Latest DLNA Guidelines Promote Improved Interoperability, 4K, Lower Energy Use
Consumer ease of use, media interoperability and support for HEVC video codecs are among the new functionalities enabled by DLNA 4.0, Duncan Bees, Digital Living Network Alliance vice president-technology and strategy, told us. A test and certification program will be…
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available late this year and a new logo will communicate that products certified to DLNA 4.0 have the highest level of interoperability, said Bees. Citing the "broad shift" in video from HD to 4K resolution, Bees said the latest DLNA version supports user-generated and premium service content, but doesn't support high dynamic range. The updated media format profile removes optional, outdated profiles that don't have enough test content, he said. Improvements in 4.0 allow interoperability between streaming and other types of devices, creating a more seamless customer experience, said Bees. Applicable products include TVs, PCs, NAS drives, media servers, tablets, mobile devices, set-top boxes and DLNA-enabled home gateways. The new requirements say a baseline or common denominator set of formats must be supported for certain types of media that will be used by rendering devices such as TVs, smartphones and tablets. “Exotic” formats can be supported but also must be accompanied by a resolution in a standard format, said Bees, allowing “most any type of rendering device to accept any video file from the server,” he said. “You can have all the formats you want,” he said, but must be able to transcode audio or video into a standardized format,” he said. Other features include more robust playback, said Bees. He cited user recorded content from a video camera or cellphone that in the past might have produced an error resulting in a black TV screen on playback. In 4.0, the server will “try again” with a lower resolution file, he said. The latest guidelines also boost power efficiency through low power modes that enable connected devices to work together to reduce energy consumption in the home. The guidelines support IPv6 to ensure DLNA 4.0-certified devices will continue to function as more networks transition to the protocol, he said.