2008-09-29, 21:16
Download the latest version => 0.4.7
Something I've wanted for a long time is a easy to use and compact remote controller for XBMC. I have XBMC running on my xbox and don't want to have to have the TV on all the time. The web interfaces are nice, but not as intuitive as I'd like them to be be. Also, I don't want to have a browser opened all the time. So the ideal application from my perspective would run in the system tray and would give effortless feedback about what's going on in XBMC without it taking up to much of my time and too much space on my Windows desktop.
I'm learning C++ and (I'm a PHP programmer) and to get to know the concept of writing non-web based applications a bit faster (aside of learning C++) I decided to start writing a remote controller for Windows in C#.
To be able to eliminate fundamental errors early it would be nice if you'd help testing. I think the app can already be of use (a little bit)
To be completely clear: THIS APPLICATION IS FAR FROM FEATURE COMPLETE AND CONTAINS BUGS!
Screenshots
XBMControl (Clicking the "Artist - Song") label shows the song details
Media Browser (Artist library in screenshot)
Configuration form
System tray and application context menu
Now Playing info
System tray volume control (middle mouse click)
Requirements
* Windows 2000/XP/Vista/2003 Server
* Download and install the required Microsoft .NET Framework Version 3.5, if not already installed.
Changelog
[0.4.2] - 06-10-2008
* Fixed a couple of bugs in the Media Browser
* Fixed error when running XBMControl at Windows startup
* Improved 'connected/disconnected' handling (still far from perfect)
[0.4.1] - 06-10-2008
* Completely revised the XBMC communication layer.
* Added basic database support
* Added playlist button
* (almost) Completely fixed playlist window losing focus
* Added "run at windows startup" feature again
[0.3.8] - 23-10-2008
* Again a lot of small improvements
* Added features to the media browser and playlist
* A bit better 'connection lost' handling
* Fixed problem with writing to log file on Vista (permissions problem)
[0.3.6] - 16-10-2008
* Added very basic playlist form and Media Browser (will be more feature-rich soon, application will crash when not connected to XBMC!!)
* Extended the XBMCcommunicator class with some file and playlist functionality
[0.3.5] - 11-10-2008
* Again many stability improvements
* Fixed Party Mode. Working now. ("P")
* Made the system tray volume control function better (middle mouse button on system tray icon)
* Made Last.FM Love/Hate buttons only available when user name and password are configured in XBMC
* Fixed now playing info not clearing when playback stops
* Fixed crash when sending media url to XBMC
* Partially fixed crashes when not able to connect to XBMC
* Improved the way XBMControl handles not being able to connect to XBMC due to missing or invalid ip.
* Made starting the application start minimized optional (configuration)
[0.3.4] - 11-10-2008
* Please ignore the "Show now playing window" option in configuration
* Major stability improvements
* Speed improvements
* Added Last.FM Love/Hate support (red and dark gray hearts)
* Added support for credentials !! NOT TESTED YET !!
* Added 'toggle repeat', 'toggle shuffle' and 'toggle party mode' buttons ("R" "S" "P") !! NOT TESTED YET !!
* Added mute button to system tray volume control (middle mouse button)
* Extended the XBMCcommunicator class with a lot of new functions
* Clicking the "Media type image" when playing audio opens the last.FM page related to the currently playing artist
* Made the cover art popup realizable
* Fixed volume being set to 0 without user interaction
* Somehow two new bugs came up. Screenshots don't seem to be working anymore with the latest non-svn build (Beta 2) and there is a problem with sending media url's to XBMC. Will be fixed soon!
[0.3.1a] - 06-10-2008
* Fixed some stability and performance issues
* Modified the XBMCcommunicator class (more functionality)
[0.3.1] - 06-10-2008
* Better information grabbing from XBMC (more efficient)
* Extended XBMCcommunicator class
* Fixed problems with XBMControl when it couldn't connect to XBMC
[0.3.0] - 04-10-2008
* Spent some time making XBMContol look nicer and at the same time provide the information in a less chaotic way. WIP!
* Added some methods to the XBMCcommunicator class to easily obtain mute-status, playing-status, pause-status and a method to get the current screen on XBMC in a screenshot.
* Some additional small fixes
[0.2.8] - 02-10-2008
* Added 'Show screenshot' option to the XBMC context menu
* Extended the XBMCcommunicator class with a method to download the cover art of the currently playing media.
* Added extra volume control option (click middle mouse on system tray icon)
* Changed scaling method from 'font' to 'dpi', hoping this will solve some scaling issues (haven't been able to test yet).
* Fixed some typos
* Added configuration option to tweak the connection timeout variable. Lower is better. If you're getting messages like 'Unable to connect to XBMC' randomly, this settings value is to low.
