Hands-On: HP MediaSmart Server LX195 (Part 3)

HP MediaSmart Software

The MediaSmart software shipped with the LX195 is v2.1.1 which is a hybrid between the software available for the EX470/475 and the v2.5 software now available for the EX485/487. The hardware I received also shipped with Windows Home Server Power Pack 1, so as a first step, hit up Windows Update to download and install PP2 to make sure you’re running the latest version of the base operating system.

The simplest way of explaining the software differences between the three HP MediaSmart Server Series is going to be via the table below (as of April 25th 2009 – this will undoubtedly change in the future!).

In short, you get the same software package that was originally released for the the EX48x series, without the latest updates that were released last month in the v2.5 update. So, on the software side, the LX195 misses out on the HP Video Converter and support for HP’s MediaSmart iStream software, two of the better add-ins for the MediaSmart series, as well as enhancements to the Media Collector and Media Streamer features. This is a shame, but, remember this is a cheaper, entry level product and so it’s logical that some of the best features will be missing. However, the inclusion of Photo Publisher, Time Machine Backup, Online Backup, the Media Collector and TwonkyMedia Server means that whilst the Boxster may be the budget choice, it packs a lot of great software under the hood that still sets it apart from other home servers on the market.

We covered these various software features in depth back in our review of the HP MediaSmart Server EX487 last December, and the versions that ship with the LX195 are the same, with the exception of TwonkyMedia Server which ships with a later version on the EX48x series (the later version has a few bug fixes – strange that they’re not included on the LX195). Here’s a recap from that review:

HP MediaSmart Server Control Center

When you install the HP MediaSmart Software on your PC, you’ll have an icon for a the Control Center, which provides easy access to your home server’s shared folders, as well as a number of tools and support options to help you use Windows Home Server. You can also access the Windows Home Server Console from here, launch a backup of the computer you’re using as well as wake the server if it is sleeping.

HP MediaSmart Server Summary

The HP MediaSmart Server Summary provides a one page dashboard overview of  your home server’s status. It covers any notifications that need to be acknowledged or actioned, the status of the hardware itself, the version of HP’s MediaSmart software on board, plus any updates available, key facts and figures on your storage, add-ins installed and available and your power management settings.

Over to the left hand side, a series of tabs allow easy access to various settings and dialogs from across the home server – where relevant, warnings and problems are highlighted by a change to each tab’s icon, and best of all, tabs can be rearranged to ensure that the tabs you use the most are positioned at the top of the list.

HP Photo Viewer

The Photo Viewer application can be accessed remotely from your home server’s web page or from within the Windows Home Server Console.

Photo Viewer allows you to view specific collections of photos, stored on your home server, which can then be viewed as albums or as a slideshow and shared with family and friends who can log into the home server and check out your shots.

HP Photo Publisher

HP’s Photo Publisher application allows you to upload and share photos stored on your server very easily with a wide range of online photo services, including Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, and HP’s own Snapfish service. If you wish to publish web albums for viewing remotely on the home server itself, HP Photo Viewer is included. Make sure you check out our detailed look at HP Photo Publisher which was written back in December, including walkthroughs of how to publish your photos to Flickr, Picasa and other popular photo sharing sites.

HP Photo Publisher is a great feature for your home server, and those of you with huge photo collections who are looking for an easy way to upload, share and indeed protect those images on an online photo service will love it – and if you’re a casual snapper, you’ll dig how easy it is to share your photos with friends and family. Even whilst you’re on holiday, you can access your home server remotely,copy your holiday snaps to your home server so they’re nice and safe and quickly share them with the world.

Media Streamer

HP’s Media Streamer allows you to stream your Music and Photos directly from your home server over the Internet to a PC or a Windows Mobile Device – so if you’re away on holiday or on a business trip, you’re just a couple of clicks from your entire music and photo library. Once your remote access is set up, you simply visit your home server’s remote webpage (or if you’re at home, just go to http://hpserverlx) and click on the Media Streamer link to connect to your music and photo libraries.

When it comes to Music, you can browse your collection by folder, artist, playlist or just shuffle the tracks if you wish and in Photos, you can browse by date or by folder, playback photos in full screen and shuffle photos into a random slideshow too.

Supported file formats are as follows:

Music

wma, mp3, m4a, mp4, aac, wav

Photos

jpg, tif, tiff, png, gif, bmp

Bear in mind that Music, Video and Photos can be streamed around the home using the HP MediaSmart Server. Outside the home, Music and Photos can be streamed remotely to a device across the internet using HP’s in built web streamer. The LX195 misses out on video streaming – a feature that is now available on the EX485 & EX487 series MediaSmart Servers, as well as the ability to stream music, videos and photos to an iPhone or iPod Touch, so if these features are important to you, it may be worth spending extra on the top of the range models.

If you’ve been using a media streaming application such as Orb or Webguide you’ll know how great it is to be able to stream your media wherever you are – however, those two applications can sometimes be a little tricky to configure. HP’s Web Streaming application works pretty much out of the box once you have Windows Home Server’s remote access capabilities set up – allowing you to play your media on any compatible device with an Internet connection and a browser. Truly fantastic.

