AirPort Remote?

[virividox]

This would be great. Hopefully it'll be RF instead of IR, so I don't actually have to be right up next to the thing to change songs.

it cant be ir anyway no apple computers come with ir anymore and the airport thing doesnt have an ir

 

[d.perel]

cool. (as if I even have air tunes... maybe i will take a trip to the local apple store this weekend...

 

[WM.]

Weren't people reporting the firewall message on earlier version of iTunes too? We speculated then that a remote was forthcoming, and it was---but only the Griffin thing. Though I'm really excited about having a real remote for AirTunes, I don't think this rumor gives us much basis for thinking one is forthcoming in the near future.

I agree. I think the error message refers to the (apparently numerous) third-party remotes. They don't really control the AirPort Express per se; rather, the Express passes on their control signals to iTunes, and it's not too much of a stretch to imagine that it uses the same port as iTunes library sharing.

I think this is just another false alarm....

 

[Sedulous]

I'd be seriously interested in a slicker way to control iTunes. It is really annoying to have a music server and have to climb over stuff just to skip a track! And wireless sharing is nice from computer to computer but network stalls increase when bouncing from server to Pbook to AEx. A remote would be a great solution.

 

[swissmann]

I'd more like to see the iPod be able to play through airport express. This would be nice though.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Keyspan Express Remote?

So does anyone know what port the AirPort Express uses to communicate with the host Mac when using the Keyspan Express Remote? Based on the description in Keyspan's manual, it sounds like it uses the same connection that the 'AirTunes' feature of iTunes uses to send the music TO the AirPort Express.

So...

I'm guessing that the same port(s) are used by both the AirTunes music streaming and the remote control aspects. And since there is already support for a remote built-in to the AirPort Express (and iTunes) to support the Keyspan Express Remote, this is just a warning that your firewall might block said communication. And, since the Keyspan Express Remote has been out for months now, it's not really a 'new' thing.

I think it's just referring to the Keyspan remote... (I would also assume that other companies could release a similar remote if they felt like it, since the functionality for remotes is built into the base and iTunes by Apple, and doesn't seem to be Keyspan-specific, since you don't need to install any software by Keyspan to use it this way.)

(For comparison, Griffin's AirClick USB plugs into a Mac, and controls the Mac itself, whereas Keyspan's remote plugs directly into the AirPort Express base station's USB port, and controls iTunes (and only iTunes) through the network connection with your Mac, via the 'AirTunes' interface. Although I don't see any technical reason why Griffin couldn't make their AirClick USB work with the AirPort Express/AirTunes.)

 

[areyouwishing]

Palm E2 > Bluetooth > Bluetooth Internet Sharing > PHP iTunes Control > iTunes = Remote Control with Playlist selection

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I'd be seriously interested in a slicker way to control iTunes. It is really annoying to have a music server and have to climb over stuff just to skip a track! And wireless sharing is nice from computer to computer but network stalls increase when bouncing from server to Pbook to AEx. A remote would be a great solution.

You're welcome.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I'd more like to see the iPod be able to play through airport express. This would be nice though.

Why not just put an iPod dock right next to your AirPort Express, and plug the dock's line-out into the same stereo you have the AirPort Express plugged in to? (Rather than having your iPod in a completely different place than your stereo, as implied by wanting to use it through an AirPort Express.)

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Palm E2 > Bluetooth > Bluetooth Internet Sharing > PHP iTunes Control > iTunes = Remote Control with Playlist selection

heh, that would work great for me, since my eMac's Bluetooth seems to connect at farther ranges than the AirPort Express base station that is on the shelf directly above my eMac. (i.e. My PowerBook loses it's AirPort signal before my Bluetooth headset loses it's connection with the eMac.)

Now I just need a Bluetooth-capable Palm.

 

[AlmostThere]

Romeo

I use AirClick by Griffen Technologies for my Airport Express.. It controls iTunes 4.8 and most other media players with RF.. Works great for me. It has been out a few weeks. $39. Sweet!

I have been using Romeo with my phone. $39 cheaper than AirClick and nothing to plug in to my PB.

