Developer:Media Server Extensions

Introduction

The ContentDirectory service has various limitations which become apparent when implementing control points on different hardware platforms. This document aims to outline some ideas that address the various shortcomings of the ContentDirectory specification. The ideas have been categorised in low, medium and high priority groups.

High

Container map

The current ContentDirectory specification makes it tricky for a control point to display the returned contents in an appropriate, aesthetically pleasing, manner for the content being viewed. This is because the ContentDirectory specification does not allow for a control point to know in advanced what content to expect when browsing through any particular hierarchy.

An example of this might be, at a particular point in the browse hierarchy the ContentDirectory will return a list of albums which in turn will contain a list of tracks. A UI might wish to represent this list of albums as a grid and the album's tracks as a header and a list of the tracks. Currently it is not possible for the UI to know when it gets to a point in a hierarchy where the hierarchy represents a list of albums followed by a list of tracks.

The container map extension allows a media server to express its container hierarchy in advance of the control point navigating it. This is done using an OpenHome vendor extension to the device XML.

Three types of mapped container are defined: browse, link, and search.

The browse map defines named top level containers that represent significant starting points for browsing that can meaningfully be presented in top level tabs of a control point UI.

The link map defines containers that can be meaningfully linked to from track or album details. For instance a track will typically have an artist defined. If an entry for "artist" is defined in the link map then it will be possible for the user of a control point to quickly access this artist-related container by clicking on the track's artist text. Similar links might be offered for "genre", "composer", "conductor", etc.

A media media server may implement any subset of these. A media server will be able to indicate to a control point which mapped containers it supports by including the relevant openhome XML extensions in its device XML.

For a media server to indicate it supports browse mapped containers the device XML must contain entries within an X_MAP_BROWSE element, see the example device XML below.

For a media server to indicate it supports link mapped containers the device XML must contain entries within an X_MAP_LINK element, see the example device XML below.

For a media server to indicate it supports browse mapped containers the device XML must contain entries within an X_MAP_SEARCH element, see the example device XML below.

Browse map

The X_MAP_BROWSE element must contain 1 or more X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY elements.

The X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY has three child elements.

X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_NAME is a string and used by a control point to label the root of the browse hierarchy. X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_ID is a string and used by a control point to start the browse of the browse hierarchy. X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE is a space separated list of strings used by a control point to decide how to represent the browse hierarchy in the UI. The list of valid types is described in the Types section below.

There should be an X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY for each root browse hierarchy defined by the media server.

Any example of an X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY is shown below,

<X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY>
    <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_NAME>Albums</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_NAME>
    <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_ID>db/browse/albums</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_ID>
    <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE>album</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE>
</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY>

The example above defines a root browse hierarchy that provides a list of albums which in turn provide a list of tracks.

X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY contains the text for a label in the UI of "Albums".

X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_ID contains the ID to use in the ContentDirectory Browse action to obtain the list of albums.

X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE contains a single entry indicating that the first level contains items that represent albums and the next level will contain tracks. If for example the hierarchy was a list of genres, then a list of artists, then a list of albums, and finally a list of tracks the type would be "genre artist album".

Link map

The X_MAP_LINK element must contain 1 or more X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY elements.

The X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY has three child elements.

X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TAG is a string and used by a control point determine which piece of metadata is valid to show as a link.

X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX is a string and used by a control point to start the browse of a link.

X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TYPE is a space separated list of strings used by a control point to decide how to represent the browse hierarchy in the UI. The list of valid types is described in the Types section below.

There should be an X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY for each piece of metadata that the media server allows to be linked.

Any example of an X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY is shown below,

<X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY>
    <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TAG>artist</X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TAG>
    <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>db/link/artist/</X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>
    <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TYPE>album</X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TYPE>
</X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY>

The example above defines a browse hierarchy that is created when linking from an artist name. The hierarchy created provides a list of linked artist albums which in turn provide a list of tracks.

X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TAG contains the piece of metadata that can be linked to "artist". Valid types are listed in the Types section below.

