High Definition Wireless Digital Media Player
Network
IEEE 802.11g wireless LAN specification
One 10/100 Mbps LAN port
Outputs
HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface
Composite Audio/Video A/V composite cable SCART adapter provided
Optical Digital Audio with Support for 5.1 Channel Audio
USB 2.0 for direct acess to a USB drive
File formats
Audio: MP3 Up to 360 kbps, WMA, WAV AIFF PCM Only, Ogg Vorbis
Image: JPEG Grayscale, RGB YCbCy Only, JPEG 2000, TIFF RGB Only, BMP Non-Compressed, PNG, GIF
Video: MPEG-1/2/4 4, WMV9, XVID with MP3 or PCM, AVI MPEG-4 Layer Only, DVR-MS, DivX 7
Wireless
Detachable antenna reverse SMA connector, female
Security: WPA-PSK, WEP 64- and 128-bit encryption
Windows Connect Now
Management
Remote control and on-screen display for easy management
Warranty.
Buffalo s LinkTheater Wireless-G High Definition Network Media Player with The High-Definition Wireless Media Player 1 Optical Digital Audio S/PDIF.
Compare Roku products to find the perfect streaming player for your Mobile app for casting personal media. High Speed HDMI Cable is required. 4K Ultra HD.
Wireless Technologies; LinkTheater HD Digital Media Player The LinkTheater HD is the missing The LinkTheater will stream high definition content from a.
Media extender redirects here. For the extenders that connect to Windows Media Centers, see Windows Media Center Extender
Digital media receiver redirects here. For amplifying audio/video receivers a.k.a. digital media renderers, see AV receivers
Not to be confused with Portable media player.
The Roku XD/S digital media players works with popular streaming media sites like Amazon.com and Netflix as well as locally stored content
Digital media players DMP are home entertainment consumer electronics devices that can connect to a home network to stream digital media such as music, pictures, or video, and are not to be confused with portable media players also known as mobile media player. Digital media players as devices can stream files from a personal computer and network-attached storage or other networked media server to playback the media outputted to a television or video projector display for home cinema. Most digital media players utilize a 10-foot user interface, and many are navigated via a remote control. 1 2
Some digital media players also have Smart TV features, like allowing users to stream media from the internet or streaming services and online media sites like YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and Amazon.com. Some other digital media players also allow users to playback locally stored content from a direct attached USB hard disk or even direct connect a Hard disk drive externally, or even internally in the digital media player via a Serial ATA SATA port, therefore these types of digital media player are sometimes referred to as HD Media Player or HDD Media Player if they can support to have a Hard Disk Drive installed inside. 3
Digital media players are also commonly referred to as a digital media extender, digital media streamer, digital media hub, digital media adapter, or digital media receiver which should not be confused with AV Receiver that are also called Digital Media Renderer. 4 5 Today the main difference between most modern digital media players and many modern set-top boxes also known a set-top units is that the set-top boxes generally contain at least one TV-tuner and are as such capable of receiving broadcasting signal cable television, satellite television, and over-the-air television, or IPTV.
Contents
1 Overview
2 Functionality and capability
2.1 Hardware
2.2 Operating system
2.3 Internal harddrive capabilities
3 Common connection ports
4 Streaming and communication protocols
5 Formats, resolutions and file systems
5.1 Media Server Software
6 History
7 Connections
7.1 Wireless
8 Other names
9 Market impact on traditional television services
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
Overview edit
Digital media players fills a specific market niche, and with the popularity of both mobile digital media players, digital cameras, fast internet download speeds, and cheap mass storage, many people now have large collections of digital media files that cannot be played on a conventional analog HiFi without connecting a computer to a television, so the means to playback these files on a network connected digital media player that is permanently connected to a television and control it with a remote is seen as a convenience.
Most digital media players are usually designed for compactness and affordability, and tend to have small or non-existent hardware displays other that simple lights as indication if the device is powered on or off. Interface navigation on the television is usually performed with an infrared remote control, while more advanced digital media players come with high performance remote controls which allow intuitive control of the interface using touch sensors on them, and some remotes also include accelerometers for air mouse features which allow basic motion gaming.
