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Gerbera VS MiniDLNA

Compare Gerbera VS MiniDLNA and see what are their differences

Gerbera logo Gerbera

Free UPnP media server based on MediaTomb

MiniDLNA logo MiniDLNA

MiniDLNA (aka ReadyDLNA) is server software with the aim of being fully compliant with DLNA/UPnP-AV...
  • Gerbera Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-25
  • MiniDLNA Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-09

Gerbera features and specs

  • Open Source
    Gerbera is an open-source media server which means it’s free to use and can be customized by anyone with the necessary coding skills.
  • Cross-platform
    Gerbera is compatible with multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, offering flexibility to users regardless of their chosen platform.
  • Supports various media formats
    Gerbera can stream a wide range of audio, video, and image file formats, making it versatile in terms of media compatibility.
  • Highly customizable
    Users can modify and extend its functionalities to fit their specific needs because of Gerbera’s customizable settings and plugin architecture.
  • Community support
    As an open-source project, Gerbera benefits from a large community of users and developers who can provide support, extensions, and updates.

Possible disadvantages of Gerbera

  • Complex setup
    The setup process for Gerbera may be difficult for users who are not technically proficient, requiring a learning curve.
  • Limited official support
    Being an open-source project, Gerbera does not come with formal customer support, relying instead on community forums and guides.
  • Possible stability issues
    As with many open-source projects, users may encounter bugs or stability issues, especially on less common hardware configurations.
  • UI/UX limitations
    The user interface for Gerbera may not be as polished or intuitive as commercial media servers, potentially affecting user experience.
  • Security concerns
    Users must ensure they manage permissions and updates carefully to mitigate security vulnerabilities that can arise from running server software.

MiniDLNA features and specs

  • Lightweight
    MiniDLNA is designed to be a lightweight media server which makes it ideal for systems with constrained resources.
  • Easy Setup
    The configuration of MiniDLNA is simple, requiring minimal setup and can be easily configured through a text file.
  • Wide Compatibility
    Supports a wide range of media devices such as TVs, tablets, and phones, which enables broad accessibility across various platforms.
  • Automatic Scanning
    Automatically scans and updates the media library, ensuring that all media files are current and accessible.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, it is free to use and can be modified to better suit users' needs.

Possible disadvantages of MiniDLNA

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Lacks some of the advanced features found in more comprehensive media servers, such as transcoding or user management.
  • Basic User Interface
    Provides a very basic web interface which may not be as user-friendly or visually appealing as other DLNA servers.
  • Community Support
    While there is community support, it may not be as extensive or as resourceful as that for more popular commercial solutions.
  • No Transcoding Support
    Does not support on-the-fly transcoding, limiting compatibility with devices that can only play specific media formats.
  • Static Configuration
    Requires manual editing of configuration files for changes, which might not be ideal for users looking for dynamic or GUI-based settings adjustments.

Gerbera videos

The Best Reborn-One Hundred! - RE/100 Gundam GP04G Gerbera Review

More videos:

  • Review - RE/100 GP04 Gerbera (Final Review)
  • Review - 1/144 HGUC Gerbera Tetra Review

MiniDLNA videos

minidlna - Stream Videos Pictures Music to Android iOS - Linux CLI

More videos:

  • Review - Streaming Media over Network via MiniDLNA and MediaTomb

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Gerbera and MiniDLNA)
Media Player
38 38%
62% 62
Media Players And Streaming Platforms
Video
35 35%
65% 65
Video Streaming
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Gerbera and MiniDLNA. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

MiniDLNA might be a bit more popular than Gerbera. We know about 3 links to it since March 2021 and only 3 links to Gerbera. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Gerbera mentions (3)

MiniDLNA mentions (3)

  • Moving from ReadyNAS Pro 6 to Synology DS1621+
    How is the Media Server package? On the ReadyNAS, the ReadyMedia / MiniDLNA app started to choke on my files after the collection got a bit large. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • DLNA internet radio controller - recommendations?
    We have several DLNA streamers around the house (Pure Jongo A2s -- old but work great), a NAS running minidlna which serves music, and we use Hifi Cast on Android phones to control it -- pointing the Jongos at the NAS. This works well for locally-hosted music. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Tangential question: How could I play mp3 files from an opendir?
    One free server that's been around for a long time is MiniDLNA. It is basic, but it works really well. Much like a webserver, it's configured through text files that you edit. (Or not... I haven't configured a webserver in a very long time.). Source: about 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Gerbera and MiniDLNA, you can also consider the following products

Universal Media Server - Universal Media Server allows you to host your entire library of video, music, and pictures, and broadcast them conveniently to a wide variety of different devices.

Serviio - Web on Big Screen. Serviio enables playback of online sources like RSS feeds, live streams or web site content so that you can listen to your favourite podcasts or watch latest TV programmes published online.

Kodi - Kodi is an award winning free and open source media player that got its start on the Xbox console.

MediaTomb - Update 2017-04-03: MediaTomb was fun, but we moved on to other things and will not continue the project.

Infuse - Media player and media server with subtitles and wide codec support.

Emby - media server for personal streaming movies tv music photos in mobile app or browser for all devices android iOS windows phone appletv androidtv smarttv and dlna.