X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX contains the ID prefix to use in the ContentDirectory Browse action to obtain the list of albums. The browse ID is constructed by appending the text in the artist metadata to the prefix, i.e. "db/link/artist/<artist name>"

X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TYPE contains a single entry indicating that the first level contains items that represent albums and the next level will contain tracks.

Link is the ability for a user to link between various pieces of metadata for an object. For example if the server supported linking on the artist tag then using the link map a control point would be able to provide the ability for a user to click on a track's artist and display all the albums (or tracks) by that artist.

Search map

The X_MAP_SEARCH element must contain 1 or more X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY elements.

The X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY has three child elements.

X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_NAME is a string and used by a control point to label the browse hierarchy.

X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX is a string and used by a control point to start the browse of a search.

X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_TYPE is a space separated list of strings used by a control point to decide how to represent the browse hierarchy in the UI. The list of valid types is described in the Types section below.

There should be an X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY for each piece of metadata that the media server allows to be linked.

Any example of an X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY is shown below,

<X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY>
    <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_NAME>Artist</X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_NAME>
    <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>db/search/artist/</X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>
    <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_TYPE>artist album</X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_TYPE>
</X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY>

The example above defines a browse hierarchy that is created when searching for an artist. The hierarchy created provides a list of artists, which in turn provide a list of albums, which in turn provide a list of tracks.

X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_NAME contains the text for a label in the UI of "Artists"

X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX contains the ID prefix to use in the ContentDirectory Browse action to obtain the list of artists. The browse ID is constructed by appending the search text to the prefix, i.e. "db/link/artist/<search text>"

X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_TYPE contains a single entry indicating that the first level contains items that represent artists, the next level will contain albums, and the next level will contain tracks.

Types

The list of allowed types for X_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE, X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TAG, X_LINK_ENTRY_TYPE, and X_SEARCH_ENTRY_TYPE

genre
artist
composer
conductor
album
year
mixed

mixed is a special value that represents a container that has mixed entries.

