Topic: NEW: WebRemote (MC15) -- Control MC with a Touch, Android, or WinMobile Device (Read 51656 times)

Matt · « **on:** March 12, 2010, 05:09:35 pm »

WebRemote is a way to control Media Center or an attached DLNA device using a web browser.

The current implementation is designed to look good on mobile devices like a Google phone, iPhone, etc. The system is template and skin based, so other designs are possible.

JRiver DLNA servers and renderers, visible in Windows Explorer > Network, will also expose WebRemote on right-click > "View device webpage".

Please see the WebRemote Instructions on our Wiki.

Matt · « **Reply #1 on:** March 12, 2010, 05:12:55 pm »

There are some known issues.

The server doesn't build thumbnails on demand. So you will need thumbnails built to see art when browsing.

When viewing from a DLNA device in Windows, the CSS is not being applied. The CSS file is available and requested. We're not sure why this is happening.

jmone · « **Reply #2 on:** March 12, 2010, 05:46:25 pm »

Looks very very good so far on my WinMo! Couple of early comments:
1) I'm not sure if it is the building thumbs but sometimes it feels kinda sluggish & the play option does not seem to work, but other times it is just ripping along and working as planned. Not much help I know but if I work out was is happening I'll descrive it better
2) Views: I'd love to see my TheaterView Views in WebRemote instead of the Std Ones. Is this something that is comming?

Nathan

Matt · « **Reply #3 on:** March 12, 2010, 06:06:58 pm »

Quote from: jmone on March 12, 2010, 05:46:25 pm

2) Views: I'd love to see my TheaterView Views in WebRemote instead of the Std Ones. Is this something that is comming?

They'll be customizable, using basically the same interface as DLNA servers and Theater View.

Matt · « **Reply #4 on:** March 12, 2010, 06:50:22 pm »

WebRemote isn't working quite right with zones.

I can use a wireless device to play to a Streamium (DLNA device) from a Media Center.

But I couldn't get the 'Playing Now' view in WebRemote to show the Streamium.

jmone · « **Reply #5 on:** March 12, 2010, 10:56:33 pm »

I could control the zones on an MC Instance fine but at one point I had to leave the Playing Now screen as it was not doing anything, back to the library, play a song, then PN was fine again.

Thanks
Nathan

JimH · « **Reply #6 on:** March 13, 2010, 10:58:20 am »

I found the easiest way to start it was to e-mail myself the link to an account I could read on my Google phone.

199.242.xxx.157:52200

Then open e-mail and click on the link.

This is still a little rough, but amazingly cool.

park · « **Reply #7 on:** March 13, 2010, 05:50:20 pm »

does the music play on the phone or on the MC computer?

jmone · « **Reply #8 on:** March 13, 2010, 06:34:16 pm »

On the MC PC - It's a RC using a web browser over a mouse/keyboard/remote

MrHaugen · « **Reply #9 on:** March 15, 2010, 04:46:17 am »

Cool. This is a good improvement. I'm looking forward to new builds here. If you document this well it might be easy for you, or other people, to make their own apps for Android and iPhones. It might be a bit better than the web based one for such small devices. Just a thought.

MrHaugen · « **Reply #10 on:** March 15, 2010, 08:23:21 am »

Ran into a possible bug.

My output was set to AISO (wich worked when not using WebRemote). I then started the WebRemote locally and played a file. No playback, MC15 got the focus, telling me AISO did not work. Set the Output to Direct Sound and everything plays fine.

This might be due to some bad setup on this test computer though...

maxxsid · « **Reply #11 on:** March 15, 2010, 02:03:57 pm »

way cool! Just what I needed. works fine via desktop browser. Will try on my nokia 5800 tnite.

maxxsid · « **Reply #12 on:** March 15, 2010, 02:37:34 pm »

Little bug:
Non-english characters are not shown correctly. At least when doing http://localhost:52200 in Firefox 3.6
The only place where they are OK is "Playing Now".
When in "View complete Playing Now playlist" I get question marks.
Anywhere in Media Library I get question marks (Albums, Artists..)

