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Controlling your Pocket PC from your desktop has always been a great feature offered by many applications. The PDA Controller folks have just updated their application, PDA Controller, to version 2.0. This is I have jumped at it right away to find out how it compares to the alternates and have accordingly updated my well-known “Do you want to access your (or, any) Pocket PC from another (desktop) computer?” all-in-one article.
Here’s the now-added section (in addition to updating the comparison chart) if you don’t want to click the link to the original, full article:
PDA Controller 2.0 by PDA Controller
This application is really weak: it's just overpriced for what it's capable of. Pocket Controller, while it costs $20 more (more than twice the price of this application), is incomparably better: it's much faster, has no keyboard problems and is Landscape-, fully WM5- and VGA-compliant, unlike this application.
While it's compatible with WM2003, not even there does it have advanced key functionality. For example, you can't use the Control / Shift + D-pad arrow keys on the desktop keyboard to quickly move around in the text / highlight it.
No Landscape / VGA support at all (tested the latter on all my VGA devices; an x51v example is here. On my Pocket Loox 720, the screen went immediately blank when the app connected.
While it supports both static image (BMP / JPG) and video capturing, in it, it's in no way as efficient as Pocket Controller (for example, the latter can use any system-level video encoder)
Under WM5, it only supports the arrow keys / Enter, not traditional alphanumeric keys
While it has clipboard copy functionality, it's really awkward to use. Pocket Controller's approach is MUCH better.
It's SLOW!
It definitely shows the developer hasn't paid sufficient attention to it: for example, the Preferences screen is full of English spelling mistakes
Tips:
To see the current state of the RAM memory, you must explicitly click the Refresh button. Fortunately, it works (at last something that does work...); example screenshots: WM2003 WM5
By default, it’s optimized for slow connections, which also means it’ll only deliver 8-bit images to the desktop, which is not necessarily what you want when taking screenshots of, say, games, anything containing non-simple images and the like. In these cases, make sure you switch the connection speed to “fast” as can be seen in here. Of course, this’ll also mean additional slowdown.
Verdict: forget it, even if you only have a WM2003 (or former) device and you don't plan to upgrade to anything else where the lack of landscape / VGA / keyboard support would be a showstopper. Get something else instead. It's only if you (also) have Symbian UIQ devices you'd like to control that it may be worth checking out.
Do you use your desktop Windows PC, Mac or Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) desktop computer to play back music or videos? Would you like to be able to remote control the playback from your Pocket PC like on an infrared remote controller unit? Don't you like the idea of purchasing another hardware remote controller for the PC to be able to do this, even when this only means a new sound- or video card with a dedicated hardware infrared remote controller? You don't want to use short-range infared controllers where line-of-sight is a must but, for example, would like to control your equipment from anywhere of your house through, for example, your Wi-Fi wireless network? For example, you're sitting in the kitchen and would like to make the desktop computer-controlled speakers in the kitchen a bit louder or temporarily switch off the music because you have an incoming call? It's just a screentap in your Windows Mobile-based handheld device. Now, imagine what you would need to do without having any kind of a remote control facility - you'd need to go to your (MCE) PC and there do what you need.
Interested? Read on - you'll certainly find this roundup highly useful!
There are two main kinds of Windows Mobile -> desktop PC remote control applications: full-fledged desktop access applications (VNC, TSC, RDP, LogMeIn etc.) and strictly multimedia control applications. As far as the former are concerned, I've thoroughly reviewed all the, on Windows Mobile, available solutions in the Remote Desktop Access Bible. You will NOT want to use these applications to control your media players - there are much better, multimedia-specific applications for this task. There is simply no point in using a fully-fledged, full desktop controller application for multimedia control.
Note that there is a third class of Windows Mobile remote control applications; that of "simple" infrared (IR) remote controller applications I've reviewed in the Infrared Remote Control Bible. As they don't have many of the advantages (for example, lack of need for line of sight; the lack of heavy dependence on the CPU type - most titles don't support the TI and the Samsung CPU's - and the quality / range of the built-in infrared unit; the lack of one-way control only etc.) of the "real" multimedia remote controller (MMRC for short) apps and the only real point of using them is controlling "non-smart" audiovisual devices like stand-alone DVD players and amplifiers, I don't pay any attention to them in this review. Please make sure you do check out the above-linked review for more information on them.
Note that there're some other, similar, but desktop-only roundups; see for example this German language Wiki entry for some additional, desktop-side apps.
1.1 What can you control?
With all the reviewed (available) MMRC apps,
you can control, at least, the basic functionality of the desktop-side player; that is, Stop / Start / Next title / Previous title / Pause and the volume slider.
you see (at least - with more advanced remote controllers, you also see the album art or even the lyrics of) the title and artist of the current title (particularly if it has a filename already conveying this information - the simplest applications only display the filename of the currently played title or, in very few cases - see for example PPC Tablet Remote Control Suite - don't display anything, not even the filename.)
some kind of a playlist; if not your desktop-side, pre-created and automatic playlists (as is the case with for example WMP), then, at least, a local playlist you can create on your PDA my individually adding arbitrary titles to the "Now Playing" list. Note that very few titles lack this functionality; a notable example of these is the free and not really recommended SnowCrash.
one or some desktop-side multimedia player. In most cases, it's Windows Media Player 9 or later (WMP for short). The second most widely supported player is the well-known WinAmp and the third is Apple's iTunes. Very few MMRC apps support other players or other applications like Microsoft PowerPoint. Support for the latter may turn out to be pretty useful if you plan to control your PowerPoint show from your Windows Mobile handheld.
With most players, there are a lot of additional goodies they offer to the user; in the next section, I list them.
1.2 Two-way communication
As opposed to most "standard" IR controllers, PDA's have a display on their own. This means they will at least display the file name of the currently played title and some kind of a song list, from where you can see what the next song is. This means you don't have to see on the desktop PC's screen what the next song will be. Again, imagine your controlling multimedia playback from your kitchen, even some 30-40 metres away from your desktop computer - you see the advantages of this, don't you?
In addition to the next / previous title (file)names, most of them also offer at least desktop playlist download and, with most titles, editing / synchronizing back; with many titles you can also get the details of the songs and, with very few of them, even the lyrics, the aditional ("ID3") information embedded in the file and the album art (when available).
Note that it's in the "Explanation for the comparison chart" section that I explain most of the advanced functionalities and capabilities the MMRC apps offer/have.
1.3 Connectivity
At the beginning of this roundup, I've quickly mentioned a scenario where a Windows Mobile-based media control through Wi-Fi may be highly useful. In this section, I elaborate on in what ways (using what kinds of (wireless) connections) you can remotely control a media player on a desktop computer.
First, there are two main ways you can connect your Windows Mobile device to your desktop computer. One of them is either native or serial Bluetooth support (supported by very few MMRC apps), the other is the widely supported, well-known TCP/IP like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Personal Area Network (PAN).
Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages.
1.3.1 Native or serial Bluetooth apps
require almost no manual configuration (and are, therefore, generally better for a Windows Mobile beginner - no manual connection establishments, no manual desktop IP entering) and, generally,
work on crippled Bluetooth stacks like that of Microsoft. (Why crippled, you may ask. Because, as far as our case is concerned, it doesn't support BT PAN.) Also,
Bluetooth units built into PDA's consume far less power than Wi-Fi units, the other choice for "full" TCP/IP-based remote control
As far as the disadvantages are concerned,
their range is limited (at least compared to Wi-Fi-based solutions),
some of the "full" TCP/IP apps support multicasting to automatically find controllable desktops on the local network, making it unnecessary for the end user to enter any local desktop IP. Also, peer-to-peer (for example, BT PAN) IP addresses remain the same all the time and don't need to be re-entered with most MMRC's. In this respect, the "no setup needed" advantage of BT easily vanishes.
in cases, they only work with a given pair of BT stacks and are incompatible with the other stacks (see the example of jaylee.org’s Bluetooth Remote Control for Windows Mobile) and
very few titles do support this type of connection.
1.3.2 TCP/IP connectivity
As far as "full" TCP/IP connections are concerned, there are two main connectivity types you'll want to consider using: Bluetooth (BT) Personal Area Network (PAN for short) and Wi-Fi. The latter can use both p2p (peer-to-peer) and infrastructure mode (via a traditional access point anywhere in your house). Let's take a look at the (dis)advantages of each solution.
1.3.2.1 Bluetooth PAN, when compared to Wi-Fi, has the following advantages:
It, generally, consumes far less power than Wi-Fi, meaning much better handheld battery life
It uses at least an order of magnitude less radio power, which may be an issue if you constantly keep your PDA in your hand and you're afraid of the effects of the constant radiation
On the other hand,
it is not compatible with some major Windows Mobile Bluetooth implementations; most importantly, that of Microsoft. This is because the MS BT stack doesn't really support true BT PAN, not even in WM5 AKU3 / WM6, as has also been explained in the AKU3 Networking Bible. This means you can only make use of BT PAN on, say, a current Windows Mobile phone (which, generally, except for some rare exceptions like the, in this regard, excellent Fujitsu-Siemens T830, run the Microsoft BT stack as opposed to that of the much superior and BT PAN-capable Widcomm/ Broadcom) if and only if you manually install the Widcomm BT stack on it and disable the original Microsoft one. This is not likely what you really want to do in some cases, particularly if you plan to use your phone with an external Bluetooth headset and / or as a Bluetooth modem, because, as of now, no "hacked" Windows Mobile phone models have decent support for external headsets or dial-up modems. If the Widcomm BT stack runs on them at all, that is - for example, currently, it doesn't run on the HTC Trinity (P3600), "only" on the Universal, Wizard and TyTN, as far as the most common models are concerned.
while Wi-Fi supports auto reconnection (when you power up your Windows Mobile automatically reconnects to the last access point or, in p2p mode, other computer it was connected to), BT PAN must be manually reconnected. The latter may require several screen taps.
as it requires a direct connection between the desktop PC and the Windows Mobile device, it has much more limited range. Effectively, you'll be only able to remote control your media desktop in the same room. With Wi-Fi, particularly when you control your desktop with a Windows Mobile device connected to the Internet via an Access Point, you can control your desktop from anywhere, even several rooms away from your desktop (remember the example of the kitchen?)
1.3.2.2 Wi-Fi
Finally, Wi-Fi. In our case, there are two kinds of Wi-Fi connections you can consider: a direct (peer-to-peer) connection between the desktop and your Windows Mobile device (this is a bit more complicated to set up at first, requires native Wi-Fi support in the desktop (which, particularly with desktop - non-notebook - computers, not always the case) and has less range) and full infrastructure-based connections (without a direct Wi-Fi p2p connection between your desktop and Windows Mobile device). This means you may want to prefer infrastructure-based connections in most cases, particularly when range is an issue. (An access point is closer to you and your Windows Mobile device than the desktop in your particular remote control setup.)
Please note that I've thoroughly elaborated on all of these questions in the Windows Mobile Multiplayer Games Bible. It's also there that I've linked in my BT PAN, Wi-Fi P2P and BT serial tutorials - please make sure you DO read them if you want to use any of these three techniques to get your Windows Mobile device connected to your desktop.
1.4 Two main types of control: Web-based access and native Windows Mobile clients
There are two main kinds of MMRC apps. The first group offers Web-based access from, in general, any Web browser running on almost any kind of the client (which, therefore, can even be a "dumb", albeit still Web-capable client like a low-end mobile phone); the second uses a native, dedicated Windows Mobile client running on the client device.
Let’s see the advantages / disadvantages of the Web-based solution compared to the native one! The advantages:
You can use it without installing anything on your Windows Mobile device (if you hate installing anything on your device OR it's restricted / blocked in some way)
It's platform-independent. This means it can be used from any kind of a Web-capable client device. Furthermore, this also means the user interface on these different clients will exactly be the same (except for some platform-specific skins applied by the server). The latter has several advantages: most importantly, it'll be sufficient to learn how the GUI must be operated (for example, how desktop-side playlists can be accessed / edited etc) only once; after that, you don't need to learn a completely different GUI because you, for example, need to switch to a completely different MMRC product when you switch client platforms (from Windows Mobile to, say, Symbian, Palm, Linux or even a UMPC) - you can keep using the old, already-familiar one because it supports clients running on any client platforms.
