iPhone/iPod Touch Remote Apps - Page 5

I use Rowmote Pro with great success.

here's an alternative IR iphone itouch remote control http://totalcontrolapp.com

Thread over here (with pics):
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1213647

where's the FAIL part exactly? i know plenty of remote control solutions for much more than this. obviously you haven't even gone to the website to see what you are making an opinion on.

your $50 hardware is a dongle based solution which is sorely limited and is like comparing apples and oranges. totally different methods, markets, etc. you can see the benefits on the link to the website.

and for similar hardware based solutions you can start with a full IR dbase built in which is a licensed cost. those other solutions are typically blank. you have to learn everything which is not an optimal solution.

those 'guys' have no IR dbase. you have to manually learn everything in. that is one difference off the bat which is why i listed before you even went down that road.

it only does IR. the hardware we use has among other things
rs232
i/o
GPIO
onboard temperature

this makes it much more flexible than a strictly IR solution.

i am not even sure if they have emitter ports on their device; do they? or is it just a blaster.

all of the remote are being currently sold; not just pre-date iphone era. that doesn't change anything. and no not everyone thinks touchscreens are great remotes so i don't see them leaving the market anytime soon.

as far as dongle based solutions this is my take
1. pita to have to add the hardware every time you want to use the app
2. pita to carry the hardware around with you to use it
3. limited to IR limitations (IR angle/degrees, length of control say in feet
4. have to turn your iphone/itouch around just to use it. what if my phone rings i have to turn it around every time?
5. only IR. what if i want to open/close my garage door? what if i want the tv to switch to my front door camera input every time the door bell rings, what if i want to turn on my lighting, control my hvac, etc.
6. what if i want to remotely control things that are not in line of sight.
ie.
1. i have a rack full of a/v equipment that sits in the basement. am i going to run downstairs every time i want to change a channel on my cable box?
2. i am in my backyard having a bbq and want to change the station on my stereo, whole house audio system, etc. am i going to run back inside, put on my dongle, flip my phone around, and go to the room where the system is to point directly at it or am i going to want to do everything outside while i am having the bbq
3. i am driving home at night and have groceries in the car. i would like to open my garage door as i drive up and turn the garage and kitchen lights on now instead of fumbling for light switches while carrying bags in my hands.

look it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the differences between a dongle or even strictly IR based unit versus something like the bitwise unit which is much more flexible. i didn't write all of this before because it is nothing new and is common knowledge. it is a pita to write it again and again. i am not making this up. this is all knowledge that has come before me. we just leverage from previous experiences.

sorry let me correct myself. these guys did not license a real IR dbase from what i can see (see link i refer to and the information in it below). they merely provided an online repository for any IR codes they can find or that user's upload. this is totally different from actually licensing the real IR codes from the manufacturers. i hope that clears that part up. if you need me to explain that difference also just let me know and i will run through it too for you and anyone else who doesn't see this difference.

oh and it looks like it is just a IR blaster like i mentioned. no emitter ports at all.
"however, the RedEye does not include jacks for directly connecting IR extender cables."
from https://thinkflood.com/support/redey...s-the-ir-range

the rest still stands as is though...

from https://thinkflood.com/support/redey...release-notes/

"Online database of infrared codes. Beginning with this release, RedEye customers can download infrared codes for a wide variety of devices, including TVs, cable and satellite set-top boxes, A/V receivers, and DVD players. Because these codes are stored online, to access them your RedEye must be on a home network with a live Internet connection. Initially the database has many devices from the most popular brands, but over the next several weeks we will continue to add new codes until we have a comprehensive database including even obscure products."


also i don't typically mention this piece but since other similar products are abundant on this forum it would apply to a good number of people. the red eye unit is as far as i know not integrated within other solutions whereas the bitwise unit is. to explain:

the bitwise is supported by some popular home automation - a/v solutions. one example would be HAI. anyone with HAI and the unit from them can use the unit for their home automation functions such as opening/closing relays, lighting, hvac, outlet controls, etc. and even use timers to handle these things and when they want to do a/v control they can use our app with their existing hardware to compliment the solution.

the same would apply for say AMX, mcontrol, homeseer, etc.

so the bitwise unit can be used in multiple applications and in many different ways. it becomes more of an ecosystem product as opposed to a one off. this has been my experience so far.

syner-
if i might be so bold... you're best arguments for your product are in areas that it produces value for it's extra cost for those interested in that value...
serial support, emitter ports, and integration to other formats (ie HAI) are good examples. These features may indeed be worth the extra price to some...

