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American based company Olive has a slightly different approach than most: its new Olive 4HD is equipped with two 1TB drives so you can rip and store music without the aid of a computer. There are a number of music servers on the market, but most require a computer to store and provide the server software. One format that appears to have a rosier future is vinyl, but the 12” black disc will never enjoy the popularity it once had as the pre-eminent music carrier.įor the moment at least, CD still holds sway as the most popular hard copy format, but nowadays there are better ways to utilise your collection and take advantage of the plethora of sites available for music downloads.Įnter the rise of the music server, with its ability to store your precious grooves on computer hard drives which function a bit like a stationary iPod. Like it or not, the dusk of physical media is upon us: DVD and even Blu-ray will eventually join the long list of extinct formats as downloads and streaming content become easily (and cheaply) available, while CD is under increasing and irrevocable threat from the likes of iTunes and other similar services. 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.$4499 4 stars A true audiophile hard-drive audio solution that not only looks great, but is a cinch to set up and use. That’d be a computer you could leave running all the time and even access your media server remotely over the Internet. You could also set up a dedicated server system to run the server, of course. #Home entertainment movie musicserver install#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’ll also need to run your own home server for this. #Home entertainment movie musicserver tv#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 can then install the appropriate apps on your TV-streaming boxes, smartphones, and tablets. 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. Install the Plex or Media Browser on your system of choice and set it up to point at your media. The setup process should just take a few minutes, no matter what server you choose to use. Set Up the Server, Install the Apps, and Start Streaming So, you’ll need to pick one - or, better yet, consider trying both and figuring out which one works best for you. 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. 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. Want to use it on a computer? There’s a convenient web-based interface.īoth have fairly similar features, although Plex definitely offers a more comprehensive suite of apps - PlayStation, Xbox, and Fire TV support, for example. There are also mobile apps for for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 8. Media Browser offers clients for the Roku and some other TV-streaming devices, including Chromecast support. There’s also a web interface and powerful Plex application for computers, if you hook up a computer to your TV. They offer mobile apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 8. Plex offers clients for the Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms - as well as Chromecast support. You can install it on a desktop computer, a dedicated server, or get a pre-made NAS device that supports the server software. #Home entertainment movie musicserver mac os#Plex and Media Browser both offer servers that run on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, BSD, and various NAS devices. You could also try Kodi, formerly known as XBMC - it can be a bit more complicated to set up and works a bit differently. Both work similarly, offering a server you install on a desktop PC, laptop, NAS device, or dedicated home server. The two biggest solutions to recommend are probably Plex and Media Browser. #Home entertainment movie musicserver how to#RELATED: How to Set Up a NAS (Network-Attached Storage) Drive 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. 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. #Home entertainment movie musicserver free#There are some good free software packages for this, but you’ll need to bring your own media. RELATED: Why You Should Connect a PC to Your TV (Don't Worry It's Easy!) ![]()
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