We all are fond of music and videos and everybody has its own collection of media files both on computers and smartphones. But you can’t carry every time your huge collection of movies, songs, and other media files with you. In such a situation, the home media server comes in handy. There are a bunch of best open source media server software available online that can set up on your own personal home computer. You can store all your media files at one place on the media server and can access it remotely or locally using the computer or smartphone. For example, you are out of town and want to access your movies or music, what you will do, just take out your smartphone enter your home media server address, and boom!! Using media servers you can create your own personal YouTube, Netflix, and Vimeo. Some Media servers based on lightweight Linux, which means to save electricity and other resources you can install them on Rasberry Pi.
- Open Source Music Software For Windows
- Free Open Source Music
- Open Source Music Streaming
- Open Source Music Software Windows
- Open Source Music Production Software Windows
OSMC Media Center
Best Opensource Media server for Linux, Mac, or Windows
Are you a music enthusiast and love to play with new sounds and compositions? Then an audio mastering software would be the perfect tool for you that can help you record new sound and create your unique compositions. These software let you mix sounds, refine the sounds and thus create your unique music easily. Here are the top audio mastering software available online that you might find useful.
Here we have listed Free and Open source Media server software that can be work on both Linux and Windows.
PLEX Media Server (Freemium, not opensource)
Originally named the Linux MultiMedia Studio, LMMS is now a cross-platform music creator that you can use on Linux, Windows, and Mac computers. Like Audacity, LMMS is free and open-source. It has many of the features you’d expect from professional music production software. LMMS is free open source music making software for Windows, Linux, and macOS.Using this software, you can compose new music, generate beats, and edit music with ease. To create music, this software offers multiple music editors along with multiple plugins (to generate sounds of musical instruments like drums, guitar, piano, etc.).
We already have a done couple of articles on Plex and it really has some great features that allow it in our best media server list. The Plex Media Server is available for a variety of platforms such as Windows, Linux, Mac, Docker, and third-party NAS (network-attached storage device) Synology, Qnap, Netgear, Seagate, and more…
The Plex media server is not an open-source instead of a freemium software and offers some features on a subscription base only. However, still here because of easy to use and install capabilities.
Whereas the Plex player comes under both freemium and open source license GPL v2. Due to its vast range of devices support the Plex continuously gaining its popularity as a media streamer.
The Plex media server is based on a client-server model. It offers a wide range of client apps for different devices to support and stream its media server content easily. The Plex app is available for Android, Web, Windows, Kodi, Windows Phone, TiVo, SONOS, Android TV, Chrome cast, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Amazon Alexa, Roku, Nvidia Shield, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 & 4 and Smart TV.
Plex Media Server Features:
- Account management
- Support all format videos and audios
- iOS, Windows, and Android Mobile platform support
- Privacy and security
- Media Libraries Sharing
- No Storage Limit
- Online channels
- Live TV
- Plex cloud
- Mobile and Cloud Sync
- Parental control
- Audio Fingerprinting
- Remote Controls
- Media Optimizer and more…
If you are interested in PLEX, also see: How To setup Plex Media Server on Ubuntu Linux.
Kodi Open Source Home Theater Software
Kodi 100% Opensource Media center software that stores all your digital media files at one place like Plex and gives you a beautiful interface to access them. The Kodi was previously known as Xbox Media center or XMBC. Kodi provides a bit different media server software approach. It works more as a local media streamer rather functions a server-client relationship like PLEX. It was developed as an XMBC open-source media center and still distributed under open source licenses. It plays content from two sources one is locally saved content and secondly is via plugins.
Kodi Open Source Home Theater Software
It has a vast range of Addon for popular web services, applications, and script such as Pluto.TV, PS Vue, HDHomeRun, SoundCloud, Kodi Android Installer, Rooster Teeth, and more… It also provides an add-on to stream, video content from various sources like NBC, CBS, Funimation, and Crunchyroll. It is a perfect mixture of a media center PC/homer sever software. Kodi is also multi-platform support Media center/server software and supports Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, and embedded devices like the Raspberry Pi.
Kodi Features:
- TV Shows library supports
- Supporting all the main video formats
- Kodi can play all your music including mp3, flac, wav, and WMA formats
- Import pictures and view in different styles such as slideshow
- Support Live TV recording
- JSON-RPC based remote interface
- Smartphone and Tablet Apps
- Add-Ons for popular web services, applications, and scripts.
