Re: Re: Media Servers

["Andy Laurence" <andy@xxxxxxx>]

From: "Bruno Prior" <bruno@xxxxxxx>
> Andy Laurence wrote:
>  > I have a couple of points to raise about this.  Firstl= y, how would
>  > you control these boxes?  A simple UI is key to a good= system.
>
> There is a big difference between the UI required for a machine design= ed
> to be controlled from directly in front on a flat surface, and one
> designed to be controlled from a distance. From my experience, I would=
> say it is hopeless trying to build a UI interface for remote operation=
> that still relies on use of a pointer. Having bigger fonts and buttons=
> is not the solution. I have never come across a pointing device that i= s
> really practical if you are not sitting at a desk. You need the
> interface to be controllable by button presses on a remote control, > possibly allowing for additional use of keyboard where text is require= d.

I'd agree entirely.

> I would have thought that it should be possible to configure something=
> like lirc/irexec/irpty/irxevent to control browsers like Opera that > accept a wide range of keystroke commands. Then you need to design a w= eb
> interface that is easy to navigate by a series of keystrokes.
> Alternatively, there is a perl module for lirc, so you could build a G= UI
> using perl/Tk or some other perl GUI module. But a browser interface > would be simpler. You might be able to adapt something like OEone
HomeBase.

Yeah, I'd definitely want a web interface so I can use my Fujitsu as a
remote control.  An IR remote interface would be nice for those moment= s when
the Fujitsu is just too much to use - it is rather large.

> Come to think of it, Misterhouse can be controlled via an IRMan, so yo= u
> could run a proxy copy of Misterhouse on each machine and setup your > interface through that. This would then also give you the option to us= e
> voice control, if you can setup a microphone that can pick up your voi= ce
> from anywhere in the room regardless of other sounds (such as music or=
> video). Of course, I have no idea about the details that would be
> involved to do any of this. ;-)

Getting a bit too complex now.  KISS ;-)

>  > Secondly, you'll need a pretty hot machine for each source = to encode
>  > on the fly.  Not only will this cost a few quid, but i= t'll eat
>  > electricity.  You will have 250w used by each encoder,= plus at least
>  > 100w for each display device.  For 5 TVs and 4 inputs,= that's 1.5kW
>  > constantly in use.  Off peak for me is about 4p/kwh, s= o that's
>  > 6p/hour all the time, or about =A3525 a year.  Bear in= mind that's at
>  > an off-peak rate...
>
> It seems to me that you only need a "pretty hot machine" for= games. For
> anything else, a bog standard machine would do. Yes, software MPEG
> encoding would need a more powerful machine, but you could avoid that<= BR> > with a hardware MPEG card.

True, I'd not thought of that.  A hardware MPEG card would reduce the<= BR> processing power required, but that's the cost of a hardware MPEG card, and=
a machine to put it in for each input device.  That's a lot more power=
consumption than a (number of) switching device (s) controlled by a PC, and=
more costly, I expect.  Infinitely cooler though ;-)

> But assuming one would go for a more powerful machine for the gaming > capability, one can envisage ways of controlling it so it is not alway= s
> on. Most motherboards and networks support Wake-on-LAN nowadays. A
> multimedia network would almost certainly have at least one always-on<= BR> > server. If that server runs home automation software and you have a PI= R
> in each room where you have a computer, the server can be configured t= o
> send a Wake-on-LAN signal to the appropriate computer whenever it
> receives an occupancy signal from the PIR.

A good solution, but IME, you can't boot a PC in much under a minute, and IME, that won't get SWMBO approval :-/

> Turning the machine on when someone enters a room should be relatively=
> straightforward. Given the inadequacies of PIRs for monitoring
> occupancy, turning the machine off when someone leaves may be a little=
> more complex. If it is impractical to use a PIR to detect when a room = is
> emptied, it may be necessary to rely on a manual system. Perhaps a
> switch at each room exit which can send an X-10 or C-Bus or whatever > code that triggers (a) all lights off, and (b) computer and other
> controlled hardware shutdown. The actual mechanism to shutdown the
> computer would be relatively simple on a linux-based network. It might=
> be more difficult using Windows.

How about an appliance module for turning it off ;-)

> Does this sound practical?

It sounds like a number of good ideas, but way too much to set it up, and probably more expensive.  I'd suspect it's an option for some people, = but
not one that I'd take.  I've yet to be moved from the ideas that have = been
swimming in my head for a year or so (documented at
http://ha.andylaurence.co.uk).

Cheers,
Andy (stubborn)

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