It occurred to me that the Apple iPad has no native, cross-platform media streaming capabilities (a big missed opportunity if you ask me). Being the case, I did a quick search on Google for an iPhone app, since most are compatible with the new iPad, and discovered PlugPlayer (iTunes – $4.99). What’s interesting is that not only does PlugPlayer allow you stream and playback music (including FLAC and OGG Vorbis), photos, and video from any network connected DLNA/UPnP storage server or PC it also allows you to remotely control a music player docked iPod Touch (similar to the Tango remote app we covered earlier) with your iPhone — and I’m guessing via the iPad as well. Below is a quick user-created video demo of the software in action. MORE »

If you’re in the market for a digital media adapter or any kind of DLNA/UPnP powered device, you may want to spend a few minutes reading TwonkyMedia’s Connected Home/DLNA Best Practices. The guide has been designed to help the general consumer make sense of the networked device landscape, as well as, what to look for before making a purchase. People usually assume because a device carries a DLNA badge that they all work the same and support playback of the same file types, but the truth is each product has device specific limitations. MORE »

ABI Research’s “Home Networking Market Data” is forecasting that networked home media device makers will see revenues jump from approximately $100 billion in 2009 to over $243 billion by 2012. The jump is being attributed to the recent introduction of networked HDTVs and Blu-ray players, which they believe will be strong categories going forward, as well as the maturing of network-ready CE devices like set-top boxes, games consoles, digital media adapters, digital cameras, and photo frames. ABI Research does point out, however, that these trends mainly reflect the situation in North American, Asian-Pacific, and Western European markets where adoption rates are similar. MORE »

This is big news! Now any Wi-Fi enabled smartphone theoretically can become a UPnP media server — serving up stored photos, videos, music to game consoles, media adapters, networked TVs, photo frames, etc. According to the PacketVideo’s press release, TwonkyServer Mobile can stream content to multiple devices at once and even take phone calls while active without interruption. The new software is available today for Android handsets through the Android Marketplace (no word on when we’ll see it ported to other platforms at the moment). MORE »

Today the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) has appointed DIRECTV, America’s #1 satellite TV provider, to become its latest evangelist of DLNA Certified devices and services, which make use of standards-based technologies like UPnP for streaming PC stored media around the Connected Home. While this news probably doesn’t mean much to consumers in general, it may, however, encourage more TV providers to network enable their set-top boxes and certify them as DLNA compatible. MORE »

Moxi, the DVR platform without annual service fees, has updated their hardware prices and added a new 3-Tuner unidirectional CableCARD HD DVR to the lineup. In addition, Moxi states that the Moxi Mate will soon be getting a free software update that will allow it to access Live TV via the Moxi HD DVR — previously the Moxi Mate could only access recorded TV content and media from a networked PC. MORE »

If you remember about a year ago, Iomega released the first StorCenter ix2. Today the company is announcing the next-generation version of their product, the StorCenter ix2-200, with a refreshed design, energy-efficient hard drives, and newly added support for BitTorrent downloads and Time Machine backup for Mac OS X. Like its predecessor, the StorCenter ix2-200 offers a DLNA certified UPnP AV media server, Bluetooth connectivity, Gigabit Ethernet, RAID 1 data protection, IP security camera support, print server, remote files access, and cross-platform compatibility with Windows, Mac, and Linux. Pricing: $269.99 – 1TB, $369.99 – 2TB, $699.99 – 4TB. MORE »

We first got a glimpse of the QNAP NMP-1000 at CeBIT back in March. The device, which has just now been released to the public, provides four essential duties: 1) playback of stored media from its 3.5-inch SATA HDD to a TV; 2) a central location for networked PCs to send their shared media; 3) easy access to online media from sites like YouTube and Flickr; 4) automatic network PC backups. The best way to think of the NMP-1000 is that it’s a 1080p HD capable digital media adapter with NAS capabilities which can play nice with Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs. Unfortnately, the price remains a mystery since it’s not listed on any of the partner websites at the moment (will update once the device makes an appearance). MORE »

Ok, I’m impressed. The folks behind the UPnP Media Server app, TwonkyMedia, have launched a new product that will definitely get your attention. TwonkyBeam, as the video below will demonstrate, is a FREE plug-in for Windows Internet Explorer 6.0+ (Firefox and Mac support planned) that allows you to zap media from any web site that has photo, music, or video content directly to a DLNA / UPnP compatible device. In the video you’ll see how TwonkyBeam can send an MP3 track from Last.fm to a Sonos Music Player, Flickr photos to a digital media adapter and photo frame, and a NASA.gov video to a digital media adapter or network enabled TV. The best part (and one that I was worried it might not be able to do) is that TwonkyBeam can detect and play a selected piece of media or everything found on a web page with “play all”. MORE »

Oh, my…. Belkin has stepped up to the plate with a seriously heavy handed hitter. The company is introducing the most advanced 4-port wireless USB hub we’ve seen to date. The $129.99 Belkin Home Base offers 1Ghz of processing power, 802.11n / Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, network access to USB storage / printers / cameras / SD webcams, Flickr / Picasa photo sharing, automatic Mac OS X / Windows PC backups, and DLNA / UPnP support for digital media adapters and game consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. With these attributes and price point, there’s little doubt the Belkin Home Base is going to be a hot seller – once people figure out exactly what it does. MORE »