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[JimH]

Please help me understand what a "media streamer" is.  The term is used a lot in audiophile circles, but how does it differ from a DLNA or UPnP Renderer?

Thanks.

[6233638]

I think the terms are mostly synonymous, though a "Media Streamer" may not have a DLNA/UPnP client - it might hook into services like Netflix or Amazon Video, or require that you use software like Plex to stream local files.

[JimH]

Is Airport a Media Streamer?

[InflatableMouse]

That would be a media server me thinks.

A Media Streamer would be the settop box connected to your TV or AVR.

[Hendrik]

Whenever I hear "Media Streamer", I always think about a small device which you hookup to your TV, which then streams media from the web or your own custom sources.
Of course I couldn't say if the audiophile people really refer to it that way.

[csimon]

Please help me understand what a "media streamer" is.  The term is used a lot in audiophile circles, but how does it differ from a DLNA or UPnP Renderer?

I think a streamer is generally understood to be the device that receives a stream, i.e. usually a STB, although it should literally refer to the device that creates the stream!

Therefore a DMR is actually one particular type of streamer.  If you are listening to a radio stream then I guess the client you are using for that is also a streamer, but I think the term is more used when referring to hardware rather than software.

[csimon]

Is Airport a Media Streamer?

As in a device that receives music from another device via Airplay? Yes, I would say that it is a streamer actually, Airplay is a streaming protocol.  A bluetooth music receiver or speaker is also a streamer.  Bluetooth handsfree units for cars are said to "stream" music from a mobile device to your car's speakers.

[Vincent Kars]

When you download a file from the internet, you can only open it as soon as the download is completed. In case of audio of video over the internet, this is rather cumbersome.
Hence they decide to create a buffer and as soon as this buffer is sufficiently filled, playback starts.
In essence streaming is about creating a (quasi)  real-time stream over internet  that by design doesn’t support real time operation (package switched).

Protocols like UpNP/DLNA/Airplay are examples of streaming protocols.
Of course they do a bit more like device discovery, exchanging properties, etc.

[akira54]

Sonos is a good example of a media (in this case audio only) streamer. However, I regard my MacMini with JRiver on it (and nothing else) also as a media streamer, especially since it gets its data from the NAS.