[slinkelist] Multi-room controls (was re: VNC, DCOM)

Gautam Desai gdesai@Doculabs.com
Sun, 5 Nov 2000 14:29:53 -0600


Worldwide access is great when I am on the road and want to listen to my
music collection using a ShoutCast channel broadcast from my home.  I just
fire up a browser make or load a playlist and have my own personal remote
jukebox.  It is simply amazing.  I've tried everything from Windows Terminal
Server to PC Anywhere.  VNC is far superior in its ability to do multi-point
control (many machines can see and control a single machine).  In addition
it can do so through a web browser or thin-client on everything from a
Windows based PC to Unix to a Win CE device!  Best of all it's free.

-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Weldon [mailto:keith.weldon@weldondesign.com]
Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2000 9:57 PM
To: slinkelist@nirvis.com
Subject: RE: [slinkelist] Multi-room controls (was re: VNC, DCOM)


VNC is "web based" and has an HTTP server built into it that allows any web
browser to take control of the server machine from anywhere on a TCP/IP
network (intra- extra- or inter-net).

The client machine does not need the VNC client software to remotely control
the server.  All it needs is a web browser and TCP/IP connectivity to the
server machine.

If you allowed your VNC server to be accessible from the Internet, all you
would need to know is its IP address and password and you could control it
from any web browser anywhere in the world! (I haven't figured out why
anyone would want to do this but it does sound impressive!)

Hope this helps
Keith Weldon

-----Original Message-----
From: slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com [mailto:slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com]On
Behalf Of Simon Mason
Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2000 10:12 AM
To: slinkelist@nirvis.com
Subject: RE: [slinkelist] Multi-room controls (was re: VNC, DCOM)


The most obvious client server approach would be a web based version.  Run
the slinkeserv on the web server, attach with any browser anywhere, and you
have complete control of the cds and mp3s.  All the audio output from the
mp3s would be on the server, or wherever the slinkeserv is running.  This
would of course require a great deal of re-engineering for Colby, and
probably some lost functionality as a CDJ web version would not be as clean
as the application.

-----Original Message-----
From: slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com [mailto:slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com]On
Behalf Of Mike Kropp
Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2000 8:55 AM
To: slinkelist@nirvis.com
Subject: RE: [slinkelist] Multi-room controls (was re: VNC, DCOM)


Pretty much so but it's slooooow (but it is free...).  I gave up on it.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com [mailto:slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com]On
> Behalf Of Simon Mason
> Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2000 8:17 AM
> To: 'Keith'; slinkelist@nirvis.com
> Subject: RE: [slinkelist] Multi-room controls (was re: VNC, DCOM)
>
>
> Does VNC do essentially the same thing as pcAnywhere?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com [mailto:slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com]On
> Behalf Of Keith
> Sent: Friday, November 03, 2000 10:53 AM
> To: slinkelist@nirvis.com
> Subject: RE: [slinkelist] Multi-room controls (was re: VNC, DCOM)
>
>
> Hello - I too find VNC to be a better solution for Multi-room Control than
> DCOM and Slinkesrv.
>
> The one thing I found I could do with VNC that I could not do
> with DCOM and
> Slinkesrv was to let multiple PC's have simultaneous control of CDJ.
>
> I have a PC in the kitchen, one in the family room and one in each bedroom
> simultaneously connected via VNC to a PC dedicated to running CDJ and the
> Slink-e.  This allows everyone to see or make changes to what is playing
> from any location in the house.
>
> I like being able to roam around the house, walk up to the nearest PC,
> glance at the screen to see what is playing, tickle the keyboard to search
> for a specific song and add it to the playlist.
>
> I can't think of a better solution than VNC if you want multi-room control
> from PC control stations.  Multi-room control from handheld
> remotes or wall
> mounted controls is a different story.  But from PC's I can't think of a
> better solution than VNC.
>
> Regards,
> Keith Weldon
>
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: 	slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com
> [mailto:slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com]  On
> Behalf Of Igal, Saleh
> Sent:	Tuesday, October 31, 2000 11:22 AM
> To:	Michael Holopainen
> Cc:	Slinke-List
> Subject:	[slinkelist] VNC, DCOM (was re: Multi-room controls)
>
> >From what I understand of VNC, it works similar to pcAnywhere, remote
> controlling the host computer.  However, while my laptop has a 1024X768
> screen, my server has a 1600X1024 wide-screen display, so I'd
> have to scroll
> around or mess with window sizing.  Also, my wife uses CDJ too -- if I was
> on the server, and she was using the laptop to control CDJ, CDJ would show

