Universal Media Server is a DLNA-compliant UPnP media server. It originated as a fork of PS3 Media Server. It allows streaming of media files to a wide range of devices including video game consoles, smart TVs, smartphones, and Blu-ray players. It streams and transcodes multimedia files over a network connection to the rendering device, ensuring that a supported rendering device will receive the content in a format supported by the device. Transcoding is accomplished through packages from AviSynth, FFMpeg, MEncoder, and VLC.
Enhancements over its predecessor, PS3 Media Server, include web interface support for non-DLNA devices, more supported renderers, automatic bit rate adjustment, and many other transcoding improvements.
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What is Universal Media Server?
Universal Media Server by Universial Media Server is open-source Windows software in the servers & self-hosting category. It ranks 3rd by popularity among servers & self-hosting in this catalogue. It is written in Java.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (NSIS) installers for 64-bit Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 15.8.2, released on October 6, 2026. The version history goes back to March 30, 2021: 74 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 13 releases a year. The last update is less than a month old.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 29,221 times. The source code on GitHub (UniversalMediaServer/UniversalMediaServer) has 2,663 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 2 of our languages. Similar programs include Caddy, Plex and Jellyfin Media Player.
Project description on GitHub: “A DLNA, UPnP and HTTP(S) Media Server.”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Documented silent install
- Frequent updates (about 13 a year)
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: Universal Media Server is an open-source servers & self-hosting tool for 64-bit PCs. It is actively maintained. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is Universal Media Server safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
4AF64895B388688D7345895C5F43C3ED8B6D657BC751908C5EA69FA8907F3BF4· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 74 versions ›74 versions over 6 years · about 13 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15.8.2Latest | October 6, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 15.8.1 | September 9, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 15.8.0 | August 23, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 15.7.0 | July 20, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 15.6.0 | June 1, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 15.5.0 | April 26, 2026 | — | 32-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 15.4.0 | March 1, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 15.3.0 | January 11, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id UniversalMediaServer.UniversalMediaServer -echoco install ums -yUMS-Windows-15.8.2-x86_64.exe /SRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install --cask universal-media-serverInformation
- Publisher
- Universial Media Server
- Category
- Servers & self-hosting
- Licence
- GPL-2.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/UniversalMediaServer/UniversalMediaServer
- Written in
- Java
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS)
- Version
- 15.8.2
- Released
- October 6, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- March 30, 2021
- Versions listed
- 74
- Updates / year
- 13.4
- Chocolatey downloads
- 29,221
- GitHub stars
- 2,663
- GitHub forks
- 527
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- UniversalMediaServer.UniversalMediaServer
- Chocolatey package
- ums
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Universal Media Server free?
Yes. Universal Media Server is open-source software under the GPL-2.0 licence.
Is Universal Media Server safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Universal Media Server with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Universal Media Server be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does Universal Media Server run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of Universal Media Server?
The versions page lists all 74 versions with links to their official installer files, back to March 30, 2021.
What are alternatives to Universal Media Server?
Caddy, Plex, Jellyfin Media Player, Papercut SMTP and Plezy. The alternatives page compares them.
