The ultimate HTPC for XBMC
#16
wow I've just found this

sounds good, gonna find out all about it Big Grin
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#17
(2012-09-20, 22:13)uchenzei Wrote: Would you describe your entire configuration and the way you use it?

I use the iRule software on my tablet. It's a little complicated to configure, but is very flexible - and it's available for ios devices as well. It talks over wifi to a device from Global Cache called the IP2IR, which you can get on Amazon for $100. The IP2IR has infra-red transmitters, which you place in front of your audio equipment. I have all of mine hidden away in another room, since I can control it from anywhere I have wifi access. A long HDMI cable runs from the spare room into the TV room. I have to say that it is complicated, but once it's done it's easy to use. My wife picks up the remote and presses the large "Watch a Movie" button. This is what happens:
- iRule sends a a command over Wifi to the IP2IR, telling it to turn on the TV.
- it then sends a command to tell the XBMC machine to turn on, using a Wake-on-lan packet.
- Next it tells IP2IR to set the HDMI switch to select the XBMC box (as opposed to the Wii, or our Apple TV)
- Once XBMC is loaded, the Movies screen is launched, and is displayed on the TV.
- Meanwhile, the XBMC movie library can be navigated on the tablet itself.

There are four drawbacks to this setup (so far):
1. Cost. The tablet was $250, the IP2IR was $100, and iRule was another $100. This puts it in the Harmony 1100 price range!
2. Complexity. I am a software engineer, and it took me a few weeks to get the whole thing up and running smoothly.
3. Lack of "feel". Simple common commands like changing volume are dead simple on a normal remote, even in the dark. You have muscle memory as to where those buttons are, and can find and use them quickly. A tablet has no texture feedback, and so these mundane tasks are more difficult. On the flip side, difficult tasks are now easy - so it's a trade.
4. Neck craning. Some things just require navigating menus displayed on the TV screen. When doing this you have to look up at the TV, then down at the tablet to hit a button or two, then back at the TV, then.... It gets annoying. Fortunately these tasks are rare. It's normally things like playing with the TV's color correction, changing settings in XBMC, or interacting with an XBMC plugin.
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#18
(2012-09-21, 17:47)uchenzei Wrote: wow I've just found this

(removed video link)

sounds good, gonna find out all about it Big Grin

Wait a minute, you poo-pooed my previous suggestion to use a tablet as an XBMC remote control but now you're saying "wow" to this... a remote control app for XBMC running on an Android tablet Huh
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#19
(2012-09-21, 17:46)bluray Wrote:
(2012-09-21, 10:07)T800 Wrote: Control HTPC via Harmony remote and tablet.
I'm the opposite. I sold my Harmony remotes last year after using it for so many years. I miss the other remotes.

I'm old school, and I preferred to have a remote control for each device......it looks cool on my coffee table too....

Image

To me thats just a picture of what someone uses who hasn't used a well set up Harmony remote. You went from a remote that turned on your TV, HTPC and amp with one button and controlled it all to using 3 separate remotes for the same job?
(where did I put that suicide smiley...)
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#20
(2012-09-21, 20:16)artrafael Wrote: Wait a minute, you poo-pooed my previous suggestion to use a tablet as an XBMC remote control but now you're saying "wow" to this... a remote control app for XBMC running on an Android tablet Huh

Maybe I'm wrong, but that doesn't seem to me the same thing.
Using a tablet or smartphone as a remote through the lan (wired or not) is not for me. I already tried this setup with a small Nokia internet tablet. It is not for me because the chain

- turn tablet on and wait for boot
- connect it to the lan
- start remote app
- hope not to meet one of those very frequent software bug or inconsistencies

is definitely unconfortable.
The device in the video seems to me more like an external touchscreen monitor, which don't need to boot, don't need to connect to lan. It's just operating as soon as the htpc starts, because it is a part of it. At least this is what it seems to be, I am exploring more on the net though.

ps: i didn't poo-pooed your suggestion, instead I appreciated it Smile
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#21
(2012-09-21, 17:46)bluray Wrote:
(2012-09-21, 10:07)T800 Wrote: Control HTPC via Harmony remote and tablet.
I'm the opposite. I sold my Harmony remotes last year after using it for so many years. I miss the other remotes.

