this whole menagerie friends with each other is to use a DLNA server.
Theoretically, it will bring the content from different places into one folder tree, and adjust the resolution and check the compatibility of the codecs and recode if necessary. Beauty…

What to bet on

Home computer- usually a Windows machine. It's impossible to watch a movie with transcoding while someone is playing; 24/7 mode is not even close. Not suitable for the role. Therefore, I did not even consider the Windows versions of the programs.
Router flashed with DD-WRT / OpenWRT- there are packages for these firmwares and they work. Hardware resources are very limited - transcoding is unrealistic, the speed of access to the USB port and network folders is very limited. Nevertheless, this is suitable for many.
NAS or Linux home server is the most versatile solution. There are many programs. There are no protocol restrictions. The performance of 5-year-old x86 processors (in my case it is Athlon X2-6000) is enough for simultaneous on-the-fly transcoding of two films of any format.

Personal experience, program evaluation

MiniDLNA, uShare and xupnpd

These are different projects, but in essence - the same thing. Lightweight and fast. The only function they perform is to provide network access to media files using DLNA / UPnP protocol. The rest of the player or TV must be able to do it yourself. DLNA is not fully supported and many devices simply do not see these servers.
Very massive. They work everywhere. Packages exist for all kinds of Linux distributions, routers with DD-WRT / OpenWRT firmware and NAS. The installation procedure is simple and well described in the specialized forums. No GUI
If you, and only you (otherwise, complaints from family members are inevitable):

• watch / listen from only one omnivorous device (such as a Samsung TV)
• Your device is not able to directly download files from network folders or is doing it too slowly (such as a Sony Bravia TV)
• store movies / music on an inexpensive NAS or router with a USB disk
• pre-select content in the desired format or do not be lazy to recode manually
• the media files are already well sorted into folders or it doesn't bother you at all

- then you can limit yourself to such a DLNA server. Choose from them the one that is in the packages for your piece of iron and will be seen by the render.

MediaTomb

The developers clearly write that "this is not a DLNA server, it only supports some of its functions." And although there may be some compatibility problems, this is quite a project worthy of attention.
There is already a GUI working through the built-in http-server - in it you can manage folders with content. Add new ones, create shortcuts to existing ones, set scan intervals, etc.
Well distributed - there is no problem to install in any Linux distribution, it does not pull heavy dependencies. Configurable with a single text file. Very stable at work, not resource-intensive.
You can use transcoding, but it is implemented in a simple way. So, the binding of profiles is carried out to the format of the input file, and not to the output device. The server does not distinguish at all who has connected to it. Accordingly, there are no ready-made profiles for devices - everything needs to be configured manually:

• which formats to transcode and which to transmit directly
• set the encoder according to the situation: ffmpeg, vlc, mplayer or something else
• set bitrate, number of audio channels, H.264 profile and other encoding options
• apply a video filter such as crop margins or crop

In my case, I had to write a separate script to set ffmpeg arguments based on the audio track format (DTS or AC3).
At the same time, when viewing a transcoded stream on the TV, rewinding and selection of the audio track will not work. Screwing subtitles is also a separate song.
In general, MediaTomb is a very brutal tool for true Linux users. You can't call it universal, but you can customize it perfectly for yourself and your hardware.

Rygel

Massive, there is almost everywhere. But it is very crookedly put into daemon mode (you need to write an init script yourself, create folders and a user). It is part of the gnome project and pulls gstreamer (or even pulseaudio) along with it. If someone has KDE or something else on their computer, it is completely inconvenient. Icons for videos are generated by tumbler from the XFCE project, and even then with some nuances. Falls regularly.
Before studying the features of transcoding, my hands did not reach. My verdict is " unfit".

PS3 Media Server

A very old project. And although from its initial application: "Distribute movies / music from home Windows PC to Sony PS" - the project has evolved a lot. But the JAVA code and the requirements for running the X server turned me away from it.

XBMC

It has a DLNA server. But keeping this combine for the sake of just one module is stupid.
Moreover, it was from XBMC that a separate project for the Plex media server was born.

Universal Media Server

He's kind of crooked. Showed me the whole directory tree instead of the selected folder. I opened only a few files and regularly poured errors into the console. I haven’t figured it out with transconding at all.
Quite heavy because of the JAVA code. You definitely need a running X server - you can't install it with a daemon. " Unfit."

GMediaServer

The project is abandoned. Not worthy of attention.

LXiMedia

Simple and convenient DLNA server implementation. It is enough to select folders with files, hard-set transcoding parameters, audio track, subtitles. No profiles, settings. In addition, this is a GUI application, not a daemon.
In my opinion, it is useless in this form - one of many and far from the best.

