Broadcom to show home network technology in action

Broadcom supports DLNA for sharing videos, music and photos in new ways

Broadcom this week said it will demonstrate a home full of electronics that are able to share video, pictures and other digital media across wired and wireless networks.

The electronic devices - like a DVR, a mobile device and a PC - all support the interoperability guidelines of the Digital Living Network Alliance, or DLNA. If all of the devices support the DLNA standards, you can do some pretty cool sharing of content among those devices.

For example, Broadcom says that you can use your mobile device or PC to find videos on your DVR and watch the videos on the mobile device or PC. You can show pictures from your mobile device on your TV or print them on your printer. You can listen to MP3s stored on a PC through a home stereo system.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Broadcom this week said it will demonstrate a home full of electronics that are able to share video, pictures and other digital media across wired and wireless networks.

The electronic devices - like a DVR, a mobile device and a PC - all support the interoperability guidelines of the Digital Living Network Alliance, or DLNA. If all of the devices support the DLNA standards, you can do some pretty cool sharing of content among those devices.

For example, Broadcom says that you can use your mobile device or PC to find videos on your DVR and watch the videos on the mobile device or PC. You can show pictures from your mobile device on your TV or print them on your printer. You can listen to MP3s stored on a PC through a home stereo system.

Communication between the devices can take place over coax, Ethernet or Wi-Fi, all of which are common in homes today. Broadcom says it supports DLNA in its system-on-a-chip products for consumer electronics, mobile devices, set-top boxes and PCs, and will be demonstrating the technologies at the Consumer Electronics Show 2009.

With its broad reach, Broadcom argues that it is well positioned to help drive DLNA use forward, but there are about 250 other companies supporting the DLNA guidelines, and the DLNA has certified 3,100 products from 36 manufacturers. The DLNA was founded in 2003.

On a related note, Broadcom also said it would demonstrate its new super resolution technology for digital TVs. Its purpose is to take low-resolution videos from the Internet and other sources and convert them to a higher resolution on HDTVs.

Read more about lans & wans in Network World's LANs & WANs section.