* Single clicking the system tray icon shows the now playing balloon tip, double clicking opens or hides XBMControl, middle mouse (scrollwheel) clicking show the volume control and right clicking opens the context menu.
[0.2.7b] - 02-10-2008
* Added full size image/cover art view (click thumbnail)
[0.2.7a] - 01-10-2008
* Overall stability and speed improvements
* Language system improved
* Even less network and XBMC host load
* Added restart/reboot/shutdown options (context menu)
* Added 'Run at Windows start up' option (configuration)
* Added French language (thank you kraxdaz!)
* More song info in 'Now playing' balloon tips
[0.2.6] - 01-10-2008
* Added language support. Add your own by copying "$PROGRAMFILES/XBMControl/language/english.xml". Name it to your language and edit the copy with your favorite text editor. Please email translation to me!
* Created basis NSIS installer. Uninstaller option added, shortcuts in start menu and on desktop. Adding shortcuts can't be disabled yet. This will be possible in the future.
* Overall code cleanup.
* Replaced Xbox icon with XBMC icon.
* Did some tweaking to minimize network activity and XBMC load by the built in web server.
* Changed context menu layout a bit.
TODO
* Save/load/create playlists
* Layout for video and image slideshow playing
Known Bugs
* XBMC screenshots not working a.t.m. (most likely a bug in XBMC)
* Unwanted behavior when XBMC connection is lost.
Download
[23-06-2009] v0.4.7 -> Download
[07-11-2008] v0.4.2a -> Download (Increase connection timeout, in configuration, to 3000 ms)
[06-11-2008] v0.4.2 -> Download
[06-11-2008] v0.4.1 -> Download
[23-10-2008] v0.3.8 -> Download
[19-10-2008] v0.3.7a -> Download
[16-10-2008] v0.3.6 -> Download
[11-10-2008] v0.3.5 -> Download
[11-10-2008] v0.3.4 -> Download
[06-10-2008] v0.3.1a -> Download
[06-10-2008] v0.3.1 -> Download
[04-10-2008] v0.3.0a -> Download
[04-10-2008] v0.3.0 -> Download
[02-10-2008] v0.2.8 -> Download
[02-10-2008] v0.2.7b -> Download
[01-10-2008] v0.2.7a -> Download
[01-10-2008] v0.2.6b -> Download
* The source code is available at google code (svn)
Something I've wanted for a long time is a easy to use and compact remote controller for XBMC. I have XBMC running on my xbox and don't want to have to have the TV on all the time. The web interfaces are nice, but not as intuitive as I'd like them to be be. Also, I don't want to have a browser opened all the time. So the ideal application from my perspective would run in the system tray and would give effortless feedback about what's going on in XBMC without it taking up to much of my time and too much space on my Windows desktop.
I'm learning C++ and (I'm a PHP programmer) and to get to know the concept of writing non-web based applications a bit faster (aside of learning C++) I decided to start writing a remote controller for Windows in C#.
To be able to eliminate fundamental errors early it would be nice if you'd help testing. I think the app can already be of use (a little bit)
To be completely clear: THIS APPLICATION IS FAR FROM FEATURE COMPLETE AND CONTAINS BUGS!
Screenshots
XBMControl (Clicking the "Artist - Song") label shows the song details
Media Browser (Artist library in screenshot)
Configuration form
System tray and application context menu
Now Playing info
System tray volume control (middle mouse click)
Requirements
* Windows 2000/XP/Vista/2003 Server
* Download and install the required Microsoft .NET Framework Version 3.5, if not already installed.
Changelog
[0.4.2] - 06-10-2008
* Fixed a couple of bugs in the Media Browser
* Fixed error when running XBMControl at Windows startup
* Improved 'connected/disconnected' handling (still far from perfect)
[0.4.1] - 06-10-2008
* Completely revised the XBMC communication layer.
* Added basic database support
* Added playlist button
* (almost) Completely fixed playlist window losing focus
* Added "run at windows startup" feature again
[0.3.8] - 23-10-2008
* Again a lot of small improvements
* Added features to the media browser and playlist
* A bit better 'connection lost' handling
* Fixed problem with writing to log file on Vista (permissions problem)
[0.3.6] - 16-10-2008
* Added very basic playlist form and Media Browser (will be more feature-rich soon, application will crash when not connected to XBMC!!)
* Extended the XBMCcommunicator class with some file and playlist functionality
[0.3.5] - 11-10-2008
* Again many stability improvements
* Fixed Party Mode. Working now. ("P")
* Made the system tray volume control function better (middle mouse button on system tray icon)
* Made Last.FM Love/Hate buttons only available when user name and password are configured in XBMC
* Fixed now playing info not clearing when playback stops
* Fixed crash when sending media url to XBMC
* Partially fixed crashes when not able to connect to XBMC
* Improved the way XBMControl handles not being able to connect to XBMC due to missing or invalid ip.
