Hands On: HP EX495 MediaSmart Server

In Home Streaming

The In Home Streaming section is used to configure the onboard TwonkyMedia Server software which enables DLNA-compliant media streaming to a wide range of devices including the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and other digital media streamers.

Music and video can be streamed to computers around the home by accessing the MediaSmart Server’s website from a browser on that computer. Simply type in the same of your server (default is HPSTORAGE) in the browser’s address bar to bring up the menu:

Select Media Streamer and you’ll be asked to login, before the Media Streamer interface appears. The Media Streamer is powered by TwonkyMedia Server, and whilst the concept is great, I’ve found performance of the Media Streamer to be poor, both on the EX487 and indeed, the EX495 fares little better. I have a large collection of music (almost 50,000 tracks) and the time taken for the Media Streamer to build the playlist is way too long. Alternatively, the Media Streamer times out.

Given the MediaSmart Server is happy enough to stream to a variety of devices around the home (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, multiple Squeezeboxes) including music, video and photos to multiple PCs in Windows Explorer, it’s a shame that the web streaming software provided by HP (via TwonkyMedia) themselves doesn’t seem up to the job. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to play music, video and photos from the MediaSmart Server, so mild frustration aside, you should be fine.

Web/iPhone Streaming

As with In Home Streaming, the Web/iPhone Streaming page allows you to configure remote settings to enable streaming remotely to PC or to an iPhone, utilising HP’s iStream application.

The iStream is a great application, and works well especially over Wi-Fi, bringing your entire music, video and photo collection to your iPod or iPod Touch. HP’s Charlie Shilling recently confirmed that the iStream app would also receive an update shortly, “Our users should see an update to the HP iStream application in the near future. The iStream v1.1.34 update provides performance improvements for iPhone OS 3.0 or later. Improvements include a more responsive user interface when starting large videos, faster photo viewing, improved MP3 streaming and Spanish language support.”

Server for iTunes

HP kick-started the trend for home servers to come equipped with an iTunes server (powered by Firefly svn1737). This allows the EX495 to be visible in iTunes so you can playback music from your home server within iTunes without having to build a media library.