One of the characteristics that distinguishes some modern TVs from others is the degree of their reasonableness. In a figurative sense, of course. We are talking about the technological advantages of the so-called Smart TV. Ordinary digital TVs, as a rule, they can play the role of the TV itself, working in tandem with the receiver, play media content using the built-in player (alas, often with a limited list of readable formats), and also serve as a monitor for a computer, game or TV set-top box. Whereas Smart TV, they are also smart TVs, are able to participate to a greater extent in the content playback chain as independent participants.

1. About media streaming and DLNA technology

Smart TV is actually the same computers, because they have their own hardware capabilities, have their own software, can be connected to wired and wireless networks. And the last is almost complete independence from source devices. The advantages of direct TV access to the Internet are obvious, but there are many of them with local access to a computer. PC to TV media streaming is the direct access of the TV to the files on the PC. Streaming eliminates the hassle of flash drives and external hard drives. Files are transferred from the computer to the TV over the network. Without the participation of a computer, if only it was simply turned on, without the participation of a smartphone, without the participation of set-top boxes and other source devices, all permitted material can be played using the TV - video, photos, music, any media files that such a TV can play.

DLNA technology allows devices on the same network to exchange media content. She is supported by many modern devices, capable of connecting to the network - computers, tablets, smartphones, TV and game consoles, and, of course, Smart TV. For example, smart TVs from LG that support DLNA technology have a proprietary Smart Share application - a shell of this technology with user interface. Applications of other brands of Smart TV are called differently and, accordingly, have a different interface. In particular, smart Samsung TVs the shell for DLNA technology is a standard AllShare application. And for Sony TVs, this is the Vaio Media Server application.

How do I set up media streaming from a Windows computer - PC or laptop - to TV? This issue will be discussed in detail below.

2. What do I need to set up streaming from PC to TV?

To set up streaming from a computer to a TV, as mentioned, it is necessary that the latter supports the network. By the way, for streaming media files, the “status” of Smart TV for the TV is not required. The TV may not have super-functionality, it just needs to support the network and allow the selection of the signal source at least with primitive regular functionality. In such a TV, either a Wi-Fi module or an Ethernet network port must be built-in. As a rule, modern Smart TVs provide both options - both wired and wireless network connections.

Both devices - both the TV and the PC or laptop - must be connected to a single local network. When connected to a router (router), any devices - computers, smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, smart TVs - are automatically combined into one small network. Of course, if the router is not available, you can get by with direct connection of the TV to the computer via the network. What you need to do this is to connect a network cable to the Ethernet ports of the devices. But in this case, if the computer has only one network port (one network card with one Ethernet port), you will have to constantly reconnect the cable from the TV and the network cable of the Internet provider. It is not comfortable. The router must be in the house if there is a question of unlocking the potential of Smart TV. Well, a Wi-Fi router is a necessary thing if smartphones or tablets are used in the house.

The method of connecting the TV to the network - wired or wireless, if it provides both options, is not critical.

The next condition for streaming is configured access using DLNA technology to the media library folders on the computer. On a Windows system, this can be done in several ways.

3. Setting up network access to computer files in Windows Media Player

A way to set up access to computer files in a Windows system without the need to install third-party software is to use the standard Windows Media Player.

On the Windows Media Player toolbar, click the "Stream" option and check the box next to:

"Enable media streaming...".

After enabling this setting, a system window with streaming options will open, where you can specify the name of the media library and flexibly configure the availability of media content for specific devices networks: for some, leave the preset resolution, and for others, remove it.

The configured permissions will allow other devices to access files over the network only in the user profile folders. These are the "Video", "Music", "Pictures" folders that are displayed in Windows Explorer along with disk partitions, drives and removable devices of the computer. If this is more than enough, you can already start testing the playback of files on the TV through local applications that work with DLNA technology.

But storing files in user profile folders on system drive- not the best idea both from the standpoint of having free space on the C drive, and from the standpoint of the safety of these files in case of a critical failure of Windows. As a rule, media libraries of impressive size are stored on non-system partitions of a computer disk. The folders of such media libraries must be added to the Windows Media Player library in a separate step,

To make the contents of other folders on your computer available for streaming to a TV in the Windows Media Player window, click the “Organize” option, select the “Manage Libraries” item, and in it one of the content types: “Music Library” for audio files, “Video” for video files , "Gallery" for photos and pictures.

A window will open with a list of existing libraries, and to add the desired folder to this list, click the "Add" button on the side. We add this folder in the window of the opened explorer, then click "OK" in the window with the list.

Alternative way adding folders with media content to systemic list shared folders for devices home network– adding to the library using the context menu command in Windows Explorer. At any time, any folder on the computer where video, music or photos are stored can be shared for playback from devices on the network. To do this, open this folder in Explorer, call the context menu and select the "Add to Library" command. The folder will be added to the appropriate library and its content will be available for streaming.

The list of folders with video and audio files open for streaming will also change when changes are made to it using the standard Windows 10 Movies and TV and Groove Music applications. In the settings section of both applications, you can add and remove folders to local collections of video and audio files. Local application collections work in conjunction with system libraries.

