DLNA

Some of the more exciting news to myself and other fellow HDHomeRun users they announced that Project:Connect will begin next week with software download on their website for new and existing hardware users of HDHomeRun Prime HDHR3-CC that will enable DLNA and DTCP-IP support. After the download users can browse the channel list and play live TV on any MPEG2-capable Digital Media Player (DMP) and Digital Media Renderer (DMR) devices. The PlayStation 3 will support DTCP-IP and will be able to play protected channels.

Andrew and Mike will be sending over some pictures later this week of this in action.

Click through to see the full Press Release

Being able to access TV content from a Silicondust HDHomeRun (HDHR) tuner over the network in a variety of applications and devices isn't a new feature, but the list will grow in a really slick way when the firmware enabling DLNA access to HDHR TV streams drops. With the PRIME model providing support for the connected media scheme your full cable lineup will be available from the Digital Cable Tuner, albeit DTCP-IP is required for Copy-Once content. Unfortunately, MPEG-2 support is required so this leaves most tablets and phones out of the party but it should be easier to build a DVR on the platform than using the current DRI method.

Interestingly the full PR (click through) indicates that this is part of a larger effort by Silicondust to provide Live TV around the house as part of "Project:Connect". More details are promised at CES; we will be making sure to stop by their booth to check it out and hopefully suss out what the long term goal is.

With six drivers, four amps and Aperion Audio's reputation for quality speakers the ARIS looks like a great way to push music around the house using DLNA. The PR (after the click) does not specify what codec/containers or DRM schemes (if any) are supported though - although the W8 "certification pending" is promising because I've heard that it supports "protected" audio over DLNA - so like most things, we'll have to wait until June to find out how it performs.

Qualcomm released their Skifta app for Android devices a couple of months ago. The idea behind Skifta was to make accessing and controlling DLNA streaming devices easier for mainstream users. Now that the company has the software side of DLNA under control, Qualcomm is looking to expand Skifta's reach to the hardware side with its Skifta Media Shifting Platform. Device manufacturers will be able add Qualcomm compnents with embedded Skifta to their devices, automatically adding the content channels that Qualcomm has baked into the Skifta software. The first such component is the Skifta Wireless Audio Adapter for streaming music devices, but there is a video adapter in the works as well. Obviously Qualcomm's goal is to sell more Qualcomm chips, but if Qualcomm is true to its word and they will allow other silicon manufacturers to tap into Skifta as well, albeit most likely with a whole bunch of licensing cash, then Qualcomm stands a chance of building a widely adopted platform, particularly given its tie-in to the well-established DLNA standard, but they are going to face some stiff competition as other manufacturers try to extend their own streaming media platforms.

According to Qualcomm, device makers incorporating the Qualcomm Atheros communication modules with embedded Skifta software can offer consumers a more fully-formed vision of the DLNA / UPnP standards, including remote access from anywhere in the world and direct content acquisition from providers like Spotify, Pandora, and Rhapsody. In this way, Qualcomm's aim is similar to Samsung's enhanced Allshare implementation of DLNA but with the goal of making its Skifta embed a cross-platform solution. 

The Verge