The disadvantages:
They are, generally, considerably slower than native solutions. In some cases (see for example the commercial PlayerPal) this isn't really a problem, in some other cases (see for example the speed difference between the Xlobby clients), it is.
Even more importantly, because of the restricted and non-dynamic standard HTML controls (widgets), you can't for example have a simple volume slider to control the volume. You'll most likely have two buttons or a drop-down volume list to control your volume. The same stands for quickly seeking into a song - with some Web-based clients, it's plain impossible, while it's supported by most (but not all) native clients.
As there are several factors to consider when decidin between the two types of architectures, it's up to you to decide which way to go. Because of the severe restrictions and, generally, lower speed of Web-based MMRC applications, I'd go with native ones, but YOUR decision is up to you.
Note that there are MMRC apps that belong to both categories; that is, they have both a Web-based client and a native one (I recommend the latter for the greatly enhanced speed). Now, the only example of this is the free, excellent Xlobby; this may change in the future.
1.5 What multimedia remote applications are there?
Note that this section is pretty short - it's in the Comparison Chart (and in the explanations it's followed by) that you find most information on all titles. In here, I only give a very short introduction (except for the hard-to-configure and two-mode Xlobby) and link in Windows Mobile-related user forums, articles and reviews that may be worth checking out for more information (in addition to the information contained in the Comparison Chart, that is). In addition to the app-specific thread links, I also recommend these comparisons and this thread.
Note that I don't give you ANY definite "pick" - that is, there is no "most recommended" MMRC application. While there are some very nice titles (1-2-Remote, NetRemote2, Salling Clicker, Xlobby, PPCTablet (if you also need the additional functionality and prefer an all-in-one app) etc.), you have to thoroughly compare the advantages and disadvantages of each application yourself, using my feature / comparison chart and make a decision based strictly on your particular needs. It's just not possible to answer the question "which one is the best" without knowing your needs; for example, whether you need lyrics support or not. There is no "best" application that would have all the features all the alternative MMRC apps have, unfortunately - you'll need to make compromises.
1.5.1 Salling Clicker 3.0.1
This title is pretty remarkable in that it not only allows for controlling Windows, but also Mac-based desktops. Also, it's one of the few titles to support PowerPoint and a number of other desktop-side multimedia players and is also scriptable.
More user reviews here; note that early versions did have problems with BT reactivation; with the current one, I haven't run into problems like these.
1.5.2 Xlobby build 08/01/2006
This title is a very widely known and, what is more, free (!) desktop-based multimedia control center. It has two remote client access modes: via the Web and via a native Windows Mobile client.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
(click HERE for a much larger, UXGA-resolution version of this)
I've written a short tutorial on how it needs to be configured because the tutorial coming with the program is far from perfect and you'd need to read a lot of threads in the official forum to find REAL answers to your Windows Mobile-related questions, even at just the setup / configuration phase. This way, I save you a lot of time and effort.
As has already been explained, this title is unique in that it has no less than two remote control modes: a Web server listening at port 8002 and a non-Web server at port 8000. These must be individually enabled when needed. To start the Web server, press F2 in the main program, select Xnet and then click Start Web Server. To start the non-Web server, click "Start Server" at the top
As has been pointed out, you'll want to prefer the non-web server access: this is the recommended way of communication because it's much faster than the browser-based one.
Starting and using the native PPC client (also see this thread):
\Program Files\xlobby\client\xlobby2sd.exe and servers.txt must be transferred to the PDA; the latter after editing: at least changing server address, which is 192.168.1.100 by default (note that it's, while similar to the pre-WM5 desktop ActiveSync IP address, 192.168.55.100, not exactly the same) to the real, current one.
Web-based access:
Password-protected, the default username is empty and the password is xlobby123. This information must be filled into the client-side Web browser like in here (a quick note: if you enter the wrong password or give a username, you'll be redirected to this funny page)
Note that the web server just returns 40…80 kbyte-long images (as an ISMAP map) during the communication; that is, no client-side processing takes place. This also means it'll run in even the worst, least capable browser (but still capable of image map handling). This also means the Web browser-based interface is exactly the same as that of the desktop - as is the case with the native Pocket PC client, which, essentially, also uses GUI images to communicate.
Other setup notes and hacks for Xlobby
Unfortunately, on my notebook, it crashed when I've tried to supply a music path to it, no matter what music I've tried to import (it had no problems with other kinds of multimedia stuff). Fortunately, simply editing \Program Files\xlobby\ databases\music.xml and changing <paths /> to
<paths>
<path>d:\path1</path>
<path>d:\ path2</path>
</paths>
worked just great as can be seen in this screenshot showing importing the music files from the path supplied this way. Note that you can supply any number of paths in here; in the above example, I've supplied two.
Also see this and this for a Pocket PC-related discussion. The (pretty good) forum of Xlobby is here; the generic subforum here and the documentation here.
1.5.3 PlayerPal 4.2 sr1
This is a strictly Web-based solution. While it's clearly better than the other, strictly Web-based title, SnowCrash, I don' really recommend it unless you REALLY need a web-based MMRC application for the reasons I've outlined in the Web-based vs. native client section. Also see this thread.
1.5.4 Proximis NetRemote2 2.00.00.86
This is a highly recommended, albeit really expensive all-in-one remote control suite. You will seriously want to consider the advantages and unique features of this title to find out whether you really need them or you can go with an, in general (there are exceptions in some areas like lyrics or remote playlist editing support!) less featureful, but also much cheaper alternatives.
First, it has an infrared remote controller built-in (reviewed in my infrared roundup), which is pretty powerful and good (albeit doesn't support two of the most widely used CPU types of today: that of TI (the HTC Wizard, P3300 etc.) and Samsung (HTC TyTN, P3600 / Trinity etc.)). What is more important, it supports remote controlling / scripting via Girder, probably the most important and widely supported remote control scripting solution for Windows. Note that it also has a barebone Web browser client built-in. It's really barebone though - I wouldn't pay a penny more just for this "feature".
If you do need an IR remote controller (again and again, it is NOT compatible with a lot of current Windows Mobile phones, unlike with some competing products!) and/or Girder support, give this title a definite try. Otherwise, if you are absolutely sure you won't ever need them, look for something cheaper (which, in cases, are far more feature- & powerful - see for example 1-2-Remote.)
Note that it's only lately that the Proximis folks have unified their, previously, three different, separate clients. This is why a lot of sources are still referring to a separate infrared / media controller in addition to the Girder one. Keep this in mind while Googling or checking the forums for more information.
More information & user opinions here, here and here. Official forums here and here; the latter with also WM-specific information. A comparatively old (2004) review can be found here.
1.5.5 Rudeo 1.5.13
This title was pretty famous and popular in the past; for example, it even won some Pocket PC & Smartphone Magazine Best Software Awards in its category. I'd say those times are well over: currently, there are far stronger alternatives on the scene. A desktop server screenshot here.
1.5.6 Zerama Remote 4.2.1
This title was also pretty famous in the past. I'd too say there are better alternatives out there now.
Note that this title requires the .NET framework 1.1; the dialog presented upon install takes you to the 2.0 download, which isn’t the right one. You must acquire the 1.1 framework from here instead.
1.5.7 Kiwisrus / CRPSoft Pocket Media Control 1.0 b42
If you're looking for a strictly free solution and you can live with the restrictions of this title, make sure you check it out.
Also see this and Akheron’s thread for more info / user opinions. Note that, as far as old links and sources are concerned, the original homepage is no longer accessible; web.archive.org has a mirror (with the online tutorials), but without downloads. freewareppc.com links this (non-anymore-working) download; pocketpcfreewares.com doesn’t have a copy. This means you'll need to use the above-linked PDAGold software archive for getting this title.
1.5.8 RemoteAmp 2.0
A pretty capable client - as long as you don't need WMP support.
Also see this thread and this 3.0 betatest announcement.
1.5.9 1-2-Remote by SFR Software 1.1.0
This title is one of my recommended picks because of its being snappy, nice-looking, supporting remote playlist editing and lyrics display.
There's a German language review here.
1.5.10 AwoX Media CTRL for Pocket PC 1.1
This is one of the titles I recommend the least because of its high price, restricted capabilities and, last but not least, the developer's not supporting it any more: the Media CTRL homepage of AwoX doesn’t list the PPC version anywhere and the last, 1.1 version was released in 2004.
Note that, should you REALLY want to buy it (I, again, don't recommend it!), you can get if for much cheaper at Expansys.
1.5.11 A&A Computer Services’ PPC Tablet Remote Control Suite 4.0
This is a pretty unique title in that it not only supports "plain" multimedia control, but also (pretty bad - see the already-linked Remote Desktop Control Bible) remote desktop control and support for many other desktop applications, in addition to using the PDA touchscreen as an input tablet / mouse for the desktop.
Unfortunately, as far as strictly multimedia control is concerned, it does have its share of problems (for example, the lack of seeking or any kind of local feedback); this is why I can't recommend it for strictly multimedia control, only if you do need its other capabilities and features (most importantly, the really unique tablet capabilities - again, its desktop controlling module is far from perfect.)
1.5.12 jaylee.org’s Bluetooth Remote Control for Windows Mobile 0.6.0
(Other screenshots: finding devices 1 2)
This free application is unique in that it relies on (strictly) native Bluetooth connections, with all its advantages and disadvantages. This means if both your Windows Mobile device and your desktop uses the Microsoft BT stack AND the restrictions of Bluetooth (for example, the limited range) aren't a problem, you may definitely want to give this title a try.
Note that \Program Files\ Orion\ Bluetooth Remote Control\ BTRemoteServer.exe must be manually started on the desktop in order to start the server.
1.5.13 Vinyl 1.0
This discontinued (the old homepage is no longer directly accessible (web.archive.org mirror available here)), free (it was made free in 2004) player may be a good choice for you if and only if you have a Windows Mobile device with an operating system prior to WM5. Unfortunately, it's not compliant with WM5 or WM6.
See THIS for a review.
1.5.14 SnowCrash 2.03
(a screenshot of running it in the desktop IE)
This free, Web-based title doesn't have much to write home about. I don't really recommend it.
Tips: Note that, in the docs, the "What Bugs Does Snowcrash Have?" section means the following:
"The roles.cfg file doesn't support * with access level of 1000": this means you MUST supply the full IP address of your client. When operated via BT / Wi-Fi P2P or ActiveSync, this will be the same all the time.
"Unable to display non-mp3 files" doesn't mean for example WMA files can't be played back with it (if they're already in a playlist) or shown by the player; it's just that, when you traverse the drives / directories of your desktop computer right from your client, you will only see MP3 files in a given directory, nothing else.
Also see this thread.
1.6 Not reviewed / disqualified MMRC apps
1.6.1 Tinytechnews' AirTunes! 2.0
(Note that this product should not to be mistaken for Apple's AirTunes. They are completely different products and have nothing to do with each other)
I've disqualified this product because
it's been abandoned back in 2002; it's only on Tucows that I could find it and there isn't absolutely any point in paying for it
it's plain buggy. For example,
if the server doesn't work on the desktop, the client will still stay in the "Loading list"
if you click Play when nothing selected (for example, before you download the title list), you get an index error (this is what I call sloppy programming!)
if you don't supply any media directory to the server running on the desktop, the client will still try to fetch stuff from there. Furthermore, you can only supply one directory to the server, unlike with almost all the other solutions, which require and / or allow for supplying media directories in the local file system.
it seems to have major compatibility issues. For example, it wouldn't work on my WM2003 iPAQ 2210 at all (execution refused with an eVB error). On my WM2003SE Pocket Loox 720, the situation was better; in there, it started but still wouldn't download anything off the server.
Otherwise, it has nothing to write home about either: for example, no TCP/IP multicast discovery, no native or serial BT support, no lyrics / album art / ID tag and, of course, no WMP support.
1.6.2 www.mcmajeres.com' Iremote
This project has been completely abandoned and the original title doesn't seem to be accessible anywhere.
1.6.3 Niveus Pocket Remote 2.0
This title is only compatible with Vista and Windows XP Media Center Edition; this is why I haven't tested it.
