Silux Media vs Universal Media Server
Away from home, not just the living room
UMS focuses on DLNA/UPnP devices on your home network. Silux Media adds apps and remote streaming that adapts to slow connections.
DLNA included
Silux Media also has a DLNA server, so your TV and console still see the library at home.
Modern apps
Posters, Continue watching, Skip Intro, downloads for offline viewing, Parental Control and watch together — in every app.
Free self-hosting
Like UMS, the server is free.
In fairness to Universal Media Server
Universal Media Server is open source and very good at transcoding for older DLNA TVs and consoles.
Price
Universal Media Server: Free and open source (DLNA/UPnP server for your home network).
Silux Media: Free forever when self-hosted — including remote streaming and the full low-bandwidth engine. Optional Plus £2.99/mo for the whole household, Pro £4.99/mo, Cloud from £14.99/mo.
Silux Media against Plex, Jellyfin, Emby and Kodi
| Feature | Silux Media | Plex | Jellyfin | Emby | Kodi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted media server | Free | Free | Free | Free | Player only |
| Stream your own media remotely | Free | Paid (Plex Pass or Remote Watch Pass) | Free (you set up networking) | Free | |
| Managed remote access — no router setup | Plus £2.99/mo for the whole household | ||||
| Hardware transcoding | Free | Paid | Free | Paid | n/a |
| Data per hour at 1080p (same quality)Measured live — see /bandwidth | ≈ 1.0 GB | ≈ 2.7 GB | ≈ 2.5 GB | ≈ 2.5 GB | n/a |
| Built for 1–2 Mbps connections | |||||
| Quality adapts every few seconds as your line changesJellyfin/Emby keep one bitrate per transcode session (measured) | n/a | ||||
| Never exceeds the bandwidth you pickOthers overshot their own caps in our tests | n/a | ||||
| AV1 + Opus streaming | n/a | ||||
| Skip Intro and Skip Credits | Free | Plex Pass | Plugin | Premiere | Add-on |
| Watch together (synced playback)Plex removed Watch Together from its new apps in 2025 | Free, every app | Web app only | SyncPlay | ||
| Offline downloads, incl. smaller copies | Free | Plex Pass | Premiere | n/a | |
| Live TV and recording from a TV aerial tuner or your TV provider | Free | Plex Pass | Premiere for recording | Add-on | |
| DLNA server for TVs and consoles | Free | Plugin | |||
| PIN-protected folders, enforced by the server | Free | Master lock | |||
| Ads in the app | Never | Ad-supported free channels | Never | Never | Never |
| Optional fully managed cloud server | From £14.99/mo | ||||
| Open source |
Switching from Universal Media Server
Run Silux Media alongside Universal Media Server and point it at the same folders while you try it.