However, Ted is right, the price difference is high enough for most to need a justification (was for me anyway); And I would advise not to focus on the database of IR being 'real' or not; Maybe by not licensing you could save enough to lower pricing... I found a plethora of supported devices (redeye product) and even the 'fake' IR codes seemed to work just as well as the 'real' ones...

Let's stick with arguments of fact rather than hyperbole -
there may in fact be some advantages in certified libraries (reliability etc.); but in today's world of open-source and cooperative collaboration of users, this advantage may well be a non-issue and not worth it's price; we both know identical codes will work the same...

ken
by the way - my continuing biggest issue with the redeye product is it's buggy software - something i hope future improvements will correct.

cheers...

It looks like there is another entry in the universal remote area. This app appeared in the App Store this morning and says the hardware will be shown on Apple's store by the 23rd.

They are doing the iPhone first, which is weird. Who wants to turn an expensive phone into a cheap remote? But at least the iPod Touch is on their roadmap.

engadget's report of a new ir emitter from redeye:

post

hopefully these guys will see value in expanding their offerings to android. anyhow, seems this new ir emitter addresses the upside-down inconvenience of using a bottom dongle

zut alors, indeed.

in my case, because thinkflood probably has no plans to roll out software that would work with my nexus one.

pretty nice development nonetheless.

yeah - this looks pretty attractive;

Some of the 'bugginess' in the software seems like it revolves around the WiFi communication to the base (connectivity and delay); This should be free of all that...

I'm also hopeful with the release of this, they will have a software refresh

Also, a specific gripe I have is the App doesn't stay loaded (time out to top iPhone screen); I'm guessing here, but I would imagine if this dongle is running on a Touch that problem may not exist.

I may have to pick up one these myself and use a Touch for universal;
If nothing else, it shows RedEye is a serious long play here...

ken

After the iPhone screen times out , and the iPhone screen is reactivated the app would no longer be the running app. I think I'm running the latest (but not positive); it seems to lose the Activity you are in (and even the room), so you have to reselect the room and activity. One of the frustrating bugs is that this re-selection itself is buggy because the communication to the base is required and that doesn't seem consistent...

This may be of course some communication problem I have that's unique but I doubt it; I have a dedicated WiFi network for it running under 802.11g via an airport express... but still could be the case because it pretty inconsistent right now; Once your in the Activity, it works pretty well;

I'm not sure any of this would be an issue with the dongle, since WiFi isn't used; I'll probably get one when released and can post results;

ken

edit: Just to be clear in the above description; It doesn't actually 'lose' anything; just doesn't remember where you were, so you have to re-select it, which seems to require comms to the base station; Remember in this product they store the configuration in the base station so that all remotes have the same config-layout (One of the things I like actually) - so again I think the dongle approach will eliminate this as the config must be stored on the remote (iPhone-Tounch) itself. Unless they decided to have the config on your iTunes mac which would again require WiFi back to the mac. Reading the Press Release doesn't really clarify that but I'm guessing not since they don't list a mac running iTunes as a requirement. I also like the use of the headphone jack for this solution; I will definitely be getting one of these for test and will post up what I find...

a new day, with a new engadget post about a universal remote app/dongle.

this one is interesting because despite the bottom dongle (boo), it allows home automation control. in that respect, i'm not certain how useful it is if only IR. the price (approx 80) and the availability (shipping right away from the maker or end of month from bb) sure seems to make up for it.

agreed - interesting time in hardware tech for the home. i assume that the same type of convergence evident in mobile tech will continue to be applied to home entertainment.

in the short term and until apple develops their own hd entertainment solution (combining apple tv/ipad/imac-mbp/monitors + figuring out an elegant solution to deliver hi fi audio for the home), I will continue to link the separate components on my own.

as far as controlling these components, i wonder whether these manufacturers will figure out a way to control the media applications running on people's personal computers: win media center, the apple equivalent that few people use and whose name i can't recall, xbmc, boxee, eyetv.

support for those types of apps running on my personal computer over wifi, in addition to the ir based control of other hardware - would make this kind of purchase a no brainer for me.

I realize that I could run the flpr app to control my tv and then switch to the boxee remote app to control boxee - just wish these companies would find a way to integrate it all. anyhow, nice developments.

The holy grail is a remote that can control everything - lighting, HVAC, AV, all PC and Mac applications. The reality is that it will take a lot of work to get everything together under one application.

The great thing is that some computer applications XBMC for example can be controlled from IP. This is a great way to integrate the control directly from the iPhone application. In my case, I am controlling playback from my PC but volume and video settings are in my pre/pro and video scaler. To the end user, it just looks like a cohesive interface and treats the software playback as just another device that is controlled.