1.6.4 Total Input Elite Edition for Pocket PC Version 2.0.6
Doesn't support any MM players out of the box and there are no third-party scripts or plug-ins (unlike with, say, Girder or Xlobby). Furthermore, the project seems to be abandoned - the last update was released four years ago. Therefore, I've disqualified it too.
1.6.5 PuppetMaster
They have just started the development for Windows Mobile; maybe this is why this title simply didn't find my notebook computer from any of my test Pocket PC's.
2. Comparison / feature chart
As with most of my reviews, the bulk of the information, along with some 100 example screenshots of all apps, is in the comparison / feature chart (CLICK THE LINK!!). It's only using a tabular format that the existence (or lack) of a given feature can be quickly identified.
2.1 Explanation for the chart
Supported desktop-side MM players: what multimedia players (and, in cases, other apps like PowerPoint) it's capable of remote controlling.
VGA?: is it compatible with WM2003SE/WM5/WM6 VGA devices? Does it do (ugly) pixel doubling; if it does, can it be "hacked" to be more VGA-friendly?
Requirements?: additional libraries it requires (in most cases, Compact Framework on the Windows Mobile device and in several cases, .NET on the desktop).
Doc quality?: In here, I've elaborated on how useful the official documentation is. I've also linked them in if available online (and not only, say, part of the installation package or the installed application itself). Note that, in here, I haven't listed the quality of the online forum (otherwise, I would have given a much better mark to Xlobby.)
Connectivity group: this is where the real content begins. In this group, I've elaborated on how the given MMRC app connects to the desktop (TCP/IP or serial/native Bluetooth) and, if it uses TCP/IP, does it support passwords (to make it impossible for intruders coming from the external network) and multicast discovery (to make it far easier for Windows Mobile clients to find controllable desktop(s)).
Type: a quick summary of the connection type
If TPC/IP is supported, multicast discovery (incl. true WM5 AS connections, as opposed to (restricted) pre-WM5 ones)): see the above discussion of multicast discovery. Also note that it also works under WM5 / WM6 through plain ActiveSync connections (even over USB ) when operated in the default LAN mode, unlike under previous operating systems, where multicast discovery doesn't work and you must enter the IP address of the desktop PC, 192.168.55.100, into your Windows Mobile client. Please also read this article on the differences between the two networking approaches under WM5 / WM6 if not sure.
(Even remote) IP address w/o multicast discovery?: this is the opposite of multicast discovery: can you directly enter any IP address into the client?
WMP playlists group: WMP supports both manually created and automatic playlists. In this test, I've checked how the tested applications support this functionality.
Does it allow for local playlist creation / editing?: advanced MMRC apps allow for local playlist editing and even creation. This is a hugely useful feature when you prefer editing your playlists from, say, your bed. In here, I've elaborated on this feature, packed with screenshots to give a feel how it's done in practice.
Synchronizing the created / edited playlists back to the desktop?: if you do edit / create your playlists on your Windows Mobile device, you will also want to synchronize them back to your desktop so that they instantly become available for the desktop player too, and not only from the client. In here, I've listed whether automatic resynchronization works flawlessly.
Additional features / goodies group: in here, I've listed the album art, ID3 tags and lyrics support, searching capabilities and equalizer support.
Cover (album art) in the same directory / embedded in the file (if WMP hasn’t already extracted the thumbnail to become a directory-level one)? Does the latter, when supported, override the album-level one with it?:
Basically, there are two ways of storing album arts with a given song OR an album: either posting one art for all the songs in the same album (on the directory level) or embedding an image (or, for that matter, several of them) in the song file itself (see this official Microsoft tutorial explains how you can add album art to a given music title on the latter). Both have advantages and disadvantages and the players' ability to notice and render these images are wildly different, particularly on the Pocket PC.
In addition, some plays make it possible to consider the (alphabetically) first JPG file they run into in the same directory the album art in the same album.
In this test, I've tested whether these images are correctly rendered on the PDA (if at all).
MP3 ID3v1 / ID3v2 Tags?: is the player able to (locally!) display MP3 ID3v1 / ID3v2 tags? (Note that I haven't explicitly tested the ASF (WMA) ID compliance of the players because it's far less widely used than MP3 ID3.)
MP3/WMA tag lyrics support? If yes, synchronized lyrics? Note that WMP only supports tag-based lyrics, not file-based (.txt / .lrc) ones.: Most modern compressed music formats support inline lyrics storage, even at two languages.
Note that not even the latest (11) version of WMP support external LRC and TXT files and its synchronization features only allow for line-based lyrics synchronization, not word-based one (unlike advanced LRC-based lyrics). This means you in no way can achieve for example Karaoke-like effects: on Windows Mobile, you won’t get support for the latter, except for KarPocket and the LRC-compatible Lyrics Magic.
In this test, I've embedded some lyrics in an MP3 file, made sure it's correctly rendered my WMP and, then, tested the applications to see whether they also render them on the Windows Mobile client.
The Genre / Album / Artist etc.-based sorting of the WMP media library on client? If not taken from WMP, does it try to parse the sound file filenames / tags to find out more?: does it also use the Genre / Album / Artist-based sorting of WMP, or, does it discard it and/or try to invent it itself. The latter is a big plus with desktop players that do NOT support (implicit, automatic) Genre / Album / Artist-based sorting.
Video on the desktop PC?: a decent remote controller should be able to remote control video playback. This, unfortunately, isn't so evident as music playback as many players use plug-ins running hidden and, therefore, if you play back videos, they aren't necessarily shown. In this row, I've elaborated on these questions.
Searching for a given title?: a decent MMRC app should make it possible to run (even partial) searches for a given title. Unfortunately, very few of them allow for this.
Battery and desktop friendliness, possible problems and bottlenecks group: especially with clients that are, in cases, up and running for several hours, it's of extreme importance to have as low battery consumption as possible. In addition to selecting the best communication form (preferring Bluetooth to Wi-Fi whenever possible) to achieve this, it's also very important that you use a client that doesn’t use the CPU when it's not necessary.
Unfortunately, many clients scroll the title of the currently played song on the screen of the mobile device, which may result in excess CPU usage all the time, resulting in a heavily decreased battery life (assuming you, otherwise, use a battery-friendly way to communicate; for example, Bluetooth. If you use Wi-Fi, it'll account for the majority of the power consumption and, then, the CPU usage factor won't be that important. That is, the benchmark data given here should only act as a showstopper when deciding for a particular MMRC solution when you otherwise would have excellent battery life, and even 10% CPU usage makes an articulated difference).
In this group, I've examined mostly these questions. Note that with the titles sporting excess CPU usage because of (mostly) the title scrolling, I've also run CPU usage benchmarks when minimized or when switched to dialogs where the scrolling wasn't visible. With titles that, in this case, get rid of the CPU cycle-consuming scrolling algorithm, it may be worth considering always switching to these (mostly setup) dialogs or minimizing the application when it's not strictly needed to achieve (also depending on some other factors; most importantly whether you use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) substantially better results.
I've also paid special attention to the desktop-side server component to see how much memory it consumes and how much CPU time it uses. As you'll see, there are some desktop server components that "go rogue" and consume even hundreds of Megabytes of meagre RAM!
Built-in screen off; if not, is it compatible with system-level button-assigned or Start menu-based tools?: while switching off the screen, unfortunately, has (in most cases) nothing to do with the CPU usage of a given application (that is, an application that has excess CPU usage because it, say, constantly scrolls the title of the song on the local mobile screen won't stop chewing through the battery if you, in some way, power down the screen), it's still nice to know whether it's possible to do this at all with either some kind of a built-in screenoff functionality or a system-level one with, say, assigned to a hardware button. This way, you can also extend the battery life.
Can the PPC (and, therefore, the connection) be suspended while remote controlling?: if you know you surely won't need to control your desktop equipment for some time, can you safely suspend, and, then, later resume your handheld device - that is, can the MMRC app just "pick up" work where you've left it at? Fortunately, all of them can. That is, the playback of the "Now playing" list will not be stopped when you power down your Windows Mobile device.
Desktop-side RAM / CPU usage: while inactive? (If CPU usage isn't explicitly stated, then, it's always very close to 0%) and while active?: as has already been explained, all these MMRC's (except for only one of them, SnowCrash, which is a WinAmp plug-in and not a separate process) run as a separate process. In here, I've checked the memory and the CPU usage of this process while both inactive (there are no connected clients) and active (an active MM control session is in progress). As can clearly be seen, while the CPU usage is negligible with all titles, some expose VERY high memory usage. This may be an issue particularly on memory-constrained desktop computers (mostly notebooks).
Does a huge number of desktop-side songs cause problems?: Some non-optimized MMRC apps may, in cases, cause severe lockups when, say, trying to send a list of 5000 titles to a Pocket PC client. This may be caused by the Web browsers' inability to render larger HTML pages (older versions of Pocket Internet Explorer slow down at documents exceeding 200-300 kbytes (and crash at 400-500 kbytes) even when there are plenty of dynamic RAM memory available) or just the slowness of the engine itself. Fortunately, it's only SnowCrash that suffers from this problem, and only with the default skin. (You MUST change it to a PDA-optimized one - see the mini-tutorial in the "OS compliance" row!)
Controls group: here, I've elaborated on what remote control functionality is supported as far as basic functionalities (stop / start / next / previous and pause buttons and volume sliders / setting capabilities) are concerned (see Basic functionality (stop / start / next / previous / pause / volume)); whether you can freely seek in a song or not (see Freely seeking in a song?) and whether any hardware buttons (including the D-pad) can be utilized on your Windows Mobile device for even faster and/or "blind" access for the most common functions (Any PPC hardware buttons used in addition to D-pad? Is the D-pad utilized?).
Verdict group: this speaks for itself. In here, you get a full list of the most important pros / cons of each and every application and, finally, a some-sentence evaluation. Make sure you check out at least these three rows, if not the full chart!
3. Generic streaming questions
You may also want to know how you can encode and stream something to your PDA, assuming you don't want / can't access network shares to play the files directly on your handheld device, which isn't at all impossible (on the contrary - accessing shared files will work just great over any local TCP/IP network; for example, BT PAN or Wi-Fi, both p2p and not. It's, in general, only with remote (non-local) access that you will be interested in real streaming capabilities -or, with wildly incompatible or non-streamable (for example, some video) formats). Therefore, you will only want to read the rest of this short section if you want to know how streaming can be accomplished.
None of the titles have built-in streaming capabilities; not that it'd be of any problem because there're specialized tools to do the job. Of them, I recommend two free tools: Windows Media Encoder and SlimServer. (Note that there are several other, mostly SHOUTcast-like tools; the usage of most of them are like that of WME. Therefore, in here, I don't elaborate on them - if you understand how WME works with any desktop-side, remote controlled, media player, you will be able to stream using any other tool.)
3.1 Windows Media Encoder
(or any SHOUTcast-alike implementation) will work together with any MMRC application pretty well, based on the fact that you can directly control WHAT song is played back on your desktop with any MMRC app, while the additional streaming software just blindly transfers the currently played track over the wired / wireless connection to your PDA. WME is, streaming-wise, fully compatible with the built-in Pocket Windows Media Player; SHOUTcast-compatible desktop-side encoders, on the other hand, with third-party MP3 streaming / SHOUTcast-compatible clients like GSPlayer.
3.2 SlimServer 6.5.1 by Slim Devices (now: Logitech)
(the same on the desktop PC)
This, otherwise, excellent and very capable title (it fulfills almost every requirements: supports lyrics, album art etc., albeit, as with all the other Web-based clients, it lacks random file seeking support) is strictly for SHOUTcast-compliant streaming with iTunes playlist / database support, not for desktop-side playback remote control. As it uses SHOUTcast to broadcast media, it can prove much more useful to you.
Note that while the Web interface (it's fully Web-ized) promises to have a handheld-optimized version, the "optimized" version, in practice, doesn't differ much from the original version - it still uses frames. Fortunately, the frames can be dynamically resized any time.
Also see this thread on this question.
Comments, feedback, questions, flames are welcome, as usual!
