
- #Best media server app for mac how to#
- #Best media server app for mac install#
- #Best media server app for mac Pc#
It’s certainly possible to spend thousands of bucks on NAS drives, “endpoints” and other hardware for your home media server.
#Best media server app for mac Pc#
There are limitations to installing Plex on a desktop PC or a laptop-namely, you’ll need to keep it running whenever you want to stream media-but it’s a great, low-effort way to see what all the fuss is about.
#Best media server app for mac install#
In minutes, you can simply install Plex Media Server on a Mac or Windows PC, pick some folders filled with music, videos or other media, and start streaming away. Of course, you don’t necessarily need a Raspberry Pi to set up a home media server. I’m no expect at building PCs, but I had my first media server up and running on a Raspberry Pi in only a few hours. I then tossed some old MP3s and home video files on the memory stick, and before I knew it, my unused Raspberry Pi had turned into a media server. Mounting an 8GB USB thumb drive (I decided to start small until I knew what I was doing) on the Pi turned out to be a little trickier, although I even had that licked after another 45 minutes or so.
#Best media server app for mac how to#
There are plenty of online tutorials on how to install Plex Media Server on a Raspberry Pi, and within an hour or so I had Plex up and running. ( We reviewed Plex as a DVR, but it’s also a capable music and video server.) For my own first project, I took the middle road, choosing to use the Linux-based Raspberry Pi (which involves spending quality time with the command line in Terminal) with Plex, a popular, off-the-rack, and relatively easy-to-use media server package. Setting up a home media server may sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Instead, I wanted to share a few things I learned during my own experience, starting with… It’s surprisingly easy

Now, I’m not here to give you a step-by-step guide on how to build your own media server ( we already have those). Now, I’m not an expert at building PCs, nor do I consider myself an audiophile (although I think I know good sound when I hear it), but I was drawn to the idea of putting my modest CD collection (and some old DVDs as well) into my own personal cloud, where I could stream it to my phone, my tablet, my home theater, or just about any device I wanted to.

Working here at TechHive as I do, I was aware of at least one enticing way to put a Raspberry Pi Remove non-product link to work: as a media server for videos and music files. But during a long holiday break, an idea started forming in my head: Could I actually turn this glorified paperweight into something useful? Occasionally I’d pick it up and absent-mindedly twirl it around, as if it were a stress ball. For years, there was a lonely Raspberry Pi 3 gathering dust on my desk, right next to a cup of pens and a stack of Post-Its.
