Home media server (UPnP) - universal program, which provides access to the content hard drive your computer electronic devices, such as TVs, players, game consoles. Data is transmitted using the UPnP (DLNA) protocol. This program works with TVs, game consoles, stereos, mobile phones and smartphones.

Today, human life in modern realities is very difficult to imagine without high technology. Each of us is surrounded by laptops, computers, TVs, stereos. It often happens when you really want to watch your favorite movie on a big TV or play a computer game through a set-top box. A multifunctional software package is designed to solve such problems. home media server for Windows. With it, you can organize full access to all media content on your computer's hard drive.

Download Home Media Server for free

The Home Media Server program is small in size. You can set up a home media server in just a few minutes. Its main features include transcoding video and audio into a form that supports a TV or tape recorder. You can also set up subtitles, choose the right image size for any screen, and choose audio tracks on your own. The user has the ability to send Internet radio or TV directly to the TV or player.

If you can't see your life without digital television, you can also download a home media server. It supports all modern digital formats (C, S, T), works great with the VLC Media Player program and can transmit a digital signal to other electronic devices using the Digital Media Renderer function.

The home media server in Russian has wide functionality. It is possible to save transcoding profiles. Their use greatly simplifies the setup when connecting new devices. Downloading a free home media server (DLNA) is recommended for owners of Philips, Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Toshiba, Samsung TVs and players. Each of them has all the necessary connectors for interaction via the UPnP protocol with personal computer. Thus, with the help of this program, you can significantly expand the capabilities of these TVs.

All novice users are advised to look at the official website of this application. There is a wonderful forum where solutions to the most common problems are described in detail. You can also learn how to effectively connect a particular device.

You can download a home media server without registration and SMS on the SoftAtaka website. We always provide the latest and most relevant updates.

UPnP (abbreviationUniversal Plug and Play) – a set of network protocols published by the forum of the same name.

The UPnP Forum is an open association of industry representatives to develop standards for UPnP technology, the goal of which is to simplify the integration of smart devices initially at the level of home, and later - corporate networks.

UPnP is based on standards and technologies such as TCP / IP , UDP , HTTP , XML and provides automatic connection between similar devices and their joint work on the network .

In this case, in order to give access, for example, to the resources of an FTP server hosted on a PC, it is necessary to perform a port forwarding operation on the router and assign a static IP address to the computer.

Note! Using the UPnP function on the router, all port forwarding settings are done automatically, so this method Suitable for people who are just starting to study the computer. The downside of UpnP is that it reduces the security of your home network.

In most cases, the user receives a router with UpnP enabled. Let's check the activation of this mode in the settings of our router.

To do this, in any available browser, you should write the IP address of your router (usually this is 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1), enter your username and password.

TP Link

Section "Forwarding", subsection "UpnP" - "Status - Enabled"

D-Link

The "Advanced" section, the "Advanced Network" subsection, the "Enable UPnP" box is checked.

ASUS

Section "Internet", tab "Connection" - "Enable UpnP" checkbox is checked in the field "Yes".

Once UPnP has been enabled on the router, it must also be enabled on the application that requires port forwarding.

For example, to enable UpnP in Skype you need to go to section "Additionally", subsection "Compound" and check the box next to "Enable UpnP".

Creating a DLNA Home Media Server

DLNA- a technology that allows you to combine devices into a single digital network for the purpose of receiving / transmitting and viewing various media content on-line.

In practice, it looks like this, there is a computer with a larger hard drive that stores photos, movies, audio recordings and other media content.

What if you want to watch one of the movies not on the PC screen, but on a large TV?

Or friends came to you and you want to show photos from vacation or on big screen TV, or on the phone, because you do not want to go into the house.

But what if each family member wants to watch their media files on their personal device (phone, tablet)?

The problem is solved by creating a media server based on a PC and connecting all devices into a single network using a router.

