This can happen when the TV and computer are connected to the same network, or when connected directly. After that, it remains only to launch DLNA and turn on the viewing of the desired movie or photo. This is quite convenient, because it is much more pleasant to show a large company photos, videos, or make a presentation on the big screen.
There is a lot different programs allowing such a thing to happen. Among them is often recommended. Indeed, this application has shown itself well in practice. Therefore, in today's article, we will show an example using this particular program.
This home media server is quite versatile and is able to run DLNA server, which is compatible with any TV (and indeed with many devices, such as game consoles) that can work using this technology. If the TV is able to connect via wireless network, or it has a connector for connecting a network cable, then it is likely that it supports DLNA. In general, the program itself has many different settings, That's why standard applications, for TVs, are very much inferior to her.
Today's article itself will be useful to owners of TVs from almost any manufacturer. After all, as already noted, a home media server is third party program, which has great functionality and wide capabilities, which allows it to work with any technique. And also it's free.
Today we will consider in detail only ways to open access for TV to the necessary folders on a computer, instructions on how to create a server and watch movies using it.
For reference, this example used an LG 32LN575U TV, an ASUS RT-N13U router, and ASUS laptop R56CM.
Establishing a connection between the TV and the computer
As you already understood, in order to be able to watch video from a computer through a TV, you need to establish a connection between these two devices. If you already have them connected to each other, you can skip this step and proceed to the next one.
Well, if your TV is not yet connected to a PC, then you can do this through a router. Thus, without extra troubles You can connect the TV itself to your computer via Wi-Fi. Another TV, you can connect with the help of a router. The most important thing is that both devices work with the same router.
In case there is no home Wi-Fi
When you do not have a router, and accordingly there is no wireless network at home, you can connect the TV to your laptop using a network cable, directly.
It will look like this:
This connection method is quite reliable, so there should not be any special problems. The downside is the presence of a cable that connects these two devices. Even if the TV does not see such a connection, you can still play multimedia files through the Home Media Server program.
It is possible that it is really possible to connect a TV to a computer. But we have not yet begun to check this and look for ways to implement such an undertaking. Most likely, you can do this using your laptop as a router.
After connecting the computer to the TV set, we proceed to the settings for the DLNA server.
Setting up a "Home Media Server"
Of course, first of all, we need the program itself. You can download it from the official resource https://www.homemediaserver.ru/index.htm and then install it. On the developer's site, click on the download button.
After that, save the archive with the program to your PC. After that, it needs to be unpacked. There will be a “setup” file, run it and follow the instructions to install the application. When the program is installed, its shortcut will appear on the desktop. Start Home Media Server.
Now we will specify in the settings all types of media files and folders that will be available for viewing on the TV. We go in the settings, in the upper part of the program window there is a corresponding button.
In the settings window, go to the media resources tab. There will already be indicated several standard folders with music, pictures and videos. Here we can add our own and edit the type of files that will be displayed on the TV.
In order not to rummage too much in folders, in search of the desired video or photo, it is better to open access to local drives. Check the box next to the corresponding item (or make sure that it is there).
Activating this option will provide the ability to access any files from the TV that are on all local drives.
In order to add separate directories with files or, for example, an external HDD, click on the "Add" button on the right. Then find desired folder, or external device and choose it.
The plate in the center displays all the folders for which the TV is accessible. This shows the type of files that can be viewed in these directories. In general, this is the main setting that is necessary for us, but the program has a lot of other useful parameters that can be configured.
After you've done everything, you will need to save these settings. Click on the "OK" button and agree to scan directories.
For some time, the program will scan the selected directories. After that, you can start starting the DLNA server. On the top menu, click on the start button. You should see a message that the server started successfully.
Turn on your TV and open, on the computer, in the program, a tab with playback devices. In the right corner, click on the "Update" button. After that, the TV should appear in the list.
If this does not happen and the Home Media Server does not find anything and the connected devices are not shown on the TV itself, then you need to check the connection itself. Make sure your TV and PC are connected.
In some cases, the work of the media server may be blocked antivirus programs and firewalls. In this case, add this application to the exceptions and try again.
If everything was successfully detected, you can start viewing media files. We'll start with photos. In the top menu, select the desired file type, in this case a photo.