- Works popular backends such as MediaPortal, MythTV, NextPVR, Tvheadend, and much more.
Emby Media Server
Emby is a great and best open source Media server similar to Plex in features and user interface. While the Plex is a closed source or freemium, Emby is totally open-source media server software. In comparison to Plex, the Emby is much easier to install for newbies and you can see our article: How to Install Emby media server, step by step installation process. Emby offers lots of customization, media management, and database options.
Emby Media Server
The Emby Media server is available for Windows, Linux, Nas Devices, Mac OS, Docker, and FreeBSD. Like Plex, the Emby is also has a dedicated Linux installer for Debian, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, OpenSUSE, Fedora, and CentOS. If you are looking for 100% open-source Media server for your office or home then Emby is the best one.
Web-based Management System of Emby to install plugins, edit metadata and subtitles, Sync and more…
Emby also offers Apps for the mobile operating system: Emby Web client, Android, iOS, Windows 10, and Windows Mobile. Apart from the Emby Apps, it also has a good collection of TV Apps as follow:
- Android TV
- Amazon Fire Tv
- Shield Android TV
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- Roku
- Emby Theatre HTML5
- Emby Theatre for Windows
- LG Smart TV
- Samsung Smart TV
- PS4
- Xbox One
- Windows Media Center
- Xbox 360
- Kodi
- PS3
Emby Media Server Features
- Emby Server automatically converts and streams the media
- Stream Live TV to any device
- Web-based tools to edit metadata and subtitles
- Easy DLNA
- Parental Controls
- Easily control content access
- Cloud Sync
- Chromecast
MediaPortal
MediaPortal is a well-featured open-source HTPC media center and similar to Kodi. It does not have features like Emby and Plex but still, it’s very good open-source media server software. Using it you can watch, schedule, and record live TV like TiVo, streaming media, radio, and TV to any HTPC connected to your network., Check the weather, news, slideshow of pictures & videos, and more. It can access easily the web or mobile device. It also based on Client/Server Architecture.
See:How to Install and Configure the MediaPortal Media server on Windows 10 PC
MediaPortal
Media Portal Features
- Watch TV, Videos, and DVD
- Watch Online Videos
- Listening Music, Radio, and Web Streams
- Schedule Recordings
- Client/Server Architecture
- Skin System
- Plug-in System
- Check Weather Forecast
- Picture and video slideshow Viewer
- Multiple Tuner Support
- Time Shifting, Pause and Record TV/Radio
- Read RSS Feeds
OpenFLIXR Media Server
OpenFLIXR 2 is the easiest free all-in-one home Media server that offers all media solutions in one package. OpenFLIX Media server software download, install updates of media programs automatically. This home media server is a combination of all well-known open-source projects out there including Plex Media Server.
OpenFLIXR Media Server all-in on video streaming server
Software used in OpenFLIXR are:
![Software Software](https://cdn.ilovefreesoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Free-Open-Source-3D-Reconstruction-Software-with-Photogrammetry.jpg)
- CouchPotato + Radarr for Movies
- SickRage + Sonarr for automated TV show downloading
- Headphones- Automated music downloader
- Mopidy-Music Server
- Ubooquity-Comics and Ebooks & Web-based Reader
- Subtitles- AutoSub, Sub-Zero, Sickrage
- HTPC Manager
- Plex Media Server to organizes movies, series, music, and photos
- SABnzbd, NZBge, qBittorrent
- Netdata + Monit for monitoring
- Home-Assistant
- And More…
The OpenFLIXR media server needs a virtual machine to install since it is a virtual application
OpenELEC
OpenELEC is a lightweight Linux operating system built to create a media server like Kodi. The full form of the OpenELEC is Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center. Due to its lightweight, it can be easily installed on Raspberry, Apple TV, or low configurations systems.