Draw your attention to that routers that support the 802.11N standard (data transfer rates up to 300 Mb / s) do not always cope with the transmission of large streaming volumes of high-quality video over Wi-Fi and fading occurs on the TV screen.

Download and install the program.

After the installation is completed, you should specify from which directory and what type of content will be broadcast to the network (the "Add" button on the right panel of the program).

The choice is made by placing green dots in front of the corresponding directories and content type.

To add resources located on network or removable drives, check the boxes in the corresponding columns at the bottom of the window.

If necessary, you can add the program to startup and install the service "Home media server", this will allow the program to run in automatic mode after the computer is turned on.

To start the DLNA server, click the "Start" button in the top panel of the program, after which you need to turn on the TV.

To launch the content, right-click on the file and select from the context menu "Play on..." instead of three dots there will be your device (in our case, a TV).

In this article, we will set up a media server (DLNA) on a computer for a Philips TV. After setting up, you can watch movies, photos, and listen to music on your TV on your computer (laptop). All this using DLNA technology. And this means that the TV can be connected to a computer via Wi-Fi. More precisely, the computer and TV must be connected to the same Wi-Fi router. By network cable, or wireless network.

I'll explain in more detail. Do you have a Philips TV (in this article, we will talk about these TVs), with the support (if there is a Smart TV, then there is definitely DLNA support). Your TV is connected to a Wi-Fi router (via Wi-Fi, or via cable). Also, a computer is connected to this router. We launch a DLNA server on the computer, open the necessary folders with videos, photos, or music, and just start viewing on the TV. All over the air, without wires. Very convenient, you do not need to burn movies to a USB flash drive all the time. Just get access to the computer, select the desired movie and watch.

Using the method described below, you can run a DLNA server on Windows 7, Windows 8, and even Windows 10. To run and manage the server, we will use the free, simply excellent program "Home Media Server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP)". I recently showed how, so there we launched the server using a proprietary program. Since Philips does not have such a program, we will use the "Home Media Server". The program is really very simple and cool.

We will need:

• Philips TV with DLNA support. The TV must be, or. I will show on the example of Philips 43PUS7150/12 with Smart TV (Android TV).
• A computer that is connected to the same router as the TV. It can be connected in the same way WiFi networks, or via LAN.
• Program "Home media server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP)" for setting up a DLNA server.

Can do without third party programs and set everything up standard means Windows. I wrote about how to do this in an article.

In fact, a server launched in this way will be able to see absolutely any TV: Philips, Sony, LG, Samsung, etc. Sony, by the way, already has Android TV models. So, the instructions for them should also work. Unless access to viewing the contents of the DLNA server on the TV itself may differ.

Setting up a DLNA server for a TV with the Home Media Server program

First, download and install the "Home Media Server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP)" program. I advise you to download it from the official website: https://www.homemediaserver.ru/index.htm. Click on the button Download opposite the EXE version. The file size is approximately 35 MB.

Save the file, then run it and follow the instructions to install the program.

Launch the program with a shortcut on the desktop, or from the Start menu. First of all, we need to set up file access on the computer. We can open only certain folders for the TV, all local drives, or even removable media.

In the program window, click on the button at the top Settings. We are interested in the first tab Media Resources. There will already be three folders open. These are standard. To open access to all local disks of the computer, check the box next to Local drives. To open access to removable drives, check the box next to Removable drives.

If you want to open, for example, only one local drive or folder, then do not check these boxes, but click on the button Add. And in Explorer, select the drive or folder that you want to open for viewing on TV. The folder will appear in the list. You can delete folders by simply highlighting them and clicking the button Delete.

I think the meaning is clear. You can open only one folder, which contains, for example, your movies. And you can open all the disks. I advise you to check the box next to Local disks. Then, the My Computer folder will be displayed on the TV, in which you can view all the files.

On this, the setting can be completed by pressing the button Ok. If you want, you can also go to the side tab Server, and change the name of your DLNA server. It will be displayed on the TV.

Click the button Ok to exit settings.

To start the DLNA server, click the button launch.

