Help

How to use Silux Media

Every screen, menu and setting — from installing the server and signing in to Parental Control and uploading to the cloud.

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Silux Media: an overview

What Silux Media is and how its parts fit together: the free media server, the web app, the apps for phones, computers and TVs, your Silux Media account, plans and Silux Media Cloud.

Getting started with Silux Media

Set up Silux Media from scratch in about 15 minutes: install the server, add media, sign in on your phone and TV, add family, and make it work away from home.

Watch the help videos

22 short videos recorded from the real apps: an overview, getting started, signing in, watching, people, Parental Control, Live TV, away from home and the admin tools.

Watch the videos

Getting started

Install the Silux Media server

Step-by-step: install the free Silux Media media server on Windows, macOS, Ubuntu/Debian, Docker or a NAS, open the web app and create your admin account.

Add your films, TV, music, photos and books

How to add media folders in Silux Media, name films and TV episodes so they're recognised, add subtitles, album art and posters, and rescan the library.

Sign in on your phone, tablet or computer

Sign in to the Silux Media apps with your email and password (and authenticator code), or connect straight to your server by address. Change the server address in Settings.

Link a TV with a code

Sign a TV in to Silux Media without typing a password: the TV shows a code and you approve it in the Silux Media app on your phone (Account → Link a TV).

Silux Media for Apple TV

Use Silux Media on Apple TV 4K and HD (tvOS 17+): sign in with a code from your phone, browse films, TV shows, music, photos and folders, Play all, Parental Control PINs and the data saver.

Silux Media for Android TV, Google TV and Fire TV

Use Silux Media on Android TV, Google TV, Chromecast with Google TV, NVIDIA Shield, Sony, Philips, TCL, Hisense and Amazon Fire TV: install, sign in with a code, the remote, Parental Control and Play all.

Silux Media for iPhone and iPad

Use Silux Media on iPhone and iPad: sign in, browse, play with the data saver, download for offline, Link a TV, Parental Control and the Server address setting.

Silux Media for Android

Use Silux Media on Android phones, tablets and foldables: install, sign in, data saver on mobile data, downloads, Link a TV and Parental Control.

Silux Media on your computer

Use the Silux Media player for macOS, Windows and Ubuntu/Debian Linux — or any web browser: sign in, keyboard shortcuts, right-click menu, downloads and Parental Control.

Silux Media for Samsung and LG TVs

Watch Silux Media on Samsung Tizen (2017+) and LG webOS (4+) smart TVs: install, sign in with a code from your phone, remote navigation and Parental Control.

Silux Media: an overview

What Silux Media is and how its parts fit together: the free media server, the web app, the apps for phones, computers and TVs, your Silux Media account, plans and Silux Media Cloud.

Getting started with Silux Media

Set up Silux Media from scratch in about 15 minutes: install the server, add media, sign in on your phone and TV, add family, and make it work away from home.

Your Silux Media account: every page

A guide to every page of your Silux Media account on the website: sign up and sign in, Overview, Plan & billing, Orders, Servers and Family access, Settings and security, linking devices, the shop and basket.

What's free, and what the paid plans add

Silux Media is free on your own server, including watching away from home, with no limits on streams or people. Plus, Pro and Cloud only add convenience: remote access with no router setup (even behind CGNAT), more servers, and hosting.

Watching

Find your way around the library

Every menu in the Silux Media apps explained: Home, Films, TV Shows, Music, Photos, Books, Folders, My List, Downloads, search and the item menu.

Watching: the player explained

How to use the Silux Media player: resume, audio and subtitle tracks, subtitle size, picture quality, Best quality (original up to 4K), data saver caps, speed and the bandwidth panel.

Play all and Autoplay next

Play every video in a folder one after another, binge a series automatically, or turn Autoplay next off in Silux Media.

Downloads: watch offline

Download films, episodes and songs from your Silux Media server to watch with no connection — on a plane, train or anywhere without Wi-Fi.

Music, photos and books

Play albums with the mini player, browse photos full screen, and read EPUB and PDF books in the Silux Media apps.

Skip Intro, chapters, seek previews and the sleep timer

Skip intros and end credits with one press, jump between chapters, see a preview picture while scrubbing, set a sleep timer, and pick up 5 seconds before where you stopped — in every Silux Media app.

Watch together (watch parties)

Start a watch party in Silux Media, share a 6-letter code, and everyone's play, pause and seek stay in step — on phones, TVs and computers, at home or away.

