The show off your gadget integration thread.

[vladcjelli]

BenM77 said:

@vlad

Apple is quite a cheap way to network if you have an iPhone anyway, appletv = £100. iTunes is free and with airvideo you are not tied to apple content

What you have put together is very cool, especially sticking to a budget

Ben

As I am clearly budget conscious, splashing out on an iphone isn't high on the agenda. I did think about trying to get a used ipod touch for this type of job, but even the airport extremes(?) seemed a bit on the dear side. Although I would quite like to plug one in next to the stereo in the kitchen to stream music to there.

Also forgot drop in an honourable mention for the homeplugs offof ebuyer that make a lot of the house wide streaming possible for c£30 a pair.

I reckon with the advent of DLNA, firms are missing a trick by not producing a cheap, relatively dumb client that plugs direct into any stereo and is controlled entirely via something like 2player. Someone could clean up with a little black box that filled this remit, undercutting apple.

[sharpfocus]

page3 said:

sharpfocus said:

I've got a Mac Mini (running Linux)

Interested as to why you run Linux for boxee rather than osx?

Clearly I am VERY interested, enough to post three times!

I put Linux on it before I'd tried Boxee, so it's partly historical. But I prefer Linux anyway, it's free, has far better package management, is more developer friendly (drives me nuts that I can't just double click on a bash script in OSX). Lots of fluffier things too, like prefering Gnome, little applications like conky and even where applications like Wireshark, GVim or GIMP are available they seem to be old versions. Even the Java 7 development kit, out for months on other platforms is only just in developer preview on OSX.

If the Linux support for the Air hardware was better (which it may be by now in fairness) I'd be running it on here too.

[BenM77]

Airport express = £80
Apple tv2 = £100

If you use airport express then iTunes on the computer can only do this.

If you use apple tv2 it is like a device, I can play 3 different films all at the same time on different apple tv's and be playing music on iTunes all at the same time which is pretty good

I know an iPhone is not cheap but as I have alway paid around £35 month on contract it wasn't a hike.

Agree about the simple wifi streaming dongle, it would sell to people who don't want to pay sonos or apple.

Ben

[VEX]

Driller said:

What audio/video controllers did you use on the job Chris? Are the CCTV cams IP or analogue?

Hi Mr D.

Music is Sonos.
Video is a component video 6x6 matrix (spec'ed pre stable HDMi switching)

Overall control is using Control FX Ip to RS232 interface along with a series of IP/IR emitters.
Cameras are Panasonic ipcctv ones with PoE.

Hth

V.

[matts4]

Melvin Udall said:

Yes, you will need to convert them, unless you have an idevices, and the app airvideo, in which case you can convert on the fly and send it to the apple Tv.

Wow, you've just made my decision to buy an Apple tv. Great thread.

My hi if is wired in 4 rooms around the house, attached to my pc.
With remote player I can play music on demand to any of the 4 rooms.
With my iPad I can stream content to my kids bedrooms using airvideo.
Best of all, with an apple tv, I could use air video and my iPad 2 to access all the last 4 or 5 years camcorder footage which has been sat on my PC never being viewed in the study, or view it over the wi if at my parents or in laws.

I only bought the iPad 3 weeks ago, vowing that I didn't really like Apple products (I do like my Android mobile), but the iPad really let's me do loads. ( it was a trigger purchase after I failed to get a cheap touchpad, I'm glad I didn't get one!)

Cheers

[Melvin Udall]

matts4 said:

Wow, you've just made my decision to buy an Apple tv. Great thread.

My hi if is wired in 4 rooms around the house, attached to my pc.
With remote player I can play music on demand to any of the 4 rooms.
With my iPad I can stream content to my kids bedrooms using airvideo.
Best of all, with an apple tv, I could use air video and my iPad 2 to access all the last 4 or 5 years camcorder footage which has been sat on my PC never being viewed in the study, or view it over the wi if at my parents or in laws.

I only bought the iPad 3 weeks ago, vowing that I didn't really like Apple products (I do like my Android mobile), but the iPad really let's me do loads. ( it was a trigger purchase after I failed to get a cheap touchpad, I'm glad I didn't get one!)

Cheers

Any device is only as good as your ability to find out what it can do. It's by no means the only solution, but it's certainly easy, and on the whole, cheap.

[Original Poster]

Mine is as follows -

iMac as my main media server
2011 MacBook Air as my work laptop
2009 MacBook
White 32GB 3G iPad for browsing and travelling
White iPhone 4S 16GB
Black iPhone 4 16GB
Apple TV2
Time Capsule for back ups
3 Airport Express

[The_Doc]

I'm an anti Apple guy:

Vaio running Ubuntu as media server
Bravia LCD into router -internet TV
PS3 into router - online gaming and Lovefilm
Vaio laptop for general work
Hp wireless printer upstairs
Asus Eee PC because its 1.1kg

no MacBooks
no iPhones
no iPad
solitary iPod classic in kitchen (160Gb) Go and stand in there and think about what you've done

[ZesPak]

Recently ditched all the apple stuff (iphone, ipod) and now have full integration without the need for proprietary apple software/hardware :

- NAS that contains&downloads series, movies, pictures and music
- PCH under each tv to play everything
- iMediaShare that can play the movies on the phone, other devices use samba shares

[Driller]

VEX said:

Hi Mr D.

Music is Sonos.
Video is a component video 6x6 matrix (spec'ed pre stable HDMi switching)

Overall control is using Control FX Ip to RS232 interface along with a series of IP/IR emitters.
Cameras are Panasonic ipcctv ones with PoE.

