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.
- Synchronization of Mac OS X with several portable devices and online accounts can be a pain without the right tool. Keeping your macOS vital apps like iCal, Music, Address Book, photos, and other data in sync with other devices is the desire of most Mac users.
- We’ve compiled a list of some of the best software available for Apple’s Mac, from email and shortcut apps to window organizers and multimedia players. Airmail 3, Alfred, Bear, LastPass.
- Best iTunes alternatives for Mac iTunes is set to be retired with the arrival of macOS Catalina in the autumn (or before if you install the beta), so here are some fine alternatives for your media.
- Windows Media Player 10 is the latest media player for Windows that promises the best experience for Windows users, whether on a desktop, laptop, or Surface Pro tablet. Windows Media Player has been around for many years and is now a fully mature product that positions itself as an all-in-one media player for the Windows platform.
Best iTunes alternatives for Mac iTunes is set to be retired with the arrival of macOS Catalina in the autumn (or before if you install the beta), so here are some fine alternatives for your media.
Best Opensource Media server for Linux, Mac, or WindowsOSMC Media Center
Best Opensource Media server for Linux, Mac, or Windows
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)
![Best Media Software For Mac Best Media Software For Mac](/uploads/1/1/7/9/117943573/275682781.jpg)
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:
- 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.
You might also like to see:
Jul 19,2019 • Filed to: Manage Music • Proven solutions
What are the best music organizer programs? does anyone have some good suggestions?
If you have the above puzzle, then you have come to the right place! You can use the Best Music Organizer to clean and sort your massive music library, which would be a time-consuming and an exhausting process if you do it manually. This article discusses and compares some best music organizers for Android, Windows and Mac OS X platforms.
Part 1. Best Music Organizer for iTunes - iMusic
One of the best ways to organize music for Apple devices is to use iMusic . The best music organizer for iTunes has received the highest star ratings from the end users among its many competitors. The latest version of the software is 8.0.0 and has many revolutionary advancements as compared to the older versions. Although it is a paid application, the quality of services provided by the program is worth the required price. iMusic is regularly upgraded by the developers that makes it one of the best music organizing software. Even though the software is available for Windows platform as well, it works best with Apple devices, i.e. for Mac OS X and iOS.
iMusic - The Best Music Organizer Software to Manage Your iTunes Library
- Contain the best music organizer to organize iTune Library ,fix music cover ,remove the duplicates files.
- Record music in original quality and automatically split the ads.
- Discover and download music from more than 300,000 sites.
- Transfer music between any two devices directly without iTunes.
- Fix music library intelligently with correct ID3 tags.
- Burn music to cds in one click.
- Remove music DRM protection and convert downloaded M4P music files to MP3 format.
iMusic enables you to perform many tasks that can efficiently organize your music library,and also it's the best music organizer for Android, some of which cannot be achieved even by using iTunes. The application is handy and lets you transfer the data among your Apple devices by completely bypassing iTunes in the process.
Advantages:
- The in-built intuitive feature of the software automatically fixes the album art, album information and tag information.
- The music organizing software enables you to convert music and video files into Apple supported formats or Android support formats.
- Using this application, you can delete duplicate files from your library easily and efficiently.
- With this music organizer's in-built player, you can directly play the music in iTunes library or connected devices, and the lyrics could be shown as well.
- You can dicover many popular music from iMusic embedded music website and search music via iMusic YouTube search function quickly.
- Download music from YouTube, Spotify and record music from any online streaming sites or radio stations.
- You can connect and transfer the data among multiple Apple devices and Android devices at the same time which reduces the cumbersome task of loading the data to your computer first. This greatly streamlines the data transfer process.
- With this music organizing , you can share music and videos between iCloud (purchased with a different Apple ID) and iTunes library.
- All the features of the best music organizing software can be easily accessed through the clean and visually enhanced interface.
- The 24/7 support provided by the Aimersoft’s technical team can assist you via live chat in case you have any issues while using the software.
Guide to Use the Best Music Organizer to Manage Your iTunes Library
As a one of the best music library organizer , iMusic could help to fix the missing tags and covers, remove the duplicate songs and fine the missing songs. The following guide will show you how to manage your iTunes library.
Step 1: Run iMusic
After download iMusic from the above box, run this software to it's 'Toolbox' interface. Then click 'CLEAR UP ITunes Library'
Step 2: Click 'Scan' button
The program will navigate you to scan interface, click the 'Scan ' button to come into the next process.