(Cross-posted to: PPCT, MobilitySite, AximSite, BrightHand, FirstLoox, HowardForums, XDA-Dev.
Excellent article as usual Menneisys. Even though I knew about most of these, it was quite refreshing to see them reviewed again.
On another note, is there any PPC app that can basically do 2 things via a Non-Web Interface
1) Search a Remote Computer
2) Browse using a Remote File System (Like the PPC Tablet)
and show hidden and system files and also resort files and folders to display the folders at the top of the list?
valuable information! but you forgot one important thing - memory and CPU usage on the PPC! I don't care at all on my desktop with 3Ghz CPU, 4GB RAM and 500GB HD, but on my PPC with 0.016 times the RAM and 0.00025 times the "HD" size and a CPU slower than the keyboard controller of my desktop...
DoctorT said:
valuable information! but you forgot one important thing - memory and CPU usage on the PPC! I don't care at all on my desktop with 3Ghz CPU, 4GB RAM and 500GB HD, but on my PPC with 0.016 times the RAM and 0.00025 times the "HD" size and a CPU slower than the keyboard controller of my desktop...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See "CPU usage on client while active" - it "only" lists the CPU usage in %, which is, IMHO, the most important when you run an app in the foreground for, in times, several hours. (This is why I haven't measured the memory usage - I haven't ever run into "shortage of memory" situations on my test devices.)
UPDATE (03/08/2007):
there is a new, beta version of 0.7.0 of the jaylee.org’s Bluetooth Remote Control for Windows Mobile. It, for example, now supports the desktop-side Widcomm BT stack, which is GREAT news!
AirTunes! has turned out to be still supported and having a Web page at http://www.airtunessoftware.com . I'm still awaiting answer to my questions from the developers (if you are one of them, please make sure you read them either in your Webmail mailbox or on my blog as comments); as soon as I get the new version working (so far, I haven't managed to on neither of my desktop PC's), I post a revised review.
Nice summary! But I miss Pebbles.
The software for Windows Mobile has two program files: RemoteCommander and Shortcutter.
While the software isn't very graphically advanced, it allows for a number of interesting control objects: in Shortcutter you can create sliders, rotary buttons, a gesture pad and even a mouse pad.
There is however no interactivity (it only sends keys/commands, it doesn't display information) with the application.
But if all you need is a (free) simple remote control, it really is worth checking out.
Jörg
remoteamp was updated and is now called signal. I've tried all the apps on your list except netremote and signal is by far my favorite. Now it does have WMP support. connects quickly, no wait time for it to sync a database, fast response, etc. I pretty much use it as a remote control now. ONly wish it could do video.
Very interesting and very nicely done write up.
Has a write up ever been done for WM friendly Media Servers, such as ORB? Currently using ORB, was just wondering if there is anything else out there worth looking at.
Having both Remote Media Controller and Media Server services running gives one total control over both the equipment and the digital assets of a HTPC setup from any where
I used logmein without problem for years with Verizon. With AT&T however, I keep getting an error stating Mismatched IP Address. Anyone have a solution?
Nice guide! Thanks!
The one I am most interested in is actually Niveus as it gives a much "integrated" feel, and I don't use any app other than MCE on my HTPC anyway.
Shame it is not suitable for this guide, but have you at least tried it? Any opionion on Niveus?
Thanks.
good review, av tried all the bluetooth ones with no luck, somehow they just cant connect although my fone and ppc are al paired..
can anyone point me on how i can use the wifi one, as in how do u setup.
i have a router in my house from which i can connect to the internet, we dont any network in the house. so how can i setup my PC to connect with PPC so that i can use the remote control.
shyboy said:
good review, av tried all the bluetooth ones with no luck, somehow they just cant connect although my fone and ppc are al paired..
can anyone point me on how i can use the wifi one, as in how do u setup.
i have a router in my house from which i can connect to the internet, we dont any network in the house. so how can i setup my PC to connect with PPC so that i can use the remote control.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does your handset see your desktop via Wi-Fi - for example, a Web or an FTP server? Can you ping it?
i can only connect to the internet..is there any 'special' procedure to see my desktop?
An update from me: Pebbles will probably go open source, please take one minute to check out this thread. Then we could build our own remote according to our needs:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=4782671
As has also been announced in my (latest) guide to playing back (non-Mobile) YouTube videos published some weeks ago, the YouTube folks have been working on a really mobile, non-flash-based version of their services and, as promised, have indeed come up with it some days ago. Even when it only contains very few clips (in general, only the most popular ones – for example, none of the not-that-popular but old clips I’ve searched for existed in there as of today), it’s been continuously expanded, which means it might become a real repository of all “real”, Flash-based videos.
As there is a lot of plain wrong or contradicting information and a LOT of hacks out there, all just confusing Windows Mobile users, I’ve decided to publish the one and only REAL guide to this question.
The new Mobile YouTube homepage is accessible at http://m.youtube.com/ from any Web browser, desktop or mobile alike. However, in order for the playback to work, you must use a browser accessible of passing control to external applications (in this case, the HTC Streaming Media player) because, when a Watch Video link is clicked (like the one in THIS screenshot), an external application, “Streaming Media”, will be invoked. This means you won’t be able to use, for example, the otherwise excellent and highly recommended Opera Mini. (Unfortunately, this also applies to the latest version, 4.0 beta.) This restriction, on the other hand, does NOT apply to the best Windows Mobile browser on both (Pocket PC and Smartphone) platforms, Opera Mobile. That is, you aren’t forced to use the built-in, in most respects inferior Internet Explorer Mobile.
First, some bad news (in addition to the fact that, currently, the mobile version of YouTube only has few converted videos).
You’ll need the HTC Streaming Media player, which only comes with WM6 Pocket PC Professional) devices, but NOT Smartphones – that is, WM Standard devices. On the latter phones, clicking Mobile YouTube links result in Windows Media Player’s being invoked – but in vain, because, after trying to connect, it displays an error (screenshot HERE and HERE).
Fortunately, this problem can be VERY easily fixed on both WM5 Pocket PC’s and Smartphones and WM6 Smartphones.
Streaming Media is a full application, which also means it has its own icon and is directly runnable. However, you will want to prefer starting it from your Windows Mobile Web browsers by simply clicking streaming links like those of Mobile YouTube.
You will need DIRECT Internet connection, as was the case with the well-known RealOne Player for Pocket PC. If you’ve ever tried to make the latter to play back streams (or, you’ve read my related article “How Can I Listen to/Watch RealOne Streamed Content (RealAudio/RealVideo) on my Pocket PC?”), you know well enough you can only do this if you have a direct connection to the Internet: that is, in most cases, over mobile phone-based (GPRS / EDGE / UMTS / HSDPA etc.) connections. Should you have a non-direct connection, you will see the “Failed to find network.” error message upon trying to play back streams (screenshot HERE). Unfortunately, most Wi-Fi connections (unless they put you in a DMZ (demilitarized zone), which is pretty rare) are unlikely to work and ActiveSync connections will NEVER work.
A quick note: I’ve thoroughly tested the latter by configuring Windows XP’s Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) to forward UDP ports 1024...1044 as can be seen in HERE (20 ports were the smallest amount the client allows for as can also be seen in HERE; note that, when tested, I’ve ticked in all these checkboxes) and HERE. In vain: it just didn’t work.
If you DO have direct internet connections or would still want to give the client a try, do the following.
If you don’t have Streaming Media on your Windows Mobile handheld (because it’s WM5 only or a WM6 Smartphone and not a Pocket PC), get and install THIS file. Note that if it doesn’t exist, you can get it from HERE (make sure you unRAR the latter to get the CAB file). Also note that you can safely install the CAB file to a storage card.
Don’t listen to people that tell you to use other files – with them, you may end up having to, for example, import Registry scripts to create the necessary file / type associations so that Streaming Media can be invoked.
If you do have Streaming Media (or, have just installed it), just navigate to http://m.youtube.com/ and enjoy the videos.
Some example screenshots of showing all this in action (all taken by me on my QVGA and VGA WM5/ WM6 Pocket PC Phone Edition models and a WM5 176*220 HTC s310 (Oxygen) and a WM6 QVGA HTC s710 (Vox) Smartphones):
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
(WM6 VGA Pocket PC, officially shipped with Streaming Media, over GPRS – as can be seen, GPRS is just too slow to produce a decent image)
Now, three screenshots of models with the additionally installed Streaming Media:
(WM5 QVGA Pocket PC over EDGE – decent playback)
(WM5 176*220 Smartphone over EDGE – decent playback)
(WM6 QVGA Smartphone over EDGE – decent playback)
Cool, eh? Nice to know even low-end Smartphones are able to play back these kinds of stuff, isn’t it?
Note that, in order to install the player on application locked MS Smartphones, you will need to unlock them. See my other, related articles on doing this – for example, THIS.
What should you do if you get the "Failed to find network." error message?
Unfortunately, not much, but this also depends on your particular network settings.
If you're on a Wi-Fi network and you do have administrator rights to reconfigure the router(s), you can configure them to allow your mobile device to be in the DMZ - or, at least, configure UDP port forwarding (note that the latter didn't work in my tests as has also been mentioned above - this means DMZ may be the ONLY solution). Otherwise, if you use public Wi-Fi networks, you can't do anything.
If you're using a wireless (for example GSM) network, which doesn't support direct access, you can't do anything either. Your only choice is switching to another mobile phone network, which does. (About half of them do.)
Finally, don't forget that, even if you can't play Mobile YouTube videos, nothing is lost, except for the advantages of the 3GP streaming compared to the alternative methods:
Direct Flash video playback (with Opera Mobile) takes a LOT of CPU time and may have stuttering playback even on the fastest, 624 MHz Windows Mobile devices, let alone slower ones
Indirect video playback has an additional step requiring manual work including, at least, copying and pasting the URL of the given video clip. If they also employ transcoding (all solutions EXCEPT for the TCPMP-based playback, but the latter can't be used on MS Smartphones), the resulting video will be, in general, of lower quality and higher size than the original Flash video, which you don't necessarily want.
That is, you can still play regular YouTube videos. Either, as has just been explained, directly (with Opera Mobile 8.65- forget all the other browsers, particularly the latest, Flash-enabled, Technical Preview released in June of Netfront 3.4 - see my review of the browser for the why's), half-directly via (direct download, unfortunately, only works on PPC's and not Smartphones) or indirectly, using an online conversion service. I've elaborated on all these three alternatives in my past articles - make sure you check them out, should you need to rely on the "traditional" way of playback.
Additional info (you will NOT need to read them; the above tutorial should suffice. I only give you these URL’s so that you can see how much easier my tutorial is than trying to find out what to do when following community threads with millions of contradicting and/or misleading and/or outdated posts and hacks):
Probably the best, related XDA-Dev thread
youtube mobile problem
A PPCT thread on the problem
So here's where I am. I've got the HTC Streaming Media thing it launches when I click watch video. Im on T-Mobile USA over my edge connection and it says failed to find network, then closes. Any ideas? my rom is xda mobile 6
jaychym said:
So here's where I am. I've got the HTC Streaming Media thing it launches when I click watch video. Im on T-Mobile USA over my edge connection and it says failed to find network, then closes. Any ideas? my rom is xda mobile 6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This means you don't have a direct IP. Nothing can be done - you'll need to use the alternate methods of playback.
I stream YouTube with Wifi all the time... not sure if you are saying it doesnt work with Wifi.. cuz it does.
Madcap180 said:
I stream YouTube with Wifi all the time... not sure if you are saying it doesnt work with Wifi.. cuz it does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your particular Wii-Fi networks put your devide into a demilitarized zone and/or do UDP port forwarding; this is why it works. In usual Wi-Fi networks not using any of these tricks, it doesn't necessarily work.
Menneisyys said:
Your particular Wii-Fi networks put your devide into a demilitarized zone and/or do UDP port forwarding; this is why it works. In usual Wi-Fi networks not using any of these tricks, it doesn't necessarily work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My wifi works just fine as the above poster, im wondering is the device using uPnP since this is supported on the three wifi access points i have tested??
ahhh.. I see... Soon enough I will stop being cheap and actually utilize the 3g capability of my Hermes.. lol
Does anybody know, if it works with O2 Germany? Does O2 Germany give a direvt IP to the Phone (HTC P3600)? I have always Network connecting error.