Serviio

Perhaps the fastest growing project now. Updated regularly. It actively grows with plugins, profiles and applications for mobile OS.
It is a JAVA application running as a daemon. DLNA protocol support - full. Quite skillfully scatter content into folders and categories. Knows how to create thumbnails for films. Different channels of on-line broadcasting are easily connected.
Transcodes using ffmpeg. The base of device profiles is already large enough (and continues to grow) - the server correctly selects the encoding parameters for any of the home glands. What I didn't recognize - it's not difficult to find a profile or write your own.
Due to the fact that ffmpeg is used - the same problem as in mediatomb - there is no rewind in the transcoded stream and the audio track does not change.
All this is controlled either from a JAVA client, or a web-muzzle written in PHP, or a smartphone (there are applications for Android and WP).
Unfortunately not available as a .deb or .rpm package. You need to set it manually: create folders, a user, unpack, take an init-script on the support forum, set it to autorun. "There is a ready-made package under the Synology NAS.
In general, it may well become a single point of access to media content at home. All that is needed - he knows how.

Skifta

Not included in Linux repositories and therefore rare. But it has a graphical installer and carries jre with it, and therefore will be in almost any system. It is inconvenient because it is launched in two steps - first the utility in SystemTray, then the media-server itself. Without X and a demon will not work. It is very simple and concise, but it overloads the system (JAVA code).

TVMOBiLi

It costs $ 30 (or a subscription fee of $ 1.5 / month). Available as .deb and .rpm packages. It is quite difficult to install outside Ubuntu / Fedora - the built-in vlc and ffmpeg will probably find the missing libraries and refuse to work. I was unable to match the vlc USE flags in Gentoo. Didn't work at all, I had to redo the profiles so that only ffmpeg was used.
In general, transcoding profiles are its strong point. You can set any logic and any parameters.
It is controlled through a nice WEB-muzzle. Has a rich base of transcoding profiles. It is possible to play files through the built-in http-server. Can't generate previews.
Works quickly and beautifully. Good candidate.

TwonkyServer

Installed by unpacking tar.gz. or through the installer. Linux repositories do not have it. Very fast code, instant launch, user-friendly web interface. It scatters content well and competently into folders. There are ready-made init scripts. Knows how to extract meta data from files and generate thumbnails. All liked it. One trouble - $ 19.95.
But still: " Recommend".

Plex

As the developers write - "A complete Media Solution". I confirm.
This monster grew out of XBMC and can do everything and even more. For films, you will find posters, ratings and a bunch of data. The series will also be distributed by seasons and episodes. The music collection will be organized from any source view.
Transcoding makes everything out of everything. The parameters can be controlled directly from the TV OSD. For smart devices like LG Smart TVs and Apple TVs, support goes well beyond DLNA.
There is support for its own cloud service, which allows you to watch home video remotely - the server will adjust the parameters of the video being sent to the capabilities of the device and the communication channel.
There are separately written clients for mobile OS and Windows 8 tiles.
There are pre-packaged packages for Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS and mass NAS models. For everything else, it is installed by simple unpacking. Of the dependencies, only Avahi-daemon is required.
Unfortunately, the transcoding mechanism weakly allows interference in the work - the profiles can be tweaked, but the possibilities are very limited.

It is able to solve any problems within the framework of the theme, at the same time it is free, stable and, oddly enough, fast.

I would very much like someone to supplement this list and / or make changes.

• DLNA - what is it and who needs it
• Windows media server dlna,
• A short overview of dlna server programs
• Home media server is the best among equals, or a user's headache
• Server side setup
• Alternative and development

DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)- a set of technologies for real-time display of various kinds of media content by devices united in one local network. Initially, several companies (Sony, Intel, Microsoft, Samsung Nokia, Matsushita, Philips, Hewlett-Packard) developed this standard, and also united into a group to create devices compatible with this technology. At the moment, there are more than 200 manufacturers producing compatible equipment.

home media server setup

In simple terms, this is a stationary computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, TV and other "smart" equipment for viewing photos and video files, listening to musical compositions. Media content becomes shared for each device on the local network. All gadgets must be on the same IP network and connect to each other either wired (Ethernet) or wirelessly (Wi-Fi).

How to set up dlna

All devices with dlna support are conventionally divided into two types: servers and media players. The former mainly store and provide others with access to content. The latter, for the most part, only reproduce the files the user needs. For example: a personal computer contains photographs; it can store and play them both on its monitor and on the screen of a networked TV, tablet, or phone.

The division is conditional because now a lot of mobile electronics can both store and display content. For example, smartphones with special software installed may well play the role of a server.
This technology is very useful for users with a large number of "smart" devices at home, as it allows you to store multimedia content in one place, and not in the memory of each device. A very relevant "feature" for significantly deprived of memory mobile devices.

