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A digital media player (also sometimes known as a streaming device or streaming box) is a type of
consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic ( analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usuall ...
device designed for the storage, playback, or viewing of
digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ...
content. They are typically designed to be integrated into a home cinema configuration, and attached to a
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
and/or AV receiver. The term is most synonymous with devices designed primarily for the consumption of content from
streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
services such as internet video, including subscription-based over-the-top content services. These devices usually have a compact form factor (either as a compact
set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of s ...
, or a
dongle A dongle is a small piece of computer hardware that connects to a port on another device to provide it with additional functionality, or enable a pass-through to such a device that adds functionality. In computing, the term was initially synonym ...
designed to plug into an
HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controlle ...
port), and contain a 10-foot user interface with support for a
remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such ...
and, in some cases, voice commands, as control schemes. Some services may support remote control on digital media players using their respective
mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
s, while
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
's
Chromecast Chromecast is a line of digital media players developed by Google. The devices, designed as small dongles, can play Internet-streamed audio-visual content on a high-definition television or home audio system. The user can control playback w ...
ecosystem is designed around integration with the mobile apps of content services. A digital media player's operating system may provide a
search engine A search engine is a software system designed to carry out web searches. They search the World Wide Web in a systematic way for particular information specified in a textual web search query. The search results are generally presented in a ...
for locating content available across multiple services and installed apps. Many digital media players offer internal access to digital distribution platforms, where users can download or purchase content such as films, television episodes, and apps. In addition to internet sources, digital media players may support the playback of content from other sources, such as external media (including USB drives or
memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
s), or streamed from a
computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These prog ...
or media server. Some digital media players may also support
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...
s, though their complexity (which can range from casual games to ports of larger games) depends on operating system and hardware support, and besides those marketed as microconsoles, are not usually promoted as the device's main function. Digital media players do not usually include a tuner for receiving
terrestrial television Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an ante ...
, nor disc drives for
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
s or DVD. Some devices, such as standalone Blu-ray players, may include similar functions to digital media players (often in a reduced form), as well as recent generations of
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to ...
s, while " smart TVs" integrate similar functions into the television itself. Some TV makers have, in turn, licensed operating system platforms from digital media players as
middleware Middleware is a type of computer software that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system. It can be described as "software glue". Middleware makes it easier for software developers to implement ...
for their smart TVs—such as Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku—which typically provide a similar user experience to their standalone counterparts, but with TV-specific features and settings reflected in their user interface.


Overview

In the 2010s, with the popularity of
portable media player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...
s and digital cameras, as well as fast Internet download speeds and relatively cheap mass storage, many people came into possession of large collections of digital media files that cannot be played on a conventional analog HiFi without connecting a computer to an amplifier or television. The means to play these files on a network-connected digital media player that is permanently connected to a television is seen as a convenience. The rapid growth in the availability of online content has made it easier for consumers to use these devices and obtain content.
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, for instance, is a common plug-in available on most networked devices.
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
has also struck deals with many consumer-electronics makers to make their interface available in the device's menus, for their streaming subscribers. This symbiotic relationship between Netflix and consumer electronics makers has helped propel Netflix to become the largest subscription video service in the U.S., using up to 20% of U.S. bandwidth at peak times. Media players are often designed for compactness and affordability, and tend to have small or non-existent hardware displays other than simple LED lights to indicate whether the device is powered on. Interface navigation on the television is usually done with an
infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of Light, visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from ...
remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such ...
, while more-advanced digital media players come with high-performance
remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such ...
s which allow control of the interface using integrated touch sensors. Some remotes also include
accelerometer An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is acce ...
s for air mouse features which allow basic motion gaming. Most digital media player devices are unable to play physical audio or video media directly, and instead require a user to convert these media into playable digital files using a separate computer and software. They are also usually incapable of recording audio or video. In the 2010s, it is also common to find digital media player functionality integrated into other consumer-electronics appliances, such as
DVD player A DVD player is a device that plays DVDs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. Some DVD players will also play audio CDs. DVD players are connected to a television to ...
s,
set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of s ...
es, smart TVs, or even
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to ...
s.


