An Approach for Content Sharing among UPnP Devices in Different Home Networks

An approach for content sharing among UPnP devices in different home networks is proposed. In this approach, a "SHARE" module is designed that extends the HG (home gateway) with an UPnP-compatible protocol. By using SSDP (simple service discovery protocol) messages used in the UPnP device architecture, the SHARE module provides the connectivity that is needed to control other UPnP devices for content sharing. For transparent content sharing, the SHARE utilizes the class hierarchy of the UPnP AV architecture. It also works to support a distributed streaming service that can be adopted by UPnP AV architecture as a content sharing method. Through design-level verifications and a partial implementation of the proposed SHARE module, the feasibility of the approach is validated.