Qualcomm jumped in the battle for the digital home

Qualcomm Atheros announced a Java based software solution, Skifta Engine, that adds DLNA, in-home media shifting and Internet content streaming to routers, set-top boxes and other types of gateway devices at the Computex trade show in Taiwan Tuesday. 


The Skifta Engine, is the company’s next step to take on Apple and others in the fight for the digital home. It is DLNA-compatible, meaning that it will allow users of Skifta-powered devices to stream music, videos and other types of media straight from their router to their Xbox or PS3. Additional functionality is available in conjunction with the Skifta Android app: Skifta offers users a way to stream home media to their Android device on the go, and also makes it possible to access a number of Internet content channels, including Facebook, TED Talks and Revision3.

Qualcomm Atheros originally released its Skifta Android app in late 2010 to prove a demand for media shifting in the living room. Eighteen months in, Skifta has an active install base of 700,000, and the Qualcomm subsidiary is setting its sights on something bigger: the digital home.

Of course, Qualcomm Atheros isn’t alone in its quest to bring media shifting to the digital home. A number of companies already utilize DLNA. Samsung, for example, is using the technology as the basis for its own AllShare media sharing solution. Then there is Apple and its Airplay protocol, and just this week, Microsoft threw its own hat in the ring with its new SmartGlass second screen gaming and media sharing technology. Brotman told me that the key to compete in this race will be to use widely available standards and make its own technology available for licensing. “What consumers don’t need is another walled garden,” he said.

See more in Janko Roettgers "Qualcomm’s plan to win the battle for the digital home" or the Qualcomm press release.