Universal Media Server 2.2

Universal Media Server can stream media contents, including audio, images and video, to various networked devices, such as game consoles, music centers and televisions. Besides the main advantage of allowing you to store all files in a single place, this also helps you avoid compatibility issues that may arise between the original formats and those supported by the target device.

Unfortunately, Universal Media Server doesn’t have a visually appealing interface. In my opinion, the application should have been designed more in accordance to its entertainment purposes. It’s a good thing, however, that it also has a web interface, which allows you to navigate the media library and play files directly from your browser. Although configuring the program may be a difficult task, there’s an initial configuration wizard to help you. Moreover, advanced options can be hidden if you don’t want to be overwhelmed by so many details. Finally, I’m glad the server is accompanied by an excellent user guide.

From the technical point of view, Universal Media Server is flawless. Do you remember what I said about avoiding compatibility problems? This tool can perform on-the-fly, transcoding and remuxing, which means that it can simply retrieve media and translate it into a format that your device can understand. And not only that, it can do this in real time, provided your computer’s processor is powerful enough. In addition, it also supports streaming subtitles. Last but not least, the program comes with everything it needs to work properly, which doesn’t mean its features cannot be expanded by installing additional plugins.

All in all, Universal Media Player is a good choice. If you’re wondering why you would need such a program when Windows Media Player can also stream media contents, the answer is because your system’s built-in player doesn’t support transcoding, so many of your files are likely not to be supported by the receiving device.

v2.2 [Dec 15, 2012]
General:
--Some renderers (like Philips HTS) can connect more quickly with the server
--Improved support for Sony Bravia HX series TVs
--Improved design on OS X
--Fixed FFmpeg video transcoding on Xbox
--Fixed file permissions on Linux
--Plugins can use custom icons for files
Languages:
--Updated Korean translation
External Components:
--Updated MPlayer/MEncoder for Windows to SB49, which:
Improves MP3 encoding speed
Improves MKV support
Improves threading
Fixes memory leaks