This part of IEC 62481 specifies the DLNA media format profiles applicable to IEC 62481-1.
Media format profiles are defined for each of the following media classes: audio, image, and
AV. In addition, profile ID values that identify media collections and printer XHTML documents
are also introduced.
It is envisioned that in the home network environment, devices will be capable of exchanging
content items that originate from different sources. Content items will typically come encoded
in different formats. The term "format" designates the compression and encoding tools utilized
to generate the binary instance of a content item, which will be eventually exchanged over the
home network using streaming or file transfer protocols. Examples of formats include MPEG-2,
MPEG-4, WMV and others for video; or MP3, AAC, WMA and others for audio.
Formats alone, however, include as part of their specifications, multiple parameters, features
and tools which can be used in a myriad of combinations to generate content binaries. In this
standard, the notion of a format profile is introduced to identify a particular suitable
combination of format parameters which define a way for representing content binaries. A
format like MPEG-2, for example, can have multiple profiles depending on selections for the
companion audio, the system-layer multiplexing specifications, allowed frame resolutions,
allowed aspect ratios, allowed bit rates, etc.
This standard provides a quasi-exhaustive list of broadly-used format profiles for image, audio,
and AV formats. For each particular format profile, this standard defines a profile ID text token
to be used during the DLNA media discovery and media transfer operations. The profile ID is
exposed in a server's content directory service (CDS) to signal to potential networked players
or renderers the existence of a content item with particular coding and compression features
defined precisely by the item's profile ID. This standard also describes the uses of format
profiles which define media collections and printer XHTML documents.
The number of potential combinations for suitable profiles becomes large rather quickly, as
evidenced by the long profile lists observed in the different sections of this standard.
Consequently, this standard introduces the notion of mandatory profiles, supported by all
devices, as a means to provide baseline content interoperability in the home. Servers have to
be capable of exposing and transferring mandatory profiles while players and renderers have
to be capable of decoding and rendering the mandatory profiles. Unfortunately, mandatory
format profiles cannot be defined universally to suit all scenarios. For this reason, the
definition of mandatory profiles is made taking into account the geographical region and the
target device category.