That oh-so-important email
The Berlin international radio show - Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) - is far and away the biggest consumer electronics exhibition in the EU. There are over two dozen halls, many hundreds of stands - some of them truly vast - and thousands upon thousands of visitors.
Given the large scale of the show and some exhibits - and the diminutive size of the DLNA's IFA stand (and its less-than-eye-grabbing presence) - there's every chance that the three HEXUS hominids that haunted the halls for three days would have passed it by time and time again.
However, a few days before we were due to set off to suffer our initial helping of airport hell, an email arrived out of the blue from Glasshouse Partnership - a marketing and PR agency - wondering if we'd care to pay a call in Hall 2.1 where, on stand 148, an association that we'd never heard of would be at home. Yeah, right!
Fortunately, the email was accompanied by more than enough tantalising information to make us realise the depth of our own ignorance and the potential significance of what the DLNA was up to.
As well as containing a whole bunch of good background info and links, the email told us that,
The DLNA is a
cross-industry alliance
comprising 324 member companies in the personal computer, consumer
electronics and mobile industries - including Intel, Sony,
Samsung, Microsoft, HP, Panasonic and Philips.
The DLNA works towards a vision of a wired and wireless interoperable network where digital content such as photos, music and videos can be seamlessly shared through personal computers (PCs), consumer electronic (CE) and mobile devices in and beyond the home.
At the DLNA stand, attendees would get a close-up look at demonstrations of interoperability between devices, while learning about DLNA’s recent progress and future roadmap.
Facts about the DNLA
What problems does DNLA solve?
DLNA members share a vision of a wired and wireless interoperable network where digital content such as photos, music and videos can be seamlessly shared through personal computers (PCs), consumer electronics (CE) and mobile devices in and beyond the home.
To enable this cross-industry convergence of devices, DLNA has established a platform of interoperability based on open and established industry standards.
This is an important distinction; DLNA is not a standards body that creates specifications; it merely takes existing reliable, open standards (UPnP for wired connections and Wi-Fi for wireless connections in a digital environment) and incorporates them in a set of design guidelines for manufacturers to build products on.
With these products passing through DLNA’s certification and logo program (launched September ’05) and becoming “DLNA CERTIFIED”, the end result is that a consumer can walk into a store and have confidence that products with the DLNA logo will work together, regardless of manufacturer. This results in an easy, out-of-the-box experience.
How does DNLA create value for the end user?
DLNA helps improve the user experience by making it easier for them to share multimedia content across a wired or wireless network.
How does DLNA make money?
DLNA is a not-for-profit open industry alliance comprising 324 member companies in the CE, PC and Mobile industries. DLNA member companies make money when they sell their end products to consumers, and they are supportive of DLNA certification because they believe DLNA branding and certification will help them sell more product.
The DLNA works towards a vision of a wired and wireless interoperable network where digital content such as photos, music and videos can be seamlessly shared through personal computers (PCs), consumer electronic (CE) and mobile devices in and beyond the home.
At the DLNA stand, attendees would get a close-up look at demonstrations of interoperability between devices, while learning about DLNA’s recent progress and future roadmap.
Facts about the DNLA
What problems does DNLA solve?
DLNA members share a vision of a wired and wireless interoperable network where digital content such as photos, music and videos can be seamlessly shared through personal computers (PCs), consumer electronics (CE) and mobile devices in and beyond the home.
To enable this cross-industry convergence of devices, DLNA has established a platform of interoperability based on open and established industry standards.
This is an important distinction; DLNA is not a standards body that creates specifications; it merely takes existing reliable, open standards (UPnP for wired connections and Wi-Fi for wireless connections in a digital environment) and incorporates them in a set of design guidelines for manufacturers to build products on.
With these products passing through DLNA’s certification and logo program (launched September ’05) and becoming “DLNA CERTIFIED”, the end result is that a consumer can walk into a store and have confidence that products with the DLNA logo will work together, regardless of manufacturer. This results in an easy, out-of-the-box experience.
How does DNLA create value for the end user?
DLNA helps improve the user experience by making it easier for them to share multimedia content across a wired or wireless network.
How does DLNA make money?
DLNA is a not-for-profit open industry alliance comprising 324 member companies in the CE, PC and Mobile industries. DLNA member companies make money when they sell their end products to consumers, and they are supportive of DLNA certification because they believe DLNA branding and certification will help them sell more product.
Clearly, this was one invitation we weren't going to pass up...