I'm old school, and I preferred to have a remote control for each device......it looks cool on my coffee table too....

Image

I have to agree with bluray here if maybe for a different reason. I don't like the feel of the Harmony remote. It's too top heavy. I also have to bend my fingers funny to use the touch LCD. So, I've gone back to using my original Microsoft WMC remote -- which can turn on/off the TV, turn the volume on the AVR up/down and control my HTPC. That's really all I need from the couch. I've got everything setup on one input through the AVR and TV so there's none of that. So, the only remote I use 99% of the time is the WMC remote and other than that I just have to go over and turn on/off the AVR which is no big deal since I am either coming in to sit down or getting up to leave.

I would like the tablet control though for combining lots of other things with my HT besides just changing the media but also turning on/off lights, other home automation, etc.

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#22
(2012-09-21, 12:25)uchenzei Wrote:
(2012-09-20, 23:09)artrafael Wrote: Having to walk up to the TV so I can use the tablet to control XBMC that's running on it is not user-friendly to me. I'd rather stay on the couch (or from the backyard as Dougie Fresh does) and use a remote control (be it standard remote or a remote app). Does your tablet have the horsepower (and ports to connect to a TV and amp) to playback HD/BluRay video and audio? Are you going to be able to hang external hard drives off of it for your media storage? Or let's say you're going to access your media from a file server instead. Will the WiFi on the tablet have the bandwidth and reliability to handle HD/BluRay? Or does your tablet have an Ethernet port for reliable, high-speed network streaming? In terms of aesthetics, I'd rather have an attractive HTPC case sitting amid other A/V components with the cables hidden in the back than a tablet sitting atop a shelf (has to be left out in the open to access the touchscreen) with a spider web of cables coming out it on all sides.

A tablet would be great as a mobile XBMC device to be enjoyed when not sitting in front of the HTPC/TV, but I don't see as an attractive option for a primary HTPC. I think a more ideal setup is to have a full-fledge HTPC with a tablet that can be used as remote in one setting and as a client in another. However, to each his/her own.

I agree most of your points.
I don't own any tablets, so I could not be sure about the answers to your right questions, but onestly I feel the same doubts and that's why at the moment I do still have a normal HTPC in an attractive case and that's why I still cannot leave it for another solution.

BUT, since HTPC to me not only means Video but also Audio (not to mention photos which luckily do not interest me), this setup becomes more and more unconfortable.

I am sure that the ideal setup would be an attractive HTPC connected to either TV and stereo and featuring its own touch screen for the user interface. On the touch screen (primary screen?) would only run the user interface while on the TV (secondary screen?) would run the video streams. Obviously normal remotes must still be supported.
Do anything like this already exist?



(2012-09-21, 10:07)T800 Wrote: Keep wifi always on.
Control HTPC via Harmony remote and tablet.
The tablet is a remote and a client. Control via tablet or watch/listen via tablet.
If you want music via main HTPC and no TV select your "Audio only" button on Harmony. TV back on press "Audio/Video" button. Control via Harmony or tablet.

Having a tablet as both will be awkward and fiddly, hardly an ultimate HTPC.

After using a Harmony for 6 years now I don't tend to see the TV/amp/HTPC as separate devices anymore. "XBMC" on the remote turns on all necessary equipment and I control via remote, tablet, phone, Vox Commando, laptop, bluetooth kitchen sink....whatever can communicate and is the most convenient device at the time.

Sorry I miss something. Let's suppose you want to listen to a playlist, could you explain the exact sequence of actions you are required to do with your setup for choosing the playlist and play it?

Press 'XBMC' on remote. TV, HTPC and amp turn on.
Navigate to playlist and select with remote (via TV screen).
Press 'Audio only' button, TV goes off.
All music controls still work on the remote.

