Click on the questions below to see the answer. The following is a list of frequently asked questions for Universal Media Server. Because it is written in Java, PS3 Media Server supports all major operating systems, with versions for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.FAQ. PS3 Media Server is a DLNA-compliant UPnP Media Server.Originally written to support the PlayStation 3, PS3 Media Server has been expanded to support a range of other media renderers, including smartphones, TVs, music players and more.We also recommend users to try the Universal Media Server application, which is based on PS3 Media Server, but includes more features.Old Macs never die, they just get reused. It supports a wide range of media renderers and hardware platforms. Overall, PS3 Media Server is a decent UPnP media server for GNU/Linux and UNIX-like operating systems. From top, an Apple SuperDrive, the 2014 Mac mini, and an 8TB OWC miniStack driveBottom line.Read along to see how we were able to transform a 2014 Mac mini into a home media server. Macs have good longevity and older units are usable for a variety of purposes other than day-to-day work. The old 21.5-inch iMac becomes a FaceTime “videophone” for Grandma.
Use Media Server Mac OS XThe early alpha runs on most major operating systems including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.Our media streaming device pick has all the features we look for in a media streamer, and it has the best interface for finding and organizing content.Wikipedia defines a media server as follows:A media server is a computer appliance or an application software that stores digital media (video, audio or images) and makes it available over a network.Media servers range from servers that provide video on demand to smaller personal computers or NAS (Network Attached Storage) for the home. It was intended to allow you to stream certain types of pictures, music, videos and files from your computer (where the server running) to your Sony PlayStation 3. PS3 Media Center X was a free multimedia server developed by Red Kawa. The following versions: 5.0, 4.2 and 3.6 are the most frequently downloaded ones by the program users.PS3 Media Center X. NOTE: Several of these alternatives provide third-party add-ons that allow free streaming of paid video content. Others that you may wish to consider include Emby, Kodi, Stremio, and Universal Media Server. Why Plex? It’s the most popular media server app for macOS. Have you made a large investment in music CDs and movies or TV shows on DVD or Blu-Ray? Don’t buy that again in a streaming format – use that investment by copying the physical media content to your server.With fast internet service and purchased physical media, a media server running Plex offers the best of both worlds. With a local media server, there’s no delay or concern about bandwidth. That could make streaming movies, TV shows, and music almost impossible. You might be living in an area with very slow Internet service. Why Not Just Use an Apple TV?Why build a media server when an Apple TV can provide just about every type of media you’d want? There are a few good reasons: For the purpose of this article, we looked no further than the OWC website to find a Mac mini. There’s another very compelling reason to use a Mac mini – older models are inexpensive. Click To Tweet Why a Mac mini?Why use a Mac mini instead of a Mac with a built-in screen? You probably have a large-screen TV to watch your content on, and the mini can use that as a “monitor”. Stream online content and make use of the media you've already bought and paid for. How to root andy emulator on macThe specifications? A 1.4 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, 4GB of RAM, and a 120GB SATA SSD. EBay lists many Mac minis, and used Mac stores do a bustling trade in these popular Macs.We used a mini with fairly modest hardware to create our media server. Fairly recent Mac minis are listed on Apple’s refurb page. The minimum operating system requirement is macOS 10.9 Mavericks, so even an early 2009 Mac mini can fit the bill.Where can you find a used Mac mini? OWC often has pre-owned minis available. ![]() It can’t take music from your Apple Music account or even “see” your iCloud Drive. Webhooks for connecting your server to your home automation systemEverything has been pretty straightforward up to this point, right? Well, Plex can’t grab your photos from the Photos Library, which is one big file. Live TV & DVR (add a tuner and antenna to record free over-the-air broadcasts) A Server Dashboard for keeping track of what you watch and how much bandwidth you use Mobile Sync for watching your media offline on smartphones and tablets Rather than using multiple apps to view different media types, you can do it all in one place. Add photosOne feature of Plex is that you can use it as a “one-stop-shopping” point for all of your media. Most of these drives have better specifications and lower price points than Apple’s SuperDrive. OWC has many external and internal drives that work with the Mac mini. If not, get an external drive for ripping DVDs and CDs. Aren’t you glad you have that 8TB miniStack attached to your media server?Your vintage Mac mini might have a built-in optical (CD/DVD) drive. Shortly after the images are copied to the folders, they appear in the Plex Photos timeline (see screenshot below).You may have issues ripping copy-protected DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. After selecting the folder as the place to export to, we let the Mac copy the images.Plex Server automatically and regularly scans folders designated as libraries. Instead, we used File > Export > Export Unmodified Original for Photos. For this example, we didn’t create any folders to assign photos to a particular genre or event. Next, we selected the images we wanted to move to Plex. The source? The Mac’s Photos library.We created a “Vacation Photos” folder on the miniStack and selected it as our library location. Gibson lap steel guitar serial numbersAdd musicYou can rip CDs into Apple Music, but that won’t help you with Plex. MacX DVD Ripper Pro takes advantage of GPU acceleration during the ripping process and is faster than HandBrake. It also seems to do a better job of ripping video at a higher resolution. MacX DVD Ripper Pro ($29.95) is a commercial app that is often able to do the job when HandBrake cannot. Making a personal backup of a disc you own is legal in most countries.If HandBrake can’t rip a disc because of copy protection schemes, another app might help. One of the few remaining Mac apps is Phile Audio ($7.99, App Store link).Phile Audio ripping a music CD to the Music folder on the miniStackThis screenshot shows Phile Audio copying music from a CD and saving it to the Music folder on the miniStack. Several dubious open-source apps exist, but they usually won’t run on a Mac running a newer version of macOS.CD ripping apps were quite common before most people decided to start purchasing their music digitally. If you’re using Apple Music to store your tunes, you also have an issue – those music files are copy-protected. Download the art, then drag and drop it to the Phile Audio user interface to add the album cover. Wikipedia is a great source of album covers. However, you may need to do some searching to find album cover art. Install the app on your mini, and then set up a schedule to have your data drive cloned at least daily. Whatever storage drive you use, be sure to purchase a second one for backup purposes.To automate backups, use a proven backup utility like Carbon Copy Cloner ($39.99). A good idea is to make an exact copy of your storage drive. It’s especially important with a huge media library you’ve spent a lot of time digitizing from the original discs. Most importantly, it can be set up with RAID 5 (AKA block-level striping with distributed parity). It’s available in Thunderbolt 2 and 3 versions, has four drive slots, and supports fast SSD drives. A good example of RAID storage is the OWC ThunderBay 4 Mini (see image below). The array can withstand the loss of one or more drives without losing data. RAID uses a number of drives in a redundant array. Want to watch TV or movies? Use the Mac TV app. A Plex alternativeAs an alternative to using Plex, you can use the various Apple apps on your Mac mini instead. This is a powerful and easy way to control Plex without the need for a full keyboard and pointing device. Plex is a good all-in-one solution, or you can use the built-in Mac apps to organize and view your media. You won’t have all your media in one app, but can still control the Mac mini with our Screens solution.A Mac mini makes a wonderful media server, regardless of how you set it up. For YouTube or Vimeo videos, Safari (or your other favorite browser) is a great portal.This allows you to have a Mac dedicated to media, hooked up to your big screen 24/7. Want to read the news, books or magazines on a big screen, something you can’t do with Plex? Use the Apple News app.
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