Example device XML

<root xmlns="urn:schemas-upnp-org:device-1-0">
   <specVersion>
       <major>1</major>
       <minor>1</minor>
   </specVersion>
   <device>
       <deviceType>urn:schemas-upnp-org:device:MediaServer:1</deviceType>
       <dlna:X_DLNADOC xmlns:dlna="urn:schemas-dlna-org:device-1-0">DMS-1.50</dlna:X_DLNADOC>
       <dlna:X_DLNACAP xmlns:dlna="urn:schemas-dlna-org:device-1-0">av-upload,image-upload,audio-upload</dlna:X_DLNACAP>
       <openhome:X_MAP xmlns:openhome="http://www.openhome.org">
           <X_MAP_BROWSE>
               <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY>
                   <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_NAME>Albums</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_NAME>
                   <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_ID>db/browse/albums</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_ID>
                   <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE>album</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE>
               </X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY>
               <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY>
                   <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_NAME>Artists</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_NAME>
                   <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_ID>db/browse/artists</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_ID>
                   <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE>artist album</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE>
               </X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY>
               <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY>
                   <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_NAME>Folders</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_NAME>
                   <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_ID>db/browse/folders</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_ID>
                   <X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE>mixed</X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY_TYPE>
               </X_MAP_BROWSE_ENTRY>
           </X_MAP_BROWSE>
           <X_MAP_LINK>
               <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY>
                   <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TAG>artist</X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TAG>
                   <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>db/link/artist/</X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>
                   <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TYPE>album</X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TYPE>
               </X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY>
               <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY>
                   <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TAG>composer</X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TAG>
                   <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>db/link/composer/</X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>
                   <X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TYPE>album</X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY_TYPE>
               </X_MAP_LINK_ENTRY>
           </X_MAP_LINK>
           <X_MAP_SEARCH>
               <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY>
                   <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_NAME>Artist</X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_NAME>
                   <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>db/search/artist/</X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>
                   <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_TYPE>artist album</X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_TYPE>
               </X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY>
               <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY>
                   <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_NAME>Tracks</X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_NAME>
                   <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>db/search/all/</X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_ID_PREFIX>
                   <X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_TYPE></X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY_TYPE>
               </X_MAP_SEARCH_ENTRY>
           </X_MAP_SEARCH>
       </openhome:X_MAP>
       <presentationURL>http://10.2.1.170:4000/res/linn.co.uk.kazooserver/index.html</presentationURL>
       <friendlyName>Linn Kazoo Server [R&D Mac Mini]</friendlyName>
       <manufacturer>Linn</manufacturer>
       <manufacturerURL>http://www.linn.co.uk</manufacturerURL>
       <modelName>Kazoo Server</modelName>
       <modelURL>http://oss.linn.co.uk/trac/wiki/KazooServer</modelURL>
       <UDN>uuid:ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400</UDN>
       <iconList>
           <icon>
               <mimetype>image/png</mimetype>
               <width>65</width>
               <height>65</height>
               <depth>32</depth>
               <url>ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400/resource/icon/icon</url>
           </icon>
       </iconList>
       <serviceList>
           <service>
               <serviceType>urn:av-openhome-org:service:PlaylistManager:1</serviceType>
               <serviceId>urn:av-openhome-org:serviceId:PlaylistManager</serviceId>
               <SCPDURL>/ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400/Upnp/av.openhome.org-PlaylistManager-1/service.xml</SCPDURL>
               <controlURL>/ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400/av.openhome.org-PlaylistManager-1/control</controlURL>
               <eventSubURL>/ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400/av.openhome.org-PlaylistManager-1/event</eventSubURL>
           </service>
           <service>
               <serviceType>urn:schemas-upnp-org:service:ContentDirectory:1</serviceType>
               <serviceId>urn:upnp-org:serviceId:ContentDirectory</serviceId>
               <SCPDURL>/ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400/Upnp/upnp.org-ContentDirectory-1/service.xml</SCPDURL>
               <controlURL>/ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400/upnp.org-ContentDirectory-1/control</controlURL>
               <eventSubURL>/ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400/upnp.org-ContentDirectory-1/event</eventSubURL>
           </service>
           <service>
               <serviceType>urn:schemas-upnp-org:service:ConnectionManager:1</serviceType>
               <serviceId>urn:upnp-org:serviceId:ConnectionManager</serviceId>
               <SCPDURL>/ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400/Upnp/upnp.org-ConnectionManager-1/service.xml</SCPDURL>
               <controlURL>/ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400/upnp.org-ConnectionManager-1/control</controlURL>
               <eventSubURL>/ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400/upnp.org-ConnectionManager-1/event</eventSubURL>
           </service>
       </serviceList>
   </device>
</root>

Index maps

Large lists are difficult to navigate, especially on mobile devices. Mobile devices added the idea of an index map to improve this situation. The index map allows a users to jump to different sections in a large list, similar to what is possible with a scrollbar on desktops.

In order for a control point to generate an index map for any particular level in a ContentDirectory's hierarchy it first needs to download all the objects in the container, figure out if they are sorted and then calculate the index map. This means that a user will need to wait, perhaps minutes, before an index map is able to be presented on the UI.

The proposal is to allow the media server to calculate an index map and return it as part of the DIDL-Lite XML. Below shows some example DIDL-Lite with an index map included.

<DIDL-Lite xmlns="urn:schemas-upnp-org:metadata-1-0/DIDL-Lite/">
   <container id="db/ba37a2ac24efa676c8676aab71a6cdf074" parentID="0" restricted="true">
       <dc:title xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">Worlds Apart [Deluxe Edition]</dc:title>
       <upnp:udn xmlns:upnp="urn:schemas-upnp-org:metadata-1-0/upnp/">ac3d630e37b5f11ff5cdd23c0f5a7400</upnp:udn>
       <upnp:class xmlns:upnp="urn:schemas-upnp-org:metadata-1-0/upnp/">object.container.album.musicAlbum</upnp:class>
       <upnp:artist xmlns:upnp="urn:schemas-upnp-org:metadata-1-0/upnp/">...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead</upnp:artist>
       <upnp:albumArtURI>http://10.2.1.170:4000/linn.co.uk.kazooserver/ms/artwork/37a2ac2?size=0</upnp:albumArtURI>
   </container>
   <desc nameSpace="openhome.org">
       <indexmap>
           <labels># A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z +</labels>
           <indices>0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270</indices>
       </indexmap>
   </desc>
</DIDL-Lite>

