Patent Application
20150012668
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) networks, and more particularly, to a method of communicating between multiple DLNA networks so that multimedia content stored in one DLNA network can be played in another DLNA network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With consumer electronics becoming increasingly popular, there has been a trend to link electronic devices together in order to permit communication or sharing between various devices. However linking two or more devices together is not always a simple task.
Conventionally, if two devices belong to different networks, the devices will have no way to communicate with one another. Thus, multimedia content from a device belonging to a first network will not be able to be shared with another device belonging to a second network. Thus, playing multimedia content from one device on another device has traditionally had the limitation of the two devices needing to belong to the same network. This is a limitation to the conventional method of playing multimedia content that is need of improvement.
It is therefore one of the primary objectives of the claimed invention to provide a method of extending a network utilizing the Digital Living Network Alliance protocol.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the claimed invention, a method of extending a network utilizing the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) protocol is disclosed. The method includes providing a first DLNA network being a local area network (LAN) conforming to the DLNA protocol and a second DLNA network being a LAN conforming to the DLNA protocol. Communication is established between the first DLNA network and the second DLNA network, the first DLNA network and the second DLNA network communicating with each other over a wide area network (WAN). Multimedia content is then output from a digital media server (DMS) of the first DLNA network to a digital media renderer (DMR) or a digital media player (DMP) of the second DLNA network.
It is an advantage that the present invention provides a way for two independent DLNA networks to communicate with one another and share multimedia content with one another. Access can be limited to only those having permission to access a DLNA network. For those who have been granted permission to access a DLNA network, multimedia content from the DLNA network can be accessed from anywhere that the user is able to connect to the DLNA network.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
Please refer to
The second DLNA network 30 comprises a DMC stub 32 and three digital media renderers (DMRs) 34, 36, 38 that can be implemented using a television (TV), a high-definition television (HDTV), or any other device such as a computer, a tablet computer, or a mobile phone that is capable of playing multimedia content sent to it by the DMC stub 32. In
The third DLNA network 40 comprises a DMC stub 42, a DMS 44, a DMR 46, and a digital media player (DMP) 48. Within the third DLNA network 40, the DMS 44 can serve multimedia content to both the DMR 46 and the DMP 48. The DMP 48 differs from the DMR 46 in that the DMR can only play multimedia content from the DMS 44 as instructed by the DMC stub 42, whereas the DMP 48 can pull content directly from the DMS 44 for playback on the DMP 48. A single device can also function as both a DMP and a DMR.
The first DLNA network 20, the second DLNA network 30, and the third DLNA network 40 communicate with one another through an internet connection 50, which can include any kind of internet connection such as a cloud connection or a P2P connection. For the purposes of the following disclosure, a network can be considered to be a local DLNA network or a remote DLNA network. Taking the DMC stub 22 within the first DLNA network 20 as an example, the DMSs 24, 26, 28 within the same first DLNA network 20 are considered to be local DMS devices, whereas devices within the second DLNA network 30 or the third DLNA network 40 are considered to be in remote DLNA networks. The DMS 44 would therefore be considered as a remote DMS with respect to the DMC stub 22. Devices within each of the first DLNA network 20, the second DLNA network 30, and the third DLNA network 40 communicate with devices within remote DLNA networks via their respective DMC stubs 22, 32, 42. Thus, if the DMR 34 in the second DLNA network 30 is to play multimedia content from the DMS 24 in the first DLNA network 20, the multimedia content passes from the DMS 24 to the DMC stub 22, through the internet connection 50, and through the DMC stub 32 to the DMR 34. Within each of the first DLNA network 20, the second DLNA network 30, and the third DLNA network 40, devices within a local DLNA network communicate with other devices within the local DLNA network using the LAN of the local DLNA network. In contrast, devices within a local DLNA network communicate with other devices within remote DLNA networks via the internet connection 50.
Permission to use a given DLNA network can be granted to other DMC stubs within individual networks, or can be granted to a group DMC stubs corresponding to their own respective networks. For instance, suppose that the first DLNA network 20, the second DLNA network 30, and the third DLNA network 40 all have permission to communicate with one another and to share files with each other. A list of available DMSs within the first DLNA network 20, the second DLNA network 30, and the third DLNA network 40 can then be generated for providing list of content sources. If a user of the DMC stub 42 wishes to play multimedia content on either the DMR 46 or the DMP 48, the user can browse all multimedia content available in any of the available DLNA networks. For example, the user could use the DMC stub 42 to view a list of content available on the DMS 24, the DMS 26, the DMS 28, as well as the DMS 44. Once the user selects multimedia content to view, the user could then use the DMC stub 42 to select either the DMR 46 or the DMP 48 for viewing the selected multimedia content. Thus, multimedia content from both local DLNA networks as well as remote DLNA networks can be played on available playback devices. The present invention therefore provides a method of merging multiple DLNA networks together to form an expanded single DLNA network from the perspective of the end users. Using this technology, a user can access multimedia from anywhere at anytime. With mobile technologies allowing mobile phones or internet connected portable computers to serve as mobile DMC stubs that can also play back multimedia content, the user can even view the multimedia technology wherever the user goes. The user can access favorite files, music, photos, and videos on mobile devices such as a mobile phone, and can take this content wherever the user goes. Secure network and internet connections can be used to ensure the user's privacy and security.
In order for a DLNA network to communicate with remote DLNA networks according to the present invention method, each DLNA network needs to have at least one DMC stub instance installed. The WDLNA protocol implemented on the DMC stubs allows a given DMC stub to browse multimedia content located on all DMSs of remote DLNA networks in addition to DMSs of local DLNA networks. The user can also playback all multimedia content located on all DMSs of remote DLNA networks. A user of a DMC stub can stream multimedia content from remote DLNA networks for playback on local DMRs and DMPs. It will be appreciated that the streaming can be done over a wired connection or a wireless connection. The user of the DMC stub can also download any multimedia content from DMSs of remote DLNA networks as well as upload multimedia content to DMSs of remote DLNA networks.
Please refer to
Using the DMC stub 22 as an example, additional features of the WDLNA protocol will be explained below. The WDLNA protocol is a private protocol implemented by the DMC stub 22 that is fully compatible with the DLNA protocol. The DMC stub 22 can connect with remote DLNA networks over a WAN. The WDLNA protocol can send the list of local DMSs to remote DMC stubs, as well as send the online and offline status messages of local DMSs to remote DMC stubs. The WDLNA protocol can also send other DLNA compatible messages from a local DMS and local DMC stub to remote DMC stubs. If there are multiple DMC stubs in a remote DLNA network, the WDLNA protocol will select only one of the DMC stubs in the remote DLNA network to connect with. However, if the remote DMC stub that the local DMC stub is currently connected to is offline, the WDLNA protocol will select a different remote DMC stub to connect with instead, if available. The WDLNA protocol also implements access privilege control, in which only permitted DLNA networks can communicate with each other.
Please refer to
As shown in
Please refer to
Please refer to
Please refer to
In summary, the present invention provides a way for multiple independent DLNA networks to communicate with one another and share multimedia content with one another. Access to a given DLNA network can be granted only to other authorized DLNA networks. For those who have been granted permission to access a DLNA network, multimedia content from the DLNA network can be accessed from anywhere that the user is able to connect to the DLNA network.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
