dlna related question

[normlan]

hi,

i'm looking into synology ds411+ and just curious whether

"DLNA/UPnP Media Server" http://www.synology.com/us/products/DS411+/spec.php

means the same thing as

"DLNA Certified"
http://www.nasreview.org/compare/Synology-DS411II-vs-Qnap-TS-459-ProII

Reason i'm asking is that it feels to me (i'm a newbie) that "DLNA/UPnP Media Server" is more of a software/application thing and "DLNA Certified" is a hardware certification. am i right to say that a nas which has "DLNA/UPnP Media Server" support doesn't necessarily means it's "dlna certified"?

 

[GregN]

hi,

i'm looking into synology ds411+ and just curious whether

"DLNA/UPnP Media Server" http://www.synology.com/us/products/DS411+/spec.php

means the same thing as

"DLNA Certified"
http://www.nasreview.org/compare/Synology-DS411II-vs-Qnap-TS-459-ProII

Reason i'm asking is that it feels to me (i'm a newbie) that "DLNA/UPnP Media Server" is more of a software/application thing and "DLNA Certified" is a hardware certification. am i right to say that a nas which has "DLNA/UPnP Media Server" support doesn't necessarily means it's "dlna certified"?

DLNA certified indicates that a manufacturer paid the DLNA industry association so they can put the letters "DLNA" on the front of their box. It hopefully and most often will comply with the DLNA standard.

The DLNA server is software that will stream media and media meta data to a DLNA client. It hopefully, and most often does comply with the DLNA standard.

The difference is writing a check, since both tend to use other folks software to be compliant - which can be certified, and sometimes is ( money paid ) and sometimes isn't ( money not paid ).

The DLNA certification is most often used with clients, like TV sets - a server is needed to send data to the client. If you see the certification, it doesn't mean it will act as a server.

 

[normlan]

Thanks for the insight, GregN.

For people who are buying a NAS, they are more concern whether it can act as a "DLNA Server", correct?

Does every NAS on the market these days can act as a "DLNA Server". If not, How can someone who decide to buy a nas without "dlna server" support still be able to stream data to dlna clients (tvs) then?

 

[GregN]

Not a problem.

As far as I know all major NAS manufacturers provide either integrated or as a package a DLNA compliant Media Server. ReadyNAS, QNap, Thecus and Synology all do.

To answer your question tho, you can install a DLNA compliant media server on a machine that is hooked to your network, a desktop, laptop or other that is configured to access your shared NAS resident media files.

Another option is to run media server hardware, like WDLive.

The third, and I think very popular here, is to run an HTPC which bypasses DLNA and plays directly on your TV.