Home network media transport negotiation

A method for performing home network media transport negotiation in a home network, the method comprising:

• at a media renderer device in the home network:
• receiving an action from a control point in the home network, wherein the action includes a universal plug and play (UPnP) custom resource element comprising item metadata for an item corresponding to the custom resource element;
• and
• using the item metadata to convey a profile to the media server for negotiating a content format directly with the media server over UPnP based on the profile, the profile comprising information about one or more capabilities of the media renderer device, the profile enabling the media server to transform requested content to customized playback content in the content format negotiated to improve compatibility with and playback quality on the media renderer device, and the item metadata including an available transform for the item for at least one of modifying, optimizing, and transforming the requested media server content to the customized playback content.

A media renderer device in a home network, comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• a non-transitory processor-readable memory device storing instructions that when executed by the at least one processor causes the at least one processor to perform operations including:
• receiving, from a control point in the home network, a media server command network address for a media server in the home network;
• and
• issuing at least one action to the media server using the media server command network address to convey a profile to the media server for negotiating a content format directly with the media server over universal plug and play (UPnP) based on the profile;
• wherein the profile comprises information about one or more capabilities of the media renderer device;
• wherein the profile enables the media server to transform content requested by the media renderer device to customized playback content in the content format negotiated for improving compatibility with and playback quality on the media renderer device;
• and
• wherein the issuing at least one action to the media server includes passing item metadata for an item to the media server, the item metadata including an available transform for the item for at least one of modifying, optimizing, and transforming the content requested to the customized playback content.

An apparatus for performing home networking media transport negotiation in a home network, the apparatus comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• a non-transitory processor-readable memory device storing instructions that when executed by the at least one processor causes the at least one processor to perform operations including:
• issuing a browse command to a content directory service on a media server in the home network to locate a universal plug and play (UPnP) custom resource element;
• receiving, from the media server, the custom resource element comprising item metadata for an item corresponding to the custom resource element;
• and
• issuing an action to a media renderer device in the home network to pass the item metadata to the media renderer device, the item metadata enabling the media renderer device to convey a profile to the media server for negotiating a content format directly with the media server over UPnP based on the profile, the profile comprising information about one or more capabilities of the media renderer device, the profile enabling the media server to transform requested media server content to customized playback content in the content format negotiated to improve compatibility with and playback quality on the media renderer device, and the item metadata including an available transform for the item for at least one of modifying, optimizing, and transforming the requested media server content to the customized playback content.

A media renderer device for performing home network media transport negotiation in a home network, the media renderer device comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• a non-transitory processor-readable memory device storing instructions that when executed by the at least one processor causes the at least one processor to perform operations including:
• receiving an action from a control point in the home network, wherein the action includes a universal plug and play (UPnP) custom resource element comprising item metadata for an item corresponding to the custom resource element;
• and
• using the item metadata to convey a profile to the media server for negotiating a content format directly with the media server over UPnP based on the profile, the profile comprising information about one or more capabilities of the media renderer device, the profile enabling the media server to transform requested content to customized playback content in the content format negotiated to improve compatibility with and playback quality on the media renderer device, and the item metadata including an available transform for the item for at least one of modifying, optimizing, and transforming the requested media server content to the customized playback content.

A non-transitory processor-readable medium that includes a program that when executed by a processor performs a method comprising:

• at an electronic device in the home network:
• issuing a browse command to a content directory service on a media server in the home network to locate a universal plug and play (UPnP) custom resource element;
• receiving, from the media server, the custom resource element comprising item metadata for an item corresponding to the custom resource element;
• and
• issuing an action to a media renderer device in the home network to pass the item metadata to the media renderer device, the item metadata enabling the media renderer device to convey a profile to the media server for negotiating a content format directly with the media server over UPnP based on the profile, the profile comprising information about one or more capabilities of the media renderer device, the profile enabling the media server to transform requested media server content to customized playback content in the content format negotiated to improve compatibility with and playback quality on the media renderer device, and the item metadata including an available transform for the item for at least one of modifying, optimizing, and transforming the requested media server content to the customized playback content.

A non-transitory processor-readable medium that includes a program that when executed by a processor performs a comprising:

• at a media renderer device in the home network:
• receiving an action from a control point in the home network, wherein the action includes a universal plug and play (UPnP) custom resource element comprising item metadata for an item corresponding to the custom resource element;
• and
• using the item metadata to convey a profile to the media server for negotiating a content format directly with the media server over UPnP based on the profile, the profile comprising the one or more optimum transform parameters, the profile enabling the media server to transform requested content to customized playback content in the content format negotiated to improve compatibility with and playback quality on the media renderer device, and the item metadata including an available transform for the item for at least one of modifying, optimizing, and transforming the requested media server content to the customized playback content.