Is Plex the best Media Server (Windows OS)?

I am pretty new to Media Servers. A google search seems to indicate that Plex is the King of Media Servers. I installed this on my Win2008R2 server and was somewhat disappointed that it cannot (as yet) run as a service.
I have a huge collection of photos, DVD and Blueray stuff I would like to stream on my Samsung Smart TV and Android Phones. I have no other needs at the moment. I would like to clarify that as of this writing the Plex App for Smart TV does not work on E Series so there is no joy in that either.
I was pretty exited about the chanel functionality of plex hoping to get veetle, filmon and justin but this did not work either.
I would greatly appreciate your opinion on other products that would maybe address some of the shortcoming I am experiencing with Plex.
Answer #1
Don’t have a clue about whether it will behave well with your TV but atleast it’s another option for you to consider:
http://www.red5.org/
Answer #2
Twonky is very good but where possible I avoid upnp all together and use file shares
Answer #3
Twonky is very good but where possible I avoid upnp all together and use file shares
I’m not particularly interested in upnp either.
Answer #4
Is stuff like wowza similar to products such as plex?
I ask this Q because of the massive price difference between these products. What do these products offer that stuff such as plex lacks?
Answer #5
Don't have a clue about whether it will behave well with your TV but atleast it's another option for you to consider:
http://www.red5.org/
This product does not seem to support DVD / Bluray images. That is not good for me.
Answer #6
Twonky is the long winded way of doing a lot of things that plex can do on the fly, my advice is plex, it has a variety of features, is easy to setup with lots of documentation should you require it, by far the best way to setup a home media center.
Stick with Plex!!!