Source: DIGITAL HOME Online
Publication date: January 12, 2009
By Dan Daley
Media server (n.): A hard disk-based system capable of storing audio, video, pictorial and other content in digital format with integrated local area network (LAN) connectivity or network interfaces (USB, 1394, etc.) to allow it to connect to the home network via a router, and appropriate software capabilities to make the content available to other network-connected devices. Predominantly distributed through the custom installer channel. (Source: Parks Associates)
Some people watch soap operas on their media servers. For others, the media server's own back story makes more interesting viewing. Ripping CDs onto media servers or personal file players like Zunes or iPods has been disarmingly simple, thanks to the lack of copy protection encryption on the discs. But getting the movies off DVDs and into file form on a media server, while only slightly more challenging, has been fraught with legal danger. And that's a bummer, because in this video-centric technology age, the media server could be the center of the digital home.
Case in point: In 2004, the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA) sued up-market server maker Kaleidescape for making bit-for-bit copies of DVDs to load in their servers, which cost more than $14,000 for an entry-level system that can hold 150 DVDs.
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