PS.: Direct streams via mms:// an with WMP works!
didn't work with my blackjack wm5 cell
Tried this and all I got was it can't run the program, can't find the exe file.. so I don't think it works with my cellphone.
Just installed the StreamingPlayer to my PPC-6700. Upon executing the program, I get the error...
"The file 'StreamingPlayer' cannot be opened. Either it is not signed with a trusted certificate, or one of its components cannot be found. You might need to reinstall or restore this file"
Tried reinstalling it a few times, and even changing from 'device' to 'storage card' and get the same results.. any suggestions?
Not working on 8525 with WM5
I downloaded and installed the HTC Streaming Media Player (RvBCrS_HTC_Streaming_Media.cab) just fine on my 8525 with WM5. But when I tried to watch a video from m.youtube.com it connects and buffers until it gets to about 97% then hangs a bit then goes back to the previous screen. I haven't seen anyone else with this problem. I've tried removing and reinstalling the Streaming Media Player and installing it to main memory and the storage card but am stuck here no matter what. Any ideas?
mdifilm said:
Tried this and all I got was it can't run the program, can't find the exe file.. so I don't think it works with my cellphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What phone model do you have? Is it a Windows Mobile one?
leevick said:
I downloaded and installed the HTC Streaming Media Player (RvBCrS_HTC_Streaming_Media.cab) just fine on my 8525 with WM5. But when I tried to watch a video from m.youtube.com it connects and buffers until it gets to about 97% then hangs a bit then goes back to the previous screen. I haven't seen anyone else with this problem. I've tried removing and reinstalling the Streaming Media Player and installing it to main memory and the storage card but am stuck here no matter what. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try playing with the buffering params - for example, lowering them from 7s to, say, 3s?
moooo said:
Does anybody know, if it works with O2 Germany? Does O2 Germany give a direvt IP to the Phone (HTC P3600)? I have always Network connecting error.
PS.: Direct streams via mms:// an with WMP works!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, this kind of RTSP connections need a directly visible IP (or, port forwarding), which isn't supportred by many GSM operators. This is why RealOne Player refuses to work too.
Krayziepop said:
Just installed the StreamingPlayer to my PPC-6700. Upon executing the program, I get the error...
"The file 'StreamingPlayer' cannot be opened. Either it is not signed with a trusted certificate, or one of its components cannot be found. You might need to reinstall or restore this file"
Tried reinstalling it a few times, and even changing from 'device' to 'storage card' and get the same results.. any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting the same problem on my 8125 with WM5. Any answers to this one?
mrchicken said:
I'm getting the same problem on my 8125 with WM5. Any answers to this one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm, I'm starting to think this just doesn't work on all WM5 devices. I've double checked that the cab file installed the aforementioned files and registry additions, and it seems like it has. So there is still some missing component.
Is there any good method that can be used to identify if we are not directly connected to the internet?
Menneisyys said:
Did you try playing with the buffering params - for example, lowering them from 7s to, say, 3s?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, tried that too. All it did was buffer up to the high 90% faster, then the same delay and return to the previous screen. It's so weird that I seem to be the only one having this problem. FWIW I have upgraded the ROM on this HTC to the latest version (but not to WM6 since that's not out yet. Grrr.)
leevick said:
Yup, tried that too. All it did was buffer up to the high 90% faster, then the same delay and return to the previous screen. It's so weird that I seem to be the only one having this problem. FWIW I have upgraded the ROM on this HTC to the latest version (but not to WM6 since that's not out yet. Grrr.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not only you - see http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1187991
Menneisyys said:
Not only you - see http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1187991
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I had looked there but not seen anyone with the same problem when I posted. Now I feel better and worse at the same time - better, because it's not just me, but worse because there's not yet a known solution. Bummer! I hate to fail after coming so far!
I suppose I could use an unofficial WM6 ROM for this phone, but I'd rather not. Guess I'll have to wait. Patience is a virtue. Good things come to those who wait. A stitch in time saves nine... <sigh>
Introduction
What is Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and why you might want to make use of it? To get a nice overview what it’s all about, spend some time on reading the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) tutorial’s first three pages HERE, HERE and, finally, HERE. These pages are also interlinked so you can just safely follow the “Learn how DLNA works” link at the bottom of the first page. I especially recommend the interactive “What can you do with DLNA products?” section at the bottom of the third page. Try selecting all the possible pairs to see what a particular device pair can be used for - this demo is really instructive. An example screenshot showing what for example the NAS & networked TV pairing can be used for:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Pretty instructive, isn't it? Again, I really recommend playing with the different pairings so that you get a clear picture of what UPnP can really be used for. In addition, please PLEASE do read the above DLNA intro (the three pages) so that you understand what UPnP is about and the terms used in this UPnP Bible. I’ve refrained from reproducing (almost) the same info in here so that I could concentrate on the more important and never-before-published subject: how this all works on the two most widely used mobile platforms: Windows Mobile and Symbian.
You might also want to take a look at the Wiki page (most importantly, the “UPnP AV (Audio and Video) standards” section) but it’s highly technical and, for a non-pro, in no way as comprehensible as the DLNA tutorial. Note that the DLNA tutorial doesn’t explain what “Controllers” are. It’s, as has also been explained in the Wiki (officially referred to by “MediaServer ControlPoint”), is like a remote controller between the source (the “MediaServer”), that is, typically a file store, and the target (the “MediaRenderer”); that is, typically, a TV set, a monitor or a home Hi-Fi.
On both Windows Mobile and Symbian (more precisely, the latest-generation, N-series Nokia handsets) all these three functionalities are supported:
a phone can act as the source (“MediaServer”) of multimedia content (for example, the pictures you’ve taken with the built-in camera; the MP3’s you have on your storage card etc.)
it can also act as the mediator (“MediaServer ControlPoint”) between the server and the renderer. That is, it can select the files on the server you’d like to, say, see on your TV / listen to on your home Hi-Fi etc. It also allows for basic playback control functionality like pausing/ resuming, previous / next etc.
finally, it can also function as the target of the stream: the device that actually plays back the video / audio / images on its own screen / audio unit. That is, it’s also a “MediaRenderer”.
As far as the two operating systems are concerned, all these functionalities are implemented. First, a birds-eye view on what’s available and supported.
For Windows Mobile (WM), currently, there are three apps with UPnP capabilities: Nero Mobile Pro, Conduits’ Pocket Player and Rudeo Play & Control (at the time of writing - December, 2007 - no preview of CorePlayer 1.2 was available. It will also have UPnP support.)
For the newer Nokia N-series Symbian devices (N95 (8 GB ), N81, N82), the OS already has built-in, pretty impressive (no third-party, commercial apps are needed) UPnP support.
[*]: with the N95, only starting with firmware version v20, not with previous OS’es; also see THIS. Note that the manual printed with the original N95 still reflects this (old) state.
[**]: limited presentation capabilities (while it has no problems with the much more important streaming): no library, not even file system folder-separated view
Now, let’s take a look at what functionalities the MediaRenderer-capable applications offer.
I'll later explain what the difference between pre-fetching and streaming is.
Incidentally, the second column ("Accessible for external controllers") is also clearly visible in the following Windows Vista screenshot:
It shows the following UPnP servers / renderers in order: Nero MediaHome (server), N95 (server), (the notebook itself, where the screenshot has been taken), the built-in UPnP server of the Vista on the notebook, the Conduits Pocket Player (PP) renderer (!) on the “wr-x51v” PDA; the same PP on the same PDA as a server; PP as a server on the “wr-univ” and, finally, PP as a renderer on the same “wr-univ”.
1.1 Differences between traditional Remote Media Controllers (RMC’s) and full UPnP applications
Back in February, I’ve already published an extensive Bible on all non-UPnP applications. Now, let’s see what the real difference between a fully-fledged UPnP app and the, back then, reviewed remote controllers is!
First, as you may already have guessed (without even reading my previous Bible), RMC’s can only remotely control media player applications – they don’t offer built-in, local rendering (MediaRenderer) or file serving (server) capabilities. The best, UPnP-capable titles in this respect (currently, as of late December, 2007, Pocket Player 3.51 on Windows Mobile and the built-in UPnP client on the latest Nokia N-series models) offer both of these.
Second, their configuration can be much more complicated than those of UPnP clients, particularly when you need to manually (!) enter the local network address of the server (also containing the media player) you’d like to remotely control. This is true with almost all RMC’s not capable of discovery protocols to automatically discover controllable servers in the LAN. UPnP’s automatic discovery also greatly helps in this respect: you don’t need to do any manual work; just let the controller discover the servers / renderers and you’re all set.
Third, you can only remote control a Windows PC (in cases, other desktop OS’es are also supported) with those “old-fashioned” RMC’s because all the tested applications need server&renderer-side custom software to be installed. This also means it’s impossible to remote control for example Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices (file servers) or plain renderers like a flat TV. With UPnP, all these can be remote controlled.
1.2 Available UPnP-capable software
Now, let’s take a look at what’s available on mobile platforms. Note that as far as Palm OS is concerned, not even Pocket Tunes, by far the best music player support UPnP (and CorePlayer won’t support it either) – you need to go the manual route explained in my RMC Bible for being able to stream stuff from your local UPnP network. There’s a nice thread on this all HERE.
Please, Windows Mobile users, don’t be disgruntled because of including Symbian. Some of the, especially, multimedia / entertainment-centric smartphones like the Nokia N95, N81 and N82 have excellent capabilities well worth incorporating into Windows Mobile handhelds. For example, these devices support UPnP “out of the box”, which is only available (if at all – see for example the complete lack of, say, UPnP printer support in current WinMo apps) with (expensive) third-party applications on WinMo. A direct inter-OS (operating system) comparison like this will certainly help both Microsoft decide to, finally, include UPnP in Windows Mobile (not only on non-WM WinCE 6 devices) and also shows WinMo hardware manufacturers what they should concentrate their forces on – for example, at really (!!!) lowering Wi-Fi power usage when not actively used.
The same also states for Symbian users. I know you’d rather not see Windows Mobile contents in here, but, again, such a comparison is instructive for you too because, then, you’ll know what Nokia should be told in order to improve the facilities of its client. And, as I seriously doubt anyone (except me) would write a thorough feature comparison / buglist of these two operating systems, Symbian developers can make great use of this report.
1.2.1 Windows Mobile
1.2.1.1 Conduits Pocket Player 3.51
Currently (before the release of CorePlayer 1.2 and its UPnP support) this is definitely the best and most versatile UPnP client for Windows Mobile. It has definite advantages over the alternatives: first, as opposed to the two other WM solutions, it can act as a server. Second, as opposed to Nero’s app, it can act as a pure controller (without locally rendering anything), in which it can be pretty handy at just controlling the data flow between your home entertainment devices. After all, if you do have a UPnP-enabled flat TV (with an excellent H.264 decoder), why would you want to watch the same video on the small screen of your smart phone? On the other hand, your phone is one of the best tools to actually remote control the data flow in the network - you, for example, won't need to purchase additional, UPnP-only remote controllers if you already have a UPnP remote control-capable phone in your pocket.
The UPnP interface, accessible under Browse / Network, is pretty easy to master. In addition, moving between the pages (with the left/right D-pad arrows) is very easy too – not so with, say, the much more awkward (and VERY slow!) Nero Mobile Pro, where it's very easy not to be able to click the "Back" arrow at the top of every list.
It’s only at remote controlling that I’ve found it a bit lacking: the pure remote control user interface (UI) it uses isn’t as intuitive as that of Nokia or Rudeo: you need to use a separate, list-based UI. That is, not the native, well-known and familiar playback interface, but a completely different one depicted here:
In this regard, Nokia’s and the Rudeo apps are definitely better. Again, on these, you can use the well-known controls to control the multimedia stream flow between the media server and the renderer as if you played back a local stream as can be seen in the following screenshot:
As can also be seen, Nokia's (and Rudeo's too) not only displays the controls to control the rendering of a multimedia stream, but also displays its metadata, the progress etc. No such features are available with Pocket Player.