Features of OpenELEC are:
- TV Show Management
- Movie Organizer and Player
- Music and Audiobook Player
- Freescale iMX6 ARM builds for Cubox-i, CuboxTV, and Hummingboard boxes
- TV and Personal Video Recorder
- Addon available to expand its feature
- Picture Browser
OSMC Media Center
OSMC Media center is last on our list. It is an open-source media center with a simple design and intuitive navigation system. The OSMC media center is based on Kodi and Debian. It also offers paid hardware kits and other accessories to enhance the OSMC user experience such as the Vero 4K. It is a hardware device with OSMC that supports 4K, HEVC, 10-bit content, and HD audio. It supports almost every type of media file. OSMC Media center is available for Linux, Windows, Mac OS, Rasberry Pi, Vero, and Apple TV.
OSMC Media Center
A verdict on Best Free & Opensource Media Server Software Options
Although Plex, Emby, and Kodi are the best and most popular media servers. But that doesn’t mean that other media servers are not good some of them like OpenFlixr are worth trying. We have put everything we know on this list, now it’s all upon you which you want to use. If you want to install a media server along with a NAS server then you can go for open-source NAS software like FreeNAS.
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If you are an audiophile and need some free and open-source Linux music server software to create your own self-hosted live streaming audio server for your massive collection of music files then you are at the right place.
We already covered the best open-source Linux based media server software to build your own media server using an old home PC. The media server tools, we have listed in that article are can also be used as music servers such as Plex, Kodi, and Emby media servers. Apart from this server software, we are also going to list a few dedicated open source and free DIY audiophile music server software here in this listicle, have a look maybe they somehow help you…
But before diving into the article let me tell, who need such kind music server software?
A person, who has a large collection of music or just wants to create his own Spotify like a server to stream music locally or remotely anywhere both on Desktop PC (like Windows, macOS, and Linux) and mobile platforms like Android, iOS, and Windows-based smartphones.
The purpose of os a music server is to deliver a music track which stored on the server storage when requested by the client. These Music HTTP servers should be capable of providing music files over the local area network and to other computers connected to the internet.
The Open-source software category has a wide range of multimedia server software; capable enough to turn your computer into a Jukebox. It does not end here, even there is a dedicated Linux music server distro called VortexBox which comes in the form of a bootable ISO file and can directly convert your old bare metal PC into a full-fledged music server.
Note: If you are using any of the given software to stream music over the internet (commercially) then be sure that you have copyright ownership of those tracks if they come under the copyright. However, for personal or music under free licenses can be stream without any issue.
List of Best Free Linux Music Server Software
Open Source Music Software For Windows
Dedicated Music server operating system
List of Best Free Linux Music Server Software
Build your own audiophile music server using free and opens source software
- Plex
- Emby Server
- Subsonic
- Ampache – Music Streaming Server
- Madsonic
- Airsonic
- Serviio
- Daphile- Dedicated Headless Music Server
- VortexBox music server distro
- Icecast
- Mopidy
- Sockso
- Jinzora
- Music Player Daemon
Plex – Media Server
Yes, we know that the Plex is the media server but it is an all-rounder player. This means it can use to stream music and video both including images. The reason it is on the top list because of its client application availability. The Plex is almost available for every device such as Android, iOS, Smart TV, Windows phone, Apple Tv, Xbox one, Plays station, and more. It uses a client-server architecture to work as a home theatre PC. You can install the Plex server on Windows, macOS, Linux likes Ubuntu, FreeBSD, and other NAS server platform and Docker. That’s why it is one of the best music server software available for free. See: How to install Plex media server on Ubuntu
Emby Server
It is open-source media server that let you handle the home videos, music, and photos both locally and remotely. It is available as a client for both Desktop PC and smartphones. Emby apps are available for Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox, Home Theater Computers, and more. The parental control and dlna services are also there. The interface of this media cum music sever is really beautiful and I am using it for my personal usage. Their server application is available for Windows, MacOS, Linux, FreeBSD, NAS, and Docker. You may want to know: How to install Emby server on Ubuntu to create your own music server.
Subsonic
The is another well-known free music server software to stream your favorite music on the go. It supports MP3, OGG, AAC, and any other audio or video format that streams over HTTP. The transcoding engine of the Subsonic allows you to stream lossy and lossless formats by converting to MP3 on-the-fly. See: How to install Subsonic on Ubuntu Linux.
It can work with any network media player such as VLC, Windows media player, iTunes Winamp, and XMMS including embedded Flash player. The tag parsing and editing of MP3, AAC, OGG, FLAC, WMA, and APE files are also possible using the Jaudiotagger library.
