Database Develop

NC for HTPC remote - thoughts?

Going to be setting up a HTPC pretty soon and was looking for remote control options. Considering I just want it to mainly be a HTPC remote, it would just need Wifi, a big screen, and Android, the NC does seem a strong contender at first glance.
XBMC with it's Android wifi-based remote app seems like a very nice solution, as well as some others, (as long as the apps work fine on the larger screen).
Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this, or alternate suggestions?

The Nook is a fantastic media remote. I've not tried the XBMC apps specifically yet, though they should work fine.
I've built a home theater & home automation setup around a Windows program called Girder, from Promixis. Girder offers a full web server with javascript hooks so you can create html pages and use any browser to control things.
I started with this, using Nokia 800 tablets as the controller. It worked great, but I wanted more responsiveness and features than browsers would easily let me achieve. Thankfully Girder has a nice web service interface, against which I've been writing a native Android app that acts sort of like a Philips Pronto universal remote, except with all the Android goodies like voice recognition, gestures, etc.
Regardless of the implementation details, the Nook is a solid media remote control when paired with a decent back-end. The battery life is fine if you don't mind keeping a plug nearby (I get just under a week with moderate remote usage and occasional browsing), the form-factor isn't too big, and the bundled capabilities of an armchair browsing/<insert Android app here> device are hard to beat.
My only wants that the Nook doesn't have would be a few more physical buttons (I already map the volume buttons to TV volume controls but would like channel and FF/Rewind/Play or D-Pad controls), vibrate feedback for button presses, and a less finicky plug, ideally a drop-and-charge dock of some kind.
HTH!

I'm an avid XBMC fan. Been running it for a good while now. I ordered a NookColor for the same reason you did OP. The XBMC app is great on my Android phone, and I've been talking with the dev who works on it, trying to come up with some improvements for when it's run on tablets. I'd definitely recommend using it if you've got XBMC running off a machine at your place.

Thanks for the responses. Think I'll end up getting one later on, once I get the rest of the setup going (who knows, they might be back in stock by then ).
I've had XBMC running on my home server as a test for a little while, with the app on my HD2 running Android. App hasn't been 100% stable, force closing here & there, but hard to tell if it's the app, or just some of the quirks found in running Android on HD2. I did notice battery life suffered quite a bit, but that was with heavy remote testing today. I'll have to see how that goes with more testing.
The Girder stuff looked interesting, except for it's price tag. I'm on a bit of a budget & still have to get HTPC specific hardware, and slightly redo the backend. XBMC on Ubuntu is free and quite acceptable, so that's what I'll stick with for now. I did like that the stock phone volume controls worked through XBMC to control it's playback volume.

I use my Nook for a remote on my Ubuntu HTPC box.. Using Boxee instead of XBMC though. The Boxee app works great.

I tried both the apps for xbmc in the market - they both work well.
My problem is I have freeze-ups with xbmx on win 64 computer; don't know if it is related to nook as controller yet.

XBMC is the way to go, no doubt.
The app works fine now, but since the screen is so much larger, there is room for scaling improvements throughout the app. Nothing is a deal breaker, though.
I love that you can send links to stream to XBMC

Another XMBC user here using the Nook as a remote. Also on my Ubuntu box I'm running Subsonic (/w the Android app) - makes a much better streaming music server.

The boxee app is what I use on my HTPC. Then I use the Cloud Boxee remote app on my nook. It works great!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

I have tried a few of the remote apps on the Market and I havent found anything yet that really fits.

Can anyone point to a tutorial on how to set up the XBMC/NC remote to work with a Win7 HTPC?
Still very new to the rooted NC world.
Many thanks!
sorry, found it shortly after I'd posted this

I installed both "the official" xbmc remote, and the other one that is rated well, but neither one is working. The official one asks that I set up Hosts in Settings, but the settings page it offers is blank. So there is no way to do what it is asking
The other one, keeps telling me to make sure XBMC is allowing control via HTTP in Network settings (which it is) My Nook is connected to my wlan, so it should be connecting

Unified Remote Control offers the most remotes I have seen in 1 program.
Really simple and handy.

