serviio.org

Many open-source media server software packages allow for a great deal of customization. Users enjoy these programs because they are more than just streaming platforms; they provide complete control over the streaming experience. The transition to understanding how to set up and use these programs properly can be daunting, but there is no denying that using open-source media server software can elevate your content watching experience. Over the years, this software has been helpful in organizing my digital media collection into a library where content is easily accessible. Among the various services that I have used, Serviio has to be one of my favorite media server software alongside Plex. Since Windows Media Center ran out of fuel, services such as Serviio, Kodi, and Plex have become more popular.

Serviio is a software that has been in use for nearly two decades on computers by tech geeks who want to keep all of their data in one place. This software is used by people who run their own server quietly with the help of a computer's hard drive. Anyone can do this with some maintenance.

Why do you need a Media Server?

Serviio is a media server that allows you to share content across a wide range of devices. In this particular blog, we are focusing on how it can be used with Chromecast and Dropbox.

What is Serviio?

Serviio is a free media streaming server that allows its users to stream media files onto their devices. You can stream videos, music, and images to your devices such as TVs, BluRay players, gaming consoles, or even your mobile phones. Once both the server and device are connected to one another, you're good to go. What makes Serviio great is that it is compatible with a wide range of devices including gaming consoles such as Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Since the platform is written in Java, it runs on all major platforms such as Windows, Linux, Mac and even embedded systems such as NAS.

Why should you use Serviio?

There are many benefits of using Serviio in media management. Let's take a look at some of the key reasons why I prefer to use Serviio.

Great Compatibility

Whether you choose the free or pro version of Serviio, it is a powerful media streaming platform with excellent compatibility. Serviio can be used with Macs, Windows computers, Linux computers, and a wide range of other devices to stream SD and HD videos. You can also use it to hear audios - even if they were in ASIO format - and watch images connected to DLNA devices.

Transcoding & File formats

What makes Serviio stand out is its ability to support various formats. For just audio alone, you get to choose from formats such as WMA, MP3, ACC, Flac, OGG. For video, you can choose between AVI, MKV, MP4, and WMV. You can try transcoding to change the file types in real-time. For instance, if you want a very heavy AVI file to MP4, you can do so in no time (depends upon your system). Point is that when you're done watching it, you'll be able to play it with your device. Not just that but when watching a movie you can also play subtitles in the SRT format.

Metadata & Thumbnails

The media server software has a lot of in-depth coverage of album arts and intricate details. I like how you get all the crucial information such as the title, director, genre, year of production and other important details in one place. Serviio is able to provide up-to-date content data due to its ability to extract information from the website. This allows the software to categorize the content in endless ways. This is one feature that makes searching for content really easy.

Media Browser

Though this particular feature is part of the Pro version, I felt it deserves a spot. MediaBrowser is an amazing feature, considering that there are plenty of devices that don't have DLNA for remote viewing. Having a media browser just adds depth to the existing service. With the Pro version, you can also privatize certain features such as control access to folders and other third-party apps.

How to access Serviio?

To access Serviio, search for the term on Google and find it on the first page of results. Click the Serviio screenshot to access the website directly. To download the software, click on the download tab and choose your platform. The software is around 150-170 MB depending on the platform you use.

Design

Serviio's website looks visually appealing with well-designed sections and banners filled with important information. The white/grey combination with simple black text looks elegant. What I like about this website is that all of the pages are well-designed and are in sync.

Header

For those of you who need help, Serviio has a helpful ?Support? page that outlines how to get in touch. Finally, if you want to learn more about the community that exists around Serviio, check out the ?Forum? page.

Hero Section

The Hero Section on Serviio has a clean, modern design. A static banner with a headline ?Access your content anywhere? is the only visual aid on the homepage. There?s a news section right under the banner towards the left and there?s a brief description towards the right. And that’s about it for the hero section.

Body

The body section of the website is quite compact and packed with information. Towards the left, you'll find links to the latest software versions. On the right, you have two static tabs - ?On the Go?, and ?Control with your voice?, which I guess are several features that the developer wants to point out. Right above the footer section, you can also find the ?About Us? section.

Footer

The footer section on this website has four main categories - Quick Support, Developers, Pro Edition, and Contact Us. Under Quick Support, you can find options such asgetting started?, FAQ?, online content management?, and users knowledge base?. Under Developers, you have reset api?, online plugin developer guide?, online plugin developer forum?, and help translating?. Under Pro Edition, you have options such as buy pro edition?, free vs pro?, media browser?", and alexa skill?. And finally, you have the contact us option where you can reach out to the developer.

Inner Pages

You can access any of the inner pages by clicking on the categories or menus of the homepage. One particular inner page that I found most useful was ?Features?. On this page, you'll find all the crucial pointers under various headers such as ?Features?, ?Supported renders?, ?File Formats?, and ?Supported Media Files?.

Installing & Learning about Serviio

Installing Serviio is a simple process, but setting up your own home server requires some technical know-how. However, we're only focusing on the interface and the customization options that Serviio offers. Let's take a look at some of the important features of the console. There is a Status tab where you can check all the running devices. The library helps you access all the folders. You can use settings to change remote access, transcoding or adding subtitles. The remote feature allows external viewing and by using console settings you can play with language and updates.

You can select playback devices from a list of available devices, such as media players, TVs, DVD players and gaming consoles. You can choose a pre-set profile, but it is recommended that you select a profile that suits the device best.

Don't forget to install the ServiiDroid and ServiiGo applications for watching and managing content on your server. These apps were in the beta phase earlier, but now they seem to work fine. Still, it's not as great when you compare it to Plex or Kodi.

Suggestions I have for Serviio

Even though I like a lot of things about this app, I would recommend the developers to further work on it. It feels lackluster and makes the platform come off as opaque. Other than that, Serviio has everything that you would expect from a great media server.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a complete media server capable of providing a wholesome experience, you do not need to look any further than Serviio. Sure, it does not have the best app yet, but apart from that, you can totally check out this free service.