Brian,

I had actually started this exact app a while ago,  with the exact specifications you seem to be designing to, so first of all, great work! Second of all, I wanted to suggest something for ya to chew on for the design for what to use as a room controller. My design had a Microchip PIC on ethernet sending UDP packets back to the server. By having very simple buttons (next, previous, volume) mapped to digital inputs into the PIC, could also have a LCD screen to show the name of the song...the other thing that this allows is by integrating a IR receiver into the same design and might be able to use our MCE remotes in every room to control that rooms audio. Just some thoughts for you. Looking forward to having a server to try this with, and looking forward to MCE integration! Cheers!

Nick

Hi all.

Life has been getting in the way! Beta2 has been too long coming so it's abandoned.
(If you really, really want it you can get it here, but it expires on the 14th of April)

However, a "release" version is in progress - and I think the price will be right for most of you

B

Hi Nick,

derelict68:

My design had a Microchip PIC on ethernet sending UDP packets back to the server.

Interesting...did you get it beyond the design phase?

B

No because that was like phase 4 of my project. I wanted to get the functionality down first, along with the user interface (I was going to gear it towards home automation systems with touch panels, not MCE's) before I started messing around with this part of it. I just did a lot of follow up research since you already did the hard part, I have ordered the parts I'll need to start prototyping something up...I wouldn't wait on me, but I expect that I could create something for the $30 range rather than the $99 of others that I have seen. Any thoughts?

B,

Will the final release include a Vista Media Center GUI??

derelict68:

Any thoughts?

Yep - we should talk

Drop me a line: mzaudiobeta at purplefoundry.com 

B

CaMs:

Will the final release include a Vista Media Center GUI??

Hi CaMs,

No, not at this stage - but it will be provided in the future if the demand is there. Date unknown as yet! Other control options are also being considered for the future.

B

updates?  need help with vista mce integration?

dirtylarry:

updates?  need help with vista mce integration?

What I'm now calling version 0.9 will be available soon. It does not have an MCE interface: an MCE interface is planned, but is not in the pipeline - yet.

What is in the pipeline at present is an API for AV installers to allow them to do control system integration. If anyone has any particular requirements in this regard, send an email to mzaudiobeta at purplefoundry.com. We're particularly interested to know if there are any (standard?) APIs in the AV industry that installers are used to working with. If there are, the intention would be to provide a similar API (if possible) to ease implementation.

B

ahh that sucks about the MCE\VMC interface, Im sure 97%(since it a media center site) of us here would want that before we make the purchase, inlcuding myself...but it is a step in the right direction...thanks again

Now on to the API's,  Im a CI in the NYC area and we use sytems from highend to budget..and we use alot of different sytems to get Multi-Zoned Audio into the customers home, from Crestron to AMX, Sonos, etc..(depending on the customers budget)

So coming from a CI, most of us prob. already use a software\hardware based solution.  I understand this is a windows APP, but to me its really unusable to me because if im setting up a client with a windows machine...we use Media Center PCs running Vista now.

If i am setting up a windows machine and not using VMC, then its somthing else like CQC - that has its own frontend GUI + Multi-Zoned Audio solution.  Unless you are making your own control app then i really would not see a need for this, unless there is some HA, hometheater software that does not have Multi-Zoned Audio and would need your APIs\SDK

If im mistaken your post, then please correct me...looking foward to your app getting into the VMC pipeline...thanks again

CaMs:

ahh that sucks about the MCE\VMC interface, Im sure 97%(since it a media center site) of us here would want that before we make the purchase, inlcuding myself...but it is a step in the right direction...thanks again

Hi CaMs,
Sorry to disappoint.   Beta feedback showed more demand for an API than for an MCE/VMC interface - but it will come

CaMs:

...coming from a CI, most of us prob. already use a software\hardware based solution.  I understand this is a windows APP, but to me its really unusable to me because if im setting up a client with a windows machine...we use Media Center PCs running Vista now.

CIs / CEDIA members on this side of the pond seem to want to implement MCE/VMC with multi-zone audio functionality - but controlled from the likes of a Crestron control system. However, I'm all for giving the customer what they want, so once the API is sorted, VMC interface is next.

On that, I was thinking of just providing a VMC interface and not bothering with one for MCE. Any comments on that approach?

I hope you haven't just turned this thread into a MCE vs VMC debate, but I for one would like to see it done for both. I don't plan to go to VMC "ever" because I like the MCE interface better, and I seem to notice a decent amount of people saying the same thing.

MCE 2005 is basically a dead platform, Microsoft will no longer be updating it.  No Media Center bug fixes, no new features.  While I'm still on MCE 2005, I would vote for only VMC development assuming you want to use MCML or something that only works on Vista.  If you want to take the HTML route, I don't think there is any reason it can't work on both.

I would love to see MCML as it's one of the few reasons I personally see for upgrading to Vista.

---

Chris Lanier
The Green Button Forum Moderator

Chris - Moderator:

MCE 2005 is basically a dead platform...I would love to see MCML as it's one of the few reasons I personally see for upgrading to Vista.

Yeah, I was thinking along the same lines. One reason why there hasn't been an MCE/VMC interface developed is because the app was being developed as Vista was coming to market (great timing on my part!). So a decision was made to concentrate on core functionality and worry about the interface later (i.e. around now). The Vista interface looks more promising, but there is still an MCE user base out there (including yours truly). But it'll probably be a VMC interface, perhaps followed by an MCE interface if the demand is there.
Or maybe it'll be the other way around!

I guess after thinking about it further, I want to make see if this makes sense to you masbe. I don't think that I will ever want this program running on my media center (MCE or VMC) but on another computer, so I can use a computer that will have more audio cards and probably be in the basement. What I'd like to see is MCE or VMC be able to control the app over network. Will this / could this be possible?