Apple iPhone Web-Based Remote (1 Viewer)

[Beechus]

Started on: 2008-02-02
last update: 2008-02-02

Summary:
Apple iPhone / iPod Touch Web Based Interface

The XBMC have a web interface so that people can log access their entire library via their PC, just like a really cool remote control. Someone devloped(using lots of java) an iPhone plugin for this web-interface, which uses the iPhones nice interface to control XBMC over wifi!

Description:

Functionality would be:
Native application for interfacing (over Wi-Fi) with HTPC(s) around your home running media portal.
Ability to browse library and start playing anything
Ability to navigate around like a standard remote control (i can imagine this being difficult)
To see what is currently playing
Stop / Pause / Resume / Control Volume
Start TV, change channels, set new recordings...

+ ability to connect remotley over EDGE / Wi-Fi to your HTPC.. HOWEVER, it would be intelligent enough to realise that it's not on the same network as the HTPC, so you would get reduced functionality, such as:
-Set new recordings
-Other suggestions?

I would love to be able to use my iPhone as a remote control for my HTPC... And with the Official iPhone SDK just around the corner.. it could be a nice new feature for MediaPoortal..

What do you guys think?

 

[The_Stig]

Damnit...that would be ultra-cool!!!

 

[Beechus]

There are two ways of implementing this feature:

1) Via a web-server on the HTPC, which has a client front end in Mobile Safari

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/devcenter/designingcontent.html
http://stepchange.typepad.com/blog/2007/07/developing-an-i.html

2) Via a web-server on the HTPC, which has a native iPhone app client front end

Not sure on what our rules are for devloping native apps with an open SDK... So if anyone is interested in devloping a native app, i'll let you google that info...

 

[wurmi]

Using a ipod touch as a mediaportal remote control would be just great.

 

[Beechus]

iPod Touch and iPhone share the exact same software.

I dont have the skills to write this software, but i would love to help and learn, so come on ppz, if you want this feature, lets get it developed!

 

[MoPhat]

Why not creating a small frontend for any smartphone/pda with wireless access?

MoPhat

 

[Beechus]

That could be done via the use of a web-server, using java... but one of the ideas here was to write a native application for the iphone. This would mean no loading time for web-pages (which is a big problem for XBMCs remote)

 

[wurmi]

Hi,

Why not creating a small frontend for any smartphone/pda with wireless access?

That would be an idea.

I tried the 2 existing "webinterfaces" for mediaportal. none of them were running smoothly. Both didn't cover the main functionalities of mediaportal (browsing your media files), they focussed (only) on tv (recording).

I think both projects aren't updated anymore for a long time. Is anyone still working at such a webapp?

 

[TranceManNZ]

You guys have read my mind. This would be a very nice idea indeed.
Look forward to seeing the result.

 

[FlyinWhee]

This is a really interesting feature I'd be interested on working on. I have no previous experience developing for MediaPortal, but I'm currently reading up on what it would imply.

I wonder if anyone from the MediaPortal could help me here, I need some info on how to make this work - what kind of info I can fetch from MediaPortal, how a plugin can control MediaPortal.

The way I see it, all I really need to work on this is a way to extract all the media info (basically read every Sqlite DB) and mostly have a "server-side" script taking in the "orders" from the websever and sending them to MediaPortal.

Anyway, I'd like to give this a shot - anyone competent with MediaPortal willing to help would be great.