Step 3: Click 'fix' button
Following that , come to click the 'fix' button, then you will finish the whole process to manage iTunes library.
Note: You could solely fix one of the four items ( missing tags, missing covers, duplicate tracks and missing tracks) for all the music. For exapmple, solely find and eliminate duplicated tracks or songs. Besides , you could choose the manual method to fix itunes library one by one for certain songs . To Get more details for Fix iTunes library, you could click here to get more .
Part 2. Other 6 Best Music Organizer for Windows and Mac OS X
The best way to organize music is to find and use some tools. A tabulated comparison table between the 6 best music library organizers is given below to make it simpler for you to select the one which is best suited to your needs. A detailed description for each of the said organizers is given after the table. Find a best music organizing software for you here:
Feature Name | Tuneup Media | Foobar2000 | MusicBee | MediaMonkey | Rinse My Music | MusicBrainz Piccard |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Supported Operating System(s) | Windows, Mac, and iOS | Windows | Windows | Mac OS X, and Windows | Mac OS X | Mac OS X, Windows, Linux |
Price | Free trial version for Windows. Paid version for Apple costs $31.99 | It is a freeware | It is an unrestricted freeware | Free trial version available. Can be upgraded to ‘gold’ version for $20 | Can be purchased for $39.99. | It is a freeware |
Star Ratings (out of 5 stars) | 5 stars | 4 stars | 4 stars | 4 stars | 4 stars | 5 stars |
Distinguished Features | •Allows you to organize your music library. • ‘DeDuper’ feature lets you delete the duplicate files. • ‘Tuniverse’ is a smart feature of the application | •Comes with a simple and clean interface. • Gapless playback feature enables you to play audio files without interruption. | •Allows you to import audio files from iTunes and Windows Media Player. • Comes with a streamlined and easy-to-use interface. | •Has a completely customizable interface. • Intuitive feature automatically fixes the missing metadata information. | Automatically adds missing album art in your library. • Allows you to delete the duplicate files and perform a ‘test deletion’ to ensure the correct files would be deleted. | • Easy to use and clean interface makes it convenient for beginners. • Automatically fixes and sorts your music library. • Supports a wide range of file formats. |
Tuneup Media - one of best music library organizers
Supported Operating System: Windows and Mac
About:
TuneUp Media is a simple plug-in and a must-have companion application when it comes to cleaning and organizing your music library. Being enriched with unique smart features that make the application one of the best music organizers, the program gains the highest star rating among its various competitors. The revolutionary software is changing the entire process of managing, organizing and discovering the digital music collection.
Best Media Software Free
Advantages:
- The smart feature of the application called ‘Tuniverse’ offers unique music discovery options like local, personalized concert alerts, and finding new music releases as per your genre proclivity.
- The ‘DeDuper’ feature of the software enables you to effectively remove duplicate files by using advanced acoustic fingerprinting technology.
- The application automatically identifies and fixes your media files quickly and efficiently.
- Since it is not a standalone software but a plug-in, it enhances the functionality of pre-installed iTunes and Windows Media Player.
Disadvantages:
- The free trial version enables you to fix only up to 50 tracks.
- The advanced features, at times, become complicated to use for the beginners.
Best Media Playback Software For Mac
Foobar2000 - Another one of best music library organizers
Supported Operating System: Windows
About:
Foobar2000 is an unrestricted freeware that works as a standalone software for your device. Regular updates for the application are provided by the developer. The latest version comes with generic performance optimizations that enable you to organize a vast number of audio files in your library efficiently.
Advantages:
- In contrast to other music organizers that come with a complicated interface, Foobar2000 has the minimalistic and simplest interface with better functionality.
- The software has a built-in music player that supports almost all audio file formats.
- The gapless playback feature that Foobar has allows you to play your audio files without any delay/interruption.
- This is one of the fastest and most versatile music organizers that can handle a large number of audio files with ease.
- The application comes with a completely customizable interface.
- Foobar2000 also has a plug-in system on par with Firefox.
Disadvantages:
- The application has a steep learning curve and requires moderate to advanced computing skills that makes it difficult to use for beginners.
- There is no Help Forum for the software so you are on your own when it comes to understanding a particular feature.
- There is no built-in video player and therefore you can play and organize the audio files only in your library.
MusicBee - music organizing software
Supported Operating System: Windows
About:
MusicBee is an efficient tool to organize, search and play music files on your desktop computers or laptop PCs. In contrast to the other competitors, MusicBee is a freeware that includes all the basic and advanced features of an efficient music organizer. Using this application, you can organize your music library easily. The software uses BASS Audio Library.