A screen of some sort is absolutely essential to make any remote worth purchasing, I would need the ability to browse my library and to create (maybe edit?) playlists.

A widget put on a synched ipod could work as the iPod offers both these features but if it is going to be working via 801.11 then why not just have the widget transmitting direct to the airport, playing from the iPod?

 

[Pyrix]

I'm thinking some kind of mini tablet to control itunes, iphoto, imovie, etc, and send it to your airport express. Some really sexy, slick, interface in a handheld device, not much bigger than a usual remote, probably sending over wlan. Perhaps with an interface for keynote, showing this slide and next slide. Maybe even a new mail indicator, so that in the middle of the movie or album you can get distracted, and go and check your mail

Anyone with me?

 

[Dr.Gargoyle]

I'm thinking some kind of mini tablet to control itunes, iphoto, imovie, etc, and send it to your airport express. Some really sexy, slick, interface in a handheld device, not much bigger than a usual remote, probably sending over wlan. Perhaps with an interface for keynote, showing this slide and next slide. Maybe even a new mail indicator, so that in the middle of the movie or album you can get distracted, and go and check your mail

Anyone with me?

Well, it would be cool, but the again...a remote. It isn't very innovative right? It is not like none of us haven't seen a remote before. (may negations...lol)
IMHO, I think Apple should wait until they can have an iPod double as a remote.
Unless the much talked about iHome or some other home entertainment hub is introduced, I don't see much point in introducing a remote (that I probably will lose) just to switch tunes on my computer.
It honestly sounds very much like overkill.

 

[asif786]

ive been seeing this message as well.. sounds like its been thrown out of context as this is the actual message below:

dude, that's not the message. the message that the article is referring to is the one below.. this is apparantly a new message in 4.8..

 

[redeye be]

You guys are all forgetting the new airport express with video out
and the new (BT) mouse with scroll-wheel-pad.
plz WWDC

Airport express with BT and video would connect to your TV for browsing your library and playlists etc.
The new mouse will then be the remote (sry for all those who allready got AE )
AE will transport the BT signal to the 'host' via Airport, that's what the error is about.

I speek with no authority.

 

[xli_ne]

ive been seeing this message as well.. sounds like its been thrown out of context as this is the actual message below:

I've had that same message come up before. I don't think that has anything to do with a new remote by apple.

 

[fixyourthinking]

Salling Clicker on enhanced phones

Salling Clicker implemented a new feature in the last release for smart phones and enhanced phones - like my Sony Ericsson s710a

Instead of the awkward controls being pushed to the phone - now ..an actual visual representation of the remote appears on the screen.

You can view playlists, currently playing songs and search by title, artist, genre, etc

__________________________

Some of you may want to check out Sonos or Roku - sounds to me like one of these three solutions is what most people seem to want in these forums and I honestly thing the "remote error message" is dealing with a remote that is already on the market - there are many!

 

[Mord]

now hopefully it should be an 802.11 remote so it works with older APE.

that would make more sense seeing as it would mean that your remote acts like a networked device telling your mac to do whatever needs doing.

 

[bgibbs]

I'm thinking some kind of mini tablet to control itunes, iphoto, imovie, etc, and send it to your airport express. Some really sexy, slick, interface in a handheld device, not much bigger than a usual remote, probably sending over wlan. Perhaps with an interface for keynote, showing this slide and next slide. Maybe even a new mail indicator, so that in the middle of the movie or album you can get distracted, and go and check your mail

Anyone with me?

Wouldn't the Sony PSP be perfect for this? It has WiFi. It has enough hard buttons to work well as a remote (including volume). It's being used as a web browser (WipeOut Pure). It would make a great dummy terminal for any Mac. E-mail could be stored on a mac and pushed to the PSP, too. And, what if they came out with a UMD burner and an H.264 version of iTMS for movies? You could download movies, burn them to a UMD and take them on the plane. With the rumored video AE, you could distribute audio and video all over the house and control it all through the PSP. Seems like the perfect fit to me. Problem is, Apple always seems to come out with products that are much cooler than my imagination...

