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MiniDLNA (Simple Media Server)

MiniDLNA icon

Available since: version 19.23

MiniDLNA is a media server with the aim to be compliant with DLNA/UPnP clients.

Note: This service is available only on networks configured as "internal" zone. It is not available when connected via OpenVPN.

What is UPnP/DLNA?

Universal plug & play is a set of networking protocols that allow devices within a network such as PCs, TVs, printers etc. to seamlessly discover each other and establish communication for data sharing. It is zero configuration protocol and requires only a media server and a media player that are compliant with the protocol.

DLNA is derived from UPnP as a form of standardizing media interoperability. It forms a standard/certification which many consumer electronics conform to.

Setting up MiniDLNA on your FreedomBox

To install/enable the media server you need to navigate at MiniDLNA page and enable it. The application is intended to be available in the internal (home) network and therefore it requires a network interface configured for internal traffic.

After installation a web page becomes available on https://<your-freedombox>/_minidlna. It includes information for how many files the server is detecting, how many connections exist etc. This is very useful if plugging external disks with media to check if the new media files are detected properly. If that is not happening, disabling and enabling the server will fix it.

Using MiniDLNA to play media on your devices

Any DLNA compliant device or media player should be able to automatically detect, browse and play media from MiniDLNA on FreedomBox. The following devices and media players have been tested:

Supported media formats

MiniDLNA supports a wide variety of video and audio file formats.

Notably, it does not support the following file extensions. Renaming the file to a known extension seems to work in most cases.

In addition to file format support from MiniDLNA, your media player or device needs to support the audio/video codecs with which the media has been encoded. MiniDLNA does not have the ability to translate files into a codec understood by the player. If you face problems with media playback, use the VLC player to find the codecs used in the media and the check your device or media player documentation on whether the codecs are supported.

File systems for external drives

If using an external drive that is used also from a Windows system the preferred filesystem should be NTFS. NTFS will keep Linux file permissions and UTF8 encoding for file names. This is useful if file names are in your language.

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