CT Droid
CT Bot
I have been struck with the bug again and I am working on a few projects that I have had on the back burner for a while.
Russond Control and Whole Home Audio
I have been looking for a solution for this for a while. My big requirement is that this be handled via TCP/IP (yes, I am going standard around TCP/IP as my in house transport) and be controllable by low cost touch screens (ie, iPod Touch and iPad).
I looked at the Russound Touchpoint solution but it seems a little kludgey to me. There isn't even a native iPhone application for the device. I then looked at CQC. This would be a good solution but its just too much time invenstment and expense to get off the ground. I am not ready to take on learning this app and the expense to pay someone to do it is prohibitive. Then I looked at Casatunes again.
CasaTunes
This app can run on my existing WHS and both control my CAM 6.6 and stream multiple music streams to the CAM6.6. Control can be accomplished via website
and via iPhone (touch/Pad/etc)!
My problem is that my WHS is in the garage and my CAM 6.6 is in the entertainment center in the living room. (Yes, I wont make this mistake again in my next home). Initially I want to have just 1 audio stream and serial control available to the system. And I want to do this without running any additional wires. I had accomplished the audio stream in the past using iTunes and an Airport. this has worked ok but music seems to stop at odd times and there is no real support for iTunes on server 2003. (Bad Apple) To facilitate my new functionality I am going to use a Moxa nPort 5150 serial server to extend a virtual com port across my TCP/Ip network to the CAM.
To extend music to the Russound I should really use a Barix Instreamer and Exstreamer but the cost is just too high for those two devices (about 500 bucks for both). I might have to do that in the future for extra streams but for my first TCP/Ip stream I am going to give an old Linksys device a shot:
The WMB54G creates a virtual audio device on the source PC and streams the audio across the network to the bridge which has ethernet in and RCA outs to connect the CAM. And its only 50 bucks.
There is a similar application for the Barix Exstreamer which I might look into if the WMB54G doesn't work out.
I am also going to pick up a riser for my Synergy cabinet so I can have some more space. It doesn;t look as good I don't think but I have run out of room for components. And I really need to get an additional power conditioner in there and get the PS3 and Onkyo into a more open spot for better heat dissipation. They are cooking insde the case. The riser will look like this:
I'll post up some real pics once I have everything installed. The riser is ordered but it takes about 2 weeks to arrive. The Linksys and Moxa are coming from eBay so shipping for those items is unsure.
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Russond Control and Whole Home Audio
I have been looking for a solution for this for a while. My big requirement is that this be handled via TCP/IP (yes, I am going standard around TCP/IP as my in house transport) and be controllable by low cost touch screens (ie, iPod Touch and iPad).
I looked at the Russound Touchpoint solution but it seems a little kludgey to me. There isn't even a native iPhone application for the device. I then looked at CQC. This would be a good solution but its just too much time invenstment and expense to get off the ground. I am not ready to take on learning this app and the expense to pay someone to do it is prohibitive. Then I looked at Casatunes again.
CasaTunes
This app can run on my existing WHS and both control my CAM 6.6 and stream multiple music streams to the CAM6.6. Control can be accomplished via website
and via iPhone (touch/Pad/etc)!
My problem is that my WHS is in the garage and my CAM 6.6 is in the entertainment center in the living room. (Yes, I wont make this mistake again in my next home). Initially I want to have just 1 audio stream and serial control available to the system. And I want to do this without running any additional wires. I had accomplished the audio stream in the past using iTunes and an Airport. this has worked ok but music seems to stop at odd times and there is no real support for iTunes on server 2003. (Bad Apple) To facilitate my new functionality I am going to use a Moxa nPort 5150 serial server to extend a virtual com port across my TCP/Ip network to the CAM.
To extend music to the Russound I should really use a Barix Instreamer and Exstreamer but the cost is just too high for those two devices (about 500 bucks for both). I might have to do that in the future for extra streams but for my first TCP/Ip stream I am going to give an old Linksys device a shot:
The WMB54G creates a virtual audio device on the source PC and streams the audio across the network to the bridge which has ethernet in and RCA outs to connect the CAM. And its only 50 bucks.
There is a similar application for the Barix Exstreamer which I might look into if the WMB54G doesn't work out.
I am also going to pick up a riser for my Synergy cabinet so I can have some more space. It doesn;t look as good I don't think but I have run out of room for components. And I really need to get an additional power conditioner in there and get the PS3 and Onkyo into a more open spot for better heat dissipation. They are cooking insde the case. The riser will look like this:
I'll post up some real pics once I have everything installed. The riser is ordered but it takes about 2 weeks to arrive. The Linksys and Moxa are coming from eBay so shipping for those items is unsure.
This thread is not open. If you wish to respond, please respond using the original blog entry link. View the original blog entry
