Well all of this comes down to personal choice in the end... and the flexibility of LinuxMCE and Dianemo means that pretty much anything can be accommodated. I do take your point about wanting dedicated devices, either loose untethered ones or in-wall. But having watched how people use the system over many years now I can say for the vast majority of users switching back and forth between App's on a device is no big deal (and happens in about 1-2 secs) and in reality it is only for alerting that you need to have the App on-screen as for the most part you use the Orbiter and then don't use it again for a extended periods of time.

Is the iPad over-specced? Well I don't think it is on reflection because in every instance I can think of people never end up using them in a 'single function' dedicated way. They always end up exploiting the fact that you can have a range of other Apps that are really incredibly useful on the iPad too - and its that fact, and that the iOS Orbiter works so well, that makes them very well suited to the job. The same would apply to Android if the App ecosystem were more developed of course.

In-wall Orbiters have other issues though... they are never actually where you need them is one. I can't tell you how many time we have heard - 'I wish i'd located it over there'. And that means when someone arrives at your gate you still cant see that they have! A better approach approach though to this issue is to have the house wide audio system just announce when you have someone at the gate or play a gate bell chime sound.

Having a wall mounting kit for a portable device is an approach you could take (as you suggest) and they can work well but the really good recessed ones are very expensive and as posde pointed out making connections to them in-wall is a big challenge.

All the best

Andrew

Can anyone recommend a cost effective nice touch screen for in wall mounting? similiar to this?

android based
http://store.homeseer.com/store/HomeSeer-HST-IWAR7-In-Wave-Touch-Screen-with-HSTouch-P1403C260.aspx

Also the ipad has some really nice in wall mounting devices that would look really nice and mount flush and the linuxmce orbiter im sure would work great with it but i just cant dish out $1000 for the ipad and a nice ipad mount. Seems like an overkill.

Thanks.

Really the days of in-wall touch screens are fading very quickly...we sell a tiny handful a year (atom based with in-wall-kit etc) but the vast majority of end customers choose to use iPad's because of the greater utility. If the App eco-system around Android tablets were better that might change... but currently there is no end customer demand. And I expect the iPad mini will make that deman even less likely.

You could take one of the Touch Orbiter Android builds (search the wiki for details) and get that working on your Android tablet of choice - Google Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD's would be good choices. We'd help where we could on that... but it should be pretty straight forward.

All the best


Andrew

I have tried searching both the forums and Google to determine where the cable box/satellite box should be stored within the house.

Long-story, short- I have been researching LMCE for almost a year now and we are in the process of building our new house. I want to take advantage and do it up right. My plan is to build a dedicated server closet with all the trimmings.

Am I correct in assuming that the cablebox can be installed in this server closet and the MDs will be able to view both recorded shows and live TV and will be controlled by the orbiters in each room? Or do I need to have a dedicated cable box attached to each MD?

Thanks in advance....Looking forward to the upcoming sales to get my hardware together.

In most cases locating the STB/PVR's centrally at the equipment hub is the most sensible option (although with HDbase-T HDMI to CAT6 extenders you can locate the STB/PVR's in separate rooms and then send the full HD video stream back to the hub). Collecting them at the hub then means you can route each STB's HDMI output into an HDbase-t HDMI video matrix and then send the output from that over CAT6 (along with 10/100 IP, RS232, IR return etc) to each rooms TV. The Core is then located also at the hub and you can control each STB using IR/IP/RS232 (depending on what the STB's support) and also control the HDMI Matrix too (IP control is normal now). You can then route any STB to any TV in any room and either use SmartTV's for video content playback or use MD's at the hub or in-room. TV's can then be IR controlled (if older model) or CEC or IP controlled if a more recent model.

We tend to steer away from video capture - its possible to do with HDfury's or HD-PVR's etc... but in our experience the picture quality and lag is always a problem.

All the best


Andrew

Just a heads up that we have updated the Telecom packages in the last few days. We've improved and re-instated all of the integration scripts so that as far as we know they are all working now. So if your using or intending to use the Telecom side of the system please run the updater to grab the latest updated packages. Expect a new wiki section on setting up and configuring the Telecom side of the system soon.

