Let's Have Some Fun With This
- Thread starter Batman
- Start date
:laughing-lettersrofl: Soooo 3.5 years later....5 generations of iPads later....
Red Eye, as far as I know, has gone out of business. iRule coupled with global cache SUX.... And pretty much everything that works that is on the market requires dropping substantial $ on equipment and also with a programmer. In the meantime, URC has produced a fairly affordable network based iOS controller. And an employee at one of my URC distributors is pretty damn adept with URC CC (Complete Control) software. Although URC has since put out an MRX-2, sometime ago I purchased an MRX-1 with the license code card. Once the code is activated, you can program unlimited idevices to talk to the MRX-1. While I only paid roughly half, list price for the URC "MRX" network controller and card come in around $600, the URC Complete Control app is free. Dave (the programmer) and I finally managed to make some progress and I'm now controlling all the equipment in the Batcave including lighting, anamorphic lens and masking system and I can even open & close the secret entrance. We also added activity macros and "all off" commands to my iPhone so I can prep the theater with a selected activity before heading down to the theater. It's fairly customizable with options to change the background with all sorts of photos and add custom buttons. Tweaks and adjustments will be made and I'm gonna create a channel list and add a page so I can change channels with the touch of a button complete with channel/network logos. The only thing some people may miss is the exclusion of "hard" buttons for volume, channel up/down, etc, as those are all on the touch screen, but they are usually in a "fixed" position on the screen. Here are some screen shots of the current end results. The last two pics are the iPhone screens.
Red Eye, as far as I know, has gone out of business. iRule coupled with global cache SUX.... And pretty much everything that works that is on the market requires dropping substantial $ on equipment and also with a programmer. In the meantime, URC has produced a fairly affordable network based iOS controller. And an employee at one of my URC distributors is pretty damn adept with URC CC (Complete Control) software. Although URC has since put out an MRX-2, sometime ago I purchased an MRX-1 with the license code card. Once the code is activated, you can program unlimited idevices to talk to the MRX-1. While I only paid roughly half, list price for the URC "MRX" network controller and card come in around $600, the URC Complete Control app is free. Dave (the programmer) and I finally managed to make some progress and I'm now controlling all the equipment in the Batcave including lighting, anamorphic lens and masking system and I can even open & close the secret entrance. We also added activity macros and "all off" commands to my iPhone so I can prep the theater with a selected activity before heading down to the theater. It's fairly customizable with options to change the background with all sorts of photos and add custom buttons. Tweaks and adjustments will be made and I'm gonna create a channel list and add a page so I can change channels with the touch of a button complete with channel/network logos. The only thing some people may miss is the exclusion of "hard" buttons for volume, channel up/down, etc, as those are all on the touch screen, but they are usually in a "fixed" position on the screen. Here are some screen shots of the current end results. The last two pics are the iPhone screens.
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Bats,
That goes WAY beyond cool!
You've also just tweaked an interest that I never knew I had. You see Gen bought herself (and by extension me) an iPad Air 2 for Xmas, and as I'm typing this response on it I've only just become aware of this sort of application. And that raises the question...
Without having to read the previous posts in this thread about technology and companies that might not still exist, what is the current best way to turn this tablet into a competent but very affordable universal remote control?
Yours may be the best (at least judging by your post and screen grabs) but what's also the cheapest and easiest (ie no real programming skills required) way to go?
Sure I could research the heck out of this, but I'd rather start with yours and Forum members' experience-based opinions.
Jeff
That goes WAY beyond cool!
You've also just tweaked an interest that I never knew I had. You see Gen bought herself (and by extension me) an iPad Air 2 for Xmas, and as I'm typing this response on it I've only just become aware of this sort of application. And that raises the question...
Without having to read the previous posts in this thread about technology and companies that might not still exist, what is the current best way to turn this tablet into a competent but very affordable universal remote control?
Yours may be the best (at least judging by your post and screen grabs) but what's also the cheapest and easiest (ie no real programming skills required) way to go?
Sure I could research the heck out of this, but I'd rather start with yours and Forum members' experience-based opinions.