These digital media player devices are not usually able to play physical CD, DVD-Video, or Blu-ray Disc media directly, and instead require a user to convert these media into playable files using a separate computer and software. They are also not usually capable of recording audio or video. Also the rapid growth in the availability of online content, including music and video and games has also made it easier for consumers use these networked devices. YouTube, for instance, is a common plug-in available on most networked devices. Netflix has also struck deals with many consumer electronics makers to have their interface available for their streaming subscribers. This symbiotic relationship between Netflix and consumer electronics makers has helped propel Netflix to become the largest subscription video service in the U.S., 6 using up to 20 of U.S. bandwidth at peak times. 7
It is also common to find digital media player functionality integrated in other consumer-electronic appliances today, such as DVD players, set-top boxes, or even Smart TVs, and nowadays also in video game consoles, such as the Nintendo Wii, 8 Sony PlayStation 3 9 and the Microsoft Xbox 360 10 11 support media management beyond their original gaming orientation. All these are however not in-scope for this article because their primary functions are either to play video games or to watch broadcast television, and their features to play or stream locally stored content, if they have any, are only secondary features.
Functionality and capability edit
A digital media player can connect to the home network using either a wireless IEEE 802.11a, b, g, and n or wired Ethernet connection. Digital media players includes a user interface that allows users to navigate through their digital media library, search for, and play back media files. Some digital media players only handle music; some handle music and pictures; some handle music, pictures, and video; while others go further to allow internet browsing or controlling Live TV from a PC with a TV tuner.
Some other capabilities which are accomplished by digital media players include:
Play, catalog, and store local hard disk, flash drive, or memory card music CDs and view album art, view photos, and watch DVD and Blu-ray or other videos.
Stream movies, music, photos media over the wired or wireless network 12
View digital pictures one by one or as picture slideshows
Stream online video to a TV from services such as Netflix and YouTube. 13
Play popular casual games such as Angry Birds and others. 14
Browse internet, check email and access social networking site like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn on TV through downloadable applications.
Video Conference by connecting a webcam. 15
Hardware edit
There are stand-alone digital media player on the market today from AC Ryan, Asus, Apple e.g., Apple TV 16, NetGear e.g., NTV and NeoTV models, Dune, iOmega, Logitech, Pivos Group, Micca, Sybas Popcorn Hour, Amkette EvoTV, 17 D-Link, Western Digital e.g., WD TV, EZfetch, Google TV, 18 Pinnacle, Xtreamer, and Roku, 19 just to name a few. The model however change so very frequently that so it is advisable to visit their web sites for current model names.
These devices come with low power consumption processors or SoC System on Chip and are most commonly either based on MIPS or ARM architecture 20 processors combined with integrated DSP GPU in a SoC or MPSoC package. They also include RAM-memory and some type of built-in type of non-volatile computer memory Flash memory. 15
Operating system edit
Main article: List of smart TV platforms and middleware software
While most media players have traditionally been running proprietary or open source software frameworks versions based Linux as their operating systems, many newer network connected media players are based on the Android platform which gives them an advantage in terms of applications and games from the Google Play store.
Even without Android some digital media players still have the ability to run applications sometimes available via an app store digital distribution platform, interactive on-demand media, personalized communications, and social networking features 21 22 23 24 25
Internal harddrive capabilities edit
HD media player or HDD media player HDMP is a generic term used for a category of consumer product that combines digital media player with a hard drive HD enclosure with all the hardware and software for playing audio, video and photos to a television. All these can play computer-based media files to a television without the need for a separate computer or network connection, and some can even be used as a conventional external hard drive. These types of digital media players are sometimes sold as empty shells to allow the user to fit their own choice of hard drive some can manage unlimited hard disk capacity and other only a certain capacity, i.e. 1TB, 2TB, 3TB, or 4TB, and the same model is sometimes sold with or without an internal hard drive already fitted.
Common connection ports edit
Back of 1st generation Apple TV
Back of 2nd 3rd generation Apple TV
Television connection is usually done via; Composite, SCART, Component, HDMI video, with Optical Audio TOSLINK/SPDIF, and connect to the local network and broadband internet using either a wired Ethernet or a wireless wifi connection, and some also have built-in Bluetooth support for remotes and game-pads or joysticks. Some players come with USB USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 ports which allow local media content playback.
Streaming and communication protocols edit
While early digital media players used proprietary communication protocols to interface with media servers, today most digital media players either use standard-based protocols such SMB/CIFS/SAMBA or NFS, or rely on some version of UPnP Universal Plug and Play and DLNA Digital Living Network Alliance standards. DLNA-compliant digital media players and Media Servers is meant to guarantee a minimum set of functionality and proper interoperability among digital media players and servers regardless of the manufacturer, but unfortunately not every manufacturer follows the standards perfectly which can lead to incompatibility.
Formats, resolutions and file systems edit
Digital media players can usually play H.264 SD and HD, MPEG-4 Part 2 SD and HD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2. mpg, MPEG-2. TS, VOB and ISO images video, with PCM, MP3 and AC3 audio tracks. They can also display images such as JPEG and PNG and play music files such as FLAC, MP3 and Ogg.