RASTAVIPER said:
Unified Remote Control offers the most remotes I have seen in 1 program.
Really simple and handy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know if it successfully works in XBMC?

Lapdock, full resolution RDP?

Hello Everyone,
I have had my Droid 4 since launch and have been pretty much too busy for customization until now. I was able to get it rooted and everything thanks to the help of these forums, but there is one key feature I am hoping for that I have so far not been able to find a solution for anywhere here or at droidforums or with general Google searches.
I have a lapdock for my Droid, (stock Gingerbread but rooted) and I would love to be able to open a full resolution RDP session to my Windows 7 computer at home. I found that some people were able to install and run a Ubuntu image ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1509836&highlight=lapdock ) however they still needed to access the GUI with a VNC client. As long as the GUI is accessed with an Android VNC app, when you use the app full screen on the lapdock it just interpolates the image (as it is running at the Droid 4's resolution of 960x540)
I know there was success with the Atrix with webtop2sd and installing applications like rdesktop to the Webtop environment itself. Has anyone tried this with the Droid 4?
If there are any other tips or tricks to get a full resolution RDP session running in Webtop I would greatly appreciate them. It also looks like once we get a ICS rom with HDMI support that it would probably work fine too, as it looks like Webtop 3.0 just gives a full resolution tablety interface instead of the desktop one, which is fine since all I want is full resolution RDP and if Android itself is full reolution it should work fine with an Android RDP client.
Thanks in advance,
Legomaniac

Stupid question, but have you tried a remote desktop app?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xtralogic.android.rdpclient
i use this and it works fine, but i'm not using an docks or cables. Oh and there are free apps, i've just been using this one forever

Legomaniac said:
...when you use the app full screen on the lapdock it just interpolates the image (as it is running at the Droid 4's resolution of 960x540)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am well aware of the fact that there are RDP clients for Android, I have one installed and use it when I am not docked with the Lapdock. The problem is that all Android apps that are run fullscreen with the lapdock get interpolated from 960x540 to 1366x768. This produces a very fuzzy RDP session that isn't conducive to getting work done.
As I mentioned above, the Atrix community seems to have had luck with getting an ARM version of rdesktop running in Webtop. I am just hoping there is someone in the Droid 4 community who has had luck in the same area.

Legomaniac said:
It also looks like once we get a ICS rom with HDMI support that it would probably work fine too, as it looks like Webtop 3.0 just gives a full resolution tablety interface instead of the desktop one, which is fine since all I want is full resolution RDP and if Android itself is full reolution it should work fine with an Android RDP client.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not tried this with a docking station, but .215 ICS leak's webtop works in higher resolution than mirror mode on both my TV and projector.
If you can't wait for the ICS version, I recommend installing the leak. I did and now this phone is all I wanted it to be. I'm not even going to bother installing the final ICS version anymore, because it'd only be risky in case they decide to block some features (especially important for me, being a European user).

Wait, so the .215 ICS leak supports HDMI out and works with lapdocks?
If so this is probably exactly what I need.

Legomaniac said:
Wait, so the .215 ICS leak supports HDMI out and works with lapdocks?
If so this is probably exactly what I need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It supports HDMI with webtop 3 for sure, but don't have a lapdock myself for testing. Since lapdock is just HDMI + USB, I don't see any reason why it won't though!

Well, last night I installed the ICS .215 leak, and I must say, I really like Webtop 3.0! (plus ICS is just way sexier than Gingerbread)
Thanks for letting me know about HDMI working with the leak Sjaakbanaan. I had read somewhere in the forums that HDMI wasn't working, but i'm guessing that was quite an old post from when the very first ICS leak came out.
I love how apps change into "Webtop mode" which is essentially just their tablet layout. Being able to use all of the Android apps at full resolution on the lapdock is just awesome. I have a Microsoft Bluetrak USB mouse with a micro adapter that I just leave plugged into one of the Lapdock's USB ports. It is amazing! I am going to be using this setup on campus all through this year for taking notes and viewing slides in class (plus maybe some Facebook chat, lol)
Now the only issue is finding an RDP client for Android that doesn't need me to hold down the mouse button to move the cursor on the remote session. (since most So far I have only tried Teamviewer, which isn't actual RDP in the first place, i'm guessing there is a client somewhere in the Play market that is optimized for mouse input however.
Does anybody know of one of the top of their heads?
Thanks again Sjaakbanaan!

