If you have a home media server, you should be using Subsonic. Subsonic gives you the most flexible control over serving up your music for remote listening from any location with internet access. Was that a confusing sentence? Let me try again. Install Subsonic. Leave your computer on. Listen to your music anywhere in the world.
Setting up Subsonic is a breeze, with either the Windows installer or the cross-platform Java installer. If you have installation questions, refer to their website for guidance. To run Subsonic for the first time, point your browser to http://localhost:80. Subsonic uses port 80 as default, so if you have a web server (or a different web app) running, you'll want to change the port to something else with the Subsonic Control Panel.
Log in with admin/admin as your username and password at first, then change them after you log in. To set up your music collection, go to Settings -> Music Folders and start adding local paths. You'll notice that Subsonic reads these folders instantly and adds them to the left pane - it doesn't scan through tag data right away, and doesn't organize your collection by tag data at all actually.
However your collection is organized on your computer is how it will appear in Subsonic. This could be an inconvenience for some people (to them I say: Mp3tag). If you organize your music folders by Genre/Artist/Album, then the first level shortcuts you'll see in Subsonic's left pane are the genres, followed by artists, then albums. It would be really nice to have a bit more flexibility with this - to be able to change the top level organization on the fly (like in most media players) - hopefully we'll see something in the next major version.
Check out their helpful site and forums for more on the features that set Subsonic apart from the rest, and be sure to check out the online demo for a hands-on trial.
NOTE: When it comes to streaming music, Subsonic is more customizable, flexible, and attractive than every other like program in its class. But if you're looking for an all-in-one remote media solution that can also handle video and photos, look at Orb.
Download latest version:
Subsonic v3.9
| Homepage: | http://subsonic.sourceforge.net/ |
| Supported OS: |    |
| Portable version: | N/A |
| 64-bit version: |  |
| Active project: |  |
| No strings attached **: | Small ad in right pane, removed upon donation |
** No spyware, ads, nags, registration reminders, etc.
Other Streaming Music freeware to keep an eye on:
