Digital Living Network Alliance

CEO and President Scott Smyers

The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA ) is an international association of manufacturers of computers, consumer electronics and mobile phones, with the aim of ensuring the interoperability of information technology devices from different manufacturers from the home area.

Organization

The DLNA was founded in June 2003 as the Digital Home Working Group ( dhwg ) by Sony and Intel. Your renamed Digital Living Network Alliance in June 2004. Meanwhile, the DLNA include more than 250 members from 20 countries, including Cisco, Ericsson, Hewlett -Packard, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba. The administration of the DLNA has its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. CEO and President Scott Smyers of Sony.

The main tasks of the organization is the joint development and continuous updating of technical guidelines ( Home Networked Device Interoperability Guidelines) for developers and equipment manufacturers in the field of consumer electronics, computers and mobile devices. Certified by the DLNA devices may be fitted by the manufacturer with the DLNA Logo and are advertised and are also called on a run by the DLNA website.

Certification

DLNA certified following device classes:

Home network devices ( Home Network Devices):

  • Digital Media Server (DMS ) provide media content (such as movies, pictures, music) is available ( as a network drive ).
  • Digital Media Player ( DMP) play made ​​available over the network from media (eg TV, MP3 player).
  • Digital Media Renderer (DMR ) play from the media, which are received via a Digital Media Controller, which in turn the content of a digital media server fetches ( such as a TV, audio receiver).
  • Digital Media Controller (DMC) find content on digital media servers and play them on digital media renderers from (eg Wi -Fi camera, or PDA).
  • Digital Media Printer ( DMPr ) provide printing services in the DLNA network.

Individual devices can belong to several classes of devices simultaneously. For example, a PC as a media server, media player, Media Renderer and Media Controller function: The server provides media ready for other devices. The active player plays media from other devices. The controller is another device ( renderer ) instruction, media play any source. Conversely, it can act as a renderer (ie playing media), when another device (controller) prompting them.

Portable devices ( Handheld Devices):

  • Mobile Digital Media Server ( M -DMS) store content and make them mobile digital media players, digital media renderers and digital media printers available.
  • Find and play content from digital media servers, or Mobile Digital Media Servers Mobile Digital Media Player (M- DMP).
  • Mobile Digital Media Uploader ( M- DMU) to upload data to a Digital Media Server or Mobile Digital Media Server.
  • Mobile Digital Media Downloader (M- DMD) find and download data from a Digital Media Server or Mobile Digital Media Server.
  • Mobile Digital Media Controller ( M- DMC) find content on a Digital Media Server or Mobile Digital Media Server and send it to a Digital Media Renderer.

The portable devices include, inter alia, mobile phones, portable MP3 players, PDAs and digital cameras. Some of these devices provide several functions. It can thus be simultaneously a mobile phone such as server, player and controller.

Infrastructure devices ( Home Infrastructure Devices):

  • Mobile Network Connectivity Function ( M- NCF): Devices that act as a connecting bridge between the portable device and the home network devices.
  • Media Interoperability Unit ( MIU ): devices with which the media formats for home network devices and portable devices can be converted.

Versions of the DLNA guidelines (DLNA Guideline Versions):

  • The first version, 1.0, of the guidelines was published in June 2004. It defines the Digital Media Server (DMS ) and Digital Media Player ( DMP).
  • Version 1.5 was released in March 2006 and expanded in October of the same year. The guidelines were expanded to include, for example, mobile devices and printers, improved the protocol included new media formats, added quality of service and Bluetooth support, etc.
  • Version 2.0 (not yet completed ) to issues such as EPG, content sync, RUI, WPS, media format, Scheduled recording and DRM included (as of Spring 2008).

Application Examples

  • Movies are stored on a digital media server (such as Network Attached Storage). A digital media player (eg DLNA - compatible TV ) has the ability to see the movies on the DMS and play.
  • Photos are stored on a digital media controller (eg digital camera). A Digital Media Renderer (eg DLNA - compatible TV ) has the ability to display the photos.
  • Music is on a computer, a Digital Media Server stored. With a Mobile Digital Media Controller ( such as a PDA) playing the music on your Digital Media Renderer (eg DLNA certified Wi- speakers) can be controlled.
  • Photos are on a Wi -Fi enabled camera and can be printed via the computer network via a Digital Media Printer.
  • Add a website embedded films (eg, smartphone, tablet ) will be played on a Digital Media Renderer (eg DLNA - compatible TV ) through a Mobile Digital Media Controller.

Criticism

Critical is seen in this standard that many - are not built functions or poorly implemented - in fact self-evident: It can happen that when accessing the TV on a network drive the fast forward and rewind is not possible. However, this also depends on the transmission speed between NAS and terminal.

" The formats that must play a TV for the attainment of the DLNA logo are only JPEG (Photos), LPCM ( 2 channel audio) and MPEG -2 ( video). This is completely unrealistic. Who invites a video from the net or customize a backup copy of a DVD, has available files in formats such as MKV, DivX, Xvid, H.264 or WMV9. Music stores no man in LPCM format, but as WMA, AAC, OGG or MP3 file. Only with photos DLNA is the de facto standard JPEG with justice. While there are optional formats in the DLNA guidelines, but these are just only optional and not compulsory. In addition, here are missing important things like AAC, DivX, Xvid or MKV. The result: The producer of digital TVs save on expensive processors for complex decoding these files. Sometimes it is even so that the televisions corresponding files while play from USB storage media, the data stream in the same format but not running. "

On many devices from around 2011, however, the is no longer true. The format diversity has - depending on the manufacturer - increased significantly and substantially all popular formats are supported. Despite a given support problems can occur because formats like MKV, DivX or Xvid are highly diverse and can be incompatible under certain circumstances as a container file.

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