You're welcome!
Legomaniac said:
Now the only issue is finding an RDP client for Android that doesn't need me to hold down the mouse button to move the cursor on the remote session. (since most So far I have only tried Teamviewer, which isn't actual RDP in the first place, i'm guessing there is a client somewhere in the Play market that is optimized for mouse input however.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I usually use an app called 'Remote RDP' for real RDP connections (it has a free version), but don't remember if it has the exact input mode that you like. On my Prime I usually prefer Splashtop (built-in version) instead of actual RDP

best RDP app

I am new to the world of the transformer so I am looking for a good rdp app. I tried X2 and the microsoft rdp app but they just dont feel right. I think i will next try splashtop. Just wanted to see what you all are using.

try logmein

i use Teamviewer, do i miss something important ? i mean, whats the advantage of things like Splashtop?

x2 is for sure the best for RDP i was amazed how well it works and its free

I prefer JumpDesktop, because it works perfectly for rdp and vnc. if you only need to connect to windows machines you may give the new microsoft rdp client app a shot.

X2 gets my vote, but the new Microsoft rdp client is supposed to be great if your running Windows 8.1
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 4

I could be wrong, but I think it is 2X not X2.
It depends on what you are looking to do. I use 2X (RDP) as well as splashtop.
2X just uses RDP (Terminal Services) built into the OS, no 3rd party app running. The downfall of Terminal Services is there is NO video compression. You will need a good 20 Mbps or more to have a smooth experience at full HD resolutions.
Enter apps like Splashtop. Splashtop runs a server app on the computer and when not connected, it is near dormant. But, look at your CPU usage when connected. On a dual core 2.7 GHz AMD processor, you are looking at 60-70% CPU usage for the video compression. The advantage is you only need 3-5 Mbps for smooth full HD resolutions to work. Also, if you pay for the remote connections with Splashtop you do not need to worry about a NAT on your router, or to use a dynamic DNS client to keep your IP updates so you can connect. Splashtop is free for local (on the same network). I got a free upgrade as I had paid for Splashtop on iOS and was grandfathered for life when they switched to their new model.
I know some others like TeamViewer do not have to pay to connect remotely.
If your home router is a VPN server, just connect to your VPN and then it will appear you are on the same local network.

I rarely have to use my tablet to log into windows remote PC, so JumpDesktop costs money while app like 2x does it well and free. I also try to avoid running additional server side applications, just VNC and RDP is great.
I will give a try to the official Microsoft RDP app!

vadimo said:
I rarely have to use my tablet to log into windows remote PC, so JumpDesktop costs money while app like 2x does it well and free. I also try to avoid running additional server side applications, just VNC and RDP is great.
I will give a try to the official Microsoft RDP app!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using RDP to share my windows laptop with my wife the official RDP is nice, but can be trouble if you have a non english keyboard (which is already an issue with RDP anyway ).

thor7777 said:
try logmein
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can anyone describe how the TF701 dock's physical keys are mapped In LMI, and when you need to use the on-screen keyboards? Specifically, can the PCs Fn keys, cursor keys, and edit keys be accessed from the physical keyboard, or do you need to use the screen to get to those? I currently do not have the keyboard dock, and am debating if it would help with the LMI app, or if I should get a Windows ultrabook instead.

Chromecast & Ultramon for dual monitor?

