Alternative media servers
Although we’re focusing on Kodi in this feature, you’ll find a rich choice of alternative media servers out there, some of which may be more suited to your personal needs. The most visible alternative is PlexMediaServer ( – which, if we’re honest, is a more powerful and versatile media server solution, and may appeal to those who want a reasonably straightforward setup procedure and don’t want to spend time sourcing workarounds for some of Kodi’s missing features. However, it isn’t open source and charges for premium features as well as for its mobile apps. It is universally supported, though, and you can install PlexMediaServer alongside Kodi on your server and tie the two together with the free PleXBMC add-in. In a similar vein, MediaBrowser (
is making a concerted tilt for Plex’s crown, and is now available for both Ubuntu and Debian (in beta). It’s similar to Plex in that it provides a polished interface for a wide range of media, and supports a number of living room and mobile devices too, but again charges for certain apps.
If you’re trying to install a media server directly on to a Linux-embedded NAS drive, then MediaTomb ( or Serviio ( are worth considering. Both serve to any Universal Play and Play (UPNP) compatible device, but if you want to access non-DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) devices in Serviio you’ll have to purchase a Pro licence.