While Windows Server 2012 Essentials includes a media streaming feature, it's limited to web browsers with support for Microsoft's Silverlight plug-in - which means that you are (mostly) limited to desktop and laptop computers for streaming. You may also find there are a few issues with certain video formats and playback. As a result, it's hard to make a case for using Windows Server 2012 Essentials when it comes to remote streaming out of the box.
However, all is not lost! In Stream Music to Your Mobile With Subsonic Media Server we walk you through installing and configuring a great alternative available for Windows Server 2012 Essentials owners called Subsonic Media Server. There's a little work required to get it up and running, including installation of the popular Apache Tomcat web server but follow our step by step guide and you'll see it performs well, streaming locally and remotely to any web browser that supports Adobe Flash, or to dedicated Android, iOS or Windows Phone apps when you're out and about.