--max

JimH · « **Reply #13 on:** March 15, 2010, 04:21:48 pm »

Here's a picture of what WebRemote looks like. In the picture, I've run it in IE on a PC, just because it was easy to copy and paste. It looks great on a small device like a Google Phone or Touch.

More pictures here:
http://pix01.com/Tj@uaES

MrHaugen · « **Reply #14 on:** March 15, 2010, 05:32:01 pm »

When doing this web project, please use Opera as a test browser. I might be a bit partial because it's a Norwegian company, but it's truly the only browser that really follows the web standards

jmone · « **Reply #15 on:** March 16, 2010, 02:38:03 am »

I agree with Jim - it looks really good on my WinMo (using Opera so I get bonus points from MrHaugen)!

Funny thing is it "feels" different it's presentation, layout, navigation, and commands. For some reason I was expecting a more TheaterView paradigm.

Anyway - great work and it looks like you have a single Control Point solution regardless of the server type!

Thanks
Nathan

hit_ny · « **Reply #16 on:** March 16, 2010, 10:36:27 am »

Take Screenshots on Your Windows Mobile Device

maxxsid · « **Reply #17 on:** March 16, 2010, 01:32:36 pm »

I played a bit more with WebRemote:

-- As I mentioned before, no-english characters (unicode?) do not show-up correctly throughout the whole thing except for the Playing Now page.
-- MC15 crashes when I open Media Library | Artists (or Albums) - maybe because I have a lot of those (close to 2000). Err message - "The The exception Privileged instruction (0xc00blahblah) occured in the application at location 0x006blah
-- Tried on Dell Axim running WinMo 5 with built-in IE. Worked but layout wasn't good - a lot of empty space at the top (almost entire screen, 400 pixels or so)
-- Tried on Nokia 5800 XM. For some reason it didn't work at all. Server times out in both built-in browser and Opera. Tried both wifi and 3G connections.

I am sure it's in the works but would be nice if WR would present long lists (like Artists, Albums, Title) not as a single list (2000 items with cover art take a long time to load even on a desktop PC) but grouped by 1st letter.

Just FYI.
Thanks!
--max

lOth · « **Reply #18 on:** March 16, 2010, 02:04:41 pm »

I've been using xpTunes on my iPhone for a while and this webremote definitely looks like a tempting replacement (displays rather nicely on the iPhone, no need to run an external program that sometimes fails, etc.).

A few xpTunes things that I miss though:

_ use groupings to break down long lists but I understand it will be coming with the ability to define views for WebRemote.
_ click the artist or album in playing now to jump to those sections in the library
_ rate tracks
_ close MC, shutdown or put the computer to sleep (I realize that in xptunes those last two are dependent on running a vnc server on the host machine, but since you can also do that in the exit menu in Theater View, I'm assuming MC can do this on its own)

jmone · « **Reply #19 on:** March 17, 2010, 02:26:06 am »

Did this stop working in V.06? I can browse the library from the WebBroswer (both on my phone and from the desktop) but I can not seem to get anything to play (well I did once). It's like MC is not taking the request but is serving the Web Pages. Let me know if you want logs etc.
Thanks
Nathan

jmone · « **Reply #20 on:** March 17, 2010, 07:09:51 pm »

V .07 Testing: There seems to be a couple of ports with different behaviours:
1) http://rumpus:52200/playingnow.html --> you can play/pause etc fine but if you press STOP in PlayingNow, you can then the Play/Pause does not restart playback.
2) http://192.168.1.100:52200/playingnow.html --> you get this one if you right click --> open device webpage from Windows Explorer/Networks. This is the one where you can browse the Library but you can not play anything (MC just ignores it).

Thanks
Nathan

Matt · « **Reply #21 on:** March 17, 2010, 07:12:28 pm »

Quote from: jmone on March 17, 2010, 07:09:51 pm

2) http://192.168.1.100:52200/playingnow.html --> you get this one if you right click --> open device webpage from Windows Explorer/Networks. This is the one where you can browse the Library but you can not play anything (MC just ignores it).

