Media @ Home

 The Windows SideShow Team has announced the availability of 4 BETA Windows SideShow Gadgets that let you control Windows Media Center from a Windows Sideshow device. You can sign-up via Microsoft Connect to gain access to Beta Test these new Windows SideShow Gadgets.

Sign-up

I believe this link works 1 time per Windows Live ID (You must sign-in with your Windows Live ID to access Beta Programs on Microsoft Connect). You can submit feedback to the team working on these Gadgets on Microsoft Connect.

Here is the breakdown of the 4 Windows Media Center BETA Windows SideShow Gadgets and what they do:

• Now Playing: View what is currently playing in Windows Media Center (includes playback controls)
• Pictures + Video: Browse your Photos and Videos folders
• Music: Browse your Music folder and play any song
• TV: Look at what is on TV via the Windows Media Center Guide, Schedule Recordings, and View Recordings (in a Thumbnail view)

I downloaded and installed the Windows Media Center BETA Windows SideShow Gadgets on my Dell XPS 420 which has a built in Windows SideShow device on the top front of the system (the XPS MiniView). It’s pretty slick to be able to control Windows Media Center from a Windows SideShow device. I’m quite fond of the Now Playing Gadget myself and the TV Gadget. I utilize Windows Media Center as my primary DVR for recording TV. If you have a Windows SideShow device - definitely give these Windows SideShow Gadgets a try!

NOTE: These 4 Windows Media Center Windows SideShow Gadgets *are* currently in BETA.

Source: http://windowsvistablog.com

 SpeakerCraft was one of the first companies way back when to introduce a multiroom audio system that incorporated metadata from an iPod.

Now the company is taking its ties to Apple one step further with an iPhone interface for the MODE distributed-audio system. The interface is generated through an embedded Web server residing inside SpeakerCraft’s ERS 1.0 Ethernet-to-serial adapter. Since the interface is accessed through the iPhone’s Safari browser, there’s no software to install on the phone (or iTouch).

The ERS also dishes up an interface for standard PC/Mac Web browsers, allowing users to control the system from any iPhone/iTouch on the network.

Multiple interface devices can be used simultaneously to control different zones of the house.

“I hate to say it, but this is the beginning of the end for keypads,” says SpeakerCraft president Jeremy Burkhardt. “Soon any keypad that isn’t emulated on a device like the iPhone will be obsolete.”

The ERS 1.0 with the embedded software has an MSRP of $1,000.

Source: CE Pro

 RemoteCentral.com released a video report from CEDIA Expo highlighting 15 new remote controls.

Products covered include the Acoustic Research AARU449, Control4 RCZ-SRC2-B, Crestron MLX-2, Marantz RC9001, RC3001 and RC2001, Niles iRemote TS, Philips Pronto Professional TSU9400, Pronto TSU9200 and Prestigo SRU8015, UEI NevoQ50 and NevoConnect, Remote Control Systems Inc. TSR750, RTI T2-Cs, T3-V and U2, URC’s Complete Control MX-980 and MX-810.

Download video report in HD here.