Multi-Level of client(s) / server(s)?

[sdumas]

This will be a long post...

Summary - Is it possible to have a fat client acting as a server too? and can a client connects to more than one server?

I have 9 PCs that are located in different rooms in my house. I use most of the environment in a two-tier approach; let me explain.

In my Home Theatre I have my Master HTPC which contains all my music, movies, photos, etc with 1 terabytes of disk space. The Master HTPC is also the Xlobby server, has Girder installed on it, has a USBUIRT to control my home theatre equipment, has an X10 device to control my lighting and has a couple of sound cards as well. This PC is located in a closet, just because I don't want to see it and particularly; hear it.

I use a second PC in the home theatre itself as a "remote control" using a touchscreen and a Fat client to control the Master HTPC. This one controls my amplifier, Satellite receiver, lights, etc. This works very well.

I use a third PC to control music and video in another in the basement also with a Fat client and this works fine too. This one control another set of amplifier, TV, using the same USBUIRT from the Master HTPC with IR extenders from Xantech.

So far so good.

Here is the problem:

I have another set of two PCs in the Living Room to control our "regular" TV viewing and music listening. That room has not been wired for IR extenders or network cabling. In this case I use WiFi to connect to the main network. I want to use the LRPC (Living Room PC) to send IR signals to the Satellite receiver in the living room, to the amplifier and the standard CD player we have. I can use either a USBUIRT with Xlobby or a REDRAT with Girder; I have both handy. My wife does not want to see a keyboard or a mouse in the living room (I understand and second that). In order to get a nice control for this, I have a nice Fujitsu Tablet PC with touchscreen that I can use as a client (also wireless). This tablet can be used not only to control the LRPC but also to control the rest of the house through the Master HTPC. This tablet need to have acces to both LRPC and the Master HTPC.

What can be done to simplify this.

Here are my thoughts:

1 - Since I can't use the USBUIRT from the Master HTPC to send signals to my living room devices, I set the LRPC in server mode. This allows me to use my Tablet to control the LRPC. The LRPC can send the IR signals to the living room devices. The LRPC can also use the shares on the Master HTPC, so access to movies, music and photos is all set.
Downside - My tablet is now dedicated to the LRPC.

2 - I set up the LRPC as a Fat Client with its own skin and local USBUIRT. I can not use my tablet anymore as it can't control the Fat client. A command from my Tablet such as "Show Photos" will show photos on the Tablet and on the Master HTPC but not on the LRPC. If the tablet could connect to the Fat Client as a "master" this would work. I don't think this is possible today, unless someone can point me in the right direction.

3 - Use Girder extensively to jump from Tablet to Master HTPC which would send a signal back to LRPC and finally LRPC send signal to appropriate device. Advantage: One skin to manage. Disadvantages - LOTS of lag between commands (I can just imagine changing to channel 301 on the satellite receiver...), complex Girder management and lack of integration

4 - Using scenario 1, create multiple "icons" for clients connecting to the proper server. Advantage - the tablet can now control LRPC and the rest of the house, Disadvantage - it's too clumsy and it's not "wife-friendly". The tablet would need to close the client apps, you then select the new appropriate server and you're OK.

5 - Forget the whole thing completely - NOT AN OPTION!!!!!! LOL.

6 - Any other ideas you guys might get!

It would be great to be able to send commands from client to client (thin or fat).

[rbziggy]

Wow - I guess you don't need nuch in the way of heating with all those pcs running 24x7

However, a couple of thoughts:

1) Use a wireless IR extender (pyramid link thingys) to get IR from your master HTPC usbuirt to the living room. These can work well depending on distance and wall thickness. Potential issue in that it will blast all codes into your living room and if there are 'duplicates' between theatre and living room kit you may get a ghost in the machine effect in the LR.

2) Is it possible instead to use the windows remote desktop (XP) on the tablet PC to directly control the LRPC?

Rgds

[sdumas]

Heating schmheating.... LOL. Most of these PCs are low end, and do not use lots of power, thank god.

I did lots of experimenting this weeked and I am leaning towards using the Web client. The biggest problem so far is the form factor. 720P on the HDTV and HomeTheater, 640x480 on the web client and 1024x768 on other fat/thin clients. Fonts are all screwed up from one menu and system to the other.

So far it has been an OK experience. I had issues with the wireless network, but that's another story.

I decided to use the Redrat2 in my living room to send signal from the fat client. It's also a great way to differentiate IR signals from one source to another (USBUIRT)

I also created lots of Girder events to generate the commands I needed.

A little painful (OK a lot...) but so far I seem to be going in the right direction.

Music is the easy part. Movies, Photos are the complicated parts. I doubled and tripled the amount of menus from the HeavyMetal skin; added a lot of new menus to control equipments and lighting as well.

Thanks for your input. If anyone else has ideas, please share.

Thanks!

[hvs69]

Is it possible to have a fat client acting as a server too? and can a client connects to more than one server?

Did you get this question answered ? I would like to do this as well but caanot try it out since my thin client is not ready. If this does not work than I am thinking of using mapped network drives from my media server connected to my HTPC. That arrangement seems to be working on my system currently. All the other remote controls (PPC, touch sreeens etc) will be thin clients to my HTPC.

720P on the HDTV and HomeTheater, 640x480 on the web client and 1024x768 on other fat/thin clients. Fonts are all screwed up from one menu and system to the other.

If you redesign your skin for each client keeping their resolutions in mind, you should not have this problem.

[sdumas]

No I did not get a response.

I can see that I can do a few things at once, but, I have not experimented yet as I have other issues (%$#&$# wireless) to solve first.

In what I can see, you can start a Fat client as a server, the same client seemed that it could also connect to another server and at the same time be a web server. What good would it do, I am not sure yet. But, I'll definitely look into it.

What I would REALLY like to have is something like this:

Calling menus from other servers - exemple Server1:Mainmenu or Server2:photomenu

Send commands to other servers - exemple Server1:startZoomplayer or Server2:startphotodisplay

This would allow for example to have multiple clients with different menus on each. An example of that would be to have a ZoomPlayer control menu on a fat client, while having Zoomplayer on the main server. (this kind of works today as the Zoomplayer control sits under the player itself giving you control of the actual player on a thin/fat client - but it is kind of a fluke). Another example would be to show pictures on the server while having a slide show control on the client. ... we can always dream...

As far as the resolution is concerned, you're right I just have to redesign the menus for each resolution and keep track of which machine is using what, and making sure that the Back button goes to the proper resolution, etc.
Yikes, quite a bit of work. Nothing is so simple... lol.
And let's not talk about maintenance...

Thanks!