HP Media Collector

Those of you who have already set up a home server will know that it can be a pain moving your Music, Photos and Videos from each of your home computers over to the home server. Of course, you’ve also got to remember to keep moving any subsequent files you create on those PCs to your home server’s shared folders – I know I spend hours each Sunday morning checking my PCs and moving files over. Well, HP’s Media Collector has changed all that – it sweeps all of your home computers regularly, searching for music, photo and video files which it then automatically copies over to the relevant shared folder on the home server.

You can change how regularly your PCs are scanned, from every hour through to once a week, add or remove specific PCs from the list of computers scanned as well as configure the home server to only search for Music, or Photos or Videos should you wish.

You’re also presented with a range of controls which allow you to configure which folders are searched (for example, just the Pictures folder on each PC rather than the entire computer) as well as manage the folder structure within which the files are copied to on your home server. For example, if you have photos scattered in various folders on your PC, you can configure the Media Collector to create dated folders and organise the photos by date. In Music, you can organise your music files by Artist and Album (based on your file tags) or simply have them copied across in the same folder structure that exists on your home computers.

The application will also attempt to reduce duplication of your media – if it finds two files which are the same, (on one or multiple PCs) only one is copied across to the home server. Supported file formats are as follows:

Music

mp3, wma, m4a, aac, wav, playlists (m3u, wpl) and album art

Video

avi, mov, m4v, mpeg, mp2, wmv, flv, divx, dvr-ms, m2ts

Photo

jpg, gif, tif, pct, mov

HP Media Collector is one of the first media management applications we’ve seen for Windows Home Server and shows how the home server platform can be utilised not just to protect and share your files, but to help you manage and organise the thousands of media files you have strewn across multiple PCs in the home. In my home, with one big music fan (me) and one photo junkie (my wife) in residence, it’s made life a whole lot easier.

Mac Backup

As with the EX48x series (and Coming to the EX47x series this month) the LX195 can back up data on their Macs running OSX 10.5 or greater. Note that the MediaSmart Server at this point cannot back up and restore the entire OS, just the data stored on that Mac.

The HP MediaSmart Server works with Macs in two ways;

• Working with Time Machine to back-up your Mac to Windows Home Server
• Allowing easy access from a Mac to the home server’s Shared Folders using the HP MediaSmart Control Center

Once installed, a new Control Center is available on the Mac which allows you to access various features of the home server, including browsing your shared folders, a tools section to upload photos on your Mac to your favourite sites using HP Photo Publisher as well as the ability to wake the server if it’s asleep. Full help and support for the MediaSmart Server is also available on the Mac should it be needed.

Online Backup

In the past 18 months we’ve seen an explosion in the choice and variety of online backup services, with providers such as JungleDisk and KeepVault providing bespoke services for Windows Home Server. HP are now getting in on the act, although strangely not through their own HP Upline backup service. Instead, they’ve teamed up with Amazon to provide an Amazon S3 managed online backup service, which allows you to select folders on your home server to be automatically backed up to the cloud each evening.

To utilise the service, you’ll need to set up an account with Amazon – links are provided to enable this, but the sign up experience is poorly integrated into the Windows Home Server Console.

Backups can be scheduled as required, and you can select which folders you wish to be backed up – with a pricing model based on how much data is transferred and stored on Amazon’s servers, you’ll want to ensure you limit backup to your most vital folders only.

If you do have an issue, files can be accessed and restored very easily through the Windows Home Server Console.

Whilst the inclusion of the MediaSmart Server’s Online Backup does ensure HP can provide a more complete home server solution, the execution  is not as slick as other applications on the MediaSmart Server – especially the media sharing applications. If you’re already using Jungle Disk, there’s little to differentiate HP’s offering here, but the application may be convenient to those who have not considered online backup previously and are happy to accept Amazon’s slightly cloudy (ha ha) pricing model.

Power Management

A big area of concern for many home server owners is power management – with home servers being always on/always available systems, power consumption can be an additional expense (and we all know that times are tough right now).

HP have included their Power Management application which allows you to schedule times for your home server to sleep and wake up – you are also able to place the home server in sleep mode manually.

The home server can be woken up from the HP Control Center and will wake automatically to perform backups, so if power consumption is a concern, this setting will help you minimise the cost of running the HP MediaSmart Server. It doesn’t have the flexibility of the Fujitsu-Siemens Scaleo’s power management add-in or other community developed add-ins, but it does the job and is a welcome addition.

The Verdict

At $399, the HP MediaSmart Server LX195 is a fantastic entry-level home server, offering the average user a set of high end storage and media features at a low-end price. For your money you get a great little home server that’s going to be easy to expand and upgrade as your needs develop, with 4 USB ports for external drives, and simple memory upgrade options. HP’s MediaSmart software package, whilst missing some of the top drawer features of the EX48x series, still beats what’s provided by any of their competitors today, allowing users to automatically collate media from multiple PCs, share photos with friends and family via leading online photo sharing services, stream music and photos from their home server to any location with an internet connection and importantly, backup both PCs and Macs within the household.

Of course, with Acer launching their 4 bay easyStore Home Server at roughly the same price in the USA, you may be left in a quandary as to which unit to go for. Do you want a system with more disk bays, memory and hard drive space, or a smaller system packing a better set of media features? And do you know what? You’ll figure out what’s best for you and go for it – but the big news is that the home server category just got a whole lot more competitive, and that’s great news for consumers everywhere. Small and mighty indeed.

Continue:  Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3