[REQUEST] Android Remote App (1 Viewer)

[bodiroga]

Hi guys!

Some weeks ago kirky posted a link to the new Android official remote for XBMC in the iPiMP subforum and since then I have been thinking in opening this thread. Here you have a link to the kirky's post and to the official announcement in XBMC web page:

Kirky's post Number 33
Official announcement

The only thing I just want to ask is if anybody here is interested on such a type of plugin or if I am alone here. What do you think? I'm not a programmer, so I can't help coding the plugin, but I can give ideas, spanish translation, testing...

In my opinion, first we should start doing a light version of the XBMC app with just the music section of it. Am I the only one who would love to play music in their HTPC without having to turn on TV? Yes, I now that iPiMP is able do it (many thanks to Martin for his plugin, it's wonderful), but it's not as fast as a native app and the configuration (apache server...) is thorny.

How difficult would be to port the XBMC app considering that the interface could be very similar (asking for permission first to XBMC developers) and that Mediaportal is based on XBMC? Here you have the link to the Android remote google code page (the app is opensource, of course):

Google code page
Trunk

What type of plugin does this app require? The Android part and a process plugin to communicate with Mediaportal?

Any coder with same Android experience (based on Linux and Java) can tell us/me something? Is that little port from XBMC app feasible? Too much work?

Many thanks to all for reading my post and if anybody else is interested in the app please post it (that way we can "easily" attract the attention of a developer).

Best regards,

Aitor

PD: Sorry for my English.

EDIT: Reading the google code page I found that the wiki section is really interesting, although I don't understand it well: Link

 

[Johan]

Yes I would also love to see this app ported or totally reworked. A friend of mine is running XBMC and using this app and he loves it. I'm quite jealous!

 

[Dragy]

Yes it would be great on my Galaxy S

 

[DieBagger]

well there might ... eventually .., be something in the work

 

[JoeSmith]

AW: [REQUEST] Android Remote App

in my opinion there should be a mobile remote app for all kinds of devices. creating an app only for android would be nice, but a lot of people could not use it.
That app should have a solid framework to communicate to the tv-server/mp so that "only" the frontend needs to be developed for different devices.
Ipimp seems to have a pretty good foundation and that should be extended to be able to communicate to native apps on the handhelds or browsers or whatever.
MP "needs" a single foundation that all devices can talk to.

 

[Shukuyen]

Hi,

I am developing a remote app for iphones/ipod touches.
My plan is to release an alpha version of the plugin used to communicate to MediaPortal quite soon - this plugin can then be used for other kinds of devices (android ...) and is quite similar to cheezeys iPimp MPClientController plugin.

DieBagger, if I understood you correctly you are developing a remote app for Android? Maybe you want to contact me so we can talk about the server side.

 

[bodiroga]

Maybe you want to contact me so we can talk about the server side.

DieBagger, seeing that too many people are trying to build its own server (gemx, cheezey, Shukuyen, you...), in which state is the unified WebServer project that you started some months ago in the TVService subforum? Did you talk with any of them since then? A couple of days ago gems wrote that he was developing a new version of MPWebServices plugin, do you know what new features will it have?

In your opinion, the MPWebServices plugin is stable and open (meaning "configurable" here) enough to build a definitive WebServer plugin around it with a great web interface and the possibility of adding different clients (iPhone, Android, Windows,...)? Which are the advantages of developing a new process plugin (just like Shukuyen is doing) to comunicate with Mediaportal databases? Will this process plugin be more configurable? Faster? Comparing it to MPWebServices, of course. Too many question and no idea of how to code a Mediaportal plugin

If you could be able to answer to any of my questions would be great.

Thanks to all the people that answer in the thread. Best regards,

Aitor

 

[joystick]

AW: Re: [REQUEST] Android Remote App

Hi,

I am developing a remote app for iphones/ipod touches.
My plan is to release an alpha version of the plugin used to communicate to MediaPortal quite soon - this plugin can then be used for other kinds of devices (android ...) and is quite similar to cheezeys iPimp MPClientController plugin.