> up on the server's screen.
>
> As for some of the other issues, I run strictly NT and 2000, don't use the
> mp3 features, and didn't really have to do much to mess with
> library/covers
> paths.
>
> I think almost all networked CDJ users would agree that DCOM was a poor
> choice for the networking protocol - a native sockets or encapsulated HTTP
> implementation would be cleaner, more stable, easier to configure,
> WAN-friendly for streaming control, firewall-friendly for WAN access from
> work...  It would also make it almost trivial to control the Slink-e from
> almost any OS or scripting language.  However, in my situation,
> the pain of
> dealing with DCOM is worth the benefit.
>
> All that being said, I bought an old terminal server on Ebay for
> about $50,
> and will likely roll my own native socket connection over Telnet, putting
> DCOM to rest.  I plan to just use the terminal server's virtual redirector
> software to direct COM7 and COM8 on the laptop to the Slink-e and
> DXS ports
> on the terminal server.  Then, CDJ will think it has a direct
> connection to
> the Slink-e and DXS.  I'll post my results to the list when I get
> around to
> messing with it.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Holopainen [mailto:michael@laserle.fi]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2000 2:19 am
> To: Igal, Saleh
> Subject: Re: [slinkelist] Multi-room controls
>
>
> Have you tried VNC ??
>
> http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/download.html
>
> I for one find it MUCH better that DCOM :
>
> 1. no need for NT server, DCOMcnfg, no need to manually <anything>
> 2. mp3 play on "server" = computer connected on slink
> 3. no need to mess with library-covers-mp3_files paths
> 4. I haven't crashed CDJ / VNC not even once in past 1-2 years
> 5. You can do MUCH more than just CDJ with VNC
> 6. Easy to set up
> 7. Small prog
> 8. You only need to install 1 CDJ (less updating, no version conflict)
> 9. no need for slinkeserv
> 10. Oh jeah, and the "small" detail that it's not MS product, so it
> actually works
> 11. You can even use CDJ from remote UNIX (Linux) machine
>
> -michael (A)
>
> "Igal, Saleh" wrote:
> >
> > I use a laptop with an 802.11 wireless connection; a server runs
> slinkesrv.
> > The server also has my MDB file, covers, and playlists.  If I'm anywhere
> > within earshot, I just grab the laptop to control CDJ.  It
> works great --
> I
> > get full CDJ control from anywhere inside or outside the house.
> >
> > There are two annoyances that you will see in any CDJ/DCOM network
> > configuration.  First, CDJ updates reset the DCOM connection data, so I
> have
> > to run DCOMCNFG and reconfigure DCOM after every CDJ update.  Second, if
> CDJ
> > crashes, I have to manually go and restart slinkesrv.
> >
> > The newer 11 Mbps wireless cards are fast enough that there's no
> significant
> > difference between having the MDB and covers on the server versus the
> > laptop.  If my wife's using the laptop, I just revert back to
> running CDJ
> on
> > the server, since it has the MDB and covers.
> >
> > If you're planning to buy a new PC anyway, I'd strongly recommend
> > considering spending a few hundred bucks more for a laptop and wireless
> LAN.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com [mailto:slinkelist-admin@nirvis.com]On
> > Behalf Of Ron Tugender
> > Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 10:08 am
> > To: Slinke-List
> > Subject: [slinkelist] Multi-room controls
> >
> > I've been using Slink-e/CDJ for a while now, but in a rather simple way.
> > I've had in my office one PC running CDJ, natively controlling a pair of
> > Sony changers in the living room, with a long Cat-5 run from
> the PC to the
> > Slink-e and a long speaker connection from the amplifier in the living
> room
> > to satellite speakers in the office.  I did most of my listening in the
> > office, so having the primary CDJ control there was convenient enough.
> >
> > I've now acquired a home theatre setup with gorgeous audio in the living
> > room.  I still intend to do a fair amount of listening in the
> office, but
> > now quite a bit more in the living room.  I now want to control the Sony
> > players through CDJ (or perhaps PartyGUI) in both the office and the
> living
> > room.
> >
> > I have a few thoughts on how I might do this, but before I bias the
> feedback
> > I'd rather first ask for suggestions from people who have already done
> > something similar.  To focus the suggestions, I'm prepared if
> necessary to
> > put another PC in the living room and LAN connection between the living
> room
> > and office.
> >
> > Ideas, anyone?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Ron
> >
> > ================================================
> > Ron Tugender
> > 408-378-0777
> > ron@tugender.com
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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>
> --
>    --"Would you fly on airplane controlled by MS Windows ?"--
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> | Michael Holopainen | Valuraudantie 25 | Tel: +358-(0)9-35093825  |
> |                    | 00700 Helsinki   | Fax : +358-(0)9-35093850 |
> | Laserle Oy         | Finland          | email: michael@laserle.fi|
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