Drivers (XBMC) - and more :)

[ILoveControl]

So in my fiddling around with the XBMC driver to get it to work I figured some greater things out of the control4 system nice little things like how accessible (Programatically) the system really is how and what language things like Composer HE talk to the system, what the commands are etc. I have literally spent a week about 18 hours a day going through all of this and making sense of it all.

The frustration (and this is NOT the thread to talk about 4store please) around 4store and the price point to even develop ONE application for the community just made me sit back and think what we can or should have as owners of our C4 systems.

So I will mail Alan, ask him what the legalities are around releasing his driver fixed with HTTP API support. To tell you the truth the fix is so dam simple its actually funny.....

I have redeveloped the driver so my own version now supports JSon or the HTTP API with dynamic settings - it will query XBMC figure out the version and automatically know which API (JSon or HTTP API) to call.

In addition I am working on something WAY bigger which I think will please A LOT of people and the first "demo" (demo used loosely cause its will be the first driver making use of the "bigger thing code name: Tyson") will be a GPS driver it's for "sh1t's and giggles and also to demonstrate how Tyson will work and the power behind it.

What does the GPS driver do, well I want to be able to tell my system that I am coming home ---> pretty simple, but I want my system to know how close I am too (proximity using GPS coordinates) so that it can start preparing the house for me yes there are ways to do this now with custom button's and port forwarding and a iphone or ipad app or even 4sight but the point of the driver will be to demonstrate Tyson

I will be opening a beta program and will be checking in with the community that has helped me in the past to see who wants to jump on I really trust that (taking in the feedback of this specific community) - Tyson will make the community a lively place and enable a lot of things that have been asked for

[ILoveC4]

May I ask how you arrived at the name TYSON?

Just curious....sounds cool. Sounds like you're making some real strides.

[ILoveControl]

So it's my dogs name it gets long walks every day and during the week that I worked 18 hour days it didn't go for its walks so - Silly thing really

As soon as I have it up and running I will open the beta program but I must admit I havent been this excited for a long long time

[AJ_]

Sounds cool. I'm interested in providing any help I can, at least with the beta, maybe with some programming too.

[ILoveC4]

Well, it better be good then - otherwise you must live a pretty boring life =)

[dgbrown]

So in my fiddling around with the XBMC driver to get it to work I figured some greater things out of the control4 system nice little things like how accessible (Programatically) the system really is how and what language things like Composer HE talk to the system, what the commands are etc. I have literally spent a week about 18 hours a day going through all of this and making sense of it all.

The frustration (and this is NOT the thread to talk about 4store please) around 4store and the price point to even develop ONE application for the community just made me sit back and think what we can or should have as owners of our C4 systems.

So I will mail Alan, ask him what the legalities are around releasing his driver fixed with HTTP API support. To tell you the truth the fix is so dam simple its actually funny.....

I have redeveloped the driver so my own version now supports JSon or the HTTP API with dynamic settings - it will query XBMC figure out the version and automatically know which API (JSon or HTTP API) to call.

In addition I am working on something WAY bigger which I think will please A LOT of people and the first "demo" (demo used loosely cause its will be the first driver making use of the "bigger thing code name: Tyson") will be a GPS driver it's for "sh1t's and giggles and also to demonstrate how Tyson will work and the power behind it.

What does the GPS driver do, well I want to be able to tell my system that I am coming home ---> pretty simple, but I want my system to know how close I am too (proximity using GPS coordinates) so that it can start preparing the house for me yes there are ways to do this now with custom button's and port forwarding and a iphone or ipad app or even 4sight but the point of the driver will be to demonstrate Tyson

I will be opening a beta program and will be checking in with the community that has helped me in the past to see who wants to jump on I really trust that (taking in the feedback of this specific community) - Tyson will make the community a lively place and enable a lot of things that have been asked for

Super ! Can't wait to see what you've come up with !

[arctic@1m]

Sounds cool...

[Segarra]

I have been using xmbc in my CW3000HD for just 2 months, and I love what have done by the Captive Works guys. I also love my C4, but I believe that some thing should be enhanced, maybe using technics from the competitors in media managements. I would love to see what have you achieved. Good luck!

[alanchow]

Good work Carlos on modifying my xbmc driver to work with the new xbmc API.

A while ago i opened up my xbmc code to coders who wished to take on the project. This is still the case. i am happy to let developers utilise the code as long as they distribute it to the correct demographic via the proper means. I know some people might argue with me on this decision however at the end of the day as a Control4 Partner i will stick to Control4's Business Decision on distribution of drivers and applications.

Proper media integration can only be done by utilisng the control4 4store app sdk. I was looking at 2 way driverworks integration with media database polling however decided that it wasn't worth my while (considering that you're just moving from one scanning database to another scanning database).

