ArkMC Lite DLNA UPnP app review: a multipurpose media streaming app for your iPad or iPhone

Introduction

It seems like I've been searching for a top quality media server app for my iOS devices ever since I first purchased one. There are plenty of apps that promise to make streaming between your iPad or iPhone with any other device as simple as the touch of a button, but very few of them actually deliver.

The best iPhone apps for Twitter-2021

The latest app to attempt this is ArkMC lite DLNA UPnP media streaming server. How does it do? Not bad, but there's definitely room for improvement. There's no doubting that this app can effectively connect with your other media devices, but the process isn't by any means simple. In short, it didn't knock me off my feet. This is a free app and it's compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

It's No Apple TV Replacement

I've tried other media server apps such as Player Extreme, or Air Video Free with limited success – either they don't work properly, or the free part of the service is very limited, making them pretty useless unless you're willing to pay for the app. ArkMC is definitely not the best app in this category, but it's not the worst either. It does work, but as is the case with so many other apps, the free version is very limited. You'll be limited with the number of videos you can actually view and use, and while you will be up to see the rest of your videos, you won't be able to use them unless you pay for the upgraded pro version of the app.

The best social networking apps for iPhone and iPad

These aren't the only issues I have with this app. It's also plagued with ads, and it's full of in app purchases. If you're like me, and believe that a good set of instructions is always a good thing to include in an app, you're going to be disappointed with this app. There is a link to what's supposed to be a user’s guide, but when you tap on it, you're taken to a webpage that indicates the page does not exist. This obviously isn't very helpful. The ArkMC Lite app will require 52.1 MB of available space on your IOS device.

Streaming Your Media

Getting started with this app can be a little frustrating. As we mentioned above the instructions don't work, and there's no introductory walk-through when you open the app, so you're going to rely on your own intuition – having said that it isn't the most difficult to use. There are only three navigation tools on the bottom, and these are fairly self-explanatory.

Best iphone and ipad apps

The main tool you'll see on the menu bar at the bottom is a server tab. This is where you can view any servers that are within Wi-Fi range of your device. So if you have a home network router with an external hard drive hooked up to it for example, you'll be able to see it through the app. In theory, as long as you've shared your media over the home network you should be able to view it with this app and access the files. Does it work? Yes, to a point, but files take forever to load and not all of them can be accessed with the free app. Of the dozens of videos I have on my iPad, only two of them were accessible from within the app. To access the rest I would have to upgrade to the premium version of the app. I might have been more willing to do this if there wasn't such a lag between attempting to open the video and actually watching it. When you consider this along with the lack of instructions it's just not worth it.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Allows you to access media on all your devices through your iPad or iPhone
• Works with multiple different types of devices

Cons

• Includes ads
• Contains in app purchases
• The instructions don't work
• The free version of the ArkMC Lite DLNA UPnP app is very limited
• There is a fair amount of lag between the time you open the video and the time it runs

Final Words

ArkMC just doesn't quite live up to expectations. This is a video streaming app that won't let you stream very many videos - at least not unless you're willing to pay for the app. The free version is very limited, and you'll only be able to access about 1/10th of your content. The problem is there's just too much lag time between accessing your videos and the time it takes them to run to convince me to purchase this app.