All the best

Andrew

We've added a detailed new section to the Dianemo S Wiki page that describes in detail how to setup and configure for control by Dianemo the RTI AD-4 (or AD-8 for that matter);

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Dianemo_S#Configuring_Dianemo_to_control_an_RTI_AD-4_Matrix_Amplifier

All the best

Andrew

Any Squeezeslave + SB player + audio card combo can drive an external amplifier and yes you can use the line output. level to control the audio volume to that Amp. If you have several zones/rooms with that kind of setup then you can use a separate IP/rs232 controlled audio matrix ahead of the amplifiers (ie audio card outs go to the inputs of the matrix...outpts of the matrix go to the amps) to do thinks like route one zones audio to any or all outputs & therefore deliver perfect in sync audio to all of those zones/rooms.

An alternative approach which delivers the same capabilities but in a more integrated & compact solution is to use a matrix amplifier such as the RTI AZ-4 or AZ-8. These are 4x zone & 8x zone stereo amplifiers with an integrated audio matrix that allows any input to be routed to any or all outputs (you also get control of mute on/off, vol up,down and equalisation & balance per stereo output etc). The advantage of these units is that they reduce cabling in the rack and are simpler to control as they are integrated units. The downside of these units is that they are pro-install products so they are not bargain priced - however if you need 4 or 8 zones of audio once you add up the cost of 8x stereo power Amps, 8x8 audio matrix etc etc... the RTI's are actually pretty competitive cost wise. The AD-8 I think is about $1650 USD so thats about $200 USD per zone for a matrix and power amp.

Most of our pro-installers are now going for this type of audio installation using the RTI's or SystemLine AZ-8's (which do much the same but use in-ceiling powered speakers with integrated Amps)

All the best

Andrew

I have been using this for awhile and it works great.  My only problem is that I have to use roaming orb when I'm not home.  I'm using a dns entry to connect in both cases.  Is there something that I have to do to make the dianemo app connect remotely?

If you have a Dianemo S installation then you can optionally get a Remote Access account/login and then you can put those details into the Username & Password fields of the Connection Settings for your NC. You can then use the 'Connect Remotely' option to connect to your installation from a remote location - you just need an Internet Connection.

All the best

Andrew

I took me about 2 minutes to find the site http://esoteric.teac.com/amplifiers_&_preamps/az-1/. Have a read!

I think he was referring to this Amp;

http://lmcecompatible.com/#!/~/product/category=285320&id=867437

All the best

Andrew

Does anybody know of a HDMI Matrix that is supported by LinuxMCE

I am looking to add support for one and want a reference template

We have several implemented as DCE Whisperer devices (Wyrestorm/Grandbeing and a few others too) that you base things on. They are rs232 or IP controlled. But you'd have to build a DCE Whisperer device to make use of then obviously.

All the best

Andrew

I am wondering, because Dianemo S is missing the pipes editor, how can i switch automatically to a certain input.
i configured the media_config. The AMP is switching on, as soon as i start a movie. But now i want to add, that it will switch to a certain input.
How can i do that?

We (mostly me!) are writing up config docs for typical room configurations that will step you through how each device is configured (mostly in the devices 'Configuration' field) in Web Admin to route the correct audio & video signals to the correct device & input. This together with the media_config file defines the configuration and replicates the pipes editor. Each typical room configuration will be added to a new section in the Dianemo S wiki page. The first section to be uploaded will be for a Room with the following configuration;

- Media Manager
- Denon 3310 (zone 1 and zone 2)
- 2x Sky PVR's
- LG TV

I hope to have at least a preliminary version for the above up on the Wiki this weekend...you may well be the 'Guinea pig' for whether it makes any sense!

Sorry for the delay in getting these docs out the door.

All the best

Andrew

Andrew any idea?
Or should i order the additional service from you?

Any reply would be great

I'll take a look today... but the rate of volume up/down on the Squeezebox's is actually pretty small. Start something playing in one of your Squeezebox zones and then check that the internal volume level of the Squeezebox itself is set to say 50%. Can you hear it now? Is the Squeezebox receiving the stream? If it is you should see the name of the current playing track on its display. Do you?

All the best

Andrew

Wow... You guys are going to think I'm stupid or something...All along I was selecting iphone(480x320)and I should be selecting iphone4(960x640) since I have the ipod4... Cant believe I spent so much time on something so simple. Works great now.

Thanks again for all your time in helping me with this.

