DLNA

Last updated

DLNA
Dlna.svg
Developed byDigital Living Network Alliance
Introduced2004;20 years ago (2004)
Industry Local area networks
Compatible hardware

Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is a set of interoperability standards for sharing home digital media among multimedia devices. It allows users to share or stream stored media files to various certified devices on the same network like PCs, smartphones, TV sets, game consoles, stereo systems, and NASs. [1] DLNA incorporates several existing public standards, including Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) for media management and device discovery and control, wired and wireless networking standards, and widely used digital media formats. [2] [3] Many routers and network attached storage (NAS) devices have built-in DLNA support, as well as software applications like Windows Media Player. [4] [5]

Contents

DLNA was created by Sony and Intel and the consortium soon included various PC and consumer electronics companies, publishing its first set of guidelines in June 2004. [6] The Digital Living Network Alliance developed and promoted it under the auspices of a certification standard, with a claimed membership of "more than 200 companies" [7] before dissolving in 2017. By September 2014 [8] over 25,000 device models had obtained "DLNA Certified" status, indicated by a logo on their packaging and confirming their interoperability with other devices. [9]

Specification

The DLNA Certified Device Classes are separated as follows: [10]

Home network devices

Mobile handheld devices

Home infrastructure devices

The specification uses DTCP-IP as "link protection" for copyright-protected commercial content between one device to another. [11] [12]

DLNA guideline versions

Products supporting DLNA

The media streaming dialog built into Windows 10 which uses DLNA to share media locally Media sharing in Windows.png
The media streaming dialog built into Windows 10 which uses DLNA to share media locally

DLNA-certified devices

Some of the earlier devices with DLNA included the PlayStation 3, the Nokia N95 [16] and the Pioneer BDP-HD1 Blu-ray player. [17] By 2014 over 25,000 DLNA-certified products were available, [8] up from 9,000 in 2011. [18] This includes TVs, DVD and Blu-ray players, games consoles, digital media players, photo frames, cameras, NAS devices, PCs, mobile handsets, and more. [19] According to a 2013 study from Parks Associates, [20] nearly 3 billion products were expected to be on the market in 2014, increasing to over 7 billion by 2018. DLNA certification of devices can be determined by a DLNA logo on the device, or by verifying certification through the DLNA Product Search. [21]

DLNA-certified software

TwonkyMedia server, Serviio and BubbleUPnP are known examples of DLNA server software. All versions of Microsoft Windows since Windows 7 have native DLNA server and client support through Windows Media Player (it is named "media streaming"). [22]

In many cases DLNA protocols are in use by services or software without openly stating the name: examples include Nokia's Home Network functionality in Symbian OS, [16] Samsung's All Share, [23] the Play To functionality in Windows 8.1, [24] and in applications such as VLC media player or Roku Media Player.

History and member companies

Digital Living Network Alliance
EstablishedJune 2003 (2003-06) [11] [6]
Founder Intel
DissolvedFebruary 2017 [25]
Type Trade organization
Headquarters Lake Oswego, Oregon, US
Membership
200 companies [7]
Website www.dlna.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Intel established the Digital Living Network Alliance along with Sony and Microsoft in June 2003 as the Digital Home Working Group (DHWG), changing its name 12 months later, when the first set of guidelines for DLNA was published. [11] Its board members as of 2007 were: HP, Intel, Matsushita, Microsoft, Nokia, Phillips, Samsung, and Sony. [26]

Home Networked Device Interoperability Guidelines v1.5 was published in March 2006 and expanded in October of the same year; the changes included the addition of two new product categories — printers, and mobile devices — as well as an "increase of DLNA Device Classes from two to twelve" and an increase in supported user scenarios related to the new product categories. [11]

DLNA worked with cable, satellite, and telecom service providers to provide link protection on each end of the data transfer. The extra layer of digital rights management (DRM) security allows broadcast operators to communicate digital media to certain devices (e.g. to those of their customers) in such a manner that further, unauthorized, communication of the media is difficult. [27] [28]

In 2005, [29] DLNA began a software certification program in order to make it easier for consumers to share their digital media across a broader range of products. DLNA is certifying software that is sold directly to consumers through retailers, websites and mobile application stores. With DLNA certified software, consumers can upgrade products from within their home networks that may not be DLNA certified and bring them into their personal DLNA ecosystems. This helps in bringing content such as videos, photos and music stored on DLNA certified devices to a larger selection of consumer electronics, mobile and PC products. [30]

In March 2014, DLNA publicly released the VidiPath Guidelines, originally called "DLNA CVP-2 Guidelines." VidiPath enables consumers to view subscription TV content on a wide variety of devices including televisions, tablets, phones, Blu-ray players, set-top boxes (STBs), personal computers (PCs) and game consoles without any additional intermediate devices from the service provider.

