This paper describes requirements and recommendations for building Network Media Devices that work well with the Windows 7 operating system. This document is intended to be used as an informational guide to the Windows logo requirements.
This information applies for the Windows 7 operating system.
References and resources discussed here are listed at the end of this paper.
Introduction 5
A Brief History of Home Media Entertainment 5
Scenarios 8
Overview of Networked Media Device Roles for Windows 7 10
Digital Media Server 10
Supported Formats 15
Music /Audio 15
Photos / Pictures 16
Video 16
Recorded TV 16
Playlists 17
Additional Formats 17
Supported Streaming Protocols 17
Format Transcoding 17
Multiple Resolutions 18
Digital Media Renderers 19
Digital Media Players 22
Digital Media Controllers 25
Building a Great Network Media Device 26
Initial Network Media Device Discovery and Installation 26
Internet Protocol Addressing 28
Staying Connected and Troubleshooting 29
PnP-X Metadata 29
Device Announcement and Communication 32
Additional Metadata Requirements 32
Simple Service Discovery Protocol 34
Same Subnet 35
Device Performance 35
Device Startup Performance 35
Audio Latency 35
Track-to-Track Audio Latency 36
Gapless playback 36
Video Latency 36
Track-to-Track Video Latency 36
Building a Great Digital Media Renderer 36
Codec and Digital Rights Management Support 37
Support for Windows Media Codecs 37
Playing the Correct RES Element 38
Digital Rights Management 38
Playback Requirements 38
Seek Requirements 40
Pause Requirements 40
Volume Control Requirements 40
Playback Recommendations 40
Choosing the Optimal RES Element 41
Fast Forward and Fast Rewind 41
Search Requirements 41
Robustness Requirements 41
Robustness Recommendations 42
Wake on LAN Requirements 42
Wake on LAN Recommendations 42
Metadata Update Requirements 42
User Experience Recommendations 42
Building a Great Digital Media Server 43
Codec Support 43
Support for Windows Media Codecs 43
Playback 44
Seek 44
Trick Modes (Fast Forward/Fast Rewind) 44
Search 44
Robustness 45
Wake on LAN 45
User Experience 45
Album Art 46
Thumbnails 46
Metadata 46
Building a Great Digital Media Controller 46
Recommended Digital Media Controller Features 47
User Experience: Playback 47
User Experience: Browse 49
Glossary of Acronyms 50
Resources 52
Windows Logo Resources 52
Windows Media Resources 52
Rally Technologies 52
Windows Driver and Metadata Resources 52
Industry Resources 52
Appendixes 53
Appendix 1: Sample Simple Service Discovery Protocol Announcement Messages 53
Appendix 2: Resource Elements for Transcoded Content 55