Lately, I have been turning my attentions towards new diversions. While I am still keenly interested in alternative energy sources, and how we could better commoditize their implementations, I am also still interested in Open-Source Software. As many of you may know about me, I have a the Red Hat "Shadowman" logo tattooed on my chest !I watched with admiration and a teeny, tiny bit of envy as a good friend of mine did an rather extensive renovation to his family's home. Of great interest to me was his new multi-source media system. From a central location in his data-room, he can stream high-definition video & audio to any room in his house.
It has multiple sources, including satellite TV, AppleTV, iTunes, as well as a data-storage unit filled with MP3s & MP4s (videos). The house has been carved up into A/V "zones", each with its own programmable remote, controlling all aspects of the media being played.
I started to think about how _I_ would approach this... Also, I happen to know that my friend spent a considerable amount of money installing this system. Since I have nowhere near that kind of budget, I started to explore some Open-Source alternatives...
I absolutely love my friends media-streaming capabilities, but wondered "Does it have to stop there ?". How about adding in home-automation ? Could I also control climate & lighting in the same way ? That's when I stumbled up the LinuxMCE Project . In fact, they take it a couple of steps further, bundling a VoIP Telephone solution and Home-Security. WOW !
It is built upon a linux distribution called Ubuntu . And then the other technologies are layered on. Drivers for control-devices from X10 and Insteon are built-in, making it an extremely flexible system, suitable for all budgets. My only concern actually lay in one aspect of the solution - how much do I have to mess around importing songs, movies & other media for streaming ?
In a much more proprietary format, Apple has been working on media-dsitribution for years. The foundation is iTunes - not really an application so much as a means of purchasing media content from Apple ! They then layer on products to "assist" in those purchases... Through the use of the AirPort Express (a wireless Access point with ports for printer & speakers), I can stream music from iTunes on my laptop to the speakers I plug into the APE.Just a few days ago, Apple announced AirPlay, which allows the streaming of video content to compatible devices, including the newly re-engineered AppleTV. It is a wireless device which has a high-definition cable I plug into my TV. So I can stream a movie, either from my iTunes, streamed from Apple, or from Netflix - which is now available in Canada !
So what if I built an iTunes-based media server, and streamed content to the AirPort Expresses and to some AppleTV devices. It would represent a well-designed system, with great commercial-grade support, and not completely destroy my budget ! Take it one step further - I could control all the playback from the Apple Remote application on my iPod/iPhone/iPad... Very swish !
The final layer - what about installing a software-based phone application on my control device. I could either install microphones in each room & have the system decide where to route calls to, or use a headset - bluetooth or otherwise.
As you can see, the opportunities are endless. I am quite excited about this project, although I am still in the early stages of writing the business case for approval from the Minister of Finance (aka my wife !).
The opinions expressed are purely those of the author. Opinions are like noses - everyone has one, and they are entitled to it !
1 comment:
After drafting the article, I discovered that Marc Fleury - the fellow who started JBOSS, has started a new project called OpenRemote. While in its early stages of heavy development, it is ALREADY showing great promise. Time will tell, but Marc has proven his ability to bring Open-Source Software projects to market & build a profitable business out of it.
Check it out at www.openremote.org
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