Will it be possible at some point to use Chromecast as a gateway to use the TV as second independent monitor, rather than a mirror of the laptop/desktop with a browser extension, maybe in conjunction with Ultramon?
I have Ultramon installed in my laptop. When I turn my iPad into a second monitor using an app like AirDisply, Ultramon immediately picks it up as the second monitor and provides all the functionality for a second monitor - position, resolution, task bar, etc.
Can I achieve something similar with Chromecast + Ultramon, if not now in the future?

New Daddy said:
Will it be possible at some point to use Chromecast as a gateway to use the TV as second independent monitor, rather than a mirror of the laptop/desktop with a browser extension, maybe in conjunction with Ultramon?
I have Ultramon installed in my laptop. When I turn my iPad into a second monitor using an app like AirDisply, Ultramon immediately picks it up as the second monitor and provides all the functionality for a second monitor - position, resolution, task bar, etc.
Can I achieve something similar with Chromecast + Ultramon, if not now in the future?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No the CCast wouldn't do that since it would be a waste since the CCast connects to the same network the Android device does so why send it to CCast when you could send it to the Device directly.
CCast does however act as a second monitor for Android and other devices...

New Daddy said:
Will it be possible at some point to use Chromecast as a gateway to use the TV as second independent monitor, rather than a mirror of the laptop/desktop with a browser extension, maybe in conjunction with Ultramon?
I have Ultramon installed in my laptop. When I turn my iPad into a second monitor using an app like AirDisply, Ultramon immediately picks it up as the second monitor and provides all the functionality for a second monitor - position, resolution, task bar, etc.
Can I achieve something similar with Chromecast + Ultramon, if not now in the future?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Future, maybe, but the 1-2 second lag from having to compress the video (and Chromecast having to decompress it at the other end) would be annoying at best.

bhiga said:
Future, maybe, but the 1-2 second lag from having to compress the video (and Chromecast having to decompress it at the other end) would be annoying at best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh... I never noticed any annoying lag when I use iPad with AirDisplay. I guess iPad has lot more processing power than Chromecast.

AirPlay is designed for screen mirroring and hence low latency. The current methods of Chromecast desktop mirroring essentially make the desktop a video stream first.
Likely this will change once they're screen mirroring is implemented by devices.
Sent from a device with no keyboard. Please forgive typos, they may not be my own.

bhiga said:
AirPlay is designed for screen mirroring and hence low latency. The current methods of Chromecast desktop mirroring essentially make the desktop a video stream first.
Likely this will change once they're screen mirroring is implemented by devices.
Sent from a device with no keyboard. Please forgive typos, they may not be my own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm telling you. With AirPlay, there is more than mirroring. You can use the iPad as a second monitor. It works perfectly with Ultramon.

New Daddy said:
I'm telling you. With AirPlay, there is more than mirroring. You can use the iPad as a second monitor. It works perfectly with Ultramon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, and screen mirroring/output isn't the core intent of Chromecast, and I'm not sure screen mirroring will ever make it to iOS for Chromecast.
Long story short, we all can want Chromecast to be more than it is and it's growing steadily, but there will be limits based on its core design.

Thinking about it more... I think Google could (and probably is) making the screen mirroring similar to how RemoteX works in Windows - instead of sending a picture of a red box, send a command to draw a red box - much less data and identical result as long as both source and Chromecast share the same drawing language and techniques. Definitely possible for Android-Chromecast, not sure if/how it could be implemented outside of code that Google owns though, including Windows as a source.
Apple has a definite advantage there as they can make sure iOS, AppleTV and MacOS all share a common drawing implementation.
Sent from a device with no keyboard. Please forgive typos, they may not be my own.