1.2.1.1.1 Additional screenshots & usage tips
An example of browsing my (Vista) notebook: the main category list. All these contain the usual categorization: the music list shows the traditional (example of the album view and, inside of it, the list of the individual songs) library view.
The list of videos is also shown; they, however, can’t be played back, not even WMV files (which are, by default, supported by PP with local playback) – only the sound will be heard. If playback starts at all, that is - it doesn’t seem to work on WM6 (only the list is shown, play controls don’t work) ; it does on WM5 as can also be seen in HERE (notice that the movie is being played back). Unfortunately, this also applies to viewing pictures – while their list is correctly displayed, “Play” doesn’t result in their being actually displayed.
PP is also able to use another renderer (screenshot of stepping into the menu); for example, in THIS screenshot, you can see the GUI for remote controlling a device.
1.2.1.1.2 Problems (as of version 3.51)
1. Even Western (äö, for example) accents in the title of the MP3 tags (the one needed to be displayed in the given situation) result in the clients not being able to connect. The Symbian client displays the server’s refusing the connection (“Selected device rejected the operation”):
The Nero Mobile client, when run from another PPC, just crashes and immediately exits when stepping into a view that would contain an accent anywhere. From the same PPC, it “only” refuses to display anything including and after the accent. For example, if you have the album “Hilapiäles” from the artist “Pömpeli”, then, only a single “P” will be displayed as an artist name (the second letter, ö, is already accented) and only “Hilapi” as the album name.
2. When (this is a very rare case but you may still run into it, particularly if you try to remote control a Windows Mobile PDA from, say, a Symbian phone, which defaults to remote rendering) it’s controlled from an external controller and its renderer module is instructed to connect to its MediaServer module, the connection will fail. During this, it just displays a local (192.168.0.1:51524) connection message for about 30 seconds; nothing happens after this, no playback / anything.
3. When operated in direct mode (NOT remote controlled! In the latter case, it has no problems accessing MediaServers!), it can’t connect to other Windows Mobile / Symbian servers (tested with both serving-capable UPnP apps: Pocket Player itself, running on another Pocket PC, and Nokia’s UPnP app). Then, it displays a “Server Error or Access Denied” error message.
1.2.1.2 Rudeo Play & Control 2.9.15
In my RMC Bible, I’ve already discussed the non-UPnP-capable version of this program, Rudeo Control for Windows Media Player. Rudeo Play & Control is entirely different as it’s specifically written for controlling UPnP-compliant servers and renderers – and to play back from the latter.
(playing back a song remotely; also showing the target renderer; note that the song title is only shown at the bottom)
(playing back a song locally, also showing the target renderer)
(server list)
During install time, you can also install a server-side component, which lets for some goodies well-explained in the user guide. It, however, didn’t work with my setup (XP SP2 + WMP 11).
Other screenshots: filelist of the, in the previous screenshot, listed two servers. As can be seen, it correctly lists the categories / files. Quickly playing a title is pretty easy (if you don’t want to fuss with playlists): just tick the given song, tap and hold it and select “Checked – Add and Play” as can be seen in HERE.
It seems it has severe problems with the CPU usage even in pure remote control mode (the same on the Wizard, in pure remote control mode; the red chart is the charted Rudeo executable). The situation is even worse when it locally plays back music (Wizard example screenshot HERE); then, the CPU usage can be so high that the player really quickly chews through the battery. Note that this seems to be a generic problem with all Rudeo products: Rudeo Control for Widows Media Player also had unpredictable, sometimes very high CPU usage (see my previous RMC Bible).
Incidentally, as has already been mentioned, like Nokia’s player and as opposed to Pocket Player and Nero and, it pre-fetches the songs before playing them. This can be a bit time-consuming, largely depending on the speed / optimization of the storage card. Unlike with the Nokia, where you can set where the fetched file should be temporarily stored (either the card or the, at times, much faster built-in storage), you can’t do the same on Rudeo’s controller.
1.2.1.3 Nero Mobile Pro 1.4.0.9
I’ve already reviewed the individual audio file playback and MPEG-4 ASP/AVC playback support of Nero Mobile Pro. Unfortunately, compared to the best (and, at times, even free like TCPMP!) titles, it didn’t really excel at them.
The case is pretty much the same with UPnP. First, it only has pretty basic UPnP support. It has absolutely no MediaServer and (purely remote) MediaController capabilties, unlike all of the alternatives (note that Rudeo can’t act as a MediaServer either; Pocket Player and Nokia can). That is, it can “only” connect to other UPnP MediaServers and play back (locally render) their contents on the PDA itself. That is, you can’t use it at all to, say, remote control the communication between your UPnP-capable flat panel TV and network storage – again, unlike with all the other alternatives.
1.2.2 Symbian (Nokia N-series)
The latest Nokia N-series (that is, multimedia-centric) phones have UPnP support built-in. Before the latest (2007 Autumn / Winter) batch of multimedia Nokia phones, they - in addition to being MediaServers and the ability to send files directly to, say, UPnP printers - were only able to remote control other UPnP devices. That is, they didn’t have local, on-phone rendering (playback) capabilities. Now, with the latest models (N81, N82, N95 8GB ) and firmware upgrades of older models (N95-1 with the v20 firmware), a (pre-fetching) renderer component has also been added.
(main mediaserver list; as can be seen in there, it saw Conduits Pocket Player’s server on my Dell Axim x51v; Orb, Nero Mediahome and the built-in UPnP server in Vista on my notebook called “WR-NOTEBOOK”; the Conduits Pocket Player’s server on my HTC Universal and, finally, the TVersity UPnP server on my notebook.)
A quick tip: by default, when you select a (single) song on an external MediaServer to be played back on the (local) Nokia, when you click on the song, the pop-up window displayed only lists the external renderers.
In order to play back the title on the local Symbian device itself, you must select Play / On device instead:
Note that the other menu item in this submenu, “Via home network”, results in displaying the available renderers on the network – that is, the same dialog as above. Also note that, if you select more than one song to play back with either Mark/Unmark / Mark all viewed or with the traditional multiple selection shortcut on your particular model (for example, on the N95, holding down the pen button while navigating down with the D-pad), you will only be able to use this menu for initiating playback. Simply pressing Action on a title to be played back on another, external renderer won’t work when more than one title are selected.
Note that, in order for the other devices to see your Symbian device (that is, it can act as a MediaServer), you must manually enable “Show phone” in “Visibility in network” in the settings as can be seen in HERE. This needs to be done every time you start Tools / Connectivity / Home media – this setting, unlike with Conduits Pocket Player’s similar setting (Browse / Setting/ Enable sharing), doesn’t stick.
Still speaking of PP, it’s also worth pointing out that, in Pocket Player, sharing your own contents is, by default, disabled; therefore, you may want to click all the three list elements in Browse / Network / Settings so that they become the following:
(the second list item makes Pocket Player controllable from another MediaController. If you don't need it, just don't click it).
Finally, in addition to multimedia playback / remote control, the Symbian UPnP client excels at something the Windows Mobile clients don’t support: handling non-multimedia UPnP devices like wireless UPnP printers. To make use of them, you can just copy any document to them with “Copy to home network”:
1.2.2.1 Problems with the Symbian client
Unlike with all (!) MediaServers (Windows Mobile and desktop alike), it doesn’t support media library or even file system-based file / media separation. That is, while it does have three main categories (Music, Images&Videos, Uploaded) (the latter for direct file transfer – the N95 supports it both as a client and a server – note that few other MediaController clients support this). (The same category screenshot is HERE, taken on the desktop running Cidero, which I’ll elaborate on later.)
Inside these categories, however, ALL the available files are shown without any separation (screenshots: Music; Images&Videos) – neither library-, nor file system-based. Hope the Nokia folks fix this VERY annoying issue some time and at least adds file system-based separation, if not the full Music Player library support.
1.3 Minimizing power usage – with benchmarks
1.3.1 Rendering: Pre-fetching vs. streaming
As has already been explained, a media renderer may opt for pre-fetching a file before / during playback so that it doesn’t have to stream the content all the time from the MediaServer. Two renderers follow this approach: Nokia’s and Rudeo.
Pre-fetching, while it’s certainly has its drawbacks (for example, pre-fetching huge media files may just fail because of the lack of storage space and/or can be lengthy at first), has some definite advantages; most importantly, the Wi-Fi power usage can be minimized – if it automatically powers down itself after a given inactivity time threshold. The following screenshot certainly shows this all:
I’ve played back several songs during the test; the power usage peaks definitely show the boundaries of these songs. (It was slightly before the end of each song that the Wi-Fi unit was activated and the next song was quickly pre-fetched.) As can clearly be seen, the average power usage was 0.57W, which is about only 0.18W more than playing back local MP3’s (see THIS for more info & never before published benchmarks on the latter). Pretty impressive, isn’t it?
Interestingly, keeping the N95 visible (again, it defaults to being invisible) in the Wi-Fi UPnP network (as a server device) was also really battery-friendly – only consuming some 0.11W’s (that is, almost the same as without Wi-Fi).
As far as Rudeo on Windows Mobile is concerned, it also does pre-fetching, which also allows for the Wi-Fi unit’s powering down. However, as the CPU usage of Rudeo is pretty high, the overall power usage will also remain high, particularly with non-battery-friendly CPU’s like the Intel XScale PXA-2XX series (their latest, PXA-3XX series, now, Marvel-branded CPU’s are stated to be better in this respect; I've elaborated on the huge power usage increase with increasing CPU usage when compared to, in this respect, much better architectures like the newer TI OMAP platform for example HERE, in section "1.1.1.1 Battery life considerations" - worth a read!). The following acbTaskMan screenshot (measured on a Dell Axim x51v with minimal backlight and moderate sound volume) clearly shows this:
This chart shows an about 2-3-minute-long initial pre-fetch session, when all the three demo songs were pre-fetched for playback on the local PPC (about 450 mA current, with 600 mA peaks). After the fetching has completed, the player switched to regular playback and the Wi-Fi unit was powered down to idle state, but the CPU usage remained very high (20% at 624 MHz, with much higher peaks) – hence the overall ~280 mA current.
It can clearly be stated that, battery usage-wise, prefetching is WAY better than streaming solutions. The following screenshot shows Nero Mobile Pro (in minimized state – let’s not forget that its graphics takes a LOT of CPU cycles, resulting in even worse figures) streaming (MP3’s from Orb) on the Dell Axim x51v (run without a charger). As can clearly be seen, the average Amperage was around 450 mA’s, while the CPU usage at around 60% - that is, not much higher than with Rudeo (let alone the N95, which has by far the best power management). Yes, prefetching surely has definite advantages.
The situation is similarly bad with Pocket Player, which also uses streaming:
As can clearly be seen, the Amperage has always been around 380 mA (with the lowest backlight level and default Wi-Fi sensitivity setting) – which is still about 100 mA’s more than with Rundo and its Wi-Fi power saving by pre-fetching contents. The somewhat lower CPU usage of Pocket Player doesn’t really help in this respect.
Note that the previous screenshot has been made on the 520 MHz HTC Universal because, on the x51v, for some reason, PP has produced far worse results, where the CPU usage is way more as can also be seen in HERE. Frankly, I don’t know what this is caused by.
Note that both Nokia’s engineers and Rudeo’s developers allow for continuous playback: Nokia pre-fetches the next song while still playing the last one and Rudeo fetches all the songs (and writes to the storage card) while playing the first (few) song(s). This results in no pauses between songs (if there are more than one of them) – only the starting of the playback of the first song will be delayed.
1.3.2 Remote controlling
The situation with pure remote controlling is pretty much the same as with above. The power saving feature of the Nokia kicks in quite fast and results in about 0.15-0.17W generic power usage (that is, about 0.07 Watts more than without Wi-Fi remote control activated). Windows Mobile-based devices, in this mode, fare far better than in the previous case as can clearly be seen in the following screenshot:
As can clearly be seen, the average current is 130-150 mA (just slightly more than without doing anything and a LOT less than the ~400 mA average of active Wi-Fi streaming), which clearly shows the Wi-Fi unit is idling and the CPU usage, which is very low, doesn’t contribute much to the overall power usage.
