Home theater control - there's an app for that!

Check it out, found a great iOS/Droid app for controlling my movie room.

http://iruleathome.com/

Bought a WiFi to Infrared blaster, downloaded the app to my phone and Kindle Fire, and designed these interfaces. Works great.

DirecTV main


DirecTV channels


Western Digital Live Plus


Blu Ray player

Well, the design software was $50. And the Wi-Fi to IR box was about $100. Given what a decent universal remote (Harmony One) costs, and that I'll never have to buy a remote ever again, to me it seems like a bargain.

I could have gone cheaper, and in fact there are a few IR-dongle systems for iOS that are in the <$60 range. My trouble was neither of my tablet devices were Apple. Plus with those I would have needed an IR dongle for each.

Harmony One sucks from everything that I've read about it.

But what you've got there looks pretty sweet. I might have to look into that.

That looks pretty cool. I wonder, can this system control electronics in other room or just electronics connected in a single room where the base system is?

It can control electronics in an entirely different house! Security, lighting, garage door openers... And the Pro version supports feedback. So not only could you open the garage door in the house next door you could get a confirmation that the door was in fact open. There's a learning curve, but the possibilities are limitless.

this is free, what i plan on doing
http://autom8.clangen.org/

you just need the compatible accessories CM15A and other connectors and such, but might be cheaper than MSP's way

My receiver has an iOS and android app but most of the time I just use per programmed scenes.

MSP does that irule control your volume too? do you have volume throughout your house or just theatre room?

Oh yeah, it controls everything. Source buttons with custom macros, so for instance when I press the Blu Ray button:

Receiver On -> Correct Input
BluRay On
Projector On
Projector Screen Down

And I've got buttons for everything I need grouped together in logical clusters - audio buttons together, disc transport buttons together, etc. I'll try to throw together a demo video when I get a chance, in the mean time this guy has a similar setup:

That is what's confusing, i am assuming you hook your system in to the base unit, you get with i-rule; which will connect to your portable device via wi-fi. (correct me if i am wrong, just trying to understand how it works and control every thing.)

Hypothetically speaking. You connect your Stereo Receiver to the I-rule base system. Now using your mobile device(which is connected to i-rule base via wi-fi) you can control every thing that is connected to receiver.
So what about electronics that are in different room, not connected to Stereo Receiver or i-rule base because there just too far away in home? Is there some thing i am missing about i-rule system...?

I like it sounds more advanced than the app that i posted

The hardware (in my case a Global Cache iTach) doesn't attach to the AV equipment per se, it just receives the signal via Wi-Fi and then outputs infrared. So one iTach can operate lots of different devices. You could run an infrared blaster from the iTach into another room, or have an entirely different iTach in there. iRule calls the hardware a "gateway", and as far as I know you can have as many as you like.

So the guy's video above, the back of his gateway (a GC 100) has 6 infrared outputs, to which he could run lines to infrared blasters in other areas of his house if he wanted to. And each one of those infrared ports can output multiple blasters, like this one which has four blasters on a single port:

Thanks MSP, that makes complete sense now. What will be even cooler if they made wireless IR blaster (if they dont already have it). So you dont have to run wires all over the house. Personally i am using my Galaxy note 10.1 since it has IR blaster. Not as customizable as I rule but gets the job done.

Oh yeah, if either of my Droids had IR outputs I would have gone with another solution.

thats pretty damn cool.. and does it work for multiple boxes as well?

^^^ Yep, as far as I can tell you can have as many gateways as you like.

Damn you MSP! You've got me looking. LOL

I can pick up a Galaxy Tab 2 (7" with IR built-in) for $249 + Taxes, and the Touchsquid app ($49.99) and have the universal remote to control EVERYTHING in my home entertainment unit. Hmmmm...interesting. I was looking at getting a new remote anyways (new harmony with a touch screen) and it's like $249 on it's own...but a tablet that I can browse, read, and control everything...hmmmm...

Damn you! LOL

Plus if you have a smart phone you could use that as a remote as well. I used the same interfaces on my HTC Sensation and it works great.

Well...I'm going to run out and grab a Tab2 7" (if it's available at a store near my office). Apparently the basic remote software is pretty good. See how it works. And Touchsquid has a demo for $4 or something like that, and if it works well enough, awesome.

Early christmas present.