'Remote Functionality' (with Display) for a PC?

[JimC]

Hi All,

I am new to PC based Audio replay but have aquired a half decent PC with a good 'Sound Card'. I am just using USB output to my DAC at the moment which is suiting me just fine.

I would like to get some sort of Remote Functionality. At present I am using a cheap 'Air Mouse' with the Screen on a long lead so the PC itself can be placed in a cupboard in a room next door to my listening room.
I am unfamiliar with 'Smart Phones' and Tablets and so my question is this....Would a Smart Phone or Tablet be able to be connected to the PC via my Wi-Fi network giving the PC's Desktop on its screen and therefore gaining control of the PC and giving access to Album Artwork etc etc?
I would not be requiring any Telephone functions from the device so don't really want to buy one on a contract from a phone company.

Any help or other suggestions would be appreciated,

James.

[Tim]

Would a Smart Phone or Tablet be able to be connected to the PC via my Wi-Fi network giving the PC's Desktop on its screen and therefore gaining control of the PC and giving access to Album Artwork etc etc?

Not easily James, as you are basically wishing to use a tablet with a touchscreen interface to control a mouse cursor on a remote PC. I am not sure what Windows 8 will bring, but I anticipate this will be easier than it is now. You can do it, but its clunky, just Google 'control a Windows PC from a Tablet' for answers.

Here's an idea for you;

C_ZiI5GTDBk

It has been discussed here before, but I cannot find the thread - I will keep looking. I take it you are talking about a Windows PC?

A more elegant solution is to use media player software like JRiver installed on the PC which plays the music. JRiver has a free Andorid app called Gizmo which controls a remote PC from a tablet, where the remote PC has JRiver running. This is what I use and it works extremely well. There is also JRemote if you have an iPad and it does the same thing. All the items need to be networked on the same home network for this to work. Foobar2000 can also be controlled remotely by an Android app and this is free, JRiver is around $50.00, not sure how much JRemote is, but its not free.

http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Gizmo

[Martinh]

Hi James,

As Tim said, there are a few options available to you.

It does depend upon the music player software that you use. I use JRiver ($50), controlled by JRemote (£6.99) on my iPad and it works beautifully. This is a really popular choice if you want great sound. You can try Jriver for free for 30 days to see if it suits you. You will need an iPad or similar tablet though.

If I need to access the PC for Spotify or for maintainence, I connect my iPad to it using LogMeIn (free), which basically gives me the PC screen on my tablet. I can do everything that I need to do on the machine, without having to connect a monitor, keyboard or mouse. Everything is done via the WiFi connection.

Another option (free), if you have an iPad, you can control iTunes music player on your PC that way. There is a free remote app for the iPad that connects wirelessly with your PC and you can be used to control the iTunes music player. You can see your music collection and control it via the iPad. Both iTunes and the remote app are free :) You are limited by the types of files that iTunes can play though and it may not sound as good as the Jriver option.

I'm not sure what apps are available on the Android tablets, but I'm sure there will be similar options for that platform.

Hope this helps,

[guyhayton]

I use Apple iTunes on my Windows 7 based laptop in one of the rooms at the back of the house. This is connected wirelessly to my network and streams music to the front room hifi via a wired Airport Express.

I sit happily on my couch and control everything (even volume) via my iPad using the Remote app. Very convenient and as the best IT ahould... it just works with no hassles.

[AlfaGTV]

Youve got some good advice already!
I'd like to add a couple of options;
LogMeIn Ignition on your tablet works beautifully. Will cost you some 25 quid but its worth it if you want to control your PC wherever you are! Abroad or at your neighbours or in the next room, doesnt matter!
My Remote for J River Media Center, great software at only a few quid!
Drag a shortcut of Media Server to the Startupfolder of your start menu, and youre set!

If you want control, no cost, i can recommend installing VNC Lite Server on your 'puter and add Mocha VNC Lite to your iPad (Sure there are Android alternatives), that will give you 99% control at no cost! More hassle to set up though?

Regards
/Mike

[JimC]

Hi Folks,

many, many thanks for the replies.
I am sorry, I did not say what operating system I am using.

I am using Windows 7 and use Windows Media Player or Media Centre depending what files are to be played. My Music is mostly stored as WAV Lossless, FLAC and a few MP3's. I assume because of the WAV and FLAC files I cannot use iTunes (?) and frankly I don't really want to. The last time I downloaded it (granted, this was years ago now so it could have improved) it seemed to want to take over my PC. Not being a whizz with PC's I didn't really know how to stop it apart from removing it and using the Windows players. I am now very used to the Windows players and when Media Centre came along (with XP (?)) it really came into its own. I think it is a good player.

I like MartinH's suggestion regarding 'LogMeIn' which will give me the PC's Desktop on a Tablet. Using the Windows players, this option should give me the control and display I require.
Another question then (!) Any recomendations regarding Tablets. There are some really quite cheap ones on ebay (obviously unbranded). Would these suffice?

Thanks again,

James.

[Martinh]

I think the nexus 7 is the best of the budget tablets at the moment. Make sure that any tablet you buy can connect to the google play store though, as not all do. The ipad mini is due to launch in a couple of months and may be around £199, so is worth waiting for IMHO.

Ive tested one of the better budget tablets (scroll extreme) and found it pretty poor for the money.

May be worth checking to see if theres a remote app for the windows media player, as this should be slicker than using logmein.

