DLNA Server

Since: 0.12.0

TL;DR

Phlix includes a built-in DLNA/UPnP MediaServer that broadcasts via SSDP, allowing DLNA-certified devices on your local network (smart TVs, game consoles, network media players) to discover and stream media from your Phlix library automatically.

What is DLNA?

DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) is a set of interoperability guidelines for sharing digital media between multimedia devices on a home network. Phlix implements the UPnP MediaServer specification, which allows:

• Device discovery via SSDP (Simple Service Discovery Protocol) multicast
• Content browsing through the Content Directory service (Browse/Search actions)
• HTTP streaming to any DLNA-compliant renderer (Play To feature)

Architecture

Phlix's DLNA server is implemented in src/Dlna/ and consists of:

Component	File	Purpose
DlnaServer	DlnaServer.php	Main server class, SOAP handling, device description
ContentDirectory	ContentDirectory.php	UPnP ContentDirectory:1 service (browse/search)
AvTransport	AvTransport.php	AVTransport:1 service (play/pause/seek)
DeviceRegistry	DeviceRegistry.php	Tracks discovered DLNA renderers
LibraryBridge	LibraryBridge.php	Connects ContentDirectory to Phlix media library
CdsServer	CdsServer.php	HTTP handler for ContentDirectory SOAP calls
PlayToManager	PlayToManager.php	"Play To" feature for casting to renderers

Enabling DLNA

DLNA is enabled by default when Phlix starts. The server announces itself via SSDP multicast every 10 minutes on port 1900/UDP.

Configuration

Setting	Default	Description
DLNA Port	8200	HTTP port for DLNA device description and SOAP
SSDP Announce Interval	600s	How often SSDP announcements are sent
UDN Prefix	uuid:phlix-server-	Unique device identifier prefix

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
PHLIX_PUBLIC_URL	Public URL used in DLNA announcements. Set if behind a reverse proxy.
PHLIX_HTTP_PORT	HTTP port the server listens on (default: 32400)

Device Identification

The DLNA server announces with:

• Friendly Name: Phlix Media Server (configurable)
• Manufacturer: Phlix
• Model: Phlix Media Server 1.0
• UDN: uuid:phlix-server-{serverId} — unique per installation

How Clients Discover Phlix

DLNA clients (such as smart TVs) use SSDP to discover MediaServers on the network:

1. Client sends M-SEARCH multicast to 239.255.255.250:1900
2. Phlix responds with HTTP/NOTIFY containing device description URL
3. Client fetches device description XML from http://{phlix}:8200/description.xml
4. Client calls Browse action via SOAP to list content

Discovery Response Example

NOTIFY * HTTP/1.1
HOST: 239.255.255.250:1900
CACHE-CONTROL: max-age=1800
LOCATION: http://192.168.1.100:8200/description.xml
NT: urn:schemas-upnp-org:device:MediaServer:1
NTS: ssdp:alive
SERVER: Phlix/0.12.0 UPnP/1.0
USN: uuid:phlix-server-abc123::urn:schemas-upnp-org:device:MediaServer:1

Content Directory

The ContentDirectory service provides Browse and Search actions:

Browse Action

Lists containers and items under a given ObjectID:

Browse(ObjectID, BrowseFlag, Filter, StartingIndex, RequestedCount, SortCriteria)

BrowseFlags:

• BrowseMetadata — return metadata for a single object
• BrowseDirectChildren — return child objects (containers/items)

Returns: DIDL-Lite XML containing media items

Search Action

Searches for media matching criteria:

Search(ContainerID, SearchCriteria, Filter, StartingIndex, RequestedCount, SortCriteria)

Supported Search Properties:

• dc:title — item title
• dc:creator — creator/artist
• upnp:artist — artist
• upnp:album — album

Object Hierarchy

0 (Root)
├── library-video (container)
│   └── [media items]
├── library-audio (container)
│   └── [media items]
└── library-images (container)
    └── [media items]

Supported Media Formats

Phlix's DLNA server serves media in the following formats:

Media Type	Formats	DLNA Profile
Video	MP4, MKV, WebM, AVI	AVC_MP4_MP_HD
Audio	MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV	AAC_ADTS
Image	JPEG, PNG	JPEG_LRG

Streaming URLs

Media items include a upnp:res element with an HLS streaming URL:

http://{phlix}:32400/api/v1/streaming/hls/{itemId}/master.m3u8

Clients that support HLS (most modern DLNA renderers) can stream directly. For older devices, you may need to enable transcoding.

Play To Feature

The Play To feature allows you to "push" media from Phlix to a specific DLNA renderer (e.g., cast a video to your smart TV):

1. In the Phlix web interface, click the cast icon on any media item
2. Select a discovered DLNA renderer from the device list
3. Phlix sends SetAVTransportURI and Play commands to the renderer
4. Playback is controlled remotely — Phlix acts as the controller

Renderer discovery happens via:

• SSD P multicast for renderers on the local network
• Cached device registry for previously seen devices

Troubleshooting

TV Cannot Find Phlix

1. Verify Phlix is running:

   curl http://localhost:32400/api/v1/system/status

2. Check SSDP is announced (requires network debugging tool):

   • Phlix sends UDP packets to 239.255.255.250:1900
   • Firewalls must allow UDP port 1900 outbound

3. Check network connectivity:

   • Phlix and the TV must be on the same subnet
   • Check if PHLIX_PUBLIC_URL is set correctly if using VLANs

Media Won't Play on TV

1. Check format support — most TVs only support MP4/H.264 natively
2. Enable transcoding — enable hardware transcoding in docs/advanced/hardware-transcoding.md
3. Check DLNA profile — some TVs are picky about protocol-info strings

"No such object" Error

This usually means the item ID passed to Browse doesn't exist. Common causes:

• Item was deleted from library but client still has stale reference
• Library rescan changed item IDs

Authentication Prompt Loop

Some DLNA clients cache credentials incorrectly. Try:

1. Power cycling the TV
2. Removing the Phlix app/device from TV settings
3. Re-adding via DLNA discovery

Slow Content Loading

• Ensure PHLIX_HTTP_PORT is not conflicting with another service
• Check the server is not under heavy load from transcoding
• Verify network throughput between Phlix and the TV

Security Considerations

• DLNA operates on the local network only — not exposed to the internet
• SSDP uses UDP port 1900 — ensure firewall rules are appropriate
• No authentication on DLNA discovery — anyone on the network can discover Phlix
• Media streaming uses HTTP — consider using a VPN for sensitive content
• See Privacy & Security for more information

See Also

• Reverse Proxy — running Phlix behind a reverse proxy
• Hardware Transcoding — enabling GPU-accelerated transcoding
• Troubleshooting — general troubleshooting tips