1.3.2.1 Try disconnecting / powering down your handset when not actively remote controlling!
Finally, a quick tip. As has also been explained in the RMC Bible, you can safely disconnect / power down your handset after initiating a (fully) remote playback – that is, between, for example, a NAS and a flat TV. Then, when you need remote control again, you just power on your device, let the Wi-Fi unit reconnect and you'll almost promptly be able to regain remote control on both the server and the renderer. This is pretty much the same as with traditional, non-UPnP RMC applications and, again, is thoroughly explained in the RMC Bible.
1.4 Networking
If you plan to use your handset in a “real” home environment (to, for example, control the multimedia data flow between a flat TV and a Network Attached Storage), you’ll end up having to use Wi-Fi.
You may (depending on whether your clients are Bluetooth PAN – see below – capable) also want to use Wi-Fi if you “only” have computers on your network. Then, you’ll have somewhat more choices: you can use both infrastructure and peer-to-peer (p2p) mode between the devices. The latter doesn’t require an access point and is supported by both Windows Mobile and Symbian.
However, if you strive for better battery life, you can also use Bluetooth (BT) Personal Area Network (PAN) if and only if all your UPnP components support it. Unfortunately, there’s no widespread support for BT PAN. Symbian devices don’t support it at all; neither do Windows Mobile ones with the MS BT stack in client mode (and, unrestricted, in server mode only with an additional hack). That is, it’s only with Windows Mobile devices with the (in cases, “hacked”, post-installed) Widcomm (Broadcom) BT stack that you can use this form of very battery-friendly form of multimedia sharing / control.
Please also see the related section in the old RMC Bible for more info on all these networking-related questions. Also, let me know if you don’t know how to set up these kinds of networks - but, of course, before asking, first, read the linked article (and all the backlinked ones - I've publsihed several, extensive tutorials on creating for example peer-to-peer Wi-Fi networks).
2. Desktop UPnP apps
Should you want to play with desktop (Windows, Linux, Mac etc.) servers / controllers / renderers, you’ll want to check out the following section. Note that you will in no way need these applications for your mobile UPnP clients to operate in an already-deployed UPnP home network; I’ve only presented it to you so that you know where to look for, say, a pure, but decent and free (!) controller running on any desktop or server OS (for that, I recommend Cidero’s app). These can help a lot with quickly seeing whether a given server is accessible / visible on the network, what content it offers etc.
Another great use for these apps (in this case, Nero MediaHome) is seeing what’s happening in the UPnP network, how many users / clients have connected to your server from which local IP’s. These apps greatly help in tracking down possible networking problems. For this kind of problem fixing, I recommend Nero MediaHome the most.
In the next three subsections, I elaborate on the three main components of the UPnP architecture: (Media)Server, (Media)Controller and (Media)Renderer. In general, there’re no software products implementing all these three functionalities (unlike, say, Conduits Pocket Player on Windows Mobile). There’s On2Share Pro - UPnP AV Suite that promises to implement all of this (it has a 14-day trial and is pretty cheap: only 19.95 euros), but I’ve never managed to make it really work – neither under Windows XP nor under Vista. (I’ve tried to do this on two different desktop PC’s, using two different networking topologies – both peer-to-peer Wi-Fi and using a standard access point. A no-go. While it did list the other UPnP-capable, visible (either a server (upper listbox) or a renderer (lower listbox)) participants:
(another screenshot of the lower part of the server list)
it wasn’t able to communicate with them in any way. (Note that the screenshot has been taken under Vista, using large fonts (a must on a 15" UXGA screen); this is why the lower left buttons are messed up; on XP, with normal fonts, it's correctly rendered. Also note that it displays 127.0.0.1 as the local IP, that is, localhost. This shows the computer had no active Internet connection when the app was started (I've, later, set up an Internet-less p2p Wi-Fi connection manually). Don’t let this make you think I’ve messed up the setup – in other tests, I’ve restarted it so that it received a real LAN IP address. Then, it didn’t work either.)
2.1 (Pure) Servers (MediaServers)
2.1.1 TVersity
Along with Sling (which I haven’t been able to test because it’s still not available in Europe, except for the U.K.) and Orb, TVersity is the most popular remote (WAN; that is, non-local (LAN) UPnP) streaming server, allowing for a lot of niceties; for example, dynamic radio / media transcoding. If you already know this app (because, for example, you’ve used its streaming capabilities over remote mobile networks), you’ll certainly welcome its UPnP capabilities.
(the share config screen; the second tab, with the list of the contents on the server, looks like this – as can clearly be seen, it’s pretty complicated to navigate between the server multimedia contents as there’s no scrollbar. A screenshot of browsing TVersity on a Symbian device is HERE)
TVersity, of course, has its own discussion forum; of it, I recommend THIS thread.
2.1.2 Orb
This is probably the most widely known, free (!!!) home streaming server also compatible with Windows Mobile. It also supports UPnP. It comes with UPnP enabled by default:
Unfortunately, it doesn’t have as nice debug / client configuration capabilities as Nero MobileHome either. But, at least, it’s free and, when it comes to transcoding, definitely more capable than the latter. All in all, highly recommended.
2.1.3 Nero MobileHome
It’s part of the, if you’re into AVC (H.264 / MPEG-4 Part 10) video encoding, pretty much recommended Nero 8 Ultra Edition.
Compared to the first two servers listed above, it has some goodies. For example, with the two servers, it’s impossible to see what clients have been connected, what they’re listening to / watching, what client they use etc. For example, HERE is a list of the renderers found.
The following screenshot:
shows a case in where it’s even more useful: it shows what clients have connected, what they’re streaming / downloading, what they really are etc. In the shot, the first client is Conduits Pocket Player running on my x51v and streaming “02 Track 2.wma” (at 35%); the second is Nero Mobile Pro running on another Pocket PC in the network and streaming “06 Track 6.wma” (at 14%). Also, it lets you define what network interface to use for streaming.
Otherwise, it has pretty much the same capabilities as the former two servers:
- manual addition of shared media directories (note that it also supports automatic refreshing via Nero Scout)
- streams TV
- supports a remote UI
- supports transcoding
(Note that in my forthcoming Multimedia Bible I will continue elaborating on these three products: they have excellent, remote (non-UPnP), smart phone-compliant transcoding and TV/radio streaming capabilities well worth exploiting.)
2.1.4 Other servers
MediaTomb: free, open source, non-Windows
TwonkyVision Media Server (the forum is worth checking out for generic UPnP-related discussions too)
DLink Media Server
Philips Media Manager
JRiver Media Center
Note that Windows Media Connect (still recommended on the Rudeo page) 2.0 is no longer available because the same functionality is built into Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP or Windows Vista
2.2 (Pure) controllers (MediaControllers)
Cidero - Java-language, multiplatform controller. Don’t be afraid of it being written in Java – it’s very easy to install: just download the installer EXE, run it and you’re set.
It’s a very nice and free app. As it has no built-in renderer, you must use an external one to play back multimedia content.
2.3 (Pure) Renderers
Probably the most important is the Un*x-based GMediaRender; unfortunately, it has no desktop Windows version.
Hardware-wise, Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) is generally considered one of the best media clients / AV (for example MP4 HD) renderers.
Whoa, AMAZING!
thank you!
this is very much to digest all at once, but i'll get into it and start trying it for myself
UPDATE (12/23/2007): There’s a nice quick summary of how a mobile device can be used for in a home environment HERE, in the first post of the thread. It’s worth a read if you still don't really understand what UPnP can be used for in everyday life. (Note that it discusses the Nokia N95 in this scenario. Of course, any other, UPnP- & remote control-capable mobile device can be utilized in exactly the same way. Also note that it still discusses the old, pre-v20 firmware of the Nokia N95. As has also been mentioned in the (currently) last post of the thread, the N95 has received real renderer capabilities in the meantime.)
Omnia
The Samsung Omnia now comes with uPnP control point software.
yannick said:
The Samsung Omnia now comes with uPnP control point software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool, thanks, in a subsequent update, I'll post this piece of info.
By wikipedia, a list of hardware and software UPNP media server/player/renderer/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPnP_AV_MediaServers
It hasn't a seccion for windows mobile, anyone for add our seccion for PDA?
great write up!
Last Summer, upon the release of the brand-new, 6-series of SOTi Pocket Controller Pro and the free My Mobiler (click the links for a review!), I’ve already pointed out the “let’s control your Windows Mobile device from your desktop!” scene is really thriving.
Since the above reviews, here have been major upgrades. First, My Mobiler has been greatly enhanced (for example, TCP/IP connections have been added) and the bugs I’ve elaborated on in the review have all been fixed – while still maintaining its free status. In this article (and the accompanying chart), I also thoroughly elaborate on these changes.
Even more importantly, the, for long-time Windows Mobile users, known VirtualCE has been greatly upgraded and enhanced.
As VirtualCE has been written by the same developer as the well-known and very fast PQV and SmartGear – one of the best titles in their respective categories (picture viewers and pre-SNES home and handheld console emulators). I wasn’t disappointed: while there is indeed some missing functionality in the new version, its price, CPU usage and, at times, speed, speak for themselves. It’s evident it has been written by a Windows Mobile & C / assembly language guru that knows how to optimize code and, therefore, reduce the CPU (and memory) usage.
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(The main interface screen and an example of remote controlling a HTC Vox / s710. The latter displays the VirtualCE client on the handset.)
VirtualCE is, feature-wise, somewhere between the free My Mobiler and the pretty expensive, albeit VERY capable and highly recommended SOTi Pocket Controller. In some respects, it’s definitely more capable than SOTi’s app (for example, see the parallel multicontrol feature, which is only present in the even more expensive Enterprise version of SOTi’s app; also, the much lower CPU usage should be mentioned); in other respects, it’s inferior to even My Mobiler (see for example the complete lack of handheld / handset -> desktop PC clipboard synchronization).
Installation, usage
Installation-wise, there isn’t much to do. Just download the trial version HERE (note that there is a different one for Pocket PC’s and MS Smartphones), start the installer on the desktop computer and make sure your handset is connected via ActiveSync so that the (handset-side) server can be installed.
Should you want to activate the connection, then, you’ll need to start Start / (on Pocket PC’s) Programs / Virtual CE on your handset and. Then, just start the VirtualCE client on your desktop computer.
Should you want to remote control your device via ActiveSync, just cradle / connect it to your desktop and double-click the default “ActiveSync” entry in the list. If you establish the ActiveSync connection between the desktop and your handset before starting the desktop VirtualCE client, it'll automatically connect.
Should you want to create a non-ActiveSync connection, go to Connection / New… and, after naming the next entry (you don’t need to do this, but is still recommended), select the connection type in the Connection Type drop-down menu:
Should you want a remote TCP/IP connection, select WAN / Internet; then, you’ll also need to enter the IP of the handset as can be seen in THIS screenshot. Should you “only” want to control a, say, Wi-Fi-connected device on the LAN, you can also select LAN (Auto Discovery). Note that the latter will make initiating the connection a bit slower, as, as will also be explained in the “SOTi vs. VirtualCE” section, you’ll always need to select the device from a list whenever you try to initiate a connection to it.
Functionality
VirtualCE supports most functionalities one can expect of a non-high-end controller: taking screenshots, rotating the screen to be able to take screenshots / control games using GAPI to switch to Landscape mode and/or Web browsers like Thunderhawk that also use the landscape orientation. Also, just like all the other, most recommended alternatives, it allows for TCP/IP connections, which means you can remotely access a (connectable; that is, non-NAT’ed / firewalled) Windows Mobile device anywhere in the world. This is of extreme importance particularly for Customer Service and/or enterprise folks, who may need to access the handsets of their customers / workers somewhere else in the world (that is, not connected to the local desktop, where ActiveSync would (also) work.)
It also supports connecting to several clients at the same time. This is pretty unique. An example is shown in the following screenshot (click for the original size!)
In here, I’ve shown an example of controlling no less than five (VGA WM5 x51v, VGA WM6 HTC Universal; QVGA WM2003 HP iPAQ 2210; QVGA WM6 Vox/s710 Smartphone; QVGA WM6 HTC Wizard) devices at the same time. Note that I’ve left the main server screen of VirtualCE on all the handsets to reduce the size of the screenshot (PNG’s don’t really like colorful, “natural” pictures, and I didn’t want to use the, for making technical screenshots, inferior JPG); I could have controlled these devices freely. Also note the different IP’s visible on the phones.