Media Server Software edit
Some digital media players will only connect to specific media server software installed on a PC to stream music, pictures and recorded or live TV originating from the computer.
Apple iTunes can for example be used this way with the Apple TV hardware that connects to a TV, and Apple in particular has developed a tightly integrated device and content management ecosystem with their iTunes Store, personal computers, iOS devices, and the AppleTV digital media receiver. 26 The most recent version of the AppleTV, at 99, has lost the hard-drive that was included in its predecessor and fully depends on either streaming internet content, or another computer on the home network for media. 27
History edit
By November 2000, an audio-only digital media player was demonstrated by a company called SimpleDevices, 28 which was awarded two patents covering this invention in 2006. 29 30 Developed under the SimpleFi name by Motorola in late 2001, the design was based on a Cirrus Arm-7 processor and the wireless HomeRF networking standard which pre-dated 802.11b in the residential markets. 31 Other early market entrants in 2001 included the Turtle Beach AudioTron, Rio Receiver and SliMP3 digital media players.
An early version of a video-capable digital media player was presented by F.C. Jeng et al. in the International Conf. on Consumer Electronics in 2002. 32 It included a network interface card, a media processor for audio and video decoding, an analog video encoder for video playback to a TV, an audio digital to analog converter for audio playback, and an IR infrared receiver for remote-control-interface.
A concept of a digital media player was also introduced by Intel in 2002 at the Intel Developer Forum as part of their Extended Wireless PC Initiative. Intel s digital media player was based on an Xscale PXA210 processor and supported 802.11b wireless networking. Intel was among the first to use the Linux embedded operating system and UPnP technology for its digital media player. Networked audio and DVD players were among the first consumer devices to integrate digital media player functionality. Examples include the Philips Streamium-range of products that allowed for remote streaming of audio, the GoVideo D2730 Networked DVD player which integrated DVD playback with the capability to stream Rhapsody audio from a PC, and the Buffalo LinkTheater which combined a DVD player with a digital media player. More recently, the Xbox 360 gaming console from Microsoft was among the first gaming devices that integrated a digital media player. With the Xbox 360, Microsoft also introduced the concept of a Windows Media Center Extender, which allows users to access the Media center capabilities of a PC remotely, through a home network. More recently, Linksys, D-Link, and HP introduced the latest generation of digital media players that support 720p and 1080p high resolution video playback and may integrate both Windows Extender and traditional digital media player functionality.
Connections edit
An example of a Digital media player in a network
There are two ways to connect an extender to its central media center or HTPC server - wired, or wireless.
Wireless edit
A wireless connection can be established between the media extender and its central media center. On the downside, interference may cause a less than optimal connection and cause network congestion, resulting in stuttering sound, missing frames from video, and other anomalies. It is recommended by whom. that an 802.11a or better be used, and over as short of a distance as possible.
A wireless media extender from Arctic for music streaming and multi-room entertainment 33
Other names edit
Digital media player manufacturers use a variety of names to describe their devices. Some more commonly used alternative names include:
Connected DVD
Connected media player
Digital audio receiver
Digital media adapter
Digital media connect
Digital media extender
Digital media hub
Digital media player
Digital media streamer
Digital media receiver
Digital media renderer
Digital video receiver
Digital video streamer
HD Media Player
HDD media player
Media Extender
Media Regulator
Net connected media player
Network connected media player
Network media player
Networked Digital Video Disc
Networked entertainment gateway
Smart Television media player
Smart Television player
Streaming media box
Streaming media player
Streaming video player
Wireless Media Adapter
OTT player
YouTube Player Support
Market impact on traditional television services edit
The convergence of content, technology, and broadband access allows consumers to stream television shows and movies to their high-definition television in competition with traditional service providers Cable TV and Satellite Television. The research company SNL Kagan expects 12 million households, roughly 10, to go without cable, satellite or telco video service by 2015 using Over The Top services. 34 This represents a new trend in the broadcast television industry, as the list of options for watching movies and TV over the Internet grows at a rapid pace. Research also shows that even as traditional television service providers are trimming their customer base, they are adding Broadband Internet customers. Nearly 76.6 million U.S. households get broadband from leading cable and telephone companies, 35 although only a portion have sufficient speeds to support quality video steaming. 36 Convergence devices for home entertainment will likely play a much larger role in the future of broadcast television, effectively shifting traditional revenue streams while providing consumers with more options. 36
According to a report from the researcher NPD In-Stat, only about 12 million U.S. households have their either Web-capable TVs or digital media players connected to the Internet, although In-Stat estimates about 25 million U.S. TV households own a set with the built-in network capability. Also, In-Stat predicts that 100 million homes in North America and western Europe will own digital media players and television sets that blend traditional programs with Internet content by 2016. 37
See also edit
Television portal
Comparison of digital media players
Comparison of net-connected media players
Cord-cutting
Digital Living Network Alliance
Digital video recorder
List of net-connected media players
List of notable Smart TV platforms and middleware software
Second screen
Streaming media
System on a chip
Tivoization
References edit
Roku 2: Same Old But Still Good, Same Old
Digital Media Player - DLNA Device Classes
J. Vaughan-Nichols, Steven. Half-a-billion internet-connected devices and counting. ZDnet. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/35234 What are the differences in DLNA device classes.
