XMBC is DLNA or UPNP

Question

I cannot understand the implementation of XMBC, can it control all internet connected TVs? I know that it has DLNA/UPNP implemented but is it something more than that?

Is it only for some specific hardware.

Can someone guide me is it implementing UPNP protocol inside the source, because it has no mention of it anywhere on its website.

Thanks.

Solution

Several things are going on here:

UPnP is a set of networking protocols that manage communication among devices.

DLNA is a set of standards that uses UPnP for communication, but also covers encoding and generally managing media over networks.

XBMC can use DLNA - that means your TV, if it also 'speaks' DLNA can talk to your XBMC (or any other DLNA-compatible) server and for example stream videos over the network. DLNA basically allows them to communicate things like playlists, media folders, and finally media itself.

Be careful to rely on it too much though, it sounds very easy but in practice a lot of issues arise - To become 'DLNA-Certified', manufacturers must only fulfill very low standards, and thus many devices - especially TVs in my experience - do not understand many codecs. For Home Video Devices, only MPEG2 is required. If you need more, you basically have to find a device that explicitly understands that codec, or transcode the data on the server. Furthermore, consider bandwidth; 1080p is not going to happen over WLAN.

Comments

[Frank Thomas]

yes, DLNA does require compatible devices. I think you are thinking about it backward. XBMC does not "control" the TV. DLNA is primarilly to provide a protocol that a TV can implement so it can access your server and stream content off it, like movies and music. as such, it is more than a UPNP client, which primarily comes in when providing media services to the internet from within your home network (so you can watch your movies on the fly [and so attackers can more easily get into your network]). think twice before allowing UPNP to open holes in your network NAT/firewall.

[JehandadK]

Can you elaborate "XBMC can use DLNA", what I am confused about is that it is actually working on DLNA/UPNP or there is more to it?

[zuiqo]

XBMC provides a DLNA Server, that means if it runs on your computer, a DLNA-capable TV that is in the same network can browse and stream your media library. My Samsung SmartTV does this via Sources->Media Server (which is only shown if a media server is present and running)