Problem is, can't use computer when full screen for other tasks
You cannot use the computer screen for anything else when using Chromecast. thios would be a win win

Desktop mode; apps that work well, apps that don't and bugs

I've been playing around with desktop mode quite a bit and overall it seems to be a good idea. With the exception of TeamViewer I could move my entire business day over to it quite easily. I'm using an Inapio hub and keyboard / mouse combo with a usb dongle.
Apps that I've found work well with it are:
1. All of the Microsoft apps. I mainly use the Outlook app and Microsoft Edge and have no complaints about either of them.
2. Enpass and Lastpass.
3. Most if not all of my banking apps work well.
Apps that don't work well:
1. Quite a few games. Some of the games that require taps don't recognise mouse clicks. Risk is one I can think of straight away.
2. TeamViewer (app-specific problem as it doesn't support remote desktop scaling from the Android app).
Bugs / annoyances I've found:
1. Quite often when clicking on buttons in browsers, email and other apps I have to click slightly off-centre to the left and below the button before the click is recognised.
2. When deleting the built-in apps from the desktop the rest of the icons don't auto-rearrange.
3. No auto-rearrange of icons.
4. Lacking a slideshow for the desktop background.
Do you use desktop mode and how do you find it?

How is performance and input lag? Is it smooth?

I couldn't get see Gmail. Which is a bummer since we use g-suite at work....
Apart from that it worked very well. My monitor has the most and keyboard plugged into it and the video about is a USB-C cable. When plugged into this the desktop is very well integrated with the most and keyboard working fine and the phone charging via the video cable as well. But as I said, no Gmail...

@Riio Performance is very good with no lag.
@palexr Yes, a bit odd that the gmail app isn't listed under the start menu. I think it must be about the only one that doesn't show up there. You could always use gsuite via a web browser?
One type of app that works well in desktop mode but not in phone mode is SIP / VOIP clients. I use Bria but have also tested Zoiper and both app stop running under the lockscreen; even with "ignore battery optimisation" enabled and yet Skype works perfectly.

Gmail app icon does not appear in the desktop, but if you receive Gmail notification and you click on it, Gmail will load. What I did was to pin to Task bar and now I have it in desktop. So all you have to do is to wait patiently for the notifications of your favourite apps to appear on the desktop.

musicdiary said:
Gmail app icon does not appear in the desktop, but if you receive Gmail notification and you click on it, Gmail will load. What I did was to pin to Task bar and now I have it in desktop. So all you have to do is to wait patiently for the notifications of your favourite apps to appear on the desktop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, yes that worked - to a degree. I can open Gmail from the notifications and then pin it to the Task Bar as you say. However, clicking on the resultant icon will only open my private email and not my work one. However, if I get a work email, I get a notification which I can open and access my work emails - pinning that to the task bar will only open my private gmail.
So, yep it works, just need to send my work email an email.
Thanks.

What determines whether an app icon will appear or not in desktop mode ?
I tried it but could not find YouTube app for example in Desktop mode ? So how do I trigger other apps not shown in Desktop mode ?
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

What triggers the DPI used on an external screen? I have two screens - one 23 Dell monitor and one 23 Samsung SyncMaster TV/Monitor. Both support 1920x1080 however when I connect HM10P to a Samsung Screen I noticed the DPI is much lower than on the Dell one (same resolution).

richardburt said:
I've been playing around with desktop mode quite a bit and overall it seems to be a good idea. With the exception of TeamViewer I could move my entire business day over to it quite easily. I'm using an Inapio hub and keyboard / mouse combo with a usb dongle.
Apps that I've found work well with it are:
1. All of the Microsoft apps. I mainly use the Outlook app and Microsoft Edge and have no complaints about either of them.
2. Enpass and Lastpass.
3. Most if not all of my banking apps work well.
Apps that don't work well:
1. Quite a few games. Some of the games that require taps don't recognise mouse clicks. Risk is one I can think of straight away.
2. TeamViewer (app-specific problem as it doesn't support remote desktop scaling from the Android app).
Bugs / annoyances I've found:
1. Quite often when clicking on buttons in browsers, email and other apps I have to click slightly off-centre to the left and below the button before the click is recognised.
2. When deleting the built-in apps from the desktop the rest of the icons don't auto-rearrange.
3. No auto-rearrange of icons.
4. Lacking a slideshow for the desktop background.
Do you use desktop mode and how do you find it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone know if there is a list of supported app in desktop mode, or some specific flag/tag to search for in Play Store. I'm interested also into Visio replacement and some PDF editors but can't understand what to search for.
I didn't understand if this mode is valid only for EMUI desktop (so that developers need to change their app to work specifically on EMUI) or a general Android optimization.