4. Setting Up Network Sharing of Computer Files Using LG Smart Share

Some Smart TV brands have their own desktop software. operating systems, through which you can configure access to media files on your computer. These programs can be downloaded from the TV manufacturer's website or on the Internet. For example, to access Samsung smart TVs to computer content, the South Korean corporation created Samsung program Allshare. And for LG TVs on the company's website, the LG Smart Share Windows program for PC is available for free download. Let's consider it in more detail. On the LG website, select the version for Windows and download.

Installation of LG Smart Share is standard. After launching the program, you need to select any of the proposed options for setting up content - Movie, Photo, Music.

Access should be enabled in the window that appears. If it is disabled, set the switch to the "On" position.

Switch to the "My Shared Files" tab. Here you can allow access to files in the specified folders. Using the button in the form of a folder with a plus sign, you need to add any other folders with media content in addition to the existing user profile folders. After adding, click the "Apply" button at the bottom, then - "OK".

All - now the content of all folders displayed in the My Shared Files tab of the program will be available for network devices, in particular for TV.

In the program settings tab just below - "My device settings" - you can change the name of the computer. Using this name, the computer will be identified on the network for other devices.

The LG Smart Share utility process will automatically launch with Windows, allowing you to access your computer's media files later on.

To make sure everything works as it should, we launch the SmartShare application on the TV.

Go to the "Devices" section and select our media server.

Open any of the shared folders that contains media files.

Let's try to play the file.

5. Setting up network access to computer files using the Home Media Server program

Another way to provide access to TVs, set-top boxes, mobile and other devices that support the network and DLNA technology to the media content of a computer is the Windows program " Home media server(UPnP, DLNA, HTTP)". The program works with many popular TVs: LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, Philips. Using this program, a DLNA server is launched on the computer, to which all devices on the network can connect. By default, the program provides for the management of server files from the TV - in fact, computer files.

The advantage of using the Home Media Server program over all of the above methods of providing access to live streaming is more features and greater customization. The program provides for the presence of various video and audio file transcoders, which allows you to convert media content, if it initially exists on a computer in a format that is not supported by the TV, to the format that it supports. You can additionally set up the broadcast on the TV of individual Internet channels (radio and digital television).

"Home Media Server" can be downloaded absolutely free on the website of the creators.

Download the program, install it and run it. At startup, the initial settings window will appear immediately. You can leave everything in it by default and refuse to scan media files. Let's move on to the program settings in a separate order.

In the program window, click the "Settings" button on the toolbar at the top of the window.

In the settings window that opens, we will see the category tabs on the right. In the first tab "Media resources" we can use the "Add" button, respectively, to add any folders with media content to the list of the program in order to give them access for streaming. Shared access can be opened immediately to all computer disk partitions (C, D, E, etc.), to all network drives, to all connected removable media. To do this, at the bottom of the window, check the boxes next to the necessary options - respectively, "Local disks", " Network drives and Removable Devices.

The Media Resources settings tab provides many options for the added folders. For example, by clicking the "Change" button, we will be able to exclude hiding files and directories, remove certain types of files, set a different folder name - and all this within the framework of the DLNA server, without changes on the computer.

At the bottom of the "Media Resources" tab there are separate sections with an abundance of various settings. In the "Scanning" section, you can pay attention to the option "Always use the file name as the name of the media resource." Without checking this option, the names of media files in Russian will be converted into transliterated Latin or into unreadable crocodile.

In the “Devices” settings tab, we will see a list of all detected network devices that will have access to the DLNA server files. Any of the devices in the list can be disabled by removing the green activity button.

In the “Server” settings tab, instead of the default DLNA server name, we can set our own name, for example, more convenient for perception. Next to the server name field, we will see its port - 45397. It may happen that an antivirus or firewall running on the computer blocks the DLNA server. In the event of such a blocking, the DLNA server port must be granted permission to work in the antivirus or firewall settings.

Also in the "Server" tab, you need to pay attention to the default option that prevents the computer from going to sleep while the DLNA server is running. If it becomes necessary to put the PC or laptop into sleep mode, the DLNA server will need to be stopped in the future. If, on the contrary, the checkbox on the option “Prevent the computer from going to sleep while the server is running” is not checked for some reason, it is better to set it. Otherwise, watching a movie on the TV will be unceremoniously interrupted as soon as the laptop goes to sleep to save battery power.

The Home Media Server program has a very rich choice of settings, and its potential can be revealed gradually, testing certain features as you become familiar with them. In the meantime, we will limit ourselves to the settings already made and save them. Click "OK" below and agree to scan media files in the configured folders.

After the program completes the scanning process, we can start the DLNA server. To do this, click the "Run" button on the toolbar at the top of the main program window.

"Home Media Server" runs in the background and the program can be controlled from the system tray. By calling the context menu on the program button in the system tray, the DLNA server can be stopped, started, and restarted.

Automate this process so that the DLNA server starts automatically with Windows startup, you can in the program settings. The last tab of the settings “Advanced” provides in the “Startup” column the options for autoloading the program itself when Windows starts, autostarting the DLNA server along with the launch of the program, and installing its background service in the Windows system.