 

[Crunchy]

Some of you may want to check out Sonos or Roku - sounds to me like one of these three solutions is what most people seem to want in these forums

Absolutely, I think that the Sonos package is wonderful---except for the price. Especially when I've already plunked down cash for a Mac and an iPod, I'd like to see Apple's solution. Apple could use this to help drive the (compressed) digital music revolution, in which they now have a significant financial stake. Once I ripped my entire 1000+ CD collection last year, I can't imagine going back to regular CD listening. The problems then are

(1) How to manage such a large collection of songs; and
(2) How to play the songs.

iTunes takes care of (1) ok, at least on my G5 DP 2.5; not so well on my T?Book 500. But I'm more concerned in this post with (2). It would be wonderful to stream them wirelessly.

There is also the problem:

(3) How to manage the collection between multiple physical locations.

Right now the easiest thing is to have multiple hard drives, or just use an iPod. But iPod capacities are not very large. I'd love a solution that involved (secure) personal network access to my collection. Now of course I could run a music server already, but I'd like a Mac-like way to make this easy. For instance iTunes doesn't handle remote libraries anymore across the 'Net. If/when the iPod becomes 'Net aware, then it becomes part of this networking solution too.

I think I can see where things are going, but I wonder why they're taking so long. One thought is that the (compressed) digital music revolution is really just taking off, and so the market isn't ready for products like this yet. But I think it will be soon, and I can't wait.

 

[jicon]

Um guys... I've been using an AirTunes remote for the past five months. It's called a Keyspan Express.

iTunes has an easily accessible API to force AirTunes to skip songs, playlists, stop, pause etc, and it requires a port to do so..

Apple may indeed introduce something else to control iTunes remotely at some point, but you guys are generally grabbing at straws.

 

[Crunchy]

Apple may indeed introduce something else to control iTunes remotely at some point, but you guys are generally grabbing at straws.

Yes, but when the straws may be dipped into something so delicious, isn't it worth a grab?

 

[dloomer]

Um guys... I've been using an AirTunes remote for the past five months. It's called a Keyspan Express.

Well yeah, a few people in this thread already beat you to the punch though, like yesterday ...

 

[Sunrunner]

I'd love a remote, although when I think of the kind of remote you'd use for a CD player, it still leaves a little to be desired. Sure you can stop, pause, skip tracks, but without some sort of GUI it's pretty hard to set up a playlist, and that's the main drawback of AirTunes right now -- if your Mac isn't in the same room as your stereo, you have to get up and go to another room whenever you want to queue something up.

I'd like -- and will probably not get in the near future -- a way for iTunes to control other instances of iTunes over Bonjour (Rendezvous). iTunes can currently play songs from other instances of iTunes, but what I'd really like is:

1) Desktop Mac has music library, iTunes installed, plays music to remote speakers through AirTunes
2) PowerBook / iBook, functioning as a remote control, can control the desktop's iTunes by browsing its library and setting up playlists, pausing, playing, skipping tracks, etc. All audio plays through the Desktop Mac (or to remote speakers through AirTunes)

This is much better than just hooking the laptop to the remote speakers through AirTunes -- because once you're done queuing up the music and want to keep listening to it, you can't close the laptop and put it away or it will stop playing.

Of course, you could just use Remote Desktop and control the desktop computer...

 

[dloomer]

Some of you may want to check out Sonos or Roku - sounds to me like one of these three solutions is what most people seem to want in these forums and I honestly thing the "remote error message" is dealing with a remote that is already on the market - there are many!

Yeah I know, that would be perfect IF Sonus or Roku could play iTMS songs (i.e., Apple hasn't licensed their DRM yet and might never do so). I'm also not too keen on using my TV as a UI to pick songs ... I'd rather have a Mac-like UI right in front of my face. And it's picky I know, but turning on the TV, switching to the correct input, then navigating to the right album (which I can bet is a lot more tedious than using an iPod or mouse -- but admittedly I haven't tried it) doesn't sound nearly as sexy as something that Apple could conceivably come up with, as noted in posts by myself and a few others in this thread.

The Roku does look cool, though. But the main thing keeping me away from it has always been the lack of iTMS support.