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Flash URC

The Flash URC is a Flash-based implementation of a "pluggable user interface" (aka "User Interface Implementation Description" or "UIID"), based on the URC SDK. With it, a user can control a Philips Media Manager (implementing a UPnP AV MediaServer) and a Philips Streamium SL300i (UPnP AV MediaRenderer). This project shows the flexibility of the URC framework, allowing for fine-tuned and polished user interfaces. With the same design, pluggable user interfaces may be written in JavaScript or other browser plugin-languages.

The Flash URC runs as Macromedia Flash code in a Web browser window, and connects to the URC SDK running as an applet in the same window. JavaScript is used as "glue" code between Flash and the Java applet. The Flash URC demonstrates the feasibility of pluggable user interfaces based on the User Interface Socket concept of the URC framework, using existing UPnP devices as Targets. With the same methods, user interface designers can easily create their own pluggable user interfaces for UPnP AV devices, without the need to write Java code, parse XML or deal with UPnP protocols and events.

Here is a screen shot of the Flash user interface, running in Internet Explorer. It runs in Firefox as well.

Flash user interface for browsing and playing music

Quick Facts

Project status: Version 3.0 in development

Organization: Trace Center

Team: Parikshit Thakur and team, Gottfried Zimmermann (lead)

Project Goals

Proof-of-concept for pluggable user interfaces (UIIDs)
Showcase for using the URC framework and Flash for controlling UPnP AV devices
Reference implementation of JavaScript wrapper code, connecting Web browser plug-ins and URC SDK (Java applet)
Demonstration of custom-tailored user interfaces based on URC framework

Architecture

Architecture of FlashURC

The architectural components are:

Web browser: Runs the Flash plugin and the URC SDK applet
Flash plugin code ("Pluggable user interface")
User Interface Socket implementations for MediaServer and MediaRenderer
URC SDK (Java applet) with UPnP AV-specific network layer
JavaScript wrapper code (glue between Flash code and URC SDK applet)
UPnP Media Server (Philips Media Manager)
UPnP Media Renderer (Philips Streamium SL300i)
IP-based network for UPnP message