DLNA Terminal Automating Content Discovery and Streaming
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Users face complexity in setting up and managing content streaming between devices within a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) network, requiring multiple setup processes to stream content from one device to another without changes.
Innovation Solution
A terminal equipped with a wireless communication unit and control unit that searches for external devices and content servers on the DLNA network, requests information about streaming content, and retrieves the content for playback, simplifying the process by automating the discovery and streaming of multimedia content across connected devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users manually configure content streaming settings between devices in a DLNA network, then content sharing functionality is achieved, but user setup complexity increases and operation becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal automatically performs device discovery, content information retrieval, and streaming configuration without requiring manual user setup. The system self-configures the content streaming parameters by automatically obtaining content information from external devices and generating appropriate playback settings, thereby eliminating complex manual configuration steps while maintaining full functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal proactively discovers external devices and pre-obtains content information (such as content identifiers, metadata, and streaming parameters) before the user initiates playback. This preliminary automatic configuration prepares the streaming session in advance, so when the user selects content for playback, the technical setup is already complete, significantly reducing perceived complexity
2Ease of operation
If the terminal automatically discovers and retrieves content information from external devices, then ease of operation improves, but information request and processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal performs device discovery and content information retrieval in advance, before the user actually requests playback. By pre-obtaining content metadata, identifiers, and streaming parameters during idle periods or as devices are discovered, the system prepares all necessary information beforehand, so that when playback is initiated, the actual content transfer begins immediately without delay for information gathering
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements efficient feedback mechanisms where the terminal monitors the DLNA network for device availability and content changes. When external devices are detected or content is updated, the terminal automatically refreshes its information cache, ensuring that when users select content, the most current information is already available, reducing the need for real-time information requests during playback initiation
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Disclosed herein are a terminal configured to request information about content, streamed from a content server to an external device connected to the same network as that of the terminal, receive the information about the content from the external device, request the content from the content server using the received information, and obtain the requested content from the content server. The method may include searching for at least one external device and a content server connected to a network over which content is streamed from the content server to the external device, requesting information about the content that is being streamed to the external device and played back, receiving the information about the content from the external device and requesting the content server to stream the content, and streaming the content from the content server based on the information about the content and playing back the content being streamed.