When exploring the specifications of Panasonic TVs, you may notice the term DLNA along with abbreviations like DMP, DMR, or DMS. These terms describe key features and functionalities of DLNA-enabled devices.
What is DLNA?
DLNA, or Digital Living Network Alliance, is a protocol that enables devices within a local network to share and stream multimedia content such as videos, music, and photos. It ensures seamless communication between various compatible devices. The abbreviations DMP, DMR, and DMS indicate specific types of DLNA devices, each serving unique roles in this ecosystem.
DLNA DMS: Digital Media Server
A DMS (Digital Media Server) is a device that stores multimedia content and makes it accessible to other devices in the network. Examples of DMS devices include computers with DLNA-compatible software and NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices. These servers act as the content source for playback on other DLNA-certified devices.
DLNA DMP: Digital Media Player
A DMP (Digital Media Player) is designed to find and play content from a DMS. Common examples of DMP devices are smart TVs, audio systems, gaming consoles, and wireless displays. These devices do not store content but excel at locating and playing media stored on a server.
DLNA DMR: Digital Media Renderer
A DMR (Digital Media Renderer) provides advanced functionality compared to a DMP. It not only plays content from a DMS but can also be controlled by other devices, such as smartphones or tablets. This makes DMR devices ideal for interactive setups, such as smart TVs with additional control options or projectors with streaming capabilities.
DLNA today
Today DLNA technology is outdated, despite the fact that it is supported by billions of devices, it is no longer popular, the reason for this is the emergence of more advanced protocols such as AirPlay from Apple and Chromecast from Google. And the approach to watching video has changed; instead of starting a video from a computer and watching it on a TV, it is now more practical to watch videos from the servers of streaming services.