Terminology

Digital media players are also commonly referred to as a "digital media extender", "digital media streamer", "digital media hub", "digital media adapter", or "digital media receiver" (which should not be confused with '' AV Receiver'' that are also called ''Digital Media Renderer''). Digital media player manufacturers use a variety of names to describe their devices. Some more commonly used alternative names include: * Connected DVD * Connected media player * Digital audio receiver * Digital media adapter * Digital media connect * Digital media extender * Digital media hub * Digital media player * Digital media streamer * Digital media receiver * Digital media renderer * Digital video receiver * Digital video streamer * HD Media Player * HDD media player * Media Extender * Media Regulator * Net connected media player * Network connected media player * Network media player * Networked Digital Video Disc * Networked entertainment gateway * OTT player * Over-the-Top player * Smart Television media player * Smart Television player * Streaming media box * Streaming media player * Streaming video player * Wireless Media Adapter * YouTube Player Support


History

By November 2000, an audio-only digital media player was demonstrated by a company called SimpleDevices, which was awarded two patents covering this invention in 2006. Developed under the SimpleFi name by
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...
in late 2001, the design was based on a Cirrus Arm-7 processor and the wireless HomeRF networking standard which pre-dated 802.11b in the residential markets. Other early market entrants in 2001 included the Turtle Beach AudioTron,
Rio Receiver The Rio Receiver was a home stereo device for playing MP3 files stored on your computer's hard drive over an Ethernet or HomePNA network. It was later rebranded and sold as the Dell Digital Audio Receiver. With a design derived from the existing L ...
and SliMP3 digital media players. An early version of a video-capable digital media player was presented by F.C. Jeng et al. in the International Conf. on Consumer Electronics in 2002. It included a network interface card, a media processor for audio and video decoding, an analog video encoder (for video playback to a TV), an audio digital to analog converter for audio playback, and an IR (infrared receiver) for remote-control-interface. A concept of a digital media player was also introduced by Intel in 2002 at the
Intel Developer Forum The Intel Developer Forum (IDF) was a biannual gathering of technologists to discuss Intel products and products based on Intel products. The first IDF was held in 1997. To emphasize the importance of China, the Spring 2007 IDF was held in Beijin ...
as part of their "Extended Wireless PC Initiative." Intel's digital media player was based on an Xscale PXA210 processor and supported 802.11b wireless networking. Intel was among the first to use the Linux embedded operating system and
UPnP Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is a set of networking protocols that permits networked devices, such as personal computers, printers, Internet gateways, Wi-Fi access points and mobile devices to seamlessly discover each other's presence on the n ...
technology for its digital media player. Networked audio and DVD players were among the first consumer devices to integrate digital media player functionality. Examples include the Philips
Streamium Streamium was a line of IP-enabled entertainment products by Dutch electronics multi-national Philips Consumer Electronics. Streamium products use Wi-Fi to stream multimedia content from desktop computers or Internet-based services to home ent ...
-range of products that allowed for remote streaming of audio, the GoVideo D2730 Networked DVD player which integrated DVD playback with the capability to stream Rhapsody audio from a PC, and the Buffalo LinkTheater which combined a DVD player with a digital media player. More recently, the Xbox 360 gaming console from Microsoft was among the first gaming devices that integrated a digital media player. With the Xbox 360, Microsoft also introduced the concept of a
Windows Media Center Extender Windows Media Center Extenders (officially "Extender for Windows Media Center" and code named "Bobsled") are devices that are configured to connect over a computer network to a computer running Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows Vis ...
, which allows users to access the Media center capabilities of a PC remotely, through a home network. More recently, Linksys, D-Link, and HP introduced the latest generation of digital media players that support 720p and 1080p high resolution video playback and may integrate both Windows Extender and traditional digital media player functionality.