DLNA Certifications - The Role of Each Network Media Component in Media Sharing
Narcisse, Evan April 25, 2011. Netflix Becoming Largest Subscription Entertainment Company. Time magazine. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
Liedtke, Michael November 22, 2010. Netflix expects video streaming to drown out DVDs. Associated Press. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
Nintendo Wii debuts disc-free Netflix streaming.
Moran, Nancy April 21, 2008. Sony to Offer Online Video Over PlayStation, L.A. Times Reports. Bloomberg. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
Joystiq 2007-07-27. HD-Streaming: Guide For Streaming HD To The Xbox360. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
Xbox 360 to show Sky live and on-demand programming. Reuters. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
Airplay. External link in publisher help
Google TV. Retrieved 17 April 2013. External link in publisher help
White, Charlie. Now You Can Play Angry Birds On a Roku 2 PICS. Retrieved 17 April 2013. External link in publisher help
a b Amkette. Amkette. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
Barlow, Graham. Apple TV review. Retrieved 17 April 2013. External link in publisher help
Almeida, Aaron. Amkette EvoTV Review. Retrieved 17 April 2013. External link in publisher help
Greenwald, Will. Sony Internet Player With Google TV NSZ-GS7. Retrieved 17 April 2013. External link in publisher help
Biddle, Sam. Roku 3 Review: The New Best Streaming Box. Retrieved 17 April 2013. External link in publisher help
Cortex-A9 Processor. External link in publisher help
Devindra Hardawar December 8, 2010. Why your TV is the new app battleground. Venturebeat.com. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
BBC News – Google launches smart TV service. bbc.co.uk 2010-05-20. Retrieved on November 11, 2010.
Stan Schroeder 230 May 17, 2010. Google, Intel and Sony to Introduce Smart TV. Mashable.com. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
Opinion: Will Google s Smart TV Finally Bring Apps and Web Browsing To The Living Room.. Socialtimes.com. May 17, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
Google launches smart TV service. BBC. May 20, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
Elmer-DeWitt, Philip 2010-10-01. How Apple took the high ground in the battle for the global digital living room. Fortune. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
Lynch, Brendan 2011-01-24. Apple s Web TV packs big bang for the buck. Boston Herald. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
SimpleDevices to Preview New Wireless Internet Devices at DigitalFocus 2000 During COMDEX dead link BusinessWire, November 10, 2000
US 7130616
US 6993289
Motorola Simplefi review. CNet. August 16, 2002. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
F.C. Jeng, M. Jeanson, S-Y Zhu, and K. Konstantinides, Design of a home media center with network and streaming capabilities, IEEE Intern. Conf. on Consumer Electronics, 2002, pp. 102-103.
Audio Relay Retrieved 11 October 2012
12 Million Households Expected to Cut the Cord By 2015. Forbes. 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
Nearly 1.3 Million Add Broadband in the First Quarter of 2011. Leichtman Research Group. 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
a b McQuivey, Ph.D., James L. 2011-03-14. Online Video On TV Leads To Cord-Cutting By 2012. Forrester Research. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
100 million TVs will be Internet-connected by 2016. latimes.com.
External links edit
iboum.com - HD Media Player Comparison Grid
hdmediaplayers.co.uk - UK HD Media Players Comparison Grid
HP MediaSmart Connect Wins Popular Mechanics Editor s Choice Award at CES 2008
CNET Editors Best Network Music Players
PC Magazine Media Hub Receiver Finder
AudioFi Reviews of wireless players
PC World s Future Gear: PC on the HiFi, and the TV
Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php.title Digital_media_player oldid 690669218
Categories: Digital media playersDigital media receiversConsumer electronicsMedia playersNetworking hardwareTelevision technologyMultimediaAndroid operating system devices.
While more advanced digital media players come with high performance A concept of a digital media player was also Wireless Media Adapter; OTT player;.
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High-Definition Media Player. Home Please do NOT upgrade firmware through wireless unless the device only Optical Digital Audio with Support for 5.1.
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