Further, in the central part of the window, you can select the desired directory and find suitable files in it. When the desired photo is selected, just right-click on it and hover over the line “Play to” and then select your TV.
This photo will instantly appear on the TV screen.
In the same way, you can launch and play videos and music. This is just one way to play files by launching them from a media server. But this method is not very comfortable. In many cases, it is much more convenient to search for the desired files on the TV itself, and then launch them.
By the way, if the window running program close, it will be hidden in the notification bar.
But the server itself will not stop and will continue to work.
Opening files on TV
After the server is launched, we return to our TV.
Typically, TVs have a special program that allows you to work with a DLNA server. In our case, this Smart Share. But perhaps, in other examples, it may be a completely different program.
If you have a TV, as in our case (LG), then you need to go to the Smart TV menu (press the blue button on the remote control) and then find and launch Smart Share. True, if, but supports DLNA technology, then everything can be completely different.
Open the tab for connected devices. The server running on the computer should be displayed there.
plot
In principle, if it were not for the fact that it was Nokia 5800XM that I came across, I would have solved this problem long ago - the ASUS WL-500g router supports UPnP, so it would be enough just to plug in a USB flash drive. The trouble is that, despite the sometimes found specifications in online stores, Nokia 5800XM does not support UPnP/DLNA and there is no third-party implementation of the client either. So what, you ask, is to be done? Put a bold cross on the idea of viewing remote content?The first attempt to break the impasse was video streaming. According to the RTSP protocol specification (RFC 2326), it must support broadcast playback control: PLAY, PAUSE, and TEARDOWN. Unfortunately, after VLC was configured to stream, it turned out that the pause request is either not processed by this server and works only from the server side, or is not sent by the smartphone client. In addition, in any case, only the video file selected on the server for broadcasting was available in this way, and not the entire media library.
But the first disappointment did not cool the ardor, the search continued.
Next in line was the Home Media Server, better known as the Home Media Server, a program that provides media resources (photos, audio and video files) from your computer to other UPnP (DLNA) devices on your home network. After installation, it pleased me with a wealth of options, ease of setup, but… it completely disappointed me because, as mentioned above, Nokia 5800 did not support UPnP/DLNA, and the video completely refused to play via HTTP…
A working alternative was needed. This is where the media server caught my eye TVersity- the name slipped in someone's comment while discussing DLNA media servers.
So...
TVersity Media Server (free edition) is an even easier to learn media server, again offering us UPnP, DLNA and HTTP. If everything is clear with the first two protocols, then HTTP, as it turned out, is not so simple - access to the media library turned out to be implemented in two ways: classic and via flash. But first things first.For starters, the interface. Friendly, and I would even say rather simplistic. First of all, I immediately got into the settings. Hints for each option (albeit in English) make it easy to configure the server for yourself.
The most important thing for me, of course, was video transcoding. The server settings, unfortunately, are focused on the average user, so you won’t be able to play around with fine codec configuration, but at least something is better than nothing at all, isn’t it?
Setting up the media library is also quite simple (and, unlike the aforementioned Home Media Server, it does not require a long restart when updating it), when adding a source using special checkboxes, you can specify the type of its content: audio, video, and / or images. I say "source" and not "folders" because external content can be added this way: for example, Video RSS or Internet Radio, as well as some services like Youtube and Flickr. By the way, pay attention - when you select a folder using the "Browse ..." button, instead of Cyrillic names, you will get krakozyabry, so it's better to enter the name manually or copy-paste it from the file manager.
Well, we figured out how to set up the library. Now - about how to work with it. And let's start with what all this was started for: watching videos from a smartphone. Happy owners The Nokia 5800 is known to be unable to open an AVI container in principle, and initially it was a big problem, because local viewing of the movie required converting video to MP4, but then third-party players appeared with support for this container. In this case it does not matter - only FLV support is needed, which is not a problem for him. So, as mentioned earlier, access to the media library is implemented in two ways. To view HTML pages in the address bar, you need to specify http : //server-address:port/lib, and to download an interactive flash application - http : //server-address:port/flashlib. In this case, the last option is just what you need, therefore, a bookmark is created in the smartphone browser with the address
http : //192.168.1.33:41952/flashlib. Well, now you can check what happens.
