[rflores2323]

So if I want to stream my media library to my iphone without jailbreaking it seems I'll be needing plex then or is there a solution that works with XMBC?

you would need plex.

[natethomas]

4. Community. I find the people on this board to be so much more supportive of us n00bs than over at Plex. Rarely did they offer any help with problems I was having and when they did it was minimal.

This makes me happy. Three or four years ago this forum was generally known as a scary place for n00bs. It's nice to see that reputation has changed at least a bit over the years.

[Ned Scott]

So if I want to stream my media library to my iphone without jailbreaking it seems I'll be needing plex then or is there a solution that works with XMBC?

I prefer AirVideo myself.

[davilla]

4. Community. I find the people on this board to be so much more supportive of us n00bs than over at Plex. Rarely did they offer any help with problems I was having and when they did it was minimal.

This makes me happy. Three or four years ago this forum was generally known as a scary place for n00bs. It's nice to see that reputation has changed at least a bit over the years.

Maybe we should talk AlTheKilla into coming back to the forums then

[hayliegreen]

In my opinion, Plex is better with its centralised data with graphical editing and remote access. There is also no jail braking required or iOS support. So I can watch my stuff on TV or on my iPad whilst in the house or on my phone when I'm in Starbucks. Or two of these at once... And I don't have to worry about library syncing or where the media is. It just works. Not possible with XBMC.[/align]

[steve1977]

I am also waiting for the iOS streaming functionality, but it feels that it is not years, but maybe only months away to do that with XBMC... Once the new UPnP solution (from GSoC) will allow transcoding, we are basically there :-)

[Montevideo]

I prefer XBMC but only ever use Plex.

Why? Media Server and iOS apps. Simple as that.

HTPC in the living room, Acer Revo in the bedroom, iPhone and iPad everywhere else. It just works.

Can't be bothered jailbreaking (although I have in the past) and MySQL is a huge PITA compared to the Media Server. I did set it up when I was faffing around with a Raspberry Pi and got it working, just an annoying amount of messing about to do so. When I ditched the Raspberry Pi for the Revo I went back to Plex again.

Started way back with XBMP and loved that, but in the age of multiple devices XBMC is sorely missing a simple to configure server IMO.

[sushiboynyc]

I have switched back and forth between Plex and XBMC a number of times. I have baffling problems with both of them, but overall, I am beginning to favor Plex. For whatever reason, high-quality video files (720p and 1080p) often exhibit choppy playback when I view them on XBMC. I have monkeyed with the playback settings in a gazillion different permutations without being able to resolve the issue. The identical files played back in Plex play absolutely smoothly, and the quality looks, if anything, a little better in Plex than XBMC. I also like the fact that Plex lets me easily mess around with metadata right on my computer vs. having to do it on the TV. I run both Plex and XBMC off a little PC running Windows 8 connected to a newish Samsung LED TV via HDMI. My media drive is connected via a half-assed Actiontec "ethernet" kit. If anyone can buy me a clue as to why files would play smoothly in Plex but look choppy in XBMC, I would be grateful.

[hpp8140]

xbmc add-ons are more fully featured. For example, Youtube lets subscribe, modify playlists, etc.

I can never get Plex server to run responsively. It still runs poorly on my upgraded AMD quad core.

[BLKMGK]

So if I want to stream my media library to my iphone without jailbreaking it seems I'll be needing plex then or is there a solution that works with XMBC?

You would need Plex SERVER only. I do this myself, Plex for streaming to IOS and the Plex app but on my HTPC frontends it's XBMC all the way. I like that I didn't have to mess with poking holes in my firewall blah blah to get the streaming to work. It works for me as well if not better than PlayOn or Airvideo - both of which I have too. You may want to also setup a VPN just because some cell carriers screw with the traffic for some reason. Overall WiFi is what you will want for bandwidth in my experience..

[hippojay]

I get the best of both worlds Plex for centralise media library and mobile clients and XBMC as my TV clients. Channels and plugins from both..

[freisgd]

In my eyes if XBMC had a way to add your DLNA/UpNP sources to the Library so you could catalog them and have metadata it would win hands down. Right now Plex has that feature and I have to say it is NICE! I do not know why XBMC can not do this as well.

I have asked in the features section for this, maybe someday.

[Ned Scott]

In my eyes if XBMC had a way to add your DLNA/UpNP sources to the Library so you could catalog them and have metadata it would win hands down. Right now Plex has that feature and I have to say it is NICE! I do not know why XBMC can not do this as well.

I have asked in the features section for this, maybe someday.

It's being looked at for sure.

[pecinko]

My take on this would be

XBMC pros:
========
- FLOSS
- Best HTPC system. The mother of all.
- Best developers. Any bug will get fixed. Really.
- Best community. You will find answer to any question, just don't start conversation with "this sucks"

PLEX pros:
========
- Best media HUB. Media is centralized and easily managed & accessed from different devices and places.
- Best media library
- Easy to configure and use

Not sure what route will developers take for future release but what would make me happy is

1 - Media library. This is The foundation. Once best and unique, library is lacking better support for home videos, pictures, custom sections
2 - Media server. XBMC hub to rule them all.
3 - see 1 and 2

[vikjon0]

1 - Media library. This is The foundation. Once best and unique, library is lacking better support for home videos, pictures, custom sections
2 - Media server. XBMC hub to rule them all.
3 - see 1 and 2

I agree