Typical features

A digital media player can connect to the home network using either a wireless ( IEEE 802.11a, b, g, and n) or wired
Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1 ...
connection. Digital media players includes a user interface that allows users to navigate through their digital media library, search for, and play back media files. Some digital media players only handle music; some handle music and pictures; some handle music, pictures, and video; while others go further to allow internet browsing or controlling Live TV from a PC with a TV tuner. Some other capabilities which are accomplished by digital media players include: * Play, catalog, and store local
hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magn ...
, flash drive, or
memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
music CDs and view CD album art, view digital photos, and watch DVD and
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
or other videos. * Stream movies, music, photos (media) over the wired or wireless network * View digital pictures (one by one or as picture slideshows) * Stream online video to a TV from services such as
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
and
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. *Play
video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...
. *Browse the Internet, check email and access social networking services through downloadable applications. * Video conference by connecting a
webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripher ...
and microphone. In the 2010s, there are stand-alone digital media players on the market from AC Ryan, Asus, Apple (e.g.,
Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancesto ...
), NetGear (e.g., NTV and NeoTV models), Dune, iOmega,
Logitech Logitech International S.A. ( ; often shortened to Logi) is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software, with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Newark, California. The company has offices throughout Europe ...
, Pivos Group, Micca, Sybas (Popcorn Hour), Amkette EvoTV, D-Link, EZfetch, Fire TV, Android TV, Pinnacle,
Xtreamer Xtreamer was a brand of home digital media player and HTPC (Home Theater PC) products. The product line's goais to replace traditional video players in homes (such as DVD players) with more versatile, but still affordable, players. These players ar ...
, and Roku, just to name a few. The models change frequently, so it is advisable to visit their web sites for current model names.


Processors

These devices come with low power consumption processors or SoC (System on Chip) and are most commonly either based on MIPS or
ARM architecture ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures for computer processors, configured ...
processors combined with integrated DSP GPU in a SoC (or
MPSoC A multiprocessor system on a chip (, ' or ) is a system on a chip (SoC) which includes multiple microprocessors. As such, it is a multi-core system on a chip. MPSoCs are usually targeted for embedded applications. It is used by platforms that con ...
) package. They also include RAM-memory and some type of built-in type of non-volatile computer memory (Flash memory).


Internal hard-drive capabilities

''HD media player'' or ''HDD media player'' (''HDMP'') is a consumer product that combines digital media player with a
hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with mag ...
(HD)
enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
with all the hardware and software for playing
audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...
,
video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...
and photos to a television. All these can play computer-based media files to a television without the need for a separate computer or network connection, and some can even be used as a conventional external hard-drive. These types of digital media players are sometimes sold as empty shells to allow the user to fit their own choice of hard drive (some can manage unlimited hard disk capacity and other only a certain capacity, i.e. 1TB, 2TB, 3TB, or 4TB), and the same model is sometimes sold with or without an internal hard drive already fitted.


Formats, resolutions and file systems

Digital media players can usually play H.264 (SD and HD),
MPEG-4 Part 2 MPEG-4 Part 2, MPEG-4 Visual (formally ISO/IEC 14496-2) is a video compression format developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). It belongs to the MPEG-4 ISO/IEC standards. It uses block-wise motion compensation and a discrete cosi ...
(SD and HD), MPEG-1,
MPEG-2 MPEG-2 (a.k.a. H.222/H.262 as was defined by the ITU) is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of lossy video compression and lossy audio data compression methods, ...
.mpg Program stream (PS or MPEG-PS) is a container format for multiplexing digital audio, video and more. The PS format is specified in MPEG-1 Part 1 (ISO/IEC 11172-1) and MPEG-2 Part 1, Systems (ISO/IEC standard 13818-1/ITU-T H.222.0). The MPEG-2 P ...
,
MPEG-2 MPEG-2 (a.k.a. H.222/H.262 as was defined by the ITU) is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of lossy video compression and lossy audio data compression methods, ...
. TS,
VOB VOB (for video object) is the container format in DVD-Video media. VOB can contain digital video, digital audio, subtitles, DVD menus and navigation contents multiplexed together into a stream form. Files in VOB format may be encrypted. File f ...
and
ISO image An optical disc image (or ISO image, from the ISO 9660 file system used with CD-ROM media) is a disk image that contains everything that would be written to an optical disc, disk sector by disc sector, including the optical disc file system. ...
s video, with
PCM Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, compact discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications. In a PCM stream, the am ...
, MP3 and AC3 audio tracks. They can also display images (such as
JPEG JPEG ( ) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and imag ...
and PNG) and play music files (such as
FLAC FLAC (; Free Lossless Audio Codec) is an audio coding format for lossless compression of digital audio, developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation, and is also the name of the free software project producing the FLAC tools, the reference softwa ...
, MP3 and Ogg).


Operating system

While most media players have traditionally been running
proprietary {{Short pages monitor