[zim2dive]

in the discussion about the AirRemote, it struck me that it was an awfully expensive solution.. and got me thinking about what it would take to make an iPhone based remote controller (given that the iPhone lacks IR).. which led me to find the Zephir($50) and iTrans(99 Euro) (used by iRed)..

http://www.thezephir.com/ZephIR/Home.html


Also had been thinking about how to write a controller... connect to port X, open socket Y.. and realized the simple way is to use what is already there... ie. a web browser on the device connecting to a cgi-script on the Mac. Took me a few hours of fumbling around in AppleScript (what a truly wacked language) and perl (comfort zone) to crank out a functioning (if not so pretty) iTunes remote that shows the track currently playing and its artwork. Next step I think would be to convert to AJAX for a persistent connection (or so I understand it works.. its a good excuse for learning something new at any rate)..


Anyway, what was purely a hypothetical set of thoughts has turned into something that could be fun to play with (at much less cost than the seeming commercial offerings such as iRed which uses the much more expensive iTrans or airRemote).. was wondering if anyone had actually used the Zephir.. thought I might pick one up and play with it. It supports AppleScript (will age me 10 years I fear) so its definitely Mac-friendly.

 

[m021478]

I own a ZephirIR and have been using it with my EyetTV for about a year, and it works great! It was recommended to me by Elgato (the company that makes EyeTV) to use in conjunction with EyeTV if I wanted to be able to change channels and schedule recordings using EyeTV to control my cablebox...


Check out the elgato forums for tons of info and fellow users of the ZephirIR device by searching the Elgato EyeTV forums...


Hope this helps!