The WOW! Buzz

Over the past couple of weeks, we have discussed a couple of basic approaches to home networking for video–the basic DVR and AppleTV.  Both of these approaches work well, but both have different focus and cater to different needs.  They are also proprietary, and as such are very simple to configure and operate within the designs of the device, but are single vendor solutions for sure.

Some years ago, a number of manufacturers and industry players determined to define an ad hoc set of standards to allow devices to share digital media.  After several iterations, this standard has evolved into what is known as the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), which defines a standard for moving movies, photos, music and other digital media from device to device within the home.  DLNA servers store media in one location, and can stream the media to DLNA compliant clients, such as the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and even network-enabled HDTV sets. The idea (if not necessarily the reality) behind DLNA is to simplify video server/client configuration, and create a standards based protocol to move media between devices from different manufacturers.

The cool thing about DLNA is that software, as well as hardware, can function very well within the standard.  So garden variety PC’s can act as both servers and clients with the addition of inexpensive software/freeware.  Virtually all operating systems are supported to one extent or another.

That said, using PC’s as servers is not the best way to do this in my opinion.  It’s expensive to tie up a computer system to function solely as a media server.  the best approach is to use either:

1)  a Network Attached Storage device (NAS)–This is typically a ethernet accessible hard disk that is assigned an IP address on the network, and is therefore accessible to all clients on the network as well.  Since it’s a server topology, all computers on the network can access it to save and retrieve media, and DLNA capable players and TV’s can access the media from the NAS as well. Sometimes the NAS will have a built in router which will allow internet access at one central point through your internet provider. NAS devices are more expensive than comparably sized external hard drives, but have the distinct advantage of being able to be left on 24/7 and not tying up expensive processing resources.

2)  a wireless DLNA enabled router with attachable hard drive.  Netgear, Cisco, and others build wireless routers that are DLNA savvy, allowing the user to attach one or more external hard disks for storage of media.  Essentially, they act very similarly to the NAS, but have the advantage of wireless access and the ability to upgrade or add to hard disk storage as the user’s media libraries increase.  Some of these devices (as well as the NAS) are well executed, some are less so.  Do make sure you have return privileges for any hardware you purchase.

A couple of NAS/routers to consider:

Netgear’s ReadyNAS for Home

Netgear’s DLNA Savvy Wireless Router

On these pages, we’ll keep you informed as to developments in the DLNA space.  There is momentum building for this standard, and my expectation is that these devices will take hold in multi-computer/video hungry households.

Happy Networking!

Next time–TIVO as a video server/client.