Windows and dlna

In the operating system from Microsoft, this technology has appeared since version 7. However, it is hidden so deeply that it was rather difficult for an ordinary user to find it and configure it. In Windows 8, it became possible to use for playing video files on devices connected to the local network.

This is done by right-clicking on the file and selecting the Send to ... item from the menu.

But before that, you still need to set up your home media server. In the "Control Panel" we find the item "Home Group", in the window that appears, select "Create a home group". Next, we will be asked to choose which type of file is available for access for the homegroup.

In the next window, we need the item "Allow all devices on this network, such as TV and game consoles, to play shared content", after clicking on which you will need to come up with the name of the media server and enter it in the proposed window.

This completes the setup and you can already play the allowed files with dlna devices on your computer. For this, each of them has certain points (AllShare, SmartShare ...).

A description of how to use them is included in the instructions for use.
It is easy to use the software built into the system and it consumes less hardware resources. However, there is a high probability that the format of various multimedia files may not be understood by the player, since Windows transfers them as they are. Third party programs have been created to solve this problem.

Overview of dlna server programs

Of the many dlna media server programs, several stand out. They are all free, but provide additional features for a fee. All the rest are either highly specialized, or simply provide information transfer in the local network and are an add-on to the Windows server. The following programs create a non-Windows home dlna server.

Codi- a project that grew out of XMBS. Due to its cross-platform functionality it works on Windows, IOS, Linux, Android.

It is a huge "media combine" that can find on the network, recode, download, play a huge number of formats. For this we are very much appreciated by users of TV set-top boxes.

A very bulky home media server, which is initially difficult to configure, it has a minimum number of add-ons. Different items are downloaded and installed for different functions. In this regard, it is rather difficult to set up, but it has large support and Russian-speaking too.

Plex Is another multi-platform home media server. It has high-quality localization and a huge number of features. But in this regard, it consumes a lot of system resources and is usually used for individual devices used as multimedia set-top boxes.

HMS- a program with a huge number of functions, absolutely free. The main difference is the on-the-fly file transcoding for playback even with outdated devices. Works only in the Windows environment, consumes significantly less resources, and therefore can be installed on a regular home computer. We will consider setting up this program below.

HMS server side (home media server)

The program interface is simple and setting up the first launch takes place in a few clicks. Before setting up the TV, first, click the "Settings" icon, on the "Media resources" tab, add folders that can be viewed by connected devices. Adding is done by clicking on the "+" on the right side. For each folder, you can select the type of files, which further helps when searching for them. =>

On the next tab "Devices" we add devices that are allowed to access files. It is very convenient to select the type of gadget from a variety of presets at the top of the window. It includes a large number of game consoles, TVs from different manufacturers, smartphones and routers. As a result, the settings will change for each selected device. If you tick the box Add devices automatically, the program will automatically detect the type of device and adapt to it.

In the "Server" tab, we only need to enter a name for the created server. The rest can be left blank, unless of course there are several networks and connections at home.
The item "Transcoder" allows you to configure data transcoding so that any connected device would play data, regardless of whether it supports them or not. The tuned HMS processes the file in real time into a format supported by the TV.

The rest of the tabs will allow you to fine-tune the program, which most users will not need at the initial stage. Therefore, close the settings and click the "Run" button at the top of the window. After that, the media server will start scanning the folders open for access and create lists of files that the connected dlna device will see.

In the main window of the program, you can also select the resource we need and, through the menu, by the right button, transfer it to the player on the network. It is very convenient and you do not need to search for data by the dlna device itself.
The program has great user support. The official forum thoroughly understands the problems in the operation of software with various devices, which helps to configure any technique.

Configuring a client device

The process of setting up equipment for playing multimedia files is different for each device and is usually indicated in the instructions for use. The same item on any device is the choice of the server, the name of which we came up with when setting up. And a request to connect to the network, a positive answer to which needs to be done only once, in the future the server will be considered allowed.

Alternative

Recently, there has been a rapid development of cloud technologies. There are more and more devices that have access to the Internet. And storing data on physical media is no longer so relevant. Of course, a collection of films of several hundred copies can hardly fit into any cloud service. And to increase the amount of allocated space you have to pay. At the same time, an unlimited Internet channel with high speed is required.

Media resources are stored in the "cloud", and access to it is provided to any device connected to the account. The plus is that there is no need for the dlna server side as a separate device. Simply put, you do not need a constantly working hard drive with a large number of files. Access to files is not only within the radius of the home local network, but also throughout the territory where there is access to the Internet.

With the development of Internet technologies, the home dlna server, dlna gives way to "cloud" data storage, leaving the former the opportunity for the time being to exist in apartments that do not seek modern user technologies.