If your TV is turned on and connected to a router, then in the program window, by opening the tab Playback Devices (DMR), you will see your TV. This means everything is fine. If the TV does not appear, then check the connection, and see the tips at the end of this article.

The program can be closed. You can proceed to the DLNA setting on the TV.

Watching DLNA movies on your Philips TV from your computer

Press on the remote remote control button SOURCES.

On the menu Sources choose Network (media). Or run the program Media With android menu TV.

Select the server running on the computer from the list.

If you have opened all local drives, then you will have a My Computer folder. Select it, all disks will be there. You can open the desired folders and start watching movies, photos, or playing music from them. If you open one of standard folders: Movies, Photos, or Music, then there will be all the available content, sorted into different categories. To view content by folder, select Media Resource Catalogs.

Select a folder with your movies, and just start viewing the desired file.

That's the whole setup. We received from TV full access to videos, photos and music that is on your computer. The program "Home media server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP)" will not let your computer fall asleep and interrupt the movie playback. Also, you can control viewing from the program itself on your computer. There are a lot of settings and options, I think you'll figure it out.

Why is the DLNA server (files) not displayed on the TV

The most popular problem when setting up such a scheme is the lack of a running server on the TV. When the files are from a computer, they just don't show up.

In such situations, the first step is always to check the connection of the TV and laptop to Wi-Fi, or cable connection. Perhaps one of the devices just turned off. Turn your TV off and on. You can also restart your computer and restart the server. Also, you can try disabling the antivirus, which can block the connection of the TV.

If a DLNA movie is played with delays, it's buggy

In such cases, you most likely started watching a very heavy movie. And the router can not cope with the transfer of information. Usually, this problem appears on cheap routers, and when connected via Wi-Fi. Large movies, in high quality, which do not want to be played via DLNA, are best viewed from a USB drive or hard drive.

If the TV says "Format not supported" when opening a video

There are times when the TV does not want to play a video file. Most likely, the standard player simply does not support the format, there is no codec. In this case, if you have a TV on Android TV, then from Google Play Store, you can install the VLC player. He also knows how to play files from local network. And most likely, it will play a video that was not opened by the standard player.

Owners of modern digital gadgets - smartphones, tablets, as well as high-tech TVs with Smart TV support can create a real media server at home, with which you can access various types multimedia content with different devices. How to use this opportunity in practice?

How a home media server works

What is a home media server? This is a system within which various devices connected to a network - computers, TVs (if they support the appropriate functions), mobile gadgets and other modern devices, can interact and exchange multimedia content. Another notable technology that can be used through a home media server is IPTV. That is, by building the appropriate user will be able to organize something like a mini-TV studio at home.

Sharing media content in HMS

Among the main advantages of the HMS program, as we noted above, is versatility. With its help, virtually any device can be combined into an infrastructure, the central part of which is a home media server. For Philips, Samsung, LG and other brands, it does not matter what type of software is installed on the main network module.

To solve the problem related to the organization of sharing access to media files - videos, photos, music - we launch the program, after which we select from the list of devices displayed in the main window the one with which the files are supposed to be launched on the media server. For example, it could be a TV-enabled TV.

After that, you should specify the media resources that are to be distributed among the devices connected to the network. You need to go to the HMS settings, select the item "Directory list", after - "Media resources", and then, by clicking the "Add" button, you should specify the address of the corresponding files. Once these steps have been completed, you must click the "Scan" button, and then activate its automatic implementation so that the corresponding content is displayed on the TV in a timely manner.

How to use media server with TV? Very simple. You need to download an interface using the TV remote control, which assumes an indication of the source for receiving a TV picture - this can be the antenna itself, an Internet channel, a flash drive, or, as in our case, a media server created using the DLNA standard. The corresponding item should appear in the TV menu, and those files that we marked in HSM as being shared will be available for launch. Modern TVs, as a rule, recognize the home media server without problems. For LG, Samsung, Philips and other brands, supporting standards like DLNA is the norm.