Advantages:
- MusicBee is an unrestricted freeware that runs as a standalone app on your device.
- The application comes with a plain and intuitive interface that streamlines the process of organizing your music library.
- MusicBee automatically finds and fixes the missing metadata of your media files by searching the information from online databases.
- The advanced music player comes with a gapless playback feature that enables you to play audio files without interruption.
- You can import media files from your iTunes library and Windows Media Player using MusicBee.
- The software allows you to conveniently organize your audio files into folders based on tag values such as album, name, genre, etc.
Disadvantages:
- The application does not have a built-in video player.
- MusicBee gets downloaded as a .ZIP file which, at times, creates issues during installation.
- Multiple number of settings become cumbersome at the beginning.
MediaMonkey - music organizing software
Supported Operating System: Mac OS X and Windows
About:
If you want to use a standalone software to organize and manage your massive music library, MediaMonkey is one of the best music organizers to do the needful. The application is a fully integrated music player, organizer, and encoder that enables you to play audio files of almost all popular audio file formats. The developers regularly upgrade the software for its proper functionality and sophistication. The latest version is 4.1.11 and has more than 40 upgraded features including better synchronization with Android devices.
Advantages:
- You can easily manage thousands of music and video files without bogging down your computer.
- The intuitive feature of the application automatically fixes and tags the metadata of the audio files.
- The software allows you to create and manage customized playlists.
- The customizable interface makes it attractive and easy to use.
- Most of the streaming radios are supported by the application.
Disadvantages:
- The browser window of the software provides limited options.
- MediaMonkey does not provide podcasts.
Rinse My Music - music organizing software
Supported Operating System: Mac OS X (version 10.5 or later)
About:
Rinse My Music is a third-party software and an Adobe Air application that promises to organize and restore your massive iTunes library efficiently. This is an automated cleanup tool that solves your iTunes organizational issues quickly and effectively. The latest version of Rinse My Music comes with an optional iTunes toolbar that allows you to launch and access the application from within the iTunes itself. Although it is a paid application, it is worth the asking price of $39.99 (at the time of this writing) if you have a huge collection of music in your iTunes library.
Best Media Software For Mac Computers
Advantages:
- Rinse My Music automatically adds high resolution album arts to your audio files making your library all more attractive and visually pleasant.
- The software allows you to create customized playlists from your iTunes library according to the genre of your audio files.
- This is a smart program that does not rely on the information provided by your media files for organization of your library. Instead, it comes with a large database from which it compares your songs to its own stored information.
- The application automatically fixes the missing tag information of your media files.
- Using Rinse My Music you can efficiently remove the duplicate files from your iTunes library. What makes it better that other music organizers is that you can perform a test deletion to be certain that the correct songs are removed at the time of final removal.
Disadvantages:
- Rinse My Music is a paid application. The free trial version allows you to organize only 50 audio files in your iTunes library.
- The Help forum of the software is not distinguished and elaborated which creates problems for those who run into any issues related to its functioning.
MusicBrainz Piccard - music organizing software
Supported Operating System: Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux.
About:
MusicBrainz Piccard is an official MusicBrainz tagger and music organizer that is written in Python programming language. Although this is a cross-platform compatible application, it works best with the Mac OS X platform. The advanced features are introduced in the latest version with an intention to make it the next generation music organizer for MusicBrainz. What makes it better than its competitors is that the latest version focuses on album-oriented tagging as opposed to track-oriented tagging that was there in the earlier ‘Classic’ version. This approach allows you to sort the files in a particular album leaving behind the unwanted ones.
Advantages:
- The acoustic fingerprinting technology used by the software automatically fixes and replaces the missing tag information of your audio files.
- The clean and streamlined interface of the software enables even the less experienced users to maneuver the application efficiently and with ease.
- MusicBrainz Piccard supports a wide range of file formats and also allows you to install additional plugins.
- The application comes with a built-in search engine, thus enabling you to find a wide range of audio files easily.
Disadvantages:
- Some users have expressed their concerns over the security and privacy issues as the software scans and rummages through the entire hard drive automatically.
- The Help Forum of MusicBrainz is not beneficent.
Disclaimer: The best way to organize music is to find and use some tools. The described best music library organizers are considered the best ones based on average user ratings solely. There is no discretion and judgment provided by the author or the site whatsoever.