However, it lacks some basic functionalities; most importantly, the ability to copy some text from the handheld to the desktop. While I agree the opposite direction is far more widely used (think of, say, quickly pasting loooooooooong registration numbers to your just-purchased app!), in cases, the opposite may also be desirable, particularly with folks that publish a lot of articles on Windows Mobile devices. (For example, I need to copy text from, say, Web browser User-Agent strings like in THIS thread.)
CPU usage
Traditionally, PDA controller apps have had high CPU usage. The two other, highly recommended controller apps (SOTi, My Mobiler) too have high CPU usage – particularly when controlling a VGA device.
Not so with VirtualCE. It has the least CPU usage of all; in this regard, it’s way the best. If you have problems because another remote controller app (either SOTi’s or My Mobiler – but are way worse in this respect) takes too much CPU time (which, for example, results in a very bad slowdown), make sure you give VirtualCE a try.
Speed
The screen refresh rate has always been causing the most problems with most remote controllers. (Actually, this is why I don’t recommend any of the alternative controllers at all: they’re plain slow, even with low-resolution (QVGA) devices, let alone high-resolution ((W)VGA) ones.)
In this regard, VirtualCE fares pretty well. Compared to (the free) My Mobiler, it’s faster in every respect; this is particularly visible in the full-screen animation video (see later). On QVGA devices, the difference isn’t that big, though – My Mobiler is perfectly usable on the latter.
Compared to SOTI’s much more expensive, but, apart from the CPU usage and the inability to control several devices at the same time and LAN discovery, vastly superior remote controller, there are two remarks.
1. If you need to control an application with frequent full screen upgrades (a game or even wildly scrolling the, say, Programs screen), SOTi’s app is much better and faster on high-resolution ((W)VGA) devices.
2. If, on the other hand, the changes are only restricted to a comparatively small area of the screen, VirtualCE updates the desktop-side screen somewhat faster than SOTi.
Again, the speed difference between these three apps are only really visible on high-resolution devices like WVGA or even VGA ones. On low-resolution (QVGA or 176*220 Smartphones) ones, there won’t really be (at least annoying) differences. There, My Mobiler will be the slowest but still really well usable.
I’ve made several, easily comparable test videos of all these results so that you can see I’m not lying. Two of them (the one based on my self-written test counter suite; the other on the new, excellent game Nanobotz) show changes restricted to a small area on the screen; the other shows a small portion of a full-screen animation. (Note that I’ve run the counter test twice on the VGA Dell Axim x51v: underclocked to 208 MHz and at the default 624 MHz to emulate slower and/or underclocked VGA devices).
Use the built-in Windows Media Player to play back the sample benchmark videos (all of them are linked from the chart). Unfortunately, the otherwise free and highly recommended (VideoLAN) VLC client isn't able to play them back.
How does it compare to Pocket Controller Pro?
Pros
First, it’s way less expensive, particularly if you have more than one Windows Mobile devices. In the latter case, you would need to purchase a license to each of these devices from SOTi.
It has way less CPU usage, resulting in a far snappier client. This is especially useful on (W)VGA Pocket PC’s, where the CPU usage of SOTi can easily become an issue.
It allows for controlling more than one Windows Mobile client at a time. This is only available in the significantly more expensive version of SOTi’s app.
It not only supports (remote) TCP/IP connections, but also LAN discovery (for example, Wi-Fi connected handsets on the same local area network). An example of this:
This frees you from having to enter the client IP. However, this also makes initiating the connection a bit slower as you’ll always end up having to select the LAN-connected device you’d like to control from a list whenever you try to connect a LAN-autodiscovered device.
It doesn’t display a connection message when you start the connection. In SOTi’s app, this can’t be suppressed, which means you can’t start the control session in several games / other, mostly full-screen programs without, say, the top taskbar being imposed over the image displayed by the controlled application. (BTW, in this regard, My Mobiler is also better than SOTi’s app.)
Cons
While, particularly on (W)VGA devices, VirtualCE clearly beats SOTi’s app in capturing and transferring changes restricted to a very small screen area, the latter is much faster when there are (nearly) full screen changes. This means you may want to prefer SOTi’s app when, say, you want to take screenshots of a game.
There are no built-in video recording features. While with an external, desktop-side application capable of recording any screen area into a video (like SnagIt or Fraps), you can easily record what the controller shows, built-in video recording capabilities would be even better. This regard, SOTi’s app is way better / more convenient.
Note that, as far as other controller apps are concerned, the non-recommended dotPocket and the free and, now (as of version 0.91b), WM5-compliant VH PocketPC Capture are both capable of video recording. They, however, are significantly inferior to the most recommended “Holy Trinity” of handheld controllers (SOTi Pocket Controller Pro, VirtualCE and MyMobiler). Should you still want to give the latter two apps a try (I wouldn’t bother with dotPocket; VH PocketPC Capture is a tad better), see THIS for more info. (Note that the article still discusses the previous, 0.9b version of VH PocketPC Capture; it wasn’t, back then, WM5-compliant. Now, it is.)
How does it compare to My Mobiler?
Pros
Lower CPU usage
Ability to control several devices at the same time in wildly different networking topologies (again, in these two respects, it’s better than even SOTi’s Pocket Controller Pro).
Definitely faster in every scenario
Ability to custom rotate the screen
Doesn’t display an icon on the Today screen on Pocket PC’s / on the taskbar on Smartphones
Cons
It isn’t free (albeit $10 is REALLY cheap if you take into account its capabilities)
No PDA -> PPC clipboard synchronization
Impossible to reduce the zoom factor to 0.5 (when, for example, you’d like to take a QVGA-sized, low-res screenshot of a VGA devices without manual resizing in another program like ImageMagick.)
Comparison / feature chart
As usual, I’ve created a comparison / feature chart. Because of the size and the useful links inside, I can’t include it in here. IT IS HERE – CLICK THE LINK!.
Verdict
Now that there is another, highly recommended remote controller application, it’s even harder to choose from the “Holy Trinity”: SOTi Pocket Controller Pro, VirtualCE and MyMobiler. There are tasks one of them is best and there are tasks when the others.
Just some cases / examples showing you which of the three controllers you choose, depending on your particular needs:
for example, if you need to take a video / animation of a screen, particularly if it’s a VGA; then, your best choice will be SOTi’s app (or, probably, VirtualCE, if there aren’t frequent full-screen changes or animations and you can put up with using an external, generic video recorder like SnagIt).
(Note that, in this case, absolutely the best and fastest solution is using a PDA with a VGA (an example: Dell Axim x50v/ x51v (see THIS); you’ll also need an external VGA-to-analogue converter) or an analogue (non-VGA) output like that of the HTC x7500 / Advantage / Athena. If you plan to make a video of, say, a fast-paced action game where the quality degradation introduced by the double digital -> analogue -> digital conversion isn’t a problem, this might be the best solution. If, on the other hand, you can’t introduce analogue artifacts (blurred screen), you will still need to stick with a PDA controller app to take your videos. Unless, of course, you use so high a video compression rate in the final output file that effectively hides the artifacts introduced by the dual D/A and A/D conversion.
Note that some of the PDA’s with a built-in VGA output are pretty slow; an example of them is the (old) e800/e830. Also note that the old(ish) CF / SD-based video output cards or Bluetooth-based video output solutions like the Mobility Electronics Pitch Duo Presentation Device, Colorgraphics Voyager CF, Video Output SDIO Card From Spectec, Pretec VGA CF, or the discontinued Margi Presenter-to-Go and Presenter-to-Go SD for Select (see THIS for more info & links on all these) are, in general, pretty slow too and can’t match the speed of the video output speed of the Dell Axim x50v/ x51v or the HTC x7500.)
if you need absolutely the least CPU usage (because you don’t want the app / game you control / take screenshots of to be executed with a snail’s speed), your best choice might be VirtualCE
if you need to paste a LOT of text from the handset’s screen to your desktop (and you don’t want to use a file-based, very awkward transfer method), go for anything else than VirtualCE
should you need an easy way of editing / accessing the Registry, running keyboard macros etc. on your handset, get SOTi’s app
if you have more than one handset you’d like to control, but don’t have much money, you won’t want to go for SOTi because of the increased price (need a license for each and every client)
if you need to make screenshots of a WM game well into the game, but running it under a remote controller would really slow it down to a crawl, you will want to go for a controller that doesn’t mess up the game screen when activated – well into the game. SOTi’s app, in this respect, might turn out to be the worst solution because the dialog it displays on the handset may fully mess up the screen of the currently running application – or, at least, alter it to some degree. In this case, you may want to go for either VirtualCE or My Mobiler.
should you need PNG or JPG output with selectable (!) quality, either go for anything non- VirtualCE or, if you stick with the latter, make sure you install a third-party app to convert the output images (I recommend BMP) to PNG’s or JPG’s; now, with the needed quality.
Albeit I’ve already elaborated on this issue in some of my articles, let me quickly recite what you’ll need. First, get and install ImageMagick. Then, copy all the files you’d like to convert to a directory and put one of the following commands in a batch file (change http://www.winmobiletech.com/012008Controllers/Program Files\ImageMagick-6.3.1-Q16\convert.exe to the path of your version):
FOR /R %%X IN (*.bmp) DO "C:\Program Files\ImageMagick-6.3.1-Q16\convert.exe" "%%X" "%%X.png"
(this converts from BMP to PNG)
FOR /R %%X IN (*.bmp) DO "C:\Program Files\ImageMagick-6.3.1-Q16\convert.exe" -quality 50 "%%X" "%%X.jpg"
(this converts from BMP to JPG, with settable output quality – here, it’s 50%).
By just running the batch file(s) in the directory you’ve collected your VirtualCE screenshots to, you can easily fix the complete lack of PNG / settable-quality JPG files.
Finally, note that VirtualCE excels in that it allows for one-click screenshots with auto-numbering. This can prove to be extremely useful in some cases.
etc. – the list continues
This also shows there simply isn’t an all-the-best application. Everything depends on your needs. What I recommend is the following: if you have the money, get both SOTi Pocket Controller Pro and VirtualCE. Then, you’ll have the best of both worlds – all your future needs will be satisfied. If you can’t afford SOTi’s app but can still afford VirtualCE, don’t’ hesitate to purchase it – it’s still better and faster than the free My Mobiler and is really cheap. Then, however, just in case you’d need (frequent) handset -> PC text copy/paste, also make sure you download and install My Mobiler. (You won’t need the latter if you go the first, that is, the SOTi + VirtualCE route as SOTi’s app also supports this direction.)
Finally, if you have absolutely no money, My Mobiler is still way better than any other, free alternative like Microsoft’s remote controller or the various VNC-based tools. That is, go get it and forget all the other, free alternatives, no matter what some other people say – believe me, it’s vastly superior to them.
(Note that the current, tested, 4.0.2 version occasionally crashes, mostly upon saving into BMP24 screenshots, rotating the view and when, after having connected to a Portrait device, connect to a Landscape one in multiple device control mode. I haven’t encountered similar problems with connecting devices using strictly the Portrait orientation. Hope these bugs will be very quickly fixed by the developer.)
UPDATE (01/31/2008): MoDaCo frontpage
UPDATE (01/31/2008): Thanks to beemer on my blog, the just-released My Mobiler 1.0.70821.010 has the following enhancements compared to the version reviewed above:
-It now rotates the screen manually
-It uses 50% CPU on a G900 against 90% CPU of SOTI pocket controller.
-It allows to hide the icon on the PDA Today screen tray bar from the desktop tray bar icon menu.
UPDATE (02/01/2008):
Pocket Controller 6 IS able to (auto-)discover other clients in a (for example, Wi-Fi) LAN.
Unlike with ActiveSync, when connecting thru Wi-Fi (which may mean other kinds of TCP/IP connections - I haven't tested this), in PC6, the connection dialog isn't displayed.
(thanks to 3pears on my blog for the info!)