DLNA's Future: Cable, DVR, and Stored Media on All Your Screens, Instantly
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CREDIT: Laptopmag.com |
LAS VEGAS -- Three things are going to help you rock your home media setup with DLNA one day.
One, the consortium of companies attained the right to stream digitally protected media last year. Two, because DLNA technology now supports Wi-Fi Direct, it can stream content from a tablet to a smartphone without a middleman wireless router. And three, the service is currently seeking premium video services that will help it stream television shows and movies from cable companies, internet video hubs, and other digital content movers.
When that fine cocktail mixes, one thing you could have is a set-top box, supplied by your cable provider, that can stream all your favorite television shows to a tablet, smartphone, or notebook. At least, that's the case according to a presentation we watched at the Intel booth during the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show.
Intel used a Comcast Xfinity set-top box stuffed with stored DVR content, downloaded video and media files, and live cable television to demonstrate how, sometime in the future, DLNA can be used to watch all of the above on any DLNA-enabled screen in the home. During a meeting with the DLNA team earlier in the day, we also watched television streamed through a Broadcomm set-top box.
Sadly the alliance of companies behind the wireless standard is still working on gathering content providers, so the Intel presentation couldn't actually demonstrate the experience. Still, it included a very cool preview of a DLNA plug-in for Internet Explorer 9 that let users watch PIP-style video of their favorite TV show (for the attendees, that was The Closer) in line with their web browsing.
It's not here yet, it depends on DLNA working out deals with different content channels, and DLNA still has to sort out interface differentiation issues, but live cable TV streamed to your Android tablet is definitely something to look forward to.
This story was provided by Laptopmag.com, a sister site to TechNewsDaily.