The index map contains two, space separated, lists. These lists must contain the same number of elements. The example above is for a container who's contents are alphabetically sorted. But an index map could just as easily define a container who's contents are sorted by decade, e.g 1960 - 2015,

<desc nameSpace="openhome.org">
   <indexmap>
       <labels>60 70 80 90 00 10</labels>
       <indices>0 10 20 30 40 50</indices>
   </indexmap>
</desc>

Image Resolution

Control points running on different platforms have different memory limits and display technologies. This means that a control point on a PC might want to display artwork at a high resolution, while a control point on a PDA might want to display artwork at a much lower resolution.

Media servers often try to solve this problem using one of the following two methods:

1. A configurable parameter that scales all artwork to a user defined size
2. A profile system where a user can create profiles for each class of control point they have and configure a parameter that scales all artwork to a user defined size per profile

The first solution is highly problematic because it limits the resolution of artwork across the whole network. But a single network very often contains control points that can display high resolution images AND control points that can't.

The second solution is just architecturally poor, turning the relationship between a control point and a media server on its head. Why should the media server try to infer what a control point needs through configuration when the control point is perfectly capable of telling the media server its exact requirements in every single circumstance.

So, it is proposed that compliant media servers include a size element in their artwork uri's, where the size is the image's largest dimension. This allows a control point to ask for an image at a specified size.

Example

If the original artwork was 400x512, then a media server would provide the following albumArtURI: <uri>?size=512. If it is not possible for the media server to obtain the original resolution then the media server would provide the following albumArtURI: <uri>?size=0.

The presence of the size element tells the control point:

1. the media server implements the image scaling extension
2. the original size of the image.

Now the control point can request the image at any resolution by using <uri>?size=x, where x is the size it wants.

So, in this example, <uri>?size=1024 gets an 800x1024 image, and <uri>?size=200 gets a 156x200 image.

albumArtURI

The current specification only allows retrieval of artwork for a musicAlbum container through the property albumArtURI. When browsing a music library on a control point it quickly becomes clear that to implement a graphically rich control point the ContentDirectory service should provide a way to retrieve artwork for all of the content directory classes, not just musicAlbum containers.

There has become a somewhat defacto standard where just about all media server provide an albumArtURI property for a musicItem item as well as for a musicAlbum container, however this is still not good enough to implement a graphically rich control point.

It is proposed that an optional property is introduced to the object class called albumArtURI which may contain an attribute title, e.g. <albumArtURI title="Font Cover">http://Front Cover.jpg</albumArtURI>. The object class can contain zero or more albumArtURIs elements.

Low

Dynamic IP Addresses

At present all media servers return URIs that contain a reference to their IP address, e.g. http://172.20.1.1/music.flac etc. This means that if the media server's IP address were to change across reboots, then any control point or media renderer with URIs that referenced the media server before the reboot will become invalid.

It is proposed that a media server should always reference itself by host name and not by IP address in any XML that it sends to external devices, i.e. http://mynas/music.flac.

Disc Information

It is proposed that two new properties are added to the musicTrack item called OriginalDiscNumber and OriginalDiscCount

Replay Gain Information

It is proposed that four new properties are added to the musicTrack item called ReplayGainAlbum, ReplayGainAlbumPeak, ReplayGainTrack, and ReplayGainTrackPeak.

webURI

The current specification does not easily allow a control point to provide rich information about objects in the browse hierarchy.

It is proposed to add an optionally property to the object class called webURI which will contain a URI to a website that provides a rich collection of information about the object, e.g. for a musicArtist container it would provided a link to a website that provided information about the artist.