* Made starting the application start minimized optional (configuration)
[0.3.4] - 11-10-2008
* Please ignore the "Show now playing window" option in configuration
* Major stability improvements
* Speed improvements
* Added Last.FM Love/Hate support (red and dark gray hearts)
* Added support for credentials !! NOT TESTED YET !!
* Added 'toggle repeat', 'toggle shuffle' and 'toggle party mode' buttons ("R" "S" "P") !! NOT TESTED YET !!
* Added mute button to system tray volume control (middle mouse button)
* Extended the XBMCcommunicator class with a lot of new functions
* Clicking the "Media type image" when playing audio opens the last.FM page related to the currently playing artist
* Made the cover art popup realizable
* Fixed volume being set to 0 without user interaction
* Somehow two new bugs came up. Screenshots don't seem to be working anymore with the latest non-svn build (Beta 2) and there is a problem with sending media url's to XBMC. Will be fixed soon!
[0.3.1a] - 06-10-2008
* Fixed some stability and performance issues
* Modified the XBMCcommunicator class (more functionality)
[0.3.1] - 06-10-2008
* Better information grabbing from XBMC (more efficient)
* Extended XBMCcommunicator class
* Fixed problems with XBMControl when it couldn't connect to XBMC
[0.3.0] - 04-10-2008
* Spent some time making XBMContol look nicer and at the same time provide the information in a less chaotic way. WIP!
* Added some methods to the XBMCcommunicator class to easily obtain mute-status, playing-status, pause-status and a method to get the current screen on XBMC in a screenshot.
* Some additional small fixes
[0.2.8] - 02-10-2008
* Added 'Show screenshot' option to the XBMC context menu
* Extended the XBMCcommunicator class with a method to download the cover art of the currently playing media.
* Added extra volume control option (click middle mouse on system tray icon)
* Changed scaling method from 'font' to 'dpi', hoping this will solve some scaling issues (haven't been able to test yet).
* Fixed some typos
* Added configuration option to tweak the connection timeout variable. Lower is better. If you're getting messages like 'Unable to connect to XBMC' randomly, this settings value is to low.
* Single clicking the system tray icon shows the now playing balloon tip, double clicking opens or hides XBMControl, middle mouse (scrollwheel) clicking show the volume control and right clicking opens the context menu.
[0.2.7b] - 02-10-2008
* Added full size image/cover art view (click thumbnail)
[0.2.7a] - 01-10-2008
* Overall stability and speed improvements
* Language system improved
* Even less network and XBMC host load
* Added restart/reboot/shutdown options (context menu)
* Added 'Run at Windows start up' option (configuration)
* Added French language (thank you kraxdaz!)
* More song info in 'Now playing' balloon tips
[0.2.6] - 01-10-2008
* Added language support. Add your own by copying "$PROGRAMFILES/XBMControl/language/english.xml". Name it to your language and edit the copy with your favorite text editor. Please email translation to me!
* Created basis NSIS installer. Uninstaller option added, shortcuts in start menu and on desktop. Adding shortcuts can't be disabled yet. This will be possible in the future.
* Overall code cleanup.
* Replaced Xbox icon with XBMC icon.
* Did some tweaking to minimize network activity and XBMC load by the built in web server.
* Changed context menu layout a bit.
TODO
* Save/load/create playlists
* Layout for video and image slideshow playing
Known Bugs
* XBMC screenshots not working a.t.m. (most likely a bug in XBMC)
* Unwanted behavior when XBMC connection is lost.
Download
[23-06-2009] v0.4.7 -> Download
[07-11-2008] v0.4.2a -> Download (Increase connection timeout, in configuration, to 3000 ms)
[06-11-2008] v0.4.2 -> Download
[06-11-2008] v0.4.1 -> Download
[23-10-2008] v0.3.8 -> Download
[19-10-2008] v0.3.7a -> Download
[16-10-2008] v0.3.6 -> Download
[11-10-2008] v0.3.5 -> Download
[11-10-2008] v0.3.4 -> Download
[06-10-2008] v0.3.1a -> Download
[06-10-2008] v0.3.1 -> Download
[04-10-2008] v0.3.0a -> Download
[04-10-2008] v0.3.0 -> Download
[02-10-2008] v0.2.8 -> Download
[02-10-2008] v0.2.7b -> Download
[01-10-2008] v0.2.7a -> Download
[01-10-2008] v0.2.6b -> Download
* The source code is available at google code (svn)