And the result is such a picture: after a short download of the flash application, the library directory appears on the screen with quite convenient navigation:
For smooth video playback, I still had to play around with the transcoder settings, but in the end we managed to achieve an acceptable picture. True, positioning significantly slows down, but this is not such a significant problem - you can put up with it.
In the media server itself, you can view the broadcast status, a list of addresses of devices connected to it, the status of video transcoding, as well as a log of work and connections.
DLNA/UPNP
It would seem that everything. Yes, not yet: after all, the media server is a convenient thing, and, of course, I want to use it to the fullest, which means not only via HTTP. In addition to smartphones, there is also a laptop with Windows 7 and a netbook - lubuntu is installed there. With the first, everything turned out to be simple - with Windows startup media player 12, he immediately discovered the DLNA media server library and started browsing it without any problems.With Linux, things turned out to be a little more complicated. I simply could not install XBMC from the list of cross-platform UPnP / DLNA media clients - it did not have binaries for Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal in the repository, and the installed VLC - under Linux it still supports UPnP - did not always find the server, although at the same time I great access to it through the browser. In the end, it was decided to look for another way.
As a result, one wonderful thing was found called - a utility based on mounting UPnP server resources. Since the program was already in the repository, the installation did not take long. Now it only remained to create a mount point and register automounting. After a short study and stepping on a rake, this still managed to be done. All of the following commands are executed exclusively as root, so be sure to run:
Sudo -s
First you need to create a folder that will be the mount point:
CD/media
mkdir upnp
chmod 777 upnp
Now, in fact, the launch of FUSE and the mount itself:
Modprobe fuse
After that, you can already enter the library as in a regular folder and open its contents in any convenient programs like normal files.
By the way, I have not found any mention of the most unpleasant rake I found in working with djmount, expressed in incorrect file encoding. According to the DLNA specification, filenames must be exclusively in UTF-8 format, so TVersity Media Server does not even have a filename encoding setting. Judging by the message, when mounting, djmount also uses this encoding by default - UTF-8. But file manager, as well as the console, stubbornly refused to display familiar letters in file names, replacing them everywhere with question marks. Attempts to specify the encoding CP1251 or IBM-866 did not lead to complete success, although now it was possible to at least look into the Cyrillic folders. To my complete surprise, the way out of the situation was a direct indication to use the UTF-8 encoding - I don’t know why I decided to try it, but it worked!
Autorun also turned out to be not an easy task, but then Google came to the rescue, and as it turned out, the problem with the impossibility of automounting from fstab had already been resolved. As a result, mounting occurs every time the network is brought up. This is done in the following way. We create a script:
Cd /etc/network/if-up.d
nano djmount
Script content:
# Not for loopback!
[ "$IFACE" != "lo" ] || exit 0
Modprobe fuse
fusermount -u /media/upnp
djmount -o iocharset=UTF-8,allow_other /media/upnp
Give it attributes:
Chmod 755 djmount
chown root djmount
chgrp root djmount
Now that's really all. The media library is accessible from any device in any possible/convenient way for it.
- DLNA - what is it and who needs it
- media server Windows dlna,
- Short review dlna server programs
- Home media server - the best among equals, or a headache for the user
- Server side setup
- Alternative and development
DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)- a set of technologies for real-time display of various kinds of media content by devices combined in one local network. Initially developed this standard, and several companies (Sony, Intel, Microsoft, Samsung Nokia, Matsushita, Philips, Hewlett-Packard) have united in a group to create devices compatible with this technology. On this moment There are more than 200 manufacturers producing compatible equipment.
home media server setup
talking plain language, this is a stationary computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, TV and other "smart" equipment for viewing photo and video files, listening to music. Media content becomes shared between every device on the local network. All gadgets must be on the same IP network and connect to each other either by wired (Ethernet) or wireless (Wi-Fi) method.
How to set up dlna
All devices with dlna support are conditionally divided into two types: servers and media players. The former mainly store and provide others with access to content. The latter, for the most part, only reproduce the files that the user needs. For example: in personal computer there are photos, he can store and play them both on his monitor and on the screen of a networked TV, tablet, phone.
