Using my MacBook Pro as a remote control.

[Akh270]

Hi all! New to the forums and I'm a newer Mac user having ditched windows (hallelujah!) From what I've seen this is the place to ask this kind of question.

So basically what I want to do. I want to control my entire home system from my MacBook. Receiver, TV, everything. After searching for answer on the web I still haven't found anything out. I'm fairly certain it's possible to do. I'll need some sort of IR emitter and the programming codes, that much is certain. It's just a fun project I wanna do. Any help/guidance would be great! Thanks in advance!

Adam

 

[Collin Bl]

Welcome to the Forum. Depends, what country are you in and have you had a look thru Google?

 

[Akh270]

I'm in the US. And I have tried google to no avail.

 

[Collin Bl]

Is this the sort of App u want?

Download Indigo for Mac - Home control server with X10 and INSTEON integration. MacUpdate Mac Software Downloads

 

[Akh270]

Possibly, I'll look into it more when I'm home from work. Seems promising from what I've seen though. I'll still need an IR emitter though right?

 

[scathe]

An episode of The Bing Bang Theory comes to mind when reading this

Anyway, it's not related as much to your computer as to all of the devices you need to control. All the different protocols and manufacturer software you would need. Aim your google searches at the specific brands and even models ... That's where you should start, the IR transmitter would be the last thing to worry about. I mean it's not just a question of pointing an IR diode at your stereo and hoping for the best, you need to have the right frequency, signal codes ...

I don't mean to spoil your fun, but I wouldn't expect there to be a ready-made universal solution for this type of thing. Especially when all your systems are probably different make/model and never meant for this sort of thing.

Good Luck with your project

 

[Akh270]

For sure. I know that I need the IR codes. I'll worry about that problem later. Right now I've only found PC compatible IR emitters. I've got IR repeaters sending signals to my A/V components in my cabinet. Thanks for all the responses!. The app seems to be what I need to "program" my computer. Phase 2 is emitting the signal. I may just stick with the harmony remote I have, but this seems like a fun project.

 

[Slydude]

To solve the IR emitter problem something like this might work Home I know I have seen a few others. As soon as I can find the links I will let you know. There is also an app that should prove useful iRed2 | - Remotes for the rest of us I am wondering if this will work with other usb-ir hardware.

 

[Akh270]

That might work. I could actually mount that in a hidden area and use an IR repeater to hit everything. Seems simple enough (so to speak). Greatly appreciate all the help!

 

[Slydude]

This company has a few other options as well. IR Trans - Technical Information - Software / Applications It is a bit more expensive than the option I linked to earlier but there are more options.

Whatever you decide to use let us know how it works out. I would like to try something like this since the iRed touch might work on the iPad. If there are enough customization options I could have more customization options for the buttons than my current Logitech.

 

[Akh270]

Man if you got your iPad to do all this, it'd be like you had a Harmony 1100 type thing. That'd be really sweet. Part of the reason I'm doing this is because of how limited the logitech programming interface is. I'll keep you all posted on my results. time to do some read up on all this. If it works out, I'm giving my Harmony One to my parents. They don't need anything spectacular.

 

[Akh270]

Hmmm I wonder if I can get it to work with my PS3 using the harmony adapter.

 

[Slydude]

Man if you got your iPad to do all this, it'd be like you had a Harmony 1100 type thing. That'd be really sweet. Part of the reason I'm doing this is because of how limited the logitech programming interface is. I'll keep you all posted on my results. time to do some read up on all this. If it works out, I'm giving my Harmony One to my parents. They don't need anything spectacular.

That was my idea as well. I like my Logitech 550 OK but for some of my devices I have to cycle through several screens to get to the button I want. Even moving the most used buttons to the first screen means I have to cycle through at least two screens sometimes more.

I've seen a few of those table top things that cost several hundred dollars. With the exception of the IR emitter this project uses gear I already own. Theoretically, each member of an i-family could have buttons customized in the order that they prefer.

 

[Akh270]

Yeah even with my Harmony One I had to do a bit of manual programming. I managed to map most of my required commands to the buttons already on the remote. Helped out a bunch.

After looking at everything I need to make this work, I'm gonna have to piece it together a bit at a time. Gunshow coming up and I need ammo! So this project will be in the works for sometime yet I'm afraid... Oh well I'll keep at it and post results as the parts start coming in. Just ordered an IR repeater. Should be delivered on thursday hopefully.