ReadyDLNA vs Twonky vs Plex

Wow. No replies. Well I'll give it a go for what I know at least-

ReadyDLNA - works amazingly well for all the DLNA media devices in my house, but it doesn't transcode. Some files just don't work with some media devices.
Pros - DLNA media devices just work
Cons - Some formats just don't play (no transcoding), Very minimal on screen information about each file.

Plex - amazing for transcoding or streaming to iPad/iPhone or any other Plex supported device.
Pros - Transcoding - never have I had an issue playing a media file - they always just work. Great information screen about each TV Series, and episode guide. Can get an app for iphone or ipad, and either connect to it via 3g, or wireless away from home, or "download" the file onto your device for watching later
Cons - Limited client support. No plex client for XBox, PS3 or Sony smart TV. Require faster CPU (in your NAS) to do transcoding.

Twonky - haven't tried it - thoughts anyone?

Currently I'm using both RreadyDLNA and Plex to get my media streamed to all devices. I would prefer if I could get a Plex client for XBOX 360 or PS3, and then I would probably disable ReadyDLNA.

Balrog76 wrote:
I would prefer if I could get a Plex client for XBOX 360 or PS3, and then I would probably disable ReadyDLNA.

I doubt you will see either. Without formal support from Microsoft & Sony - which I can't see being in their interests to provide - running Plex would require both devices to be hacked, something both companies aggressively fight against for obvious reasons.

If you want to standardize on Plex, you're going to have to invest in a new client.

I originally used ReadyDLNA to stream content to my Xbox 360 and while it worked fairly well, I had issues with the ReadyDLNA database not always automatically updating when I added new files forcing me to perform a full rescan which took quite a long time which was frustrating! I also found that some content didn't stream properly and suffered from some serious stuttering issues.

I then purchased Twonky and while it had no problems updating it's database when new content was added, it still had the same stuttering problems when streaming certain files to my Xbox 360.

So I then looked at Plex and even though a native Plex application on the Xbox 360 would be awesome, I doubt that will ever happen. So I looked at alternative Plex clients and bought an Apple TV, jailbroke it and installed Plex. Not only is does it provide a content rich experience when browsing media, it has no issues streaming any content that previously stuttered with ReadyDLNA and Twonky.

Additionally it has no issues transcoding 720p MKV movies to my Apple TV so I am really happy with this solution.

Good luck!

I've found that ReadyDLNA does 90% of the job very very well. Most videos I make sure they are in the right format by converting them before I load them on the NAS. ReadyDLNA has no problem streaming 1080p stuff that I've recorded on my LAN too. But I have plex on an ATV2 as well because for low def stuff, tv shows, and netflix the whole UI experience is nicer. My audio system wired around the house has a pokey interface on the receiver that supports DLNA and ReadyDLNA has a weak organization for music (no alphabetic index for example), I'm also running Serviio which does this much better. No install package for serviio, but if you have ssh access there are instructions here on the forum to get it going. Twonky failed on so many videos I just didn't see anything it could do that I needed.

steve