Cheers,

[Tim]

My Music is mostly stored as WAV Lossless, FLAC and a few MP3's. I assume because of the WAV and FLAC files I cannot use iTunes (?)
There are workarounds for this, but to be honest you are better off not using iTunes if you have your music library in these formats and intend to continue. I do know some folk store FLAC on NAS boxes and are able to use them in iTunes, never tried it myself however. I also agree with you about its 'viral' behavior when you install it on a Windows PC, I won't install it as I object to software taking over certain programs without my permission. This will annoy the 'fanbois', but I think iTunes is the devil.

Just out of interest, Samsung are offering £50.00 cashback at the moment on their tablet PC's if you buy before 30th September. Samsung are now the largest seller of tablet PC's and smartphones, which is worth bearing in mind if you are FLAC and WAV ;)

http://www.samsung.com/uk/tab2cashback/?pid=uk_promotion_home_banner5_tab2promo_20120802

[Martinh]

Im not a big fan of iTunes either (too big, too complex and too bloated), however, I believe that since iOS 5 you don't need to have it on your PC to use the iPad.

I just looked at the Play store on my android phone and LogMeIn doesn't seem to exist for that platform. There must be other options available though.

There are several remote apps for the windows Media player, although I can't say if they are any good or not.

You will get a much better experience using a remote app than using something like LogMeIn, as the image of the PC screen that you get is fairly lo-res and a bit laggy. I use the remote app for controlling the media player and LogMeIn for everything else.

What's your budget for a Tablet?

Hope this helps,

[dowser]

Hippo remote on Smart phones is a great app & will do what you want. Comes with profiles for most popular apps (and the ability to create your own) to allow non-sighted control, as well as mouse track pad for sighted use.

Logmein is also good for tablet access, but think a windows desktop on a small phone screen a bit limiting personally.

Richard

[JimC]

.............Just out of interest, Samsung are offering £50.00 cashback at the moment on their tablet PC's if you buy before 30th September. Samsung are now the largest seller of tablet PC's and smartphones, which is worth bearing in mind if you are FLAC and WAV ;)...............

I work for a Brown Goods Service Company repairing S'Sung goods on a regular basis mostly under Warranty, thereby technically working for them (although we are independant). For this reason (and soooooo many others) I will not allow any S'Sung products in the house;)

I haven't really thought about buget as yet. Have just been browsing so far.
Seen this :-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7-Android-2-2-Tablet-PC-Netbook-MID-WiFi-Touchscreen-Book-Reader-/300767411789?pt=UK_iPad_Tablets_eReaders&hash=item4607227e4d
Thoughts?

Cheers,

James.

[Tim]

Lol, well here's my thought, I wouldn't buy that over a Samsung tablet if you gave me the money. But each to their own. I have a whole bunch of Sammy products here and not one of them has ever malfunctioned. We use them at work too - same story, hard drives, monitors, smartphones, laptops, netbooks etc, all grand (now they will all break tomorrow :doh:)

As I believe they are the largest semi-conductor manufacturer in the world, most peoples homes, cars and most other electronic toys are full of their chips as are most Apple products, which kind of makes their current spat rather amusing.

If you work in a repair centre then obviously you will get items in for repair, same would go for any other electronics manufacturer, not sure I understand that logic :scratch: but hey we all like what we like for differing reasons. I personally wouldn't take that 40 quid tablet off eBay TBH, but if it works its a real bargain - I still wouldn't entertain it mind you ;)

[JimC]

Cheers Tim,

if you had to work for them you might understand:steam::lol:

Thanks for the comments re the ebay Tablet. It is just a thought at the moment. I appreciate your comments though.

All the best,

James.

[Alex_UK]

If all you want is a "remote" control, running the apps to link in to the media player, then it might just be an absolute bargain! It might just be worth a gamble at 40 notes as long as you are aware of what you're buying, and that it will have its limitations as a tablet computer.

[Martinh]

Hi James,

I think you need to look at something at around the £150+ price range. There are a load of budget units coming through at around that price. Once you get a decent tablet, you'll be using it a lot, so better to get a decent one straight away IMHO.

If you don't want a Samsung, consider the iPad range, as it's a blatant copy of the Samsung product anyway :ner: :lol:

[Mr Perceptive]

You can run LogMeIn on an iPad and on the Remote PC, works fine and you can move the mouse about ok.

A couple of weeks ago, I used my iPad via 3G to connect to my office PC, and then open a VPN connection from there to a clients machine in the USA to undertake some support!!

Basic LogMeIn is free.

[AlfaGTV]

Basic LogMeIn is free.

Yes, thats true. But the App for tablets and smartphones isn't!
And controlling via the browser is a bad compromise imo. Try Ignition, it's well worth the few quid it costs.

/Mike

[JimC]

Just an update for you chaps.

I went for a punt with the £40 Tablet from ebay. I realised that what I was purchasing could have turned out to be a load of rubbish but took the gamble.

As some of you suggested, yes, as a Tablet it turns out to be almost useless. Especially so if you are not all that good with the technical side of PC's of any description.
It refuses to load many of the 'normal' Apps one would want to load. It does not seem to like the Google App store. Could it prefer a Chinese version of this as this is where it 'hails' from? I dunno!

However, a friend of mine who is a whizz with PC's has visited and...............loaded VLC (?) player on my PC and somehow managed to load a Remote App for VLC on to the Tablet and hey presto, it works. Sometimes begrudgingly (!) and the Resistive touch screen is a little frustrating at times, it also doesn't allow me to view Album Art but, as a simple remote to cue up a playlist of Albums or individual Songs and then sit back and listen it does what I wanted. If I really want the Artwork I can turn on my main TV to which the PC is connected and view the covers etc.

I have lived with this for a week or so now and it seems fine. If it proves to be too problematic then I may upgrade to a better Tablet (maybe even a Samsung Tim!!) but for the moment it is working ok.

Cheers for everyone's comments and suggestion,

James.