The upcoming release of the iRule will include some steps toward integrating other devices such as web cams (I use a linksys web cam as a baby monitor), HTTP commands for control over XBMC directly.

there's a new Apple commercial that show an App allowing the user to turn off their lights from anywhere - Schlage Link - Wrong business model (charges a monthly fee - yuk)... But it's certainly a harbinger...

I really like the interface look of the Flpr App

by the way - it says you can download the free app, browse the database of devices to check for yours, and even setup everything without the Dongle purchase... Q&A says it's range is 30-40 feet...

So I did to check it out - really an easy setup process and love the interface;
Less flexibility than Red-Eye for setting up custom button positions and screens and rooms etc; But for something straightforward no muss no fuss, really nice...

ken

all good points.

the xbmc devs always deliver. navi-x alone keeps me using the app periodically. otherwise, boxee - with all the streaming apps - edges it out slightly. i should also return to plex - if just to see what they've been up to.

i'm still on the fence about the ipad, but if i did get one i would probably jb to use it as you noted. those are two of the main functions for my nexus: voip and remote.

thanks for testing flpr and providing feedback ken.

I think we need a forum for the iphone as a media player device. I use it that way, for videos and movies, my kid loves to watch Dora too. Some people also use it as a sling media player but that requires more hardware.

Now netflix and others are coming to the iphone, it will be too much to handle on a the single "apps" thread I think.

Anyway I just wanted to say the justin.tv app is really nice. Try it. You can watch videos and channels from around the world anytime anywhere on your iphone, it's great!

Franke46

While I too wish for such a holy grail however the issue goes back to the same problems that have plagued the HA people for years.

- X10 - Cheap, mildly robust devices, limited status communication

- Insteon - Expensive, good status communication, hardware failures left right and center.

The other two formats Zigbee and Z-Wave I will not speak to directly since neither bothered to recognize the OS X market at all (shame on them) and their prices were (still are?) even more expensive than Insteon. What I can't / won't speak to is the robustness of their devices... All I have any 1st hand experience with is my Insteon cycle of madness... AKA:

installing / programming/ failure/ removing / sending back / reinstalling / reprogramming / failure / removing / sending back /installing ...

Needless to say after the first 10 or so different switch failures my wife has demanded that we have WORKING switches in our home or there'll be hell to pay! So now I have about 14 switches left (out of 25?) and as they fail I throw out another $30 piece of junk and replace it with a non-smart $1.89 switch that 'just works'. That was a mildly expensive lesson... $1,500ish if I had to guess once you add up the software and desktop controllers and lamplinks etc.. maybe even closer to $2k.

Never again would I buy or recommend an INSTEON / SmartHome device. They stole too much money from me already. The funny thing is if you read their forums people are still having issues with their products and the response is 'we've extended the warrantee to X years so you can just send it back and get a new one ... ' but how on earth do you explain to your wife that these 4 switches are gonna get taken out cause they broke and I'll install the new ones once they come...

Oh and I can't imagine how much this woulda cost me if I hired someone to install the stuff for me...

Anyway... I'm all for the iPhone / iPod Touch AND iPAD becoming IR remotes for HT types devices. TVs, DVDs, Receivers, Cable Boxes, etc... but becoming an 'everything remote' doesn't seem to realistic given...

- My 'cry me a river' story above
- The numerous competitors and incompatibilities
- The excessive cost for all of them
- The lack of products, some might not have fan controls, others thermostat control, sprinkler control, etc, etc, etc.

It all makes for an unreliable, incomplete and expensive 'neat hobby' that anyone with a wife will have a never ending series of arguments about how this stuff just doesn't work.

I've been a HA fan for ... forever... and this sad picture I paint is pretty realistic. Normal people will ALWAYS reach under a lamp to turn it on/off... and none of the systems have even attempted to deal with that. Until they do they aren't ready for prime time. You can't expect someone to stop doing that... its been burned into our behavior since the first time we could reach the lamp.

I would love to see Apple take on this stuff... I can only imagine how well they'd design it.

Am I crazy for wondering if we're not seeing the death of IR?

Ever since I got my iPhone and iPad running a remote app (and the wife's iPhone) I get very irritated if I have to hunt for an IR remote. I'm actually beginning to wish that my TV was either A) wifi capable, or B) a completely dumb terminal with very minimal features. You know, like a monitor. LOL

I don't want to add IR on to my existing i-based remote, I just want to control everything with it via wifi.

Does anyone make a wifi-->IR extender product?

New link to iTunes that consolidates all the Remote Apps in one place:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...E2kAAABIlizWCI

ken

Thanks! I guess that Snatch is now truly gone, not surprising as it hadn't had any updates in a long time, but I wonder why Air Mouse isn't on the list?