In Windows 7, computers can interact with devices in the home network by using one of the following scenarios:
Scenario 1: The PC acts as the source of content for networked devices.
Scenario 2: The PC acts as the receiver of content from networked devices.
Scenario 3: The PC acts as a media manager and selects content from sources and sends content to receivers.
In Scenario 1, users keep a large collection of media in their PCs and make the content available to other devices that are connected to the home network by sharing their media libraries. The PC acts as a media server when it is connected to the network. Windows 7 improves the interoperability of this scenario by adding support for media players and media controllers that follow DLNA standards.
In Scenario 2, users store content in different storage devices such as NAS, DVR, and cameras, and use a PC to browse, search, and play the stored content. In this scenario, the receiving PC acts as a media player when it is connected to the network. Windows 7 improves the interoperability of this scenario by adding support for media servers that are based on DLNA standards, in addition to shared libraries from Windows PCs and Windows Home Server.
Figure 1 shows the three scenarios.
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