In November 2015 there were 13 promoter members and 171 contributor members. The promoter members were: [31]

Arris, AwoX, Broadcom, CableLabs, Comcast, Dolby Laboratories, Intel, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, Sony Electronics, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon.

The board of directors oversaw the activity of the four following committees:

On January 5, 2017, the DLNA organization announced, "The organization has fulfilled its mission and will dissolve as a non-profit trade association." Its certification program continues to be conducted by SpireSpark International of Portland, Oregon. [32] [33]

DLNA technology components

As the past president of DLNA pointed out to the Register in March 2009: [34]

The vendors of software are allowed to claim that their software is a DLNA Technology Component if the software has gone through certification testing on a device and the device has been granted DLNA Certification. DLNA Technology Components are not marketed to the consumer but only to industry.

DLNA Interoperability Guidelines allow manufacturers to participate in the growing marketplace of networked devices and are separated into the following sections of key technology components: [35]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Ansaldo, Michael. "Everything you need to know about DLNA: The de facto home-entertainment network standard". TechHive. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  2. ↑ Digital Living Network Alliance (n.d.). "DLNA for HD Video Streaming in Home Networking Environments" (PDF). p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 30, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  3. ↑ EDN (September 9, 2005). "How DLNA and UPnP will enable easy home video networks". EDN. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  4. ↑ "DLNA Help". M-GATE LABS. June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  5. ↑ Jacobi, Jon. "Best NAS drive for media streaming and backup in 2024". TechHive. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Digital Living Network Alliance (June 22, 2004). "DLNA Strides Toward Consumer-Friendly Home Networked Devices with New Interoperability Guidelines" (PDF) (Press release). San Francisco. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2005. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Digital Living Network Alliance. "About Us: Organization" . Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "DLNA intros VidiPath". Advanced Television. September 13, 2014.
  9. ↑ "The DLNA Certified Logo Program". Sony. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Certified Device Classes". DLNA. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Digital Living Network Alliance. "Frequently Asked Questions About DLNA". Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Whitepaper - DLNA for HD Video Streaming in Home Networking Environments" (PDF). DLNA. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2011.
  13. ↑ "DLNA Announces 3.0 Certification Program and Updated Guidelines Helping Manufacturers Differentiate Product Offerings". DLNA. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  14. ↑ "DLNA Announces 3.0 Certification Program and Updated Guidelines Helping Manufacturers Differentiate Product Offerings". DLNA. August 18, 2015.
  15. ↑ "DLNA 4.0 Transforms Connected Home Experience". DLNA. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  16. 1 2 "FWLabs: Nokia N95". FayerWayer (in Spanish). November 12, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  17. ↑ Moskovciak, Matthew. "Pioneer BDP-HD1 review: Pioneer BDP-HD1". CNET. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  18. ↑ "DLNA Empowers the Connected Consumer", Connected World magazine, January 14, 2011, archived from the original on January 19, 2011, retrieved March 2, 2011
  19. ↑ "UPnP and DLNA—Standardizing the Networked Home". Instat. Archived from the original on January 4, 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  20. ↑ "DLNA Market Overview Report". DLNA. Parks Associates. 2013. Archived from the original on July 5, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Products". DLNA.
  22. ↑ How to set up a DLNA server using the Windows 7 operating system
  23. ↑ "How Samsung AllShare and SmartView Make TV More Awesome". Lifewire. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Play To feature reliability update for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 - Microsoft Support". support.microsoft.com.
  25. ↑ "FAQ" . Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Digital Media Format War 2.0 is About to Begin". GeekSpeaker. September 6, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  27. ↑ Digital Home Working Group (June 24, 2003). "17 Leading Companies Form Working Group to Simplify Sharing of Digital Content among Consumer Electronics, PCs, and Mobile Devices" (Press release). San Francisco. Archived from the original on August 16, 2004. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  28. ↑ Grabham, Dan (March 22, 2013). "DLNA: What It Is and What You Need to Know". Techradar.
  29. ↑ "DLNA Certification Program". Archived from the original on August 19, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Increasing DLNA Software Certification Will Propel the Adoption and Connection of Devices within the Home Network" (Press release). ABI research. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
  31. ↑ "Member Companies". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  32. ↑ "About Us". DLNA. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  33. ↑ "DLNA". DLNA. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  34. ↑ Mellor, Chris (March 2, 2009). "Iomega Muffs Hard Drive DLNA Testing". The Register. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  35. ↑ "The DLNA Networked Device Interoperability Guidelines". DLNA. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  36. ↑ "Network and Connectivity". DLNA. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  37. ↑ "Device and Service Discovery and Control". DLNA. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  38. ↑ "Media Format and Transport Model". DLNA. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  39. ↑ "Media Management, Distribution, and Control". DLNA. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  40. ↑ "Digital Rights Management and Content Protection". DLNA. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  41. ↑ "Manageability". DLNA. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
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