This is just funneling from the DLNA server to the same code. So basically any DLNA server acts as an entry point to WebRemote.

When I access the server this way, no style sheet is used so it looks wrong. We can't figure out why.

Matt · « **Reply #22 on:** March 17, 2010, 07:36:40 pm »

Quote from: MrHaugen on March 15, 2010, 05:32:01 pm

When doing this web project, please use Opera as a test browser. I might be a bit partial because it's a Norwegian company, but it's truly the only browser that really follows the web standards

I dusted off an old WinMo 5 PocketPC when we started on this. It has the opposite of a sexy iPhone interface. You get to use a stylus for everything.

I installed Opera on it and was really impressed with how it gave slick animations and a touch-friendly interface on the older device.

Matt · « **Reply #23 on:** March 17, 2010, 08:13:15 pm »

I got a chance to play with this a bit tonight. Some testing notes:

The server will crash some time when viewing huge lists of artists or albums
At one point, it showed a different song as playing (on the DLNA renderer and remote) than what it was actually playing
At the root of Media Library, it's showing 'Audio' where it should be showing 'Playlists'
DLNA renderers show 'Opening...' forever as the playback state
When nothing is playing, it would look better if Playing Now showed a logo or some other art
Going into an item with only one child should probably keep skipping levels until it reaches a level with more than one choice
Playing Now fills the current image two different ways -- tokens and AJAX; it should only use AJAX
Play from a stopped state doesn't work (also reported above)

maxxsid · « **Reply #24 on:** March 17, 2010, 08:32:58 pm »

15.0.7
International characters - fixed. Thanks!
-- MC15 still crashes when loading Artists or Albums. I have a large library. It actually loads the complete list and crashes midway when retrieving the covers.
-- Still cannot get it to load on my Nokia 5800 XM (nither built-in nor Opera browser). Reports server time-out.
-- On Dell Axim Works OK with an ancient built-in browser but fails to load on the new Opera Mini (server time-out).
-- On Dell Axim built-in browser the layout is bad - too much wasted space at the top (first bit of information is off screen).
Just FYI.

--max

Quote from: maxxsid on March 16, 2010, 01:32:36 pm

I played a bit more with WebRemote:

-- As I mentioned before, no-english characters (unicode?) do not show-up correctly throughout the whole thing except for the Playing Now page.
-- MC15 crashes when I open Media Library | Artists (or Albums) - maybe because I have a lot of those (close to 2000). Err message - "The The exception Privileged instruction (0xc00blahblah) occured in the application at location 0x006blah
-- Tried on Dell Axim running WinMo 5 with built-in IE. Worked but layout wasn't good - a lot of empty space at the top (almost entire screen, 400 pixels or so)
-- Tried on Nokia 5800 XM. For some reason it didn't work at all. Server times out in both built-in browser and Opera. Tried both wifi and 3G connections.

I am sure it's in the works but would be nice if WR would present long lists (like Artists, Albums, Title) not as a single list (2000 items with cover art take a long time to load even on a desktop PC) but grouped by 1st letter.

Just FYI.
Thanks!
--max

maxxsid · « **Reply #25 on:** March 17, 2010, 10:45:34 pm »

Also:
Under Audio, Artists listed twice.
Under Images, Year listed twice.
Under Video, All Files (by date imported) listed twice.

Quote from: Matt on March 17, 2010, 08:13:15 pm

At the root of Media Library, it's showing 'Audio' where it should be showing 'Playlists'

MrHaugen · « **Reply #26 on:** March 18, 2010, 04:59:17 am »

Would it not be a bit better to list artists, albums and titles in a simpler list without all the cover art, or is this something that can be configured already? I would like to switch between the list styles, but I don't know what is really possible with this DLNA system.

jmone · « **Reply #27 on:** March 19, 2010, 04:47:18 am »

I really like this! Here are some screen shots from my WinMo TouchHD 480x800 screen - as you can see most look great though sometimes the thumbs don't build correctly. (thanks to hit_ny for the link to the screen capture app).

jmone · « **Reply #28 on:** March 19, 2010, 04:48:23 am »

Last one... PS - I was showing this off to my wife earlier who commented that we have had remote controls for decades.....

jmone · « **Reply #29 on:** March 19, 2010, 05:11:49 am »

Another bug - at the bottom level in Videos you can not play or add a single file (but at higher levels you can play or add whole groups just fine)

JimH · « **Reply #30 on:** March 21, 2010, 05:10:38 pm »

Quote from: jmone on March 19, 2010, 04:48:23 am

Last one... PS - I was showing this off to my wife earlier who commented that we have had remote controls for decades.....