Once the DLNA server is up and running, all available media content on the computer can be played on the TV through a local application to interact with DLNA technology. The TV app will show the DLNA server as a connected playback device. Inside it, folders with computer media content configured in the Home Media Server program will be available.

You can launch available media content for playback not only in the TV application. You can also entrust the launch of playback of media files on the TV to the tools of the Home Media Server program. To do this, in the main window of the program, select the appropriate content - click on the toolbar at the top of the button "Movies", "Music" or "Photos". In the right part of the program window, the folder files that were previously opened for broadcasting to a TV will be displayed. We select the desired video, audio file or picture in the list, call the context menu on this file and select “Play to” among the commands. In the list of devices that appears, select the TV. The selected movie, track or photo will expand on the TV screen.

6. Cast To Device feature Windows 8.1 and 10

The function of launching playback of media files on a computer with displaying an image on a TV is also provided among the standard functionality in Windows versions 8.1 and 10. If the Windows system has permission to play computer media files on network devices in Windows Media Player, as discussed above, you can start the movie, audio track or photo on the computer, and continue watching or listening on the TV. This is a handy thing when there is no particular desire to fiddle with the TV remote control and look for, for example, the desired movie among a bunch of other media files, killing nerves by monotonously flipping through file after file.

To launch a media file on a computer, you need to call the context menu on it in Windows Explorer and select the "Cast to device" command. This is a Windows 10 command. In Windows 8.1, this context menu command is called Play To.

After that, we will see a list of network devices available for playback. We choose a TV. The launched file will unfold on the TV screen, and on the computer screen we will see a small window of the Windows Media player with a playlist, where you can additionally add some files.

7. Cast to Device feature in Windows 10 Movies & TV app

The “Cast to device” function available for media files in the context menu of Windows Explorer is also implemented in Windows application 10 Film and TV. It works on the principle of launching a video file in an application on a computer and continuing to watch it already on a network device, in particular, on a TV screen. Open the "Movies and TV" application, launch the video and in the view mode, press the first button below - the button for connecting to available playback devices. In a small window, a list of all network devices defined for outputting a video file will appear. We choose a TV.

In the future, you can continue watching the movie again on your computer, in the Movies & TV application. This is a great idea for a home filled with digital technology, which is connected to one network. For example, if you start watching a movie on the TV screen in the living room, you can continue watching it on the kitchen TV screen. And then you can again move into the living room with the film. And for this, you just need to interrupt for a couple of simple actions on the computer.

8. Conclusion

As you can see, the choice of ways to configure the computer part of the chain of interaction between the computer and the TV over the network is great. Despite the fact that the article turned out to be voluminous, in fact, not all programs on the software market for implementing multimedia streaming from a computer to a TV are considered. TV setup is easier.

As mentioned above, media files on your computer can be accessed from local smart TV applications. And these are the above-mentioned Smart Share for LG TVs, AllShare for Samsung, Vaio Media Server for Sony and others. In conventional TVs that support the network, where the firmware does not provide separate applications, access to computer files can be configured by selecting a media server as the signal source. In many cases, the source button on the TV remote is called "Source".

Have a great day!

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 a DLNA server on the home network, 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.

DLNA Home Media Server (HMS) initial setup

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

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 the local network. And most likely, it will play a video that was not opened by the standard player.

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 way 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).

I recently realized that televisions are still in the last century. If mobile gadgets and computers are becoming more convenient, faster and simpler, then the only thing that changes in TVs is the screen size and resolution. It's not worth talking about convenience yet.

A TV without a media server on your computer or a special device is practically useless, unless you like to hang out. Therefore, I have selected the 5 best media servers for your computer that will upgrade your TV and make it much more functional.

Plex

Plex is the most popular and perhaps the most convenient option. By running the server on a computer, you can manage it from a browser, set up a media library, add subtitles, and more. Plex downloads all the information about the movie automatically and does it perfectly 9 out of 10 times. The TV sees the Plex server without any problems and plays everything perfectly. The only negative of Plex and other similar programs is that the TV does not see the subtitles embedded in the movie, but for most this does not matter.

Plex is free, but you'll need to purchase a subscription for additional features.

Plex

I used this server for a very long time on an old TV. It works quite well and unlike Plex, HMS is a whole combine, the functionality of which knows no bounds. The only negative will be the program's terrible interface, but since it is needed to play movies on a TV, this will not be a big problem. The program is absolutely free and is available only in the version for Windows.

Initially, the 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 the previous alternatives, it supports DLNA playback and doesn't require any setup fiddling.

Serviio is far from the most popular media server, but it also deserves a place in our top. 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 allows you to play content from the web (this feature is given as a preview and in free version). Serviio has apps for Android, but they act as a secondary control panel for the server side on the computer.

Kodi (former XBMC)

XBMC was created to bring video playback to the Xbox. Then the project split off and now Kodi is one of the most popular media centers, supporting almost all platforms due to open source. Kodi has apps for iOS and Android that allow you to use your smartphone as a remote control. The service lives on donations and is absolutely free.

Kodi

For me, the clear favorite is Plex. And what do you use?