Overview

These days a large amount of media is stored electronically on many devices including computers, MP3 players, digital cameras and mobile phones. A common example is that photographs are stored on a camera, music is stored on an MP3 player and videos are stored on a computer. As more devices become digital the amount of stored digital media will increase.

Although the digital revolution has brought us great flexibility in the way media is stored; it is not easy, and in some cases impossible, to view media exactly where and when we want. For example...

“I have films stored on my computer but I cannot watch them on my television in the living room. I have to watch them on my computer in my office”.

“I have music stored on my MP3 player and I want to play the music on my stereo in the kitchen”.

“All my photos are stored on a removable USB disk. I want to show them on my TV when my friends come to my house”.

“I recently placed all my music and films onto my iPod touch. I want to be able to watch films on my TV while my wife listens to music on her computer, at the same time”.

The Solution

One way to allow digital media to be played on many modern TVs is it to connect a USB disk directly to the TV (if the TV supports this). This allows you to browse the disk and play any media that you find on the disk. One of the disadvantages of this approach is that the only way to add more media to the disk is to disconnect it from the television and connect it to your computer. Another problem is that you can only play the Media on the TV and not share it on the network . Imagine that you are playing music on from your disk and you want to view picture that are also stored on the disk from a computer, this cannot be done.

There are various solutions that allow you to display your PC screen to your TV screen. The main disadvantage with this is that it requires your computer to be turned on, this is especially frustrating when using laptops that can run out of battery power or can turn themselves off after a period of time unused.

AirTies believes that people should be able to view their media on any compatible device throughout their home, with minimal effort, without frustrating difficulties and without wires.. This is why we have created the AirTies Media Server.

AirTies Media Server is the latest feature to be offered as part our next generation wireless home networking solutions. AirTies Media Server allows you to store media on a shared disk drive and share it to many Media Players on your home network. With the latest wireless 802.11n 5Ghz technology (see separate White Paper) it is also possible to stream high definition media wirelessly throughout your home.

The USB disk is attached to your AirTies device and can be accessed from any device connected to your home network. Any Media Player connected to your home network will be able to browse and display media that is stored on the USB disk drive. Additionally, USB Host functionality allows for the disk to be accessible on the home network, meaning that media can be added to the disk without the need to unplug the disk from the network device.

The AirTies Media Server is a feature that is available on certain network products. Look for the logo on the front of AirTİes devices.

Technical Information

What is a Media Server?
A Media Server is a program that shares media stored on a storage device to a compatible Media Player. AirTies has developed a Media Server that runs on our Access Point and Gateway devices, allowing a user to connect a USB drive to their device and create a Media Server.


What is a Media Player?
A Media Player is a device that allows for media to be viewed. Such devices that contain Media Players include modern televisions, games consoles, mobile phones, PCs, digital picture frames, Hi-Fi, etc.

More and more electronic devices that include a Media Players are appearing in shops.


Why do I need a Media Server?
Placing your media on a media server allows for it to be always available from a central point. Any Media Player on your network can find your Media Server and play movies, films and photos that are stored on your Media Server.


What is DLNA?
The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)is an organisation that maintains a standard to allow devices to share media with each other. Products that are DLNA certified can share media over a network. AirTies Media Server is DLNA compatible and will work with DLNA certified devices.


What is UPnP AV?
Universal Plug and Play Audio Video is a standard to allow music, video and photos to be streamed from a UpnP AV Media Server to a UpnP AV Media Player. AirTİes Media Server is UpnP AV compatible and will work with UPnP AV compatible devices.