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#23
(2012-09-21, 21:59)Dougie Fresh Wrote:
(2012-09-21, 17:46)bluray Wrote:
(2012-09-21, 10:07)T800 Wrote: Control HTPC via Harmony remote and tablet.
I'm the opposite. I sold my Harmony remotes last year after using it for so many years. I miss the other remotes.

I'm old school, and I preferred to have a remote control for each device......it looks cool on my coffee table too....

Image

I have to agree with bluray here if maybe for a different reason. I don't like the feel of the Harmony remote. It's too top heavy. I also have to bend my fingers funny to use the touch LCD. So, I've gone back to using my original Microsoft WMC remote -- which can turn on/off the TV, turn the volume on the AVR up/down and control my HTPC. That's really all I need from the couch. I've got everything setup on one input through the AVR and TV so there's none of that. So, the only remote I use 99% of the time is the WMC remote and other than that I just have to go over and turn on/off the AVR which is no big deal since I am either coming in to sit down or getting up to leave.

I would like the tablet control though for combining lots of other things with my HT besides just changing the media but also turning on/off lights, other home automation, etc.

I also use mine with a projector, projector screen, blackout blind, heating and lights. It's not perfect but theres no way I could go back.
My mission when I did my set up was complete remote and automation.
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#24
(2012-09-21, 21:59)uchenzei Wrote:
(2012-09-21, 20:16)artrafael Wrote: Wait a minute, you poo-pooed my previous suggestion to use a tablet as an XBMC remote control but now you're saying "wow" to this... a remote control app for XBMC running on an Android tablet Huh

Maybe I'm wrong, but that doesn't seem to me the same thing.
Using a tablet or smartphone as a remote through the lan (wired or not) is not for me. I already tried this setup with a small Nokia internet tablet. It is not for me because the chain

- turn tablet on and wait for boot
- connect it to the lan
- start remote app
- hope not to meet one of those very frequent software bug or inconsistencies

is definitely unconfortable.
The device in the video seems to me more like an external touchscreen monitor, which don't need to boot, don't need to connect to lan. It's just operating as soon as the htpc starts, because it is a part of it. At least this is what it seems to be, I am exploring more on the net though.

ps: i didn't poo-pooed your suggestion, instead I appreciated it Smile




You do realize than connecting to the WLAN network takes 1-2 seconds on a modern tablet (iOS or Android) ? And why would you turn it off, when modern tablets can stay even up to 48 hours (2 days) on the battery, sitting in idle waiting to be unlocked...
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#25
(2012-09-21, 22:19)GreenEyez Wrote:
(2012-09-21, 21:59)uchenzei Wrote:
(2012-09-21, 20:16)artrafael Wrote: Wait a minute, you poo-pooed my previous suggestion to use a tablet as an XBMC remote control but now you're saying "wow" to this... a remote control app for XBMC running on an Android tablet Huh

Maybe I'm wrong, but that doesn't seem to me the same thing.
Using a tablet or smartphone as a remote through the lan (wired or not) is not for me. I already tried this setup with a small Nokia internet tablet. It is not for me because the chain

- turn tablet on and wait for boot
- connect it to the lan
- start remote app
- hope not to meet one of those very frequent software bug or inconsistencies

is definitely unconfortable.
The device in the video seems to me more like an external touchscreen monitor, which don't need to boot, don't need to connect to lan. It's just operating as soon as the htpc starts, because it is a part of it. At least this is what it seems to be, I am exploring more on the net though.

ps: i didn't poo-pooed your suggestion, instead I appreciated it Smile




You do realize than connecting to the WLAN network takes 1-2 seconds on a modern tablet (iOS or Android) ? And why would you turn it off, when modern tablets can stay even up to 48 hours (2 days) on the battery, sitting in idle waiting to be unlocked...

Yes I'm exploring now the possibilities of a tablet as a remote. I have to say anyway that as a general rule I think that "the more devices you introduce the more the complexity raise up". I've been enough into technology for feeling this totally true and now what I'm looking for are easy things, low complexity and high and quick usability.
At a first glimpse, that Yatse seems interesting


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