Hth

V.

Yes, thanks for that. Interesting that Sonos is apparently gathering more and more impetuous in relation to the more esoteric systems. Big sales seems to go hand in hand with good development and support.

Got to agree that the iPad makes a damn good (and comparitively cheap!) multiroom touchscreen.

[Accelebrate]

Oldish diagram, but most of it is still the same, except for swapping ADSL for FTTC/VDSL.

The Sony box is surprisingly good, reliable streaming of video from the NAS and iPlayer in HD.

All of the networking stuff lives in a SOHO cabinet in my 'gadget cupboard'.

[Melvin Udall]

No windows stuff on my network. No siree. Get thee hence from me, thy virus ridden cesspit.

Oh, sorry, is this about integration, or telling folks what you don't have in your network? I'm confused.

[Driller]

Yes, one thinks they protesteth too much

[nick s]

wow, interesting thread!!

I have the following bits;

Iphone 4
Ipad 2
Apple TV
PC running iTunes.

The extent of my integration so far is mirroring my ipad on the TV and using the iphone as an iTunes remote! What else could i be doing with these then? Would appreciate some help! ðwould be nice to have it all linked up etc!

[Melvin Udall]

Airvideo. Well worth the few quid. Let's you stream different formats rather than the open source iTunes ones.

[VEX]

Driller said:

Yes, thanks for that. Interesting that Sonos is apparently gathering more and more impetuous in relation to the more esoteric systems. Big sales seems to go hand in hand with good development and support.

Got to agree that the iPad makes a damn good (and comparitively cheap!) multiroom touchscreen.

Lol, I love large scale Sonos systems I have one house with 15+ pieces of Sonos Kit and about 10 iDevices.

Managing that lot has been an issue at times, especially IP Reservations and when the Sky Router fails. All hell broke out when that happened as the twin daughters, son, mum and dad had to talk to each other for 5 days while Sky sent them a new router.

V.

[Fats25]

I have an issue with my setup, and I think Apple TV could be the resolution. Let me explain what I have and perhaps someone can confirm Apple TV will solve this for me.

In the example I am talking about, I have the following integrated equipment:-

• IPAD 2
• Synology NAS
• Windows 7 PC
• Airport Express
• Wireless Router (acting as a CAT6 switch as well)
• PS3

I have ITunes on my pc, which manages all of my music stored on my NAS.

All my music, videos and photos are stored on the NAS. The NAS is cabled into my router, as is the PS3. I use the PS3 for viewing photos, and watching videos. A bit clunky but it works fine.

For listening to music I use Synology DS Audio on the IPAD, which connects to the NAS wirelessly and plays all of my music through the IPAD. The Airport Express acts as a device on the wireless network, and is plugged directly into my amp. So if I choose the output on the IPAD as "speakers" it plays through the Airport, and projects from my amp, to the speakers. This does not work so well.

I know the problem is with the Airport, as it works fine through the IPAD, however as soon as I broadcast through the speakers, it stops and starts. I think it is one too many wireless "hops" and I have never figured out how to get the Airport Express to piggy back off of my network when pyysically connected, although it has a RJ45 connection on it, I can only get it to work wirelessly.

So am thinking Apple TV could be physically plugged into my router (cutting this additional wireless step), and could act as the presentation device to use for all of my data on my NAS box? I assume on the Apple TV box you can select your data source as anywhere using UNC path?

Therefore I can use my IPAD to control Apple TV to provide my music, video, and photos from my NAS?

Are my assumptions correct, will this work?

Thanks

[Melvin Udall]

Well, you can mirror whatever is on your ipad2 through the apple TV2 onto your TV, at 1080p, I think.

[BenM77]

Fats25 said:

I have an issue with my setup, and I think Apple TV could be the resolution. Let me explain what I have and perhaps someone can confirm Apple TV will solve this for me.

In the example I am talking about, I have the following integrated equipment:-

• IPAD 2
• Synology NAS
• Windows 7 PC
• Airport Express
• Wireless Router (acting as a CAT6 switch as well)
• PS3

I have ITunes on my pc, which manages all of my music stored on my NAS.

All my music, videos and photos are stored on the NAS. The NAS is cabled into my router, as is the PS3. I use the PS3 for viewing photos, and watching videos. A bit clunky but it works fine.

For listening to music I use Synology DS Audio on the IPAD, which connects to the NAS wirelessly and plays all of my music through the IPAD. The Airport Express acts as a device on the wireless network, and is plugged directly into my amp. So if I choose the output on the IPAD as "speakers" it plays through the Airport, and projects from my amp, to the speakers. This does not work so well.

I know the problem is with the Airport, as it works fine through the IPAD, however as soon as I broadcast through the speakers, it stops and starts. I think it is one too many wireless "hops" and I have never figured out how to get the Airport Express to piggy back off of my network when pyysically connected, although it has a RJ45 connection on it, I can only get it to work wirelessly.

So am thinking Apple TV could be physically plugged into my router (cutting this additional wireless step), and could act as the presentation device to use for all of my data on my NAS box? I assume on the Apple TV box you can select your data source as anywhere using UNC path?

Therefore I can use my IPAD to control Apple TV to provide my music, video, and photos from my NAS?

Are my assumptions correct, will this work?

Thanks

Could the problem be with the synology app? Why do you not just use homesharing to the iPad ?

[koolchris99]

mac pro central hub and back up drive

macbooks, ipad, iphone and ipods all link to that, apple tv to link to the screens.

i think thats what most apple users have now,

means i can watch torrent movies etc through itunes on the tv, which is all i really wanted.