I had to laugh when I read that. Women can be so devastatingly accurate sometimes. It's very humbling.

jmone · « **Reply #31 on:** March 22, 2010, 05:03:16 am »

Yup I had no answer....

boydn · « **Reply #32 on:** March 22, 2010, 08:30:41 am »

As I've told ya all before. I'm not real bright. Is there specific direction in the Wiki or manual? I'm missing something here.
Thanks

JimH · « **Reply #33 on:** March 22, 2010, 09:15:14 am »

Quote from: boydn on March 22, 2010, 08:30:41 am

As I've told ya all before. I'm not real bright. Is there specific direction in the Wiki or manual? I'm missing something here.
Thanks

In MC's Options, check all 4 options under "Network" for DLNA and WebRemote.

Then in a browser on your local PC, use this link:
http://localhost:52200

If that works, try it from a different PC or device. Change localhost to the IP address of MC's server or to the machine name. Here's an example:
http://firstmachine:52200

52200 is the port it's running on. Check the log in DLNA (Tree/Devices/DLNA) to see what the port is. It could be different.

boydn · « **Reply #34 on:** March 22, 2010, 05:07:27 pm »

Jim, Thanks for the help. Maybe I need to just give up and push play. Looking under Options I have 3 check boxes. Controller, Render, Server. Nothing about Network. And can't find Tree/Devices/DLNA anywhere. Thanks for trying

JimH · « **Reply #35 on:** March 22, 2010, 07:29:01 pm »

Quote from: boydn on March 22, 2010, 05:07:27 pm

Jim, Thanks for the help. Maybe I need to just give up and push play. Looking under Options I have 3 check boxes. Controller, Render, Server. Nothing about Network. And can't find Tree/Devices/DLNA anywhere. Thanks for trying

I'm sorry. Webremote is in MC15. Maybe tomorrow.

boydn · « **Reply #36 on:** March 22, 2010, 10:59:35 pm »

Cool, thought I'd done lost my mind.. Guess I should really read the subject

hit_ny · « **Reply #37 on:** March 23, 2010, 12:03:52 am »

Quote from: jmone on March 19, 2010, 04:47:18 am

I really like this! Here are some screen shots from my WinMo TouchHD 480x800 screen - as you can see most look great though sometimes the thumbs don't build correctly. (thanks to hit_ny for the link to the screen capture app).

Better now

Its exactly the same as what Jim posted above in a browser but now I understand what you mean by looking good on the small screen,

I take it there is no way to rate anything using this method ?

Just navigation mostly.

JimH · « **Reply #38 on:** March 23, 2010, 02:34:03 pm »

As part of our rigorous testing process here, Bob decided to try it on a Nintendo DS. It almost worked.

Mr ChriZ · « **Reply #39 on:** March 23, 2010, 02:42:59 pm »

Is there a reason why the position counter cannot count up every second rather than every 4 seconds as is occurring at present?
Like where this is going =)
Just wish I had a posh phone to use it on

maxxsid · « **Reply #40 on:** March 23, 2010, 03:54:18 pm »

Maybe the whole page gets redrawn every 5 sec?
On my Nokia 5800 XM (Opera browser) I noticed that the cover art gets redrawn every 5 sec as well - doesn't look good (as it redraws slowly). On my desktop I don't notice the cover art being redrawn...

