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Some popular UPnP Media Server programs are:
• Jriver Media Center (Not available on a NAS, but handles both PCM and DSD)
• MinimServer (Handles both PCM and DSD playback)
• Foobar (Uses Bubbleguuum component as the UPnP media server)
• Synology Media Server (Only available on a Synology NAS)
• Logitech Media Server (LMS)
• Plex
2. Controller
Every system needs a way to find and select the music you want to play. This is the Controller or
Media Server Control Point in UPnP terminology, which essentially is a program that runs on a
handheld device like a phone, pad, laptop or tablet and acts as the remote control for your music
library.
The Controller does not get involved with the actual processing or playback of the file, but it acts
as a traffic controller for your music files and is the user friendly music library interface for you.
It has absolutely nothing to do with audio quality as it just communicates with the server and
renderer and sends instructions.
The Controller checks for any available UPnP Media Servers that are on the network, it shows
you what music you have in your library and helps you find the music you want to play. When
you have made your selection, it tells the 'server' to send the audio file to the 'renderer' for
processing.
It is the Controller’s task to keep track of the song position, communicate commands such as
play, pause, skip forward or backward to another song, fast forwarding and rewinding within the
song, or allow for creation of playlists for sequential playback.
Gapless playback, where sequential songs from for example a live concert blend seamlessly from
one to the next, is important but tricky. Gapless playback requires both the controller and
renderer to be capable and communicate at the right time. The MSB Renderer module is capable
of gapless playback, but there are very few UPnP controller programs that do this well. There is