Open Source Web Service/WCF media streamer

Question

Does anyone know of an open source web service/wcf service that can stream media content to clients? In particular I am looking for something that could access my music collection and stream it to a client (could be a client browser, win mobile app or even iphone application).

I guess it would have to be WCF based as I'm not sure that webservices do streaming really well. Also Windows Media Streaming Services is not the best way to go as the service should operate from a vista/xp machine (preferably).

If not, does anyone know the best way to start going about creating something like this - I'm not sure I know where to start with this one, although I can see many many uses for such a service!

Answer 1

Even though it's not open source, Windows Server 2008 has a Streaming Media role that will do what you ask. Of course, you'll need to have a server to put it on.

Answer 2

Orb (www.orb.com) will stream your media to just about anything with a web browser. I've been running it on an XP virtual machine for about a year. I love being able to stream my entire media collection to my phone while I'm working at a client's site.

While it isn't open source, it is free and relatively well supported. One of the best features is that the architecture is set up so that there are no special requirements for your firewall -- it just works.

Answer 3

I tried Orb and it is quite good, apart from the fact that it hijacked my tuner card so media center would no longer work. However I'm going to try and create a home grown version.