It's very easy to not see something that is staring right in the face. We've all been there... and done that!

Thanks for posting the above.

All the best

Andrew

Thanks both of you for your replies, they did make light into my understanding. I think I tried to oversmart the set-up just because it was a cool idea. I will go then with as classic a set-up as possible.

Thanks again (and Andrew, I'm not in your price range - yet )

Your very welcome indeed.

You can get Remote Access capability with a Dianemo S Software only license... you don't need to purchase hardware from us... just a thought ;-)

All the best

Andrew

[*Note*]

We're introducing some new services that we think are going to be pretty popular with Forum members based on feedback to date. The services are available at any time to any Dianemo S customer. These services are for anyone who feels like they would prefer to get the basics of their system configured or have us help with getting a specific device working. We still expect most of you will want to put together and configure your own systems - after all that's one of the main reasons your here! But for those of you who would like some assistance we're here to help, either at the beginning or at any point afterwards, if you get stuck or plain run our of time and need to get your system finished or up and working. Don't worry we're still going to help anyone who needs help through the forums and via the Wiki - there will be no 'hard sell' on the services below. But they are there if you need them;

*Note* - While we can often help you inside a few days I would encourage you, if you are considering any of the services below, to please contact us in plenty of time to allow us to schedule time to help you. As the Christmas holidays get closer this is especially true.

Initial Setup - If you want to build your own system but would like some assistance configuring it and setting things up then please ask about our configuration service. For new customers you just need to do the initial install on your chosen hardware then we take over using Dianemo's in-built Remote Assistance service (this allows us to remotely access your system for support purposes - it requires your authoristion of course). This service gets all the basics set up and working for a flat fee of £95 GBP

Device Configuration - If you need some devices added to your system at any time eg a Surround Amplifier with IP/RS232 control, a Home Cinema Projector with IP/RS232 control or any other piece or peripheral equipment then please contact us for a price. Device configuration starts from as little as £75 GBP if its a device we already have a device template for.

Custom Device Templates - If you have a device that you would like to control from your Dianemo system and you would prefer to have us create a device template for it and configure it for you then get in touch. We will quote you a fixed price based on the device complexity.

System Design & Consulting - We provide a custom design service that will take your requirements and convert those into a System cabling/System Diagram together with a written functional design specification. We will suggest/recommend specific hardware and peripherals that we have experience with and that you can then source locally to you at the best local prices. Prices for this service start from as little as £250 GBP for Apartment & basic house systems. Contact us to discuss your needs.

Please IM me here on the Forum if your interested in any of the services above or have any questions about them. Feel free to email me instead if you have my email address.

Hi guys,

Old fan of LMCE and long-time lurker here..

Here's an interesting case : I want to set up a system with the MD and NAS into one location (say, one city) and a core into another (say, other city). The idea is that the first location can be better secured and not exposed to breakthroughs, while the other, the one which would request most services, needs to be easy on computing equipment. I guess I will be limited to the speed of the connection I can have, but is such a set-up possible and, if yes, how would you do it?

Just for you to get an idea, I want the system services to include in the first phase: access of music, access of books (!!), access and storage of pictures, zwave, and security. As you can see, not yet heavy media streaming - although a solution of that would be great.

Kindly please advice, and if I ask something that already exists (I tried the search and it didn't) my apologies.

Thank you for your input,

Catalin

It does sound a little over complex, as others have said, and I'm not sure how much more secure it would be either. We provide Remote Access so that you can remotely control multiple Dianemo systems from a single iOS Orbiter... and that seems to be well like by many customers with multiple dwellings.

We do have customers who have wanted for some time to replicate their iTunes music library in multiple locations and have that happen automatically too. We had looked into doing this with a vpn but that was superseded by Apple introducing iTunes in the Cloud and Match. iTunes in the cloud means that a customer can now have their iTunes music library in multiple locations - with all kept in sync as new music is ripped or purchased from iTunes. Purchase a track while in your house at location 'A' and magically (Apple like that word ;-) ) moments later its also in your iOS devices iTunes library and also downloaded in your house at location 'B'. If by some incredible stroke of 'bad' luck your houses at Locations 'A' and 'B' both get destroyed by a fire or some natural disaster then your library is still perfectly safe in iCloud. I realise that was not particularly part of your requirement but it does provide enormous flexibility and redundancy.

Anyway