Universal Plug-and-Play Protocol Becomes ISO Standard
 

The UPnP specification has been approved by an ISO technical committee, meaning that the plug-and-play architecture is now an international standard.

While Universal Plug and Play implies that the technology is well, universal, it's just one of a number of specifications promising to network consumer-electronic devices and PCs. In addition to UPnP, there is HANA the the Open IPTV Forum, and the DLNA, all of which have come forward to "solve" the problem of sharing content.

To date, all have had some success (except for the IPTV group, which formed the most recently). However, no one standard is either ubiquitous, or quite frankly, all that well known.

However, UPnP device and service standards have been defined and published for Internet gateways/routers, audio-video media devices, printers, scanners, climate control, lighting and wireless LAN access points, and digital security cameras, and advanced features such as security, remote user interface, and quality of service, the group said.

"The recognition of UPnP specifications as international standards emphasizes once again the standing of UPnP as the leading technology for discovery and control of devices in home networks," said Alan Messer, chair of the UPnP Forum Steering Committee and member of the UIC board of directors, in a statement.

Source: ExtremeTech