Simple UPnP Server: Usage & Examples

Simple UPnP Server is an app that allows you to share photos, music, and videos from your Android device over your local network. Here, we introduce both basic usage and advanced ways to get the most out of the app.

1. Basic: Using as a Media Server

This is the most common use case. By running your smartphone as a Media Server (DMS), you can browse and play files stored on it from other devices.

Watching on a Smart TV

You can play media on DLNA-compatible TVs such as Android TV, LG WebOS, Samsung Tizen, Panasonic, Sony BRAVIA, etc.

1. Launch the app and turn the server ON.
2. Open a “Media Player” or “Network Devices” app from your TV’s input menu or home screen.
3. Select this app’s server from the server list, and enjoy your videos and photos. It appears under the name set in the app’s “Device name” setting (on a fresh install, this defaults to your phone’s device name).

Watching on Game Consoles

You can also use it from consoles like PlayStation 4 or Xbox.

• For PS4: Open the “Media Player” app and select this app’s server (shown under its configured device name) from the server list to start playing.
• For Xbox: The “Media Player” app can browse and play from media servers on your network.
• About PS5: The PS5 has no built-in DLNA media player, so it cannot play over the network out of the box (a third-party DLNA-capable app is required).

💡 In-App Configuration Example

• Choose folders to share: Go to “Shared Folders” in the app settings and tap “Add folder…” to add the folders you want to make public (e.g., Movies or Music).
• Share all device media: If you enable the “Use MediaStore” setting under “Managed media (MediaStore)”, all photos, videos, and music recognized by the Android system will be automatically shared.

2. Advanced: Using the Cast Feature (Smartphone as a Remote)

The Cast feature allows you to specify a player on your network (a DMR: Digital Media Renderer) and instruct it to play media. Your smartphone effectively becomes a remote control.

Example with Kodi

Here is an example using “Kodi”, a powerful media center app, as a DMR. In Kodi’s settings, go to [Settings] > [Services] > [UPnP/DLNA] and turn on “Enable UPnP support” and “Allow remote control via UPnP”.

Scenario A: Running Kodi on a PC

By installing Kodi on a Windows, Mac, or Linux PC, you can cast media from your smartphone to play on your PC’s screen and speakers. This is convenient for playing background music while you work, or checking videos on a larger monitor.

Scenario B: Building a Dedicated Media Player with Raspberry Pi

You can install a Kodi-based OS like LibreELEC or OSMC on a Raspberry Pi and connect it to your TV via HDMI. This creates a low-power, always-on “custom cast receiver”. Simply cast videos or music from Simple UPnP Server to your Raspberry Pi, and playback will instantly start on your TV.

💡 In-App Operation Example

1. Tap the playback-target chip at the top of the Library or Files tab, and select a target player (like Kodi or a Smart TV) on your network (“Search again” rescans for players on the same Wi-Fi).
2. Tap a label’s play button to cast it as a continuous playlist, or tap a file in the Files tab to play it on its own. Once playback starts, the mini player at the bottom of the screen becomes your remote — pause or seek (fast-forward/rewind) directly from your smartphone.

3. Advanced: Using External Storage

In addition to your Android device’s internal storage, you can also share files located on external storage devices like USB flash drives, external SSDs, or SD cards.

💡 In-App Configuration Example

1. Connect the external storage to your Android device.
2. In Simple UPnP Server, go to “Shared Folders” in the settings and tap “Add folder…”.
3. The Android system file picker will open. Select the folder on your connected USB drive or SD card and grant access.
4. Now, your large media libraries stored on external drives can be played over the network by other devices.

4. Advanced: Automation and Convenience

Enabling the Server Only on Your Home Wi-Fi

1. While connected to your home Wi-Fi, turn on “Only on selected Wi-Fi networks” in the settings.
2. Under “Allowed Wi-Fi networks (UPnP)” right below it, tap “Add current Wi-Fi network” to register the network you are connected to. From now on, the media server is enabled only while connected to a registered Wi-Fi network. Starting the server itself automatically (on boot, or when the app opens) is a separate “Start automatically” option in the settings.

Integration with Tasker or MacroDroid

By using automation apps like Tasker or MacroDroid, you can control the server based on more complex conditions. These apps can start, stop, or toggle the server by launching the app with its intent actions (the action names are listed in the in-app help under “Automation”; they also work from adb).

• Example: “Turn the server ON only when the device is connected to a charger.”
• Example: “Stop the server during specific hours (e.g., at night).”

5. Detailed Features & Settings

A deeper dive into the features to help you get the most out of the app.

Managed Media (MediaStore) vs Shared Folders (SAF)

The app offers two different approaches for sharing files. You can use them separately or together depending on your needs.

• Managed media (MediaStore) — the “Use MediaStore” setting
  • Features: It shares the built-in database of photos, videos, and music that the Android OS has already scanned and recognized.
  • Pros: You don’t need to worry about folder locations. All your device’s media is automatically categorized and displayed by “Albums”, “Artists”, etc.
  • Note: Files not recognized by the OS (such as unsupported extensions or folders containing a .nomedia file) will not be shown.
• Shared Folders (SAF: Storage Access Framework)
  • Features: You manually select and share specific folders using “Add folder…”.
  • Pros: The folder structure is preserved exactly as it is. You can share files that the OS doesn’t recognize as media, and this is also how you share external storage.

Organizing Files with Labels (Virtual Folders)

Labels allow you to freely group files and share them as virtual folders without having to move the actual files around on your device.

• Smart Labels: Dynamic labels that save a search condition, such as “Videos with ‘Trip’ in the name,” and automatically group matching files.
• Manual Labels: You hand-pick your favorite files and group them into a single label (useful for creating favorites lists or playlists).
• Folder Labels: Tap “New label” → “Folder label” and pick a shared folder; everything inside it (subfolders included) stays collected automatically. Choose “One per subfolder” to mirror the folder tree as a label tree (handy for libraries on external storage).
• Group Labels: Bundle existing labels into one and play them in order. The Library tab’s presets also create ready-made labels (Videos, Photos, Music, Recently added, and more) in one tap.
• 💡 Nesting Technique: By including a / (slash) in the label name, you can nest them. For example, creating two labels named 2024/Trips and 2024/Events will beautifully organize them on the player side as two subfolders inside a 2024 folder.

Continuous Playback (Playlists)

If you want to play multiple videos or songs continuously, there are a few ways to do it:

• Cast a Label or Folder: Instead of selecting a single file, tap the play button on a label you’ve created and all the media inside it will be played continuously in sequence. In the Files tab’s tree view, long-press a folder (or tap its play button) to play the whole folder.
• Continuous Playback on the Player: If you are accessing the server from a player app with playlist support (like VLC or Kodi on a PC), you can simply add the entire folder to your playlist.

Using Access History (Media Diagnostics)

The “Access History” screen lets you see which devices on your network requested which files, and when. It serves not only as a log but also as a diagnostic tool for playback issues.

• Viewing the History: The list shows the accessed file names along with the requesting device (IP address or identifier of the TV/PC).
• Checking Details (Diagnostics): Tapping a history item reveals the exact details of the response sent for that file.
  • Troubleshooting Hint: If a video won’t play on your TV, checking these details can show you the format (resolution and codec) that the TV requested versus the actual file format, giving you hints on playback compatibility.

Other Useful Features

• Quick Settings Tile: You can add the Simple UPnP Server icon to the Android Quick Settings panel (pulled down from the status bar). This allows you to turn the server ON or OFF with a single tap without opening the app.

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