Also the Subsonic provide a wide range of language support which is up to 28 along 30 different user themes to suit your personality. The user can also set his own personal avatar. Now come to the availability of the Subsonic server, it can be installed on Windows, MAcOS, Linux, Red Hat / Fedora, Synology NAS and also available as a Stand-alone version (all platforms), and WAR version (all platforms).
The Subsonic client app is available for Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, Mac, Sonos, Chrome and more. It means, if you go for Subsonic then you will not going to get compatible issues. The videos streaming in the Subsonic is paid. However, if you need a server application just for streaming the Music then you can go for it. You can also listen what you’re playing on the Last.FM using automatically register, via the built-in Audioscrobbling support.
Play music directly on the server’s audio hardware using the jukebox mode and also it is very easy to install on Raspberry Pi and Odroid C2 boards.
Madsonic
Madsonic is a web-based media library and media streamer with jukebox functionality. Based on Java technology, Madsonic music server software can run on most of the platforms, including Windows, macOS, OSX, Linux and Unix variants. Apart from a personal streaming media server, it can also be used a jukebox locally. To stream and play music from Madsonic sever either you can use different clients those support the Madsonic or Subsonic REST API or web browser via an intuitive web interface.
It is a completely open-source and free Media streaming software and a fork of closed source Subsonic Server. So, if you don’t want to pay for Subsonic then you can use the MediaSonic. Some key features of it are easy to use interface,
Flexible and adaptable, Supports most media formats, Customizable user experience, Integrates web services, and Mobile Apps.
Flexible and adaptable, Supports most media formats, Customizable user experience, Integrates web services, and Mobile Apps.
Ampache – Music Streaming Server
Ampache is another popular free and open-source music streaming server software. It is web-based audio/video streaming application and file manager. The Ampache allows to stream music directly into the browser using the HTMl5 player on almost any internet-enabled device. To get the lyrics of songs you can also connect the Ampache to ChatLyrics and Lyrics Wiki to import Metadata from MusicBrainz. It provides Subsonic API backend which allows the user to use Subsonic clients. Ampache supports multiple network music players to play songs such as VLC, WinAMP, Foobar2000, Windows media player and almost any player that has the HTTP stream capability. Furthermore, it can also work with Plex, DAAP clients, UPnP/DLNA and XML-API clients.
Airsonic
Airsonic can be said as an open source alternative to closed source Subsonic media server but with all capabilities because it is a fork of Subsonic. It is a free and web-based media streamer designed to handle the very larger collection of music files stored on your local disk. However, it mainly optimized for Mp3 streaming but can support any audio or video streaming over HTTP like from OGG and AAC to WMA, FLAC, and APE.
![Sheet Sheet](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cb/11/ee/cb11eeffe48608dc7ae4a4e3eef06d5a--digital-audio-workstation-windows-software.jpg)
With help of transcoder plug-ins, Airsonic can convert any audio format, including WMA, FLAC, APE, Musepack, WavPack and Shorten. It can also work as a local jukebox.
Airsonic comes with an integrated Podcast receiver and as based on Java technology it can run almost all platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux and Unix variants.
Mopidy
Mopidy is also open source and free MPD and HTTP music server written in Python that runs in a terminal or in the background on Linux computers or MacOS with some network connectivity.
For controlling the Mopidy from frontend you can install some extensions. Also, it can be easily run on the Raspberry P either using Raspbian or Arch Linux to create an affordable Jukebox.
Moreover, has the capability to play music from your local disk and from cloud services like Spotify, SoundCloud, and Google Play Music via an extension on phone, tablet, desktops or web clients.
Basically, you can say it a headless music server software that can be controlled by installing extensions and plays music via a browser or MPD client. With Mopidy’s extension support, backends for new music sources can be easily added. IF you are looking for hackable private music streaming server or personal music server then it is for you.
Serviio
Serviio is a free media server that can work as your private streaming server. It supports the streaming of music, video, or images on your connected home network. Apart from the free edition, it also has a pro edition with enhanced sharing possibilities. Serviio can work with Smart TVs, PPlayStation3, XBox 360, smartphones, tablets, and more. For different devices, it uses a particular profile in order to tune the maximum potential of that device’s potential or minimize lack of media format playback support (via transcoding).
As it based on Java technology which allows this music server to run on most platforms such Windows, Mac and Linux including NAS like embedded systems.
Dedicated Music server operating system
VortexBox -Dedicated Linux Music Server Distro
VortexBox is a Fedora-based Music Sever Linux distribution that can easily turn your computer into a music server or Jukebox. It can automatically rip CDs to FLAC and MP3 files, ID3-tag the files, and download the cover art.
To play music files served by the VortexBox you can use any network-based player like VLC; it means you can use it to stream songs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS devices.
Daphile- Dedicated Headless Music Server
Daphile stands for Digital Music Convenience for Audiophiles which is a music server and player operating system meant to run as dedicated headless music server PC. It is based on open source Squeezebox Server, Squeezelite, and Linux.
Free Open Source Music
The Daphile being a headless server which means not graphical user interface but that doesn’t mean it is complicated. After installing the Daphile you will get an IP address just open it in the browser and you totally control your music library from anywhere locally or over Internet remotely.
The Daphile Headless music server OS features Bitperfect and gapless playback, Extensive audio format support, Native DSD playback up to DSD512, PCM resolutions up to 384kHz/24bit, High-quality audio resampling including PCM to DSD conversion, Convolution filtering for DRC and equalizer, “Play from RAM” to minimize CPU load and disk activity during playback, Automatic audio device configuration with multiplayer support, CD ripping with AccurateRip verification, automatic metadata tagging, and cover art, Supports external file servers as a music source, Easy configuration and installation through the web interface, WiFi hotspot support (if compatible hardware exists), Software update via the web interface, Network-attached storage (NAS) service and last but not least Whole system included in just about 200MB ISO-file
Few other dedicated free music/ media server software and worth to try if you are a Windows/Linux user:
Icecast 2
Icecast is an audio/video streaming media server that right now supports Ogg (Vorbis and Theora), Opus, WebM and MP3 streams. It can be used to create an Internet radio station or a privately running jukebox and many things in between.The Icecast support number clients for Windows, macOS and Linux/Unix some of them are liquidsoap
RoarAudio, butt (broadcast using this tool), Mixxx, Music Player Daemon (MPD), Traktor DJ Studio, Ices, DarkIce, DeeFuzzer, FreeJ, IceGenerator, Muse, Ezstream, Ladiocast macOS, Edcast reborn Windows, StreamS Live Encoder Windows, Cool Mic Android, KoalaSAN iOS, iCast iOS, ShoutVST and more…
RoarAudio, butt (broadcast using this tool), Mixxx, Music Player Daemon (MPD), Traktor DJ Studio, Ices, DarkIce, DeeFuzzer, FreeJ, IceGenerator, Muse, Ezstream, Ladiocast macOS, Edcast reborn Windows, StreamS Live Encoder Windows, Cool Mic Android, KoalaSAN iOS, iCast iOS, ShoutVST and more…
Sockso – Personal Music Server
Sockso is a free, open-source, personal music host server that is really easy to setup for everyone. It is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. If you do not want a high-end production music server and just basic need of streaming music or listen with your friends then Sockso can be used. IT is very simple to install just download and double-click on it. It supports MP3, OGG Vorbis, Flac, and WMA. Software 10 6 mac. Features GUI interface, Online flash music player, playlists, search, Download single tracks, or entire albums/artists or playlists and more capabilities.
Jinzora
Jinzora music server software allows streaming digital media through an internet connected computer, home stereo set or a hardware jukebox device.
Music Player Daemon
Music Player Daemon (MPD) is a server-side application for playing a variety of sound files through plugins and libraries and can be controlled by its network protocol.
Open Source Music Streaming
So, these are some best available open source free audio streaming software those will definitely help you to create your own self-hosted music streaming server. However, its all depend on one’s requirement but the Plex, Emby and Subsonic/Madsonic are few ultimate solutions to create the whole package of entertainment. I didn’t try the dedicated music server Daphile but you can do because of it really an interesting one…
Open Source Music Software Windows
If you have any question or want any installation guide on music server software, let us know, the comment box is all your!!
Open Source Music Production Software Windows
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