Using IPTV in your home network

Another common task solved by the owners of home networks is the organization of broadcasting TV programs using IPTV technology. The most important condition here is that the user has a subscription to the corresponding provider's service (it is usually paid). When using HMS interfaces, setting up a media server in terms of using IPTV is also very simple.

You will need to download and install the VLC Media Player program on your PC - it will be used to work with the relevant content. You need to bind it to the HMS interfaces by going to "Settings", then selecting "Media Resources", after - "Internet Resources" and specifying the folder in which the VLC program is installed.

After that, you need to upload a playlist of TV channels in m3u format to HMS - many providers allow you to download these files from their sites. After that, we go back to "Settings" and check the "Internet TV" option in the "Transcoding profile" item. After that, you need to restart the media server. Then you can start watching channels in IPTV format using your TV.

In this article, we will look at how to install your own DLNA server on Windows using the Home Media Server (HMS) program as an example.

Nowadays, it is increasingly required to have in the home DLNA networks server, since most modern TVs do not support data transfer protocols such as SMB or NFS, but only work via DLNA.

What is DLNA?

DLNA (English Digital Living Network Alliance) - a set of standards that allow compatible devices to transmit and receive various media content (images, music, video) over a home network, as well as display it in real time. That is, a technology for connecting home computers, mobile phones, laptops and consumer electronics into a single digital network. Devices that support the DLNA specification, at the request of the user, can be configured and networked automatically. (Source - Wikipedia)

Installing DLNA Home Media Server (HMS)

The installation of HMS is very simple, but we will still explain in detail how it works.

First you need to download the installer. At the time of writing, the official website was down. And it didn’t work a month before, so below is a link to download from our server latest version HMS:

There are not many settings here. In this window, you select the directory where the Home Media Server (HMS) program will be installed and "Program Group" - the name of the folder in the Start menu.

After selecting the installation folder and folder name in the Start menu, all that remains is to check the box “create a shortcut to launch the program on the desktop”, if necessary, and click the “ Install«.

At the end of the installation, which takes less than a minute ( depends on your hardware), we are prompted to immediately launch the Home Media Server (HMS) program.

This completes the installation of the program.

Initial DLNA setting Home Media Server (HMS)

So, we have a freshly installed DLNA server, let's run it and see what it offers us to configure first, and also make a couple of useful settings. Let's get started.

After the first launch of the program, we see the initial settings window.

In this window, we are prompted to select the device to which the media content will be broadcast. There are many templates in the list.

If you have not found your device or a device similar to yours, then you can leave the standard DLNA Device, as practice has shown, this does not greatly affect anything. Once selected, move on.

And then a choice of folders appears before our eyes, from which we will take media content. Folders with your media content can be selected now, or you can add them later. We'll take a look at how to do this below. After selecting the folders, click the " Ready«.

After the initial settings, we are prompted to do backup settings, image cache, database, set up an automatic backup schedule. Let's not dwell on this now and move on. To do this, press the button " close«.

After that, the main window of the program appears in front of us. Let's move on to a few "important" settings at once.

On the left are the types of settings, on the right are specific settings.

Let's jump straight into additional settings and configure the autoload of the DLNA server with the PC turned on.

To do this, select points 2 and 3.

Now let's go to the tab " Server” and write down the name of our DLNA server. As we will see it online.

After changing the name, you need to add folders with media content (if you didn’t do this in the “initial setup or decided to add more folders. Everything is simple here. Press the button “ Add» (2) and select the folder you want to add. After that, it needs to Scan» (3) to get the files from the folder/folders to the server.

If you did everything right, then you should have your files on the right side (as in the screenshot highlighted in yellow).

If you have your files there, then we have quite a bit left. Launch and use. Everything is very simple here - press the button " Run«.

If you have "Windows Firewall" turned on, then the system will ask you whether to allow it access to the network. Choose which ones to allow access to and click " Allow access«.

similar