Touch Screen Display with HD Theater

[LWM4P]

Hello,
I have been using Sage for a long time, but just in a single setup in my living room. I would like to put a stereo and a small touch screen display in another room so I can listen to my music and maybe some recorded shows...I plan on getting the HD Theater. How/can I use a touch screen display with the HD Theater? Typically you have to install a bit of control software on the computer you are running the screen from so it will receive the inputs. Has anyone tried this?

[IVB]

A bunch of folks are using CQC as their home automation engine, and it has pretty rich integration with SageTV. Some folks have created some pretty nice touchscreen GUIs for it. But that's killing a mosquito with an elephant gun if all you want is music, so I wonder if Girder/NetRemote is a viable cheaper option.

[stanger89]

For music:
http://www.logitechsqueezebox.com/pr...box-touch.html

[techhome]

2nd on the Squeezebox suggestion. A bit pricey, but worth every penny if you are a music lover. Regarding touchscreen control of the Squeezebox, use an iPhone or iPod touch and buy the $10 iPeng app from the Apple app store and you will be able to browse and control playback in a very slick manner.

IMO, in the home automation world, the iPod touch/iPhone is a bit of a giant killer regarding its ability to control numerous HA devices and applications.

As an alternative to the Squeezebox, AirTunes is a less expensive, and slightly less capable music solution. If you are a dedicated iPod/iTunes user, this is an excellent solution. In brief, airtunes is a remote set of speakers for iTunes. The music is delivered over WiFi to the Airport Express, which you hook-up to your stereo. You can control the music on the PC running iTunes or using an iPhone/Touch via the free "Remote" app.

[Paul H]

James River Media Jukebox is free:
http://www.mediajukebox.com/

[mickp]

Originally Posted by LWM4P

Hello,
I have been using Sage for a long time, but just in a single setup in my living room. I would like to put a stereo and a small touch screen display in another room so I can listen to my music and maybe some recorded shows...I plan on getting the HD Theater. How/can I use a touch screen display with the HD Theater? Typically you have to install a bit of control software on the computer you are running the screen from so it will receive the inputs. Has anyone tried this?

I think that's a cool idea. AFAIK touch screens generally work like a mouse but would need to be calibrated .

I suggest contacting Sage directly with this question.

Mick.

[LWM4P]

It anyone is interested, I got a response from sage:
"Unfortunately that wouldn't work. You need to use the remote with the HD200."

So no touchscreen with the HD200. I have just worked out my alternative though and this is what I am implementing.

Recap of problem/idea:
I have an individual sage server that runs the main TV (have music, photos, recordings, etc all there). I want to put a stereo upstairs and have a touchscreen that has all my music next to it. This stereo also runs the speakers out on the porch.

My solution:
For about $1200 I am getting all the following:
- Asus eee touchscreen all in one computer - $500
- SageTV Client - $40
- 3 2x75 watt home amplifiers (Pyle makes them) - $120
- 4 Bose speakers for the main room - $320
- 2 Polk outdoor speakers for the porch - $100
- Tallus Android SageTV - $?

The touchscreen will be mounted on the wall next to the stereo (it also happens to be right next to the kitchen, kind of an open area type thing). Run the sound output to the amps then wires to the speakers. Two amps for the 4 indoor speakers and one amp for the two outdoor ones (may try to find a 4 channel amp so I only have one for the indoor speakers). The touchscreen (runs XP) will have SageTV client on it and connected to the main Sage server. The extra kicker: I can control the whole thing from my android if I am hanging out outside.

Extras: The touchscreen will be mounted so you have have recipes up, watch TV or recordings, browse while you are in the kitchen.

Anyone see any problems or suggestions? I hope nothing too big, cause I have ordered most of the stuff :-))

[sic0048]

Looks good!

I'm not surprised the touchscreen solution won't work with the HD-200. While a touchscreen does emulate the mouse, it requires a hardware driver compatable with the touchscreen so the device can communicate with the touchscreen. The HD-200 clearly does not have those types of device drivers installed on them.

If someone really wanted to look into it, I'm sure the HD-200 could probably be hacked. I'm sure it runs some sort of linux system. It might be possible to add a touchscreen device driver. However, there are a lot of potential issues involved and no guarantees it would work.

Personally I would spend the money to buy the correct hardware just as you are doing.