Playlists, shuffle and repeat

Make playlists of films, episodes, songs and audiobooks in Silux Media, reorder them, play them on any device, and shuffle or repeat music.

Audiobooks

Listen to audiobooks in Silux Media: one place per book, chapters, 0.75× to 2× speed, a sleep timer, and it remembers your place on every device.

Live TV

Watch live TV in every Silux Media app from an HDHomeRun aerial tuner or your TV provider's channel list, with a TV guide and recording — re-encoded to a lean 720p, 480p or 360p stream so it works on slow connections.

Phone, tablet and computer apps: every screen

Every screen in the Silux Media apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux: sign in, the tabs, the details sheet, the player, downloads, uploads, the account menu and linking a TV.

TV apps: every screen

How the Silux Media TV apps work with the remote: signing in with a phone code, the tabs on Apple TV and Android TV, More, the player and Skip Intro, Live TV, and the Samsung and LG apps.

Your library

Manage library (admins)

How admins delete films, episodes, songs, photos and books in the Silux Media web app — and how to restore them from the recycle folder.

Server settings explained

Every panel in the Silux Media web app's Settings: server, people, Parental Control, quality profiles, direct connections, online details, DLNA, Live TV, webhooks, backup, your Silux Media account and activity.

Who's watching and bandwidth

Use Silux Media's admin tools in the web app and apps: live viewers, stopping a stream, 30-day bandwidth per person and device, quality profiles and rescanning.

Versions, trailers & extras, and film details

Keep a 4K and a 1080p copy as one title, add trailers, featurettes and deleted scenes, and show plots, ratings and cast from .nfo files in Silux Media.

Online details: artwork, plots and subtitles

Fill in missing album covers (MusicBrainz and Cover Art Archive), film and TV posters, plots, genres and age ratings (TMDB, with your free key), and download subtitles from OpenSubtitles in Silux Media.

DLNA: TVs and consoles at home

Silux Media includes a DLNA/UPnP media server: smart TVs, PlayStation, Xbox and media players on your home network find it and play your films, TV, music and photos without an app.

Backup, restore and webhooks

Download a backup of everyone, their passwords, roles, content limits, PINs, progress, playlists and settings, restore it on a new server, and send webhooks when media arrives or playback starts.

Upload from your phone or computer

Admins can send photos and videos from the Silux Media app on a phone, tablet or computer straight into the server's library — Camera Uploads, Photos, Films and more. Uploads resume if the connection drops.

The server web app: every page

A tour of every page in the Silux Media server's web app: Home, Films, TV Shows, Music, Photos, Audiobooks, Books, Live TV, Playlists, Search, the film page, the player, Manage library, Upload and Settings.

People and safety

Sign-in codes (two-step sign-in)

Protect your Silux Media account with a 6-digit sign-in code by email, Telegram or an authenticator app. Choose how you get it — or turn it off — in Account → Settings on the website.

Users and admins

How each Silux Media server's admin adds people, chooses who is a user (browse and watch only) or an admin (can manage and delete), resets passwords and removes people.

Parental Control

Protect any folder in Silux Media with a PIN so children can't open it on Apple TV, Android TV, phones, computers, Samsung or LG — set, change and remove PINs as an admin.

Account security

Turn on sign-in codes (email, Telegram or an authenticator app), see and sign out devices, change your password and download or delete your Silux Media account data.

Content limits by age rating

Set an age limit for each person on your Silux Media server — G/U, PG, 12, PG-13, 15 or R — so they only see titles rated for them, on every device.

Away from home and Cloud

Watch away from home

Watching away from home is free and unlimited whenever your server can be reached directly. Behind CGNAT, use the Silux Media relay: 5 free hours a month, or Plus for the whole household.

Silux Media Cloud

How Silux Media Cloud works: order a plan, your private server is activated within 3 days, then upload your films, TV, music and photos through Silux Media and watch them anywhere.

Upload to Silux Media Cloud

Create your private encrypted vault, then drag and drop films, episodes, music, photos and books into your Silux Media Cloud library from the web app.

Streaming on a slow connection

Get smooth playback on mobile data, hotel Wi-Fi or rural broadband: data saver caps, AV1, the bandwidth panel and downloads.

Plans, the basket and billing

How Silux Media plans work (Free, Plus, Pro and Cloud), add-ons and one-off services, using the basket and checkout, changing or cancelling a plan, invoices and VAT.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Fix common Silux Media problems: the server isn't reachable, sign-in fails, buffering, titles missing, subtitles not showing or a TV code expired.