The separation is conditional because now a lot of mobile electronics can both store and display content. For example, smartphones with special software installed may well play the role of a server.
This technology is very useful for users with a large number of "smart" devices at home, as it allows you to store multimedia content in one place, and not in the memory of each device. A very relevant "trick" for mobile devices that are significantly deprived of memory.
windows and dlna
IN operating system from Microsoft this technology Appeared since version 7. However, it is hidden so deeply that it was quite difficult for an ordinary user to find it and set it up. In Windows 8, it became possible to use it to play video files on devices connected to the local network.
This is done by right-clicking on the file and selecting Transfer to… from the menu.
But before that, you still need to set up a home media server. In the "Control Panel" we find the item "Homegroup", in the window that appears, select "Create a homegroup". Next, we will be prompted to choose what type of file access is opened for home group.
In the next window, we need the item “Allow all devices on this network, such as TVs and game consoles, to play shared content”, after clicking on which you will need to come up with the name of the media server and enter it in the proposed window.
This completes the setup and you can already play allowed files with dlna devices on your computer. To do this, in each of them there are certain points (AllShare, SmartShare ...).
A description of how to use them is present in the instructions for use.
Using the built-in software is simple and consumes less hardware resources. However, there is a high probability that the format of various kinds of multimedia files may not be understood by the player, since Windows transfers them as is. To solve this problem, third-party programs have been created.
Overview of dlna server programs
Of the many dlna media server programs, a few stand out. All of them are free, but for a fee they provide additional functions. All the rest are either highly specialized or simply provide information transfer on the local network and are an add-on to windows server. The following programs create a home non-Windows dlna server.
Codi- a project that grew out of XMBS. Due to its cross-platform, it works on Windows, IOS, Linux, Android.
It is a huge "media combine" that can find on the network, transcode, download, play a huge number of formats. For this we greatly appreciate the users of TV set-top boxes.
A very bulky home media server that is initially difficult to set up, it has a minimum number of add-ons. Different items are downloaded and installed for different functions. In this regard, it is rather difficult to set up, but it has great support and Russian-speaking too.
Plex is another multi-platform home media server. It has high-quality localization and a huge number of opportunities. But in this regard, it consumes a lot of system resources and is usually used for separate devices used as multimedia set-top boxes.
HMS- a program with a huge number of functions, absolutely free. The main difference is the conversion of files on the fly for playback even by outdated devices. Works only in Windows environment, consumes significantly less resources, in this regard, it can be installed on a normal home computer. Setting up this program and consider below.
HMS back end (home media server)
The interface of the program is simple and setting up the first launch takes place in a few clicks. Before setting up the TV, first click the "Settings" icon, on the "Media Resources" tab, add folders that can be viewed by connected devices. Adding occurs by clicking on the "+" on the right side. For each folder, you can select the type of files, which further helps when searching for them. =>
On the next tab "Devices" add devices that are allowed to access files. It is very convenient to select the type of gadget from a variety of presets in the upper part of the window. It includes a large number game consoles, televisions different manufacturers, smartphones and routers. As a result, the settings will change for each selected device. If you check the box Add devices automatically, the program will automatically determine the type of device and adapt to it.
In the "Server" tab, we only need to enter a name for the created server. The rest can be left blank, unless of course there are several networks and connections at home.
The "Transcoder" item allows you to configure data conversion so that any connected device plays data, regardless of whether it supports them or not. The configured HMS processes the file in real time in a format supported by the TV.
The remaining tabs will allow you to fine-tune the program, which most users will not need at the initial stage. Therefore, close the settings and click the "Start" button at the top of the window. After that, the media server will start scanning open folders and create lists of files that the connected dlna device will see.
In the main window of the program, you can also select the resource we need and through the menu by right button transfer it to the player within the network. This is very convenient and there is no need to search for data by the dlna device itself.
The program has great user support. The official forum thoroughly understands the problems in the work of software with various devices which helps to set up any technique.
Setting up a client device
The process of setting up equipment for playing multimedia files differs for each device and is usually indicated in the instructions for use. The same item on any device is the choice of the server, the name of which we came up with during setup. And a request to connect to the network, a positive response to which needs to be done only once, in the future the server will be considered allowed.
