2012-01-20, 01:56
Finally got this up and running! Everyone probably already knows this can be done, but just posting to show it anyway.
Goal: Use a phone/tablet device with the iRule application to control XBMC and IR devices (TV, AV receiver etc…. In my case, the iPad 2.
My panels are setup with the appropriate logic (ie. Can't run XBMC if the AV receiver and TV aren't on etc...), and I use the one device to run everything!
Quick summary of how it works:
* Press button on iRule panel (On iPad).
- This broadcasts a UDP packet with specific payload to HTPC wireless network card
* Eventghost plugin "Broadcaster" picks up the UDP packet as an event, and fires off the matching action.
Will post my panel screenshots when I get home.
Advantages:
* You can tailor each panel with custom buttons and links per activity (XBMC, Watching Digital TV, Foxtel etc...).
* One remote to do everything. (Power on IR devices, change TV channels, and navigate through XBMC; Can also run other PC apps if you want).
Disadvantages (that I've noticed so far):
* Slight delay between pressing a button on the iPad 2, and the action being done on screen. When I say slight, i mean less than 0.2 secs. Slightly longer than the Firefly, but not an issue for me.
* Going from a standard remote with physical buttons to an iPad where you're just pressing icons on a screen might take some getting used to. With a traditional remote, you can feel around for what button you want to press, whereas on an iPad or iPhone, you'll most probably be looking at what you press. (This issue can be minimized with appropriate button placement on your iRule panel....)
* You can't use the iPad and hold it at the same time in one hand (like a traditional remote), though you can with an iPhone.
EDIT:
Another disadvantage I've discovered (and this is comparing an RF remote to utilising the iPad over wireless) is that, if for some reason your network card goes offline, loses its IP etc.., you have to get off your fat *ss, attach a mouse, and manually renew your ip. With an RF remote, you simply have a batch script to do this, and assign a button on the remote to action it in eventghost. No need to move.
I find that sometimes when the HTPC is left alone for a long time, even if it doesn't sleep/hibernate, the wireless card can simply lose it's ip and re-enabling the adaptor resolves it.
A fix is to schedule a task to check if the NIC is online, and renew/enable if not.... but I haven't done this yet.
Goal: Use a phone/tablet device with the iRule application to control XBMC and IR devices (TV, AV receiver etc…. In my case, the iPad 2.
My panels are setup with the appropriate logic (ie. Can't run XBMC if the AV receiver and TV aren't on etc...), and I use the one device to run everything!
Quick summary of how it works:
* Press button on iRule panel (On iPad).
- This broadcasts a UDP packet with specific payload to HTPC wireless network card
* Eventghost plugin "Broadcaster" picks up the UDP packet as an event, and fires off the matching action.
Will post my panel screenshots when I get home.
Advantages:
* You can tailor each panel with custom buttons and links per activity (XBMC, Watching Digital TV, Foxtel etc...).
* One remote to do everything. (Power on IR devices, change TV channels, and navigate through XBMC; Can also run other PC apps if you want).
Disadvantages (that I've noticed so far):
* Slight delay between pressing a button on the iPad 2, and the action being done on screen. When I say slight, i mean less than 0.2 secs. Slightly longer than the Firefly, but not an issue for me.
* Going from a standard remote with physical buttons to an iPad where you're just pressing icons on a screen might take some getting used to. With a traditional remote, you can feel around for what button you want to press, whereas on an iPad or iPhone, you'll most probably be looking at what you press. (This issue can be minimized with appropriate button placement on your iRule panel....)
* You can't use the iPad and hold it at the same time in one hand (like a traditional remote), though you can with an iPhone.
EDIT:
Another disadvantage I've discovered (and this is comparing an RF remote to utilising the iPad over wireless) is that, if for some reason your network card goes offline, loses its IP etc.., you have to get off your fat *ss, attach a mouse, and manually renew your ip. With an RF remote, you simply have a batch script to do this, and assign a button on the remote to action it in eventghost. No need to move.
I find that sometimes when the HTPC is left alone for a long time, even if it doesn't sleep/hibernate, the wireless card can simply lose it's ip and re-enabling the adaptor resolves it.
A fix is to schedule a task to check if the NIC is online, and renew/enable if not.... but I haven't done this yet.