Newbie needs direction.

[thepainter]

First off I think I should mention that I'm a mac person and have some PC knowledge but not a whole lot. It all started with me seeing a customer who had a AMX setup which was unbelievable and at the time it was and still is out of my price range. I then saw something on a slimserver forum about a tablet pc being used to control my sb2 through the web interface which was great. he also recommended a Fujitsu 3400 that he was using which he got from ebay for about $175-$225 which wasn't bad. I then started doing some research and came across xlobby (my downfall) since then I check the forums daily and am amazed at some of the skins that are out there. At present I have xlobby setup on the tablet pc and I can listen to my music and watch movies from it. BUUUTTTTT what I really want to do is be able to control my stereo set up (Receiver, DVD, CD changer, SB2, Satellite)and main viewing television wirelessly. Currently, my setup is in a separate room with IR emitters with an IR Eye in the family room(TV). I recently puchased a Global cache GC-100-18 (ebay $115) because as I understand it I can foward IR signals wirelessly via the GC. Here is where it becomes dicey, do I need Girder for this or is there a way I can do it directly through XL what's the best way to do this? Anyway, So now I'm sitting in front of my TV in the family room (about 50' from my setup) I can control my setup (somehow with GC) but how can I control the TV using the wireless PC tablet. Now somewhere during all this research and loss of sleep I came across a program that uses a Global Cache plug-in - Netremote. I hate bringing this up in this forum but everyone seems to be so helpful and honest.....would netremote be better for me in terms of setup and ease of use or can xlobby do what I need. In all honesty I would really like XLobby I still can't get over how good the skins are, so much so I was actually thinking of getting a macmini (intel) to setup a HTPC but that will have to be down the road. HELP!!!!! I need someone to point me in the right direction. Thanks.

[Marbles_00]

Interesting, Netremote is made by the same people as Girder. If you were thinking of Netremote, which is something that you would have to purchase, but want to stick with XLobby, then get Girder. Using Xlobby with the XRemote plugin and Gider, you should be able to control your whole system after some initial setup/test time.

Hope this was helpful

[thepainter]

Thanks for your reply. I really like xlobby and am willing to do some research, but am not sure if I'm getting in over my head with Girder and now xremote. Does girder work simultaneously with xlobby? Maybe if there is a must read how to someone can point me to. I currently have a Pronto B/W and programmed it myself copying and pasting a few .ccf that matched my equipment and it seemed fairly straight forward. Is there a database for equipment control for Girder/xremote? I'm reading, reading but not sure I'm getting anywhere. Thanks Again.

Paul

[Marbles_00]

Girder is not really that difficult as it may first appear. Below are some links:

Link to the XRemote plugin
http://www.xlobby.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... ht=xremote

Instructions for setting up XRemote
http://france.xlobby.com/xremoteus.htm

But what you want may be even easier by using a USB-UIRT with the Xlobby USB-UIRT plugin (comes with xlobby). There are some forum posts that deal with setting up Pronto remotes (type pronto in search then there is some further digging).

You would most likely need something like a USB-UIRT anyways to receive signal to your computer, then to transmit the signal to your GC.

And if worse comes to worse, you can then pick up Girder, along with a UIRT plugin for it and use Xlobby with the XRemote plugin.

[thepainter]

Currently I don't have your typical HTPC. I don't have a HTPC computer hooked up to my TV or Stereo (yet) right now I just have the Tablet PC with xlobby and some great skins. I would like to send commands to my stereo and tv through TCP/IP using the global cache (which if reading correctly) is what I need to use. However this is where I get confused. Do I need to use Girder/xremote with xlobby to do this. Apparently the global cache needs to get .ccf IR converted to a Global cache IR string then it will be able to send the correct IR signal at the press of a button. (Basically I need the Tablet PC to act like a big Pronto as well as have the luxury of the other cool things such as the weather and accessing the web from the skin). Thanks again.