Alternative
Recently there has been a rapid development cloud technologies. There are more and more devices that have access to the Internet. And storing data on physical media is no longer so relevant. Of course, a collection of films of several hundred copies would hardly fit into any cloud service. And to increase the amount of allocated space will have to pay. This requires unlimited Internet channel at high speed.
Media resources are stored in the "cloud", and access to it is provided to any device connected to the account. The advantage is that there is no need for the dlna backend as a separate device. Simply put, you do not need a constantly working HDD with a lot of files. Access to files is not only within the radius of the home local network, but also throughout the territory where there is access to the Internet.
With the development of Internet technologies, the home dlna server, dlna gives way to "cloud" data storage, leaving the first opportunity to exist for the time being in apartments that do not strive for modern technologies users.
Somehow it so happened that the tag DLNA server more common in question posts than in answers. And if some user experience has been accumulated in matters of installation on a home Windows PC, then it turned out to be difficult to decide on the choice of software for a home server / NAS / media center. Having distributed among the sandboxes, the people separately solve the problems of each program separately. And to understand which of them is worth what and whether it is necessary at all - I personally did not succeed.
And so, armed with a link from Wikipedia How to choose a DLNA server under Windows, Mac OS X or Linux - I tried almost everything that is under Linux.
DLNA - its place in the home network
Most probably this path has already been passed by the majority - new media devices appear in the house, the number of family members consuming media content is growing, the very base of films, music and photographs is swelling.At the same time, everyone builds a media infrastructure in their own way. Someone has a computer with TV-OUT, someone has a netbook or HTPC. Someone shares folders from the NAS via NFS, someone connects the HDD to a media player, someone uses the capabilities of Sony PS ...
There is confusion about storage locations, formats, codecs, and so on.
So, in my case it turned out:
- Plasma in the living room is better served 720p than FullHD
- it is better not to feed more than 15Mbit / s to a Sony TV in a nursery connected via Wi-Fi, it needs a maximum of Profile 4.1 for H.264, and it does not see files on network storage at all
- the Openbox satellite receiver cannot play audio tracks in DTS, it does not pull more than 30Mbit / s via SMB, it does not display Cyrillic via NFS
- Nokia Lumia and iPhone are generally limited everywhere and everywhere
Theoretically, it will bring content from different places into a single folder tree, and adjust the resolution and check codec compatibility and, if necessary, recode. Beauty…
What to bet on
home computer- as a rule it is a Windows-machine. Watching a movie with recoding while someone is playing will not work; 24/7 is not even close. Not suitable for the role. That's why Windows versions I didn't even look at the programs.Router flashed with DD-WRT/OpenWRT- there are packages for these firmware and they work. Hardware resources are very limited - transcoding is unrealistic, access speed to USB port and network folders is severely limited. However, it suits many people.
NAS or home server with Linux- the most versatile solution. Lots of programs. There are no protocol restrictions. The performance of 5-year-old x86 processors (in my case, Athlon X2-6000) is enough for simultaneous on-the-fly transcoding of two films of any format.
Personal experience, program evaluation
MiniDLNA, uShare and xupnpd
These are different projects, but in essence they are one and the same. Lightweight and fast. The only function they perform is to provide network access to media files via DLNA/UPnP protocol. Everything else the player or TV should be able to do themselves. DLNA is not fully supported and many devices simply do not see these servers.Very massive. They work everywhere. Packages exist for all sorts of Linux distributions, routers with DD-WRT/OpenWRT firmware, and NASes. The installation procedure is simple and well described on specialized forums. There are no GUIs
If you, and only you (otherwise, complaints from family members are inevitable):
- only watch/listen from one omnivorous device (such as a Samsung TV)
- Your device cannot directly download files from network folders or does it too slowly (such as a Sony Bravia TV)
- store movies/music on an inexpensive NAS or router with a USB drive
- pre-select content in the desired format or do not be lazy to transcode manually
- media files are already well sorted into folders or you don't care at all
Media Tomb
The developers unequivocally write that "this is not a DLNA server, it only supports part of its functions." And although there may be some compatibility issues, this is quite a noteworthy project.There is already a GUI working through the built-in http-server here - you can manage folders with content in it. Add new ones, create shortcuts to existing ones, set scan intervals, etc.
