Subsonic for Windows

User Reviews

• The Best Home Media Server Platform I've seen!

  petenunJuly 19, 2012

  Pros

  * Be your own audio / video / media cloud * Subsonic is absolutely free (Paypal donations remove adware) * No other web services need be installed such as IIS or Apache * It requires no uploading of content to 3rd party web sites * Supports multiple users and players simultaniously from any number of devices. (My whole family uses it constantly at the same time) * Streams Video as well as Audio * Several themes to change the look and feel. * Supports server-based playlists so you have access from any source. * Streamed music can be cached locally on mobile devices for offline playback.* * Multiple user accounts can be defined with different permissions (admin, upload, download, modify, etc). * There is even a remote control mode, which allows a mobile device to queue audio playback over speakers in your home. * Supports automatic server-based podcasts. * Awesome web interface and mobile apps for: Android, iPhone, Blackberry Playbook, Sonos, Roku, and even Chumby.

  Cons

  There are very few negatives. Though I can only speak for the Windows platform, the platform is very stable. I hear there are ads if you don't donate.

  Summary

  Note: I am not associated with Subsonic or its developer(s) in any way. For years, I have been searching for a program or service that would allow me to access my full 1.5tb media (audio and video) library anywhere and from any device, and I have found what I believe to be the Holy Grail; Subsonic. There has been much talk lately about cloud-based music streaming services (Apple, Amazon, Google, etc.), but not much is heard about streaming from one's own cloud (which is much safer and not subject to ownership audits or upload data caps). In my (not so) humble opinion, Subsonic provides the best in both server and multi-client music streaming. One just installs and configures the server component at home (32mb), on Windows, Mac, Debian/Ubuntu, or Red Hat platforms. Once you punch (configure your router with) a user-definable port through your firewall, you can stream your entire music and video library anywhere using its well-laid-out and customizable web front-end or via mobile app (Android, iPhone, Blackberry Playbook, Sonos, Roku, and even Chumby). I've been using Subsonic for almost two years now, and though I almost never get evangelistic about a program, I truly believe that Subsonic qualifies as one of those unbelievably useful programs... and its free. [* Note: I have found it very useful to use DynDns for name resolution so I don't have to keep changing my client's configurations every time Comcast changes my home DHCP IP address]

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• Works sporadically

  nseltzerJune 18, 2011

  Pros

  A great idea

  Cons

  Not easy to set up if you don't understand behind-the-scenes router information Does not work consistently Not free

  Summary

  I got this to work sporadically. When it did it was great! I tried configuring my router to get the port forwarding done so that it worked consistently, but I know enough to be dangerous and ended up having to reinstall the factory settings on my router and set-up my wireless networks again to fix the problems I created. In short, this is great if you are comfortable messing with router settings. If not, I would look somewhere else. It is not user friendly.

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• Powerful, portable music server, frequently upgraded

  mglobeJune 7, 2010

  Pros

  Flexible platform lets you access your music from almost any advice, including a phone. Browsers do not require client installs.

  Cons

  Minimal ads that can be removed with donation. Port-forwarding required if behind router; DDNS (or static IP) also needed unless you only plan to use it at home.

  Summary

  Pros: - Easy to install and run - Excellent database design updates changes on the fly - Cover art search (automatic and somewhat customizable) - No limit to collection size - Allows you to play ALL media formats, including ones that won't play on iTunes (e.g., FLAC or WMA) - Aside from flash, no install is needed on a client computer - Minimal load on computer - Secure with highly customizable per-user settings - Unbelievable platform flexibility. Works on anything from Google Chrome down to a WAP dumbphone browser. Free app (from product's maker) lets you cache and play music from anywhere on an Android phone. Two aftermarket ipod/iphone apps let you play your media on an iPod Touch or iPhone (or presumably an iPad). - One user can login from multiple locations - Jukebox mode lets you play off of your computer from whatever remote device you're using - Adobe AIR app lets you play off of a server using software (instead of a browser) Cons: - Need to setup port-forwarding if behind a router, though there's a uPnP feature that you can enable that might solve the problem automatically for you - Best to use a DDNS address - but again, Subsonic has a simple web-address solution that is simple - however, the web address will expire after a couple months if you don't make a donation (any amount) - Small ads appear unless you make a donation (any amount) - the ads are almost all for amazon.com

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• So far, the best I've found

  mphtowerMarch 11, 2010

  Pros

  Excellent interface, great management of music (especially for a web-app), handles all the formats I need, available for Android, great tool for finding album art

  Cons

  Occasionally glitchy, some tracks have randomly stopped playing

  Summary

  I've only recently installed Subsonic and am already very impressed with it. Originally I was intending to only use this to stream media, but the management controls are so thoughtfully designed that I might use this to do more. I'll probably stick with MediaMonkey to manage my media collection, but for listening to tracks this is a far more elegant interface. MediaMonkey has a lot of nice features for changing album art, etc., but it will only search Amazon. Subsonic, on the other hand, seems to look everywhere and has found art for albums I've never been able to find through WMP, iTunes, or Winamp. I haven't yet gotten the Android app to work, but that's related more to my network than anything else. If needed I'll change this review later, but I suspect it will work as well as can be expected for streaming to a phone, which is to say passably well. So far so good!

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• Extremely Buggy

  NY40Male--2008August 25, 2009

  Pros

  None...None...None...None...

  Cons

  crashes all the time...no support from programmmer

  Summary

  get vibestreamer instead

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