Griffin Powermate Possibilities

by **edwinbonneau** on Tue Apr 19, 2005 2:33 pm

I really think this thing could be cool if set up right. I dont know if anyone else has done this but here is what i want to do. I want one of these Powermate's in every room that has audio. I want each one to only control that zone. Think of it, you walk into a room push the knob down and that sends the play-all command. You then could select the next track by pressing the button and turning the knob. Or simply control volume for that particular zone, all without ever looking at a screen. I would absolutely love this. Just need some usb extensions. It would end up being a $200 VC i think once you got the usb to cat5 adapter. Any thoughts?

by **edwinbonneau** on Wed Apr 20, 2005 4:10 am

I can't beleive I would be the only one interested in this. If I am so be it but im giving it another try. It's a volume knob made of good quality metal. It's heavy and feels solid like one off a good amp. I really thought this would be great to control volume mounted to the walls in the different zones, each one asssigned to a different winamp.

by **rhinoman** on Wed Apr 20, 2005 7:58 am

As you say, its the cat5 usb extenders on top of the cost that reduces its appeal, can it definitly be assigned to one of the open winamp/foobar zones and can mulitple instances of the powermate coexist?

by **hjackson** on Wed Apr 20, 2005 5:15 pm

What would you then use as a display so you could see what you're doing?

hjackson

by **edwinbonneau** on Fri Apr 22, 2005 3:59 am

That's the whole point. I dont want to use a display. I want to walk into a room push that knob and be done with it. It's only functions will be play all and volume control.

by **hjackson** on Fri Apr 22, 2005 6:37 am

" It's only functions will be play all and volume control."

I understand, but I don't understand.

Play all what? Playlists? Just start playing all of my 10000 tracks without regard to what it is? Most people would need some sort of feedback so they could pick album/track/playlist/genre/etc.

"You then could select the next track by pressing the button and turning the knob."
Again, this is not practical if you have multiple albums to choose from. How do you know what album you're playing? One of the most important features of the music module is the "Search" feature. This can't be used in this Powermate setup. How many albums and/or tracks are in your music library? What if you want to play an internet radio station? How do you choose a station? How do you even navigate to the Internet Radio section without seeing where you are going?
I just don't see how this type of control would be useful unless all you wanted to do was play the same music playlist (likely on random ) everytime you started your music player.
IMHO, a solo Powermate control knob system without some sort of visual feedback seems way too limited to have broad appeal.
Not to completly rain on your parade, I did a search and found this for ya.

http://www.keyspan.com/products/usb/server/ (I could also probably use one of these babies!!)

hjackson

by **Naylia** on Fri Apr 22, 2005 1:39 pm

I do see the appeal to a simple solution, I often play my entire collection on random and would just like the ability to play/pause with a push and skip to the next song if I don't like what pops up. But have an a ppc I just usually drag around. I'd give it a shot, see if you can configure it (sounds like you can, you just need a long cable) and return it if it sucks.

by **briands** on Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:12 pm

I like the simple idea... I listen on random most of the time.

Some additional ideas:
Each location could have its own playlist

These could be configured from one of the clients with a display

Alternatively, maybe you could use a thin client in the room to display (via TV) a music selection screen.

by **edwinbonneau** on Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:11 pm

Exactly, i put xlobby into a friends house and thats all they use is the play-all, radom feature. I have also thought of sending the video out on my vid card to a channel modulator which assigns the video signal to a cable channel which would then show up on all the tv's in the house. I still need a cheap way to connect them to the server though. That is the biggest limiting factor i think.

by **edwinbonneau** on Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:22 pm

http://www.lindy.com/us/productfolder/04/42801/index.php I found an adapter for 115. A little cheaper than i initially thought. So that brings the price up to $160/ volume control. Not to bad. Not much more than a regular VC. Still pricy though. I think im going to try it out though. Also one of the main features i want is to be in any room and not have to look for a remote but just turn down the volume. It would never be lost. anyways ill see what it can do.

by **edwinbonneau** on Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:28 pm

Make that $86.5 for a grand total of $131/VC. http://www.provantage.com/buy-22089218-iogear-usb-extender-cat5-cat6-shopping.htm and thier official website http://www.iogear.com/main.php?loc=product&Item=GUCE50