Well distributed - no problem to install on any Linux distribution, no heavy dependencies. Customizable only text file. Very stable in operation, not resource intensive.
You can use transcoding, but it is implemented in a simple way. So, the binding of profiles is carried out to the format input file, not to the output device. The server does not distinguish at all who is connected to it. Accordingly, there are no ready-made profiles for devices - everything needs to be configured manually:
- which formats to transcode and which to transfer directly
- set the encoder according to the situation: ffmpeg, vlc, mplayer or something else
- set bitrate, number of audio channels, H.264 profile and other encoding options
- apply a video filter, such as clipping margins or crop
At the same time, when viewing a transcoded stream on a TV, rewinding and selecting an audio track will not work. Screwing subtitles is also a separate song.
In general - MediaTomb is a very brutal tool for true Linux users. You can’t call it universal, but you can customize it perfectly for yourself and your hardware.
Rygel
Mass, there is almost everywhere. But it is very crookedly placed in daemon mode (you need to write an init script yourself, create folders and a user). It is part of the gnome project and pulls gstreamer (or even pulseaudio). If someone has KDE or something else on their computer, it is completely inconvenient. The icons for the video are generated via tumbler from the XFCE project, and even then with nuances. Falls regularly.Before studying the features of transcoding, my hands did not reach. My verdict is " unfit".
PS3 Media Server
A very old project. And although from its initial application: “Share movies / music from a home Windows PC to Sony PS”, the project has evolved a lot. But the JAVA code and the requirements to run an X server turned me away from it.XBMC
It has a DLNA server. But keeping this combine for the sake of just one module is stupid.Moreover, it was from XBMC that a separate project of the Plex media server was born.
Universal Media Server
He's kind of crooked. Showed me the entire directory tree instead of the selected folder. Files opened only a few and regularly poured errors into the console. I didn't understand transconding at all.Quite heavy due to JAVA code. You definitely need a running X server - you can't install it as a daemon. " Unfit."
GMediaServer
Project abandoned. Not worthy of attention.LXiMedia
A simple and convenient implementation of a DLNA server. It is enough to select folders with files, hard-code transcoding parameters, audio track, subtitles. No profiles, settings. In addition, this is a GUI application, do not install it as a demon.In my opinion, it is useless in this form - one of many and far from the best.
Serviio
Probably the fastest growing project right now. Updated regularly. Actively overgrown with plugins, profiles and applications for mobile OS.It is a JAVA application running as a daemon. Support for the DLNA protocol is complete. Quite skillfully scatters content into folders and categories. Can create movie previews. Easily connects different on-line broadcasting channels.
Transcode with ffmpeg. The database of device profiles is already quite large (and continues to grow) - the server correctly selects encoding parameters for any of the home hardware. What I didn’t recognize - it’s not difficult to pick up a profile or write your own.
Due to the fact that ffmpeg is used - the same problem as in mediatomb - there is no rewind in the transcoded stream and the audio track does not change.
All this is controlled either from a JAVA client, or a web-muzzle written in PHP, or a smartphone (there are applications for Android and WP).
Unfortunately not available as a .deb or .rpm package. You need to set it manually: create folders, user, unpack, take an init script from the support forum, register it in autorun. "There is a ready-made package for Synology NAS.
In general, it may well become a single point of access to media content at home. All that is needed - he knows how.
Skifta
Not included in the Linux repositories and therefore rare. But it has a graphical installer and carries a jre with it, and therefore will be on almost any system. It is inconvenient because it starts in two steps - first the utility in the SystemTray, then the media-server itself. Without x and a demon will not work. Very simple and concise, but heavily loads the system (JAVA code).TVMOBiLi
It costs $30 (or a subscription fee of $1.5/month). Available as .deb and .rpm packages. Not in Ubuntu/Fedora it is rather difficult to install - the built-in vlc and ffmpeg will surely find the missing libraries and refuse to work. I couldn't find the USE flags for vlc in Gentoo. It didn't work at all, I had to redo the profiles so that only ffmpeg was used.In general, transcoding profiles are its forte. You can set any logic and any parameters.
