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Add to SafariWhen comparing Plex vs ReadyMedia (formerly MiniDLNA), the Slant community recommends Plex for most people. In the question“What is the best home media server?” Plex is ranked 2nd while ReadyMedia (formerly MiniDLNA) is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Plex is:
It's pretty hard to find a NAS or STB that doesn't support Plex.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Supported on many devices
It's pretty hard to find a NAS or STB that doesn't support Plex.
Pro Accessible via web browser
A modern web browser is enough to get everything Plex has to offer.
Pro Added lots of media databases
Metadata for media files will automatically be updated by using media databases. This provides posters, movie trailers, descriptions, information about actors, etc.
Pro Free and open
It is free and completely open source.
Pro Lightweight
It is extremely lightweight.
Pro Strict DLNA standard
It has an option to follow strictly the DLNA standard.
Pro Can transcode on the fly
It can transcode your files on the fly with readymedia-transcode.
Cons
Con Needs registration
You need a PLEX account even if you use it on your local LAN.
Con Proprietary software
Unfree software.
Con No gapless audio-playback
Plex still does not support gapless playback of audio files such as mp3 or FLAC.
Con Playback error: This server is not powerful enough to convert video
More hardware requirements on Plex due to a useless/non-intuitive transcoder. When using lower spec hardware (eg SBC) Plex will not transcode or play HD+ videos. When compared to other packages (eg Jellyfin which transcodes nicely using FFMeg), Plex falls short on video playback and transcode settings to get videos to play (fastest/lightest option still fails).
Con No web interface
You will need a DLNA -client.