Quote from: Mr ChriZ on March 23, 2010, 02:42:59 pm

Is there a reason why the position counter cannot count up every second rather than every 4 seconds as is occurring at present?
Like where this is going =)
Just wish I had a posh phone to use it on

dcwebman · « **Reply #41 on:** March 24, 2010, 08:38:14 am »

Haven't had the chance to try this at home yet but I just tried it at work. I had doubts on the corporate network but with another computer I was able to easily access MC. Pretty cool!

p7389 · « **Reply #42 on:** March 24, 2010, 05:45:04 pm »

How hard would it be to realize this in an Andoid app? (or iPh and WebOS, by all means) That would be a big argument for MC15 for me. Couldn't hurt to be listed in the various app stores either.

MrHaugen · « **Reply #43 on:** March 25, 2010, 03:23:07 am »

Quote from: p7389 on March 24, 2010, 05:45:04 pm

How hard would it be to realize this in an Andoid app? (or iPh and WebOS, by all means) That would be a big argument for MC15 for me. Couldn't hurt to be listed in the various app stores either.

Exactly. If J River builds this on functions that can be used in apps as well, this could be a big thing.

p7389 · « **Reply #44 on:** March 25, 2010, 01:31:38 pm »

Quote from: MrHaugen on March 25, 2010, 03:23:07 am

Exactly. If J River builds this on functions that can be used in apps as well, this could be a big thing.

A native remote app would be awesome. Even more awesome? A player mode where it does not control your MC but instead becomes a mobile MC which streams your library for playback *on* the device. Sort of like the things Sugarsync have built into their Android cliend (or, if you will, like Spotify, but the server is your own computer). Ah, I realize that this is a pipe dream. A native remote app would be sufficient (and of course, the portable player sync functionality that you already have).

shAf · « **Reply #45 on:** April 04, 2010, 12:18:17 pm »

Quote from: JimH on March 15, 2010, 04:21:48 pm

... It looks great on a small device like a Google Phone or Touch.

The font and thumbs are very large for it being designed for a PDA(?) IE, with a little bit more room you could make room for play/stop buttons at the top of every page(?)

Al ex · « **Reply #46 on:** April 04, 2010, 04:13:29 pm »

Probably this is not the right forum for this question, but anyhow - I am trying to get the WebRemote-feature running, so I set up an account at www.dyndns.org in order to get a static IP to be able to access WebRemote via the public Internet.

Well, I can now access the homepage of my router via the Internet at http://PERSONALIZEDNAME.homeip.net/ - so the static IP-service works well, but when I try http://PERSONALIZEDNAME.homeip.net:52199 , I get an error message.

WebRemote is activated at port 52199, running MC 15.0.17

gvanbrunt · « **Reply #47 on:** April 04, 2010, 08:59:41 pm »

You need to setup port forwarding on your router. I can't tell you how to do that as it is different on each device. If you need more help, please start a new thread.

surge · « **Reply #48 on:** April 04, 2010, 10:22:30 pm »

I am really excited about using WebRemote! I love it. It changes the entire experience for me now.

I am using a phone/PDA running WinMo6.1 (Samsung Jack) IE did not work in controlling the WebRemote. It would browse to files but not play or stop etc.

But Opera Mobile works ok.

Requires the ip address for the MediaCenter computer. I could not use the Windows name, which is unfortunate because the IP address of the MediaCenter computer might change through DHCP. Same issue with my wife's iPhone. I know that the name resolution is an issue with the mobile device.

In Opera it works best at a zoom level of 60%. I think, however, that the Opera Mobile is finicky and hangs up after a minute of inactivity. The Opera Mobile browser will then not get anything back from WebRemote, until I close Opera completely and re-launch it on the phone. WebRemote continues to work, however, on a desktop browser.

Anyways - Great, great work. Thank you. Let me know if there are any ideas on getting it to work on WinMo6.1 either IE, or Opera Mobile.

Surge

struct · « **Reply #49 on:** April 05, 2010, 02:31:21 am »

I had same problem as Surge with the blackjack and windows mobile. I could get the playing now window, but couldn't activate the play/pause button etc.

Craig

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Author Topic: NEW: WebRemote (MC15) -- Control MC with a Touch, Android, or WinMobile Device (Read 51656 times)