Jeff
I'm not being a smart ass. I recommend you read through the thread...otherwise myself and others would be typing several things over again. Long story short, it only looks simple and is simple in practice/use, while the actual programming behind the scenes is very complex. I have yet to see any product or app worth owning and using that fits this statement "no real programming skills required". You either devote a lot of time learning the software and all the intricate methods and terminology or you pay someone to do it. I think T7 and Yromj would echo that sentiment almost exactly....I'm sure they'll chime in. I can help you save some $ on the physical URC items if you decide you want to pursue this further and use the URC controller.JeffMackwood said:
yromj
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I echo that sentiment. Jeff, with your engineering background you've undoubtedly done some programming, so you could learn it. The devilish details for this software are things like the text on the buttons, the buttons arranged in the most logical way for you, etc. URC has pretty good templates but they can do some goofy crap once in a while. I've seen them put things that should be related to each other on entirely different screens for example.
The software is really meant for people who do it fairly consistently because the first time you create a device, say a JVC projector, it can be a PITA. However, the next time you need to use a JVC projector on a project, you just import it and you're done.
Once you get the devices made, you then have a "bucket" of commands (think of having all of your remotes in a box) and you simply write macros using those commands. You can also mix and match commands from devices. For example, Bats has a "lights off" button on the bottom right of his Dish screen. He doesn't have to change devices to access that command. I have commands for my lights and a fan on my Dish screen.
After saying all that, I'll give you the two main bullet points:
* You can tweak the remote to your heart's content to make it do exactly what you want it do; but it does take some time.
* As much as you like to tweak, you should probably start figuring out how to get your hands on the software.
John
The software is really meant for people who do it fairly consistently because the first time you create a device, say a JVC projector, it can be a PITA. However, the next time you need to use a JVC projector on a project, you just import it and you're done.
Once you get the devices made, you then have a "bucket" of commands (think of having all of your remotes in a box) and you simply write macros using those commands. You can also mix and match commands from devices. For example, Bats has a "lights off" button on the bottom right of his Dish screen. He doesn't have to change devices to access that command. I have commands for my lights and a fan on my Dish screen.
After saying all that, I'll give you the two main bullet points:
* You can tweak the remote to your heart's content to make it do exactly what you want it do; but it does take some time.
* As much as you like to tweak, you should probably start figuring out how to get your hands on the software.
John
yromj
Well-Known Member
Bats,
That looks great! I definitely like the iPad better than the MX3000 you had. The MX3000 had most of the disadvantages of a tablet, like needing two hands, etc. but nowhere near the same size screen. This sometimes meant the buttons on the 3000 got small and hard to hit.
I'm still in the "wand for the theater" camp but for the rest of the house this is where I'm headed. I love the idea of having an easy way to browse media, etc. and then select it to play it. Combine that with the setup macros and other possibilities like lighting, HVAC, shades, etc. and this is going to be some cool stuff.
Just out of curiosity, how are you controlling the lights? Do you have an IR blaster hitting your Lutron controller? How many devices are you controlling w/ IP commands, if any?
I really want to play w/ this in the near future.
John
That looks great! I definitely like the iPad better than the MX3000 you had. The MX3000 had most of the disadvantages of a tablet, like needing two hands, etc. but nowhere near the same size screen. This sometimes meant the buttons on the 3000 got small and hard to hit.
I'm still in the "wand for the theater" camp but for the rest of the house this is where I'm headed. I love the idea of having an easy way to browse media, etc. and then select it to play it. Combine that with the setup macros and other possibilities like lighting, HVAC, shades, etc. and this is going to be some cool stuff.
Just out of curiosity, how are you controlling the lights? Do you have an IR blaster hitting your Lutron controller? How many devices are you controlling w/ IP commands, if any?
I really want to play w/ this in the near future.
John
Yeah it's all IR except the door. Things are temporary at the moment because I did not have a chance to pull long mono extension cables for the Lutron grafik eye and JVC, so the controller is centralized in the room temporarily to allow all the emitters to reach everything. No IP controls. Really, using the words "network controller" is misleading since the MRX-1 only accepts commands over the network and converts them to IR...there aren't any cat5 interconnects between the MRX-1 and any components. When the controller is placed in the rack, I'll use mono 3.5mm cables to connect it to the preamp,and daisy chain that to the BD player.
I haven't looked into it even a little bit since CEDIA when I first got excited about this but IMO, Crestron had the best solution that came at a premium. They had a few different network based controllers, an app, and a sleeve for the iPad with several fixed hard keys. I don't have access to Crestron and I was not willing to pay that kind of $ anyway.
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yromj
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I forgot that the MRX-1 is IP in and IR out (whereas the other Complete Control products are RF in and IR out). Does your JVC have a remote input? Jacks for remote input on devices make things MUCH easier since you don't have to locate the eye and then worry about the blaster falling off. Also, you don't have the look of the blaster stuck to the front of the device.
John
John