I found a way to add any app, though not all work properly.. Prime video for example, it loads, but video playback is just a black box..
Use another launcher (I used Nova), and open that launcher in desktop mode. Nova looks broken, but don't worry.. Double click (left mouse) on the blank home screen and app search opens.. Find your desired app, open it, then pin it to the bottom bar..
Enjoy

When using PC Mode is there a way to force fullscreen for 3rd Party apps.
I use the Huawei standard video player which is always fullscreen but for some videos there is no sound so I use VLC or MX Player. Cant seem to get rid of the taskbar below when using the other apps.

RabidWolve said:
When using PC Mode is there a way to force fullscreen for 3rd Party apps.
I use the Huawei standard video player which is always fullscreen but for some videos there is no sound so I use VLC or MX Player. Cant seem to get rid of the taskbar below when using the other apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same issue, a bit annoying, but nearly full screen.. Chrome won't go full screen in videos either, nor any other non stock video player I've tried..

Setting.Out said:
Same issue, a bit annoying, but nearly full screen.. Chrome won't go full screen in videos either, nor any other non stock video player I've tried..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dang. Was hoping it was something I was not doing.
Emailed their support requesting they add this. Hopefully they enable with a software update.

RabidWolve said:
When using PC Mode is there a way to force fullscreen for 3rd Party apps.
I use the Huawei standard video player which is always fullscreen but for some videos there is no sound so I use VLC or MX Player. Cant seem to get rid of the taskbar below when using the other apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what bothers me, I've been using terrarium app a lot lately, and casting my screen to our tv works just fine but since its using wireless connection, image quality is somehow affected and also the auto motion plus wont work, movements arent that smooth(was accustomed to 60fps). Tried using the desktop mode and image quality did improve and the auto motion plus now works but movies on mxplayer is not going on full screen.

Autocad mate 10 desktop mode
Someone can tell me if autocad app runs with desktop mode on mate 10?

Tested yesterday the Easy Projection mode, a huge disappointment from my expectations to get rid of my Windows laptop.
The Microsoft Suite is barely usable, the documents are resizing correctly but Word, Excel, PowerPoint features are just a ghost of the rich applications I have on the laptop. Also the UI is clumsy with commands to be accessed in weird way.
Also the user experience is far from productive, with the right button click doing the function of the left button, no point and drag, no changing apps position in folders.
Dropbox app, files app etc are just a stretched version of the mobile one with a lot of empty space.
The only well functioning is web browsing, so I suppose relying on Google Docs will be fine.
Want to ask if does someone else have this problems, maybe need I to do some setup.

My desktop test
Today I tested the desktop mode.
I was quite amazed about what I saw.
A few things I did not like:
-citrix receiver did not work well
-rdp connections did not go well
-no VoIP apps possible because the user that is activated has no rights to the phone options.
I am looking for the possibility to change some settings for the desktop mode. I can't find the application "desktop mode" to elavate the rights.
Also the edges for the chrome browser are not as good as we would like to see. I will subscribe to the fora for the Huawei desktop mode to see if I can learn. Something there.
If anyone has tips for me please advise me.

Setting.Out said:
Same issue, a bit annoying, but nearly full screen.. Chrome won't go full screen in videos either, nor any other non stock video player I've tried..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have problems with VLC, it works fine but playback controls dont appear on screen.
Perfect with stock video player but no audio in some videos
I use MX player, working 100% great
The three are full screen support, to do it go to the icon on the task bar and left button, then enable it.

Just wondering with the P20 series released, updated EMUI 8.1 have there been any improvements in desktop mode compared to the mate 10?

anyone know how to have desktop mode auto-launch when cable is plugged in, rather than having to choose desktop mode from status bar?