DieBagger, if I understood you correctly you are developing a remote app for Android? Maybe you want to contact me so we can talk about the server side.

hmm ipimp already has a remote feature.....

 

[DieBagger]

Maybe you want to contact me so we can talk about the server side.

DieBagger, seeing that too many people are trying to build its own server (gemx, cheezey, Shukuyen, you...), in which state is the unified WebServer project that you started some months ago in the TVService subforum? Did you talk with any of them since then? A couple of days ago gems wrote that he was developing a new version of MPWebServices plugin, do you know what new features will it have?

I must have missed that, to be honest while the idea of webservices as a way to interact with MediaPortal is great, the implementation of gemx was a little to basic and unstable imo. Also it seemed like he had a lot on his plate and didn't have time to improve the webservices. This is why I started to rewrite the webservices (based on the great work of gemx).

In your opinion, the MPWebServices plugin is stable and open (meaning "configurable" here) enough to build a definitive WebServer plugin around it with a great web interface and the possibility of adding different clients (iPhone, Android, Windows,...)? Which are the advantages of developing a new process plugin (just like Shukuyen is doing) to comunicate with Mediaportal databases? Will this process plugin be more configurable? Faster? Comparing it to MPWebServices, of course. Too many question and no idea of how to code a Mediaportal plugin

Webservices are great for things like getting a list of your videos/music/tv-series/..., which is where I put my focus for now. For things like emulating a remote control (where you need to send small packets fast and get a response fast), the lag produced by the webservice overhead could be a problem.

Shukuyen I contacted you via pm, we should definately talk

 

[bodiroga]

Maybe you want to contact me so we can talk about the server side.

DieBagger, seeing that too many people are trying to build its own server (gemx, cheezey, Shukuyen, you...), in which state is the unified WebServer project that you started some months ago in the TVService subforum? Did you talk with any of them since then? A couple of days ago gems wrote that he was developing a new version of MPWebServices plugin, do you know what new features will it have?

I must have missed that, to be honest while the idea of webservices as a way to interact with MediaPortal is great, the implementation of gemx was a little to basic and unstable imo. Also it seemed like he had a lot on his plate and didn't have time to improve the webservices. This is why I started to rewrite the webservices (based on the great work of gemx).

In your opinion, the MPWebServices plugin is stable and open (meaning "configurable" here) enough to build a definitive WebServer plugin around it with a great web interface and the possibility of adding different clients (iPhone, Android, Windows,...)? Which are the advantages of developing a new process plugin (just like Shukuyen is doing) to comunicate with Mediaportal databases? Will this process plugin be more configurable? Faster? Comparing it to MPWebServices, of course. Too many question and no idea of how to code a Mediaportal plugin

Webservices are great for things like getting a list of your videos/music/tv-series/..., which is where I put my focus for now. For things like emulating a remote control (where you need to send small packets fast and get a response fast), the lag produced by the webservice overhead could be a problem.

Shukuyen I contacted you via pm, we should definately talk

Many thanks for your answer DieBagger, I really appreciate your effort to make thing understandable for me

So, and going back to the topic of the thread, the best way to get a remote control as the XMBC is to write a process plugin to communicate directly to the MP Databases from the phone (iPhone, Android, WM, Symbian,...)? And another process plugin to make a better, more stable and more configurable Webserver? Right?

The Android remote that you are developing is more focused in the first or the second case? Is it a native app that communicate directly to the databases or you have to use the web browser to use it?

@Shukuyen: can you answer also to this question? Which type of plugin are you developing?

And finally, DieBagger, can the gemx's MPWebServices be extended to include a process plugin that will be used for developing native apps to iPhone or Android? Without being them webserver apps, I mean.

Thanks again for your help and sorry for the amount of questions

Regards,

Aitor