A simple set of networking standards built into most of today’s entertainment devices will let you use them all together.
Nearly a decade ago, consumer electronics manufacturers began realizing that consumers’ demands were evolving, and the idea of a “digital lifestyle” began to take hold. People were already looking for ways to avoid duplicating files, burning CDs and being physically tied to their devices. So manufacturers began seeing the advantages of a more connected lifestyle—why should anyone be forced to play digital music tracks only on the computers they are saved on when they have a perfectly good stereo system? Why shouldn’t anyone be able to watch their movies and TV shows on any screen in the house, including phones and tablets? DLNA (the Digital Living Network Alliance) is a set of guidelines and standards that PC and electronics makers can use to ensure that their devices are able to share media and talk to each other without the need to deal with any of the technicalities. Certified products usually carry the DLNA logo, so buyers are assured of compatibility. In order to be compliant, devices have to be able to connect to a network. If the network is set to allow devices to join automatically, configuration can be automatic. Ideally, users should be able to plug in their devices and immediately start browsing, playing and controlling media. Different devices support DLNA functions differently, and can be summed up as follows:
- DLNA SERVERS: These are typically networked hard drives, libraries onyour PC, and media hubs that attachto your TV. They host the files thatwill be streamed across your networkDLNA
- PLAYERS: These are TVs, mobile phones, speaker docks, digital receivers and even some PC software, which you can use to pull media from a server and play it.
- DLNA CONTROLLERS AND RENDERERS: In many cases, you can use a DLNA device to pull media from a server and play it on another device. In this case, one device is the Controller (such as a smartphone running a remote control app) and the target device is a Renderer (TVs, media receivers, speaker docks etc, which simply receive media that is pushed to them).
Additionally, some of these devices might support Digital Media Uploader and Downloader functions, which were conceptualized for copying media to and from portable devices such as MP3 players. You can usually use these functions to copy files from a Server to a Player or vice versa.
Different devices will support different combinations of DLNA functions, for example a network media receiver such as the WD TV Live Hub lets you browse and play media on a server (acting as a Player), but will also stream to other devices from its internal hard drive (acting as a Server) and can receive commands from a cellphone (acting only as a Renderer). Most apps let you choose between rendering on the device itself or on other devices detected on the network. This might be confusing, but the good news is you really don’t have to keep track of what each device is doing—this information is just to help you use all the flexibility that your devices are capable of off ering.
DLNA streaming also lets you avoid making additional copies of your files and wasting space on your phone or tablet. To use your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch as a DLNA Player or Controller, you’ll need a suitable app. Two examples are SmartStor Fusion Stream, which is packed with features, and Living Media Player, which is a much simpler option. After downloading and LMPlayer or Smartstor Fusion Stream, the first thing you’ll see is a list of servers detected on the network. You’ll need to be connected via Wi-Fi and the DLNA Server (your computersor storagedevices) will need to be on the same network, though they can be connected either with a fixed wire or wirelessly. Once you select your server, you’ll be able to navigate its contents. You can browse by metadata such as title, artist, etc, or by the files’ actual folder location. Note that both applications have a dropdown menu near the top. Clicking this scans the network for compatible DLNA Renderers, so you can select which device your files will start playing on. You can play most types of videos on your iPhone, iPod or iPad itself (with the notable exception of AVI files, due to a limitation in iOS). However you can still use these apps to control playback of the same files on other devices such as your TV or media receiver—in this case the apps act only as DLNA Controllers. SmartStor Fusion Stream adds Uploader and Downloader functions in addition to playlist creation. If the need arises, you can use it to carry copies of your files with you, or selectively copy them to other compatible devices. You can even upload photos taken with your iPhone/iPod camera to a server for storage, though you have to select one at a time.
