Just be aware of its limitations and be prepared to endure some trial and error before you find the combination of components and server software that works best on your network.This widely integrated but little understood technology allows you to stream media files from a hard drive or memory card to other devices on your home network without your needing to know a whole lot about codecs, file formats, or even how your network operates.DLNA stands for Digital Living Network Alliance, the trade group founded by Sony in 2003 to define the interoperability guidelines that make this communication possible.
Dlna Media Server Trial And ErrorPrior to DLNA, setting up a home-entertainment network was an arduous process of gathering IP addresses and configuring each component to talk to the others with no guarantee of success. DLNA simplified the process by establishing a single protocol that ensured DLNA-certified multimedia devices from different manufacturers would work together. How it works DLNA separates multimedia devices into 10 certified classes subdivided into three broad categories: Home Network Devices (PCs, TVs, AV receivers, game consoles), Mobile Handheld Devices (smartphones, tablets, digital cameras), and Home Infrastructure Devices (routers and hubs). So its possible (even common) for a device to fall into more than one class. Some DLNA-certified TVs, for example, can be classified as both a Digital Media Player meaning it can locate and play media from other devicesand a Digital Media Renderer because media can be pushed to it by an external controlling device. When you connect one to your router, it should automatically appear on any other DLNA-certified components menu without needing you to perform any setup. In a typical scenario, you might have a PC running DLNA-certified software that transforms it into a media server. Your DLNA-certified playera TV or game console, for examplewould be able to browse the content on the PC and stream it. Alternatively, a controller, such as a tablet or smartphone, could discover the content on the PC and tell the TV to play it back. Getting started With more than 4 billion DLNA-certified products on the marketincluding TVs, Blu-ray players, storage devices, media boxes, smartphones, tablets, game consoles and softwarechances are good you already have more than one compliant device or application in your home. Depending on the manufacturer, the product may use a branded version of DLNA such as SmartShare (LG), SimplyShare (Philips), or AllShare (Samsung), but rest assured its all the same technology and it will all interoperate. If you own a recent model PC, NAS, smartphone, or tablet, it probably came with bundled DLNA-certified software that will allow any media on it to be recognized by your networked components. If you have an older model, however, you can still turn it into a media server by adding a program like Plex, Twonky, TVersity, or Windows Media Player. Even if a component manufacturer steers you to its branded media-server programfor example, Samsungs AllShare for Windows, you may still be able to use one of these third-party options, but finding which application works best with your components brand takes some experimentation. Philips. The DLNA specification only allows for a few common audio and video formats like Windows Media Audio, MP3, MP4. To make it more complicated, different implementations of DLNA support different codecs. And even supported formats may not work if the container, bitrate, or other details dont comply with the DLNA spec. Some DLNA server software will try to make up for this shortfall by transcoding files from a non-compliant format to a compliant one on the fly, but results vary. Dlna Media Server Movie Or PhotoHas DLNA outlived its usefulness DLNA was developed more than a decade ago, when tapping into your vein of locally stored media was the only way to stream a movie or photo slideshow from your computer to your TV. Our current bounty of online media-streaming and -sharing sites like Spotify, Netflix, and Flickr have since satisfied DLNAs original intent with a much simpler process. Sony, DLNAs founder, doesnt even support the standard on its PlayStation 4 (though it looks like it might add it in the future ). Still, if you have gigs of media just sitting on a hard drive, its worth giving DLNA a try.
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