Managed through a nice WEB-muzzle. It has a rich database of transcoding profiles. There are files to play through the built-in http-server. Can't generate thumbnails.
Works fast and beautiful. Good candidate.
TwonkyServer
Installed by unpacking tar.gz. or through the installer. IN Linux repositories he is not. Very fast code, instant launch, user-friendly web-interface. Well and competently scatters content into folders. There are ready-made init scripts. Able to extract meta-data from files and generate previews. All liked it. One trouble - $19.95.But still: " I recommend".
Plex
As the developers write - "A complete Media Solution". I confirm.This monster grew out of XBMC and can do everything and more. For films, it will find posters, ratings and a bunch of data. The series will also be distributed by seasons and episodes. The music collection will be organized from any source view.
Transcoding makes everything for everything. The settings can be controlled directly from the TV's OSD menu. For smart devices like LG Smart TVs and Apple TVs, support goes far beyond the DLNA protocol.
There is support for your own cloud service, which allows you to watch home videos remotely - the server will adjust the parameters of the sent video to the capabilities of the device and the communication channel.
There are separately written clients for mobile OS and windows tiles 8.
There are packages available for Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS and mainstream NAS models. For everything else - it is installed by simple unpacking. Of the dependencies, only Avahi-daemon requires.
Unfortunately, the transcoding mechanism does not allow interference with work - profiles can be corrected, but the possibilities are very limited.
It is able to solve any problems within the framework of the topic, while it is free, stable and, oddly enough, fast.
I would love for someone to add to this list and / or make changes.
All devices that have a DLNA module have been tested in advance and have a corresponding sticker on the case.
It is also necessary to have a description of the type of content supported, there is a DLNA server, a printer or a player, that is, the module allows you to transfer a certain type of content - images, signals, sound.
All these devices can freely connect to each other, depending on the purpose, the technique has its own class. The classes can be distinguished as follows:
- Digital media servers. This category includes storage devices such as mobile phones.
- Digital media players. This includes devices that can receive and play digital content. For example, a TV that can play music and sound from another device.
How to create a home network
The home network layout for DLNA is similar to the internet data transfer scheme.
It is he who provides the connection of devices to each other. To set up a home network, you will need the following:
- TV to play.
- Media server for data storage, phone or laptop.
- Router - used to ensure the connection of receiving and transmitting devices.
- Cables or wireless adapters are required to connect DLNA to the network.
- Powerline adapters - allow you to distribute the Internet over the mains.
The first thing to do is to connect the playback media device to the router.
There are several ways to do this - connecting via the mains, via a cable, or via a wireless bridge.
- Connecting your media device to the mains is a great way to set up a network throughout your home. For this, ordinary electricity is used, cables are not needed. Only an adapter for a Powerline socket can be useful for setup.
All that is required is simply to connect the TV to the network through the adapter and home network DLNA will start to function. - If the router and TV are located nearby, it is best to use a cable connection. The Ethernet cable is connected to the port of the TV and the router.
- Creating a media group using a wireless bridge is appropriate when the TV is located far from the router. The bridge can be connected to a TV via a cable, and to a router via a wireless network.
Advice: optimal solution for any case there will be an electrical connection.
The next configuration step is connecting other DLNA devices to the router.
After connecting to the TV, you can connect any DLNA server to the network - laptop, phone, tablet.
But if this is not possible, you can connect them in the ways indicated above.
Thus, the TV will be able to "see" the devices and play content.
Setting up DLNA homegroup devices
In order for the TV to recognize the content, you need to set up media group devices. For a laptop and tablet, you will need to install a special software.
These may include the following programs:
- Windows Media Player 11 or 12.
- VAIO Media Server (for Sony TV).
- AllShare for Samsung.
- LG Smart Share.
- home media server.
It is necessary to allow group access to the laptop, this can be done in the software settings by activating media sharing.
These can be music files, images or videos. Typically, a library or list is created that can later be played by a media device.
Not every smartphone can be connected to a DLNA group. But those that have this feature connect via Wi-F to a wireless router.
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