The Control4 App SDK allows for the flexibility of any custom UI for any control device. This means that a developer can create the 2 way interfaces to whatever they want it to be.

On the topic of 4store development i am contimplating taking on a 4store version of XBMC however this is no simple project. I have begun rewriting my XBMC driver to utilise some functions that i have written for other drivers to make it more efficient (queuing systems, boot delays, etc, etc). Since this is a long term project i won't be expecting it anytime this year.

In the meantime i am taking on smaller projects to play around and learn the 4store sdk. I will be releasing some applications shortly.

[xc420]

I know some people might argue with me on this decision however at the end of the day as a Control4 Partner i will stick to Control4's Business Decision on distribution of drivers and applications

Absolutely ridiculous. I know what it's about - protecting dealers ability to charge for "installing" it and nothing more.

If Control4 wasn't so anal about having a stranglehold on development, there would be a hell of a lot more innovation going on here. Apparently, they don't care about any of that.

The Control4 App SDK allows for the flexibility of any custom UI for any control device. This means that a developer can create the 2 way interfaces to whatever they want it to be.

I'd like to point out that the app store developers don't have access to the driverworks SDK (legally). You need to be a partner or dealer. - once again anal . The Flash SDK is a joke anyways - it doesn't expose sh*t. -anal

If you want to upgrade to 2.0 because of the new UI or 4store think twice before doing so. The onscreen UI is super slooooooooooow - flash is a CPU hog. The flash sdk and C4 imitations make it a non-conducive environment for app store development. Stick with better, more convenient, and more powerful Iphone apps. You probably won't see any earth shattering apps coming out that make updating to 2.0 worth it. Also, you will be stuck using a dealer from that day forward for any little change you want to make. For instance, if Carlos' was running 2.0 he wouldn't have been able to fix the XBMC driver for Alan.

[tumult]

so, is Alan's xbmc driver also updated to fix the part that conflicts with the 7'' touchscreen? if u used alan's most recent driver with the 7'', the 7'' would not function.

thx,

tum

[xc420]

You mean Carlos' (aka ILoveControl) XBMC driver I'm not sure. If anyone can fix it Carlos can

[RyanE]

The Flash SDK is a joke anyways - it doesn't expose sh*t. -anal

Yeah, other than *everything* used to develop Control4's Flash interface, *and more*, it doesn't expose *anything*.

I think you don't know what you're talking about.

RyanE

[alanchow]

so, is Alan's xbmc driver also updated to fix the part that conflicts with the 7'' touchscreen? if u used alan's most recent driver with the 7'', the 7'' would not function.

thx,

tum

The issue lies with embedding the tuner proxy with the media player proxy. I will upload a version to the official control4 forums for your dealer to download that resolves this. Note it only supports release versions of XBMC and not beta. When the JSON API is made official i will make the relevant updates to support both api's.

You mean Carlos' (aka ILoveControl) XBMC driver I'm not sure. If anyone can fix it Carlos can

I know some people might argue with me on this decision however at the end of the day as a Control4 Partner i will stick to Control4's Business Decision on distribution of drivers and applications

Absolutely ridiculous. I know what it's about - protecting dealers ability to charge for "installing" it and nothing more.

Its comments like these that made me encrypt and licence all my good drivers. Although Carlos has done a great job in researching for a fix i actually made the xbmc driver flexible enough so that anyone can modify it to use it with any media player ie he would have only modified my command table. 99% of the code will have still remained mine.

You know what... screw this... there was a time when i believed in sharing and helping but everyone makes it so hard on this forum.

[xc420]

Yeah, other than *everything* used to develop Control4's Flash interface, *and more*, it doesn't expose *anything*.

I think you don't know what you're talking about.

RyanE

Yeah, you can develop apps for C4 touchscreens and on-screen navigators ONLY, apps like tetrad or a calculator - sweeeet I know web related apps are possible too. As a 4store developer only, heaven forbid you need access to the driverworks sdk - not a dealer or partner - forget it. Am I wrong here?

It doesn't matter to me either way. I'm not updating to 2.0 and I'm not buying the Flash SDK. I'm just trying to warn people before they spend a lot of money.

[wappinghigh]

You know what... screw this... there was a time when i believed in sharing and helping but everyone makes it so hard on this forum.

Ignore these comments Alan. I don't think they were directed at your efforts personally. Probably more at decisions and frustrations behind the 4store "set up" ie choice of flash etc...

Please don't throw in the towel. You're just the sort of guy the 4store needs. A guy who really knows what users want to get from their setup. Someone with an indepth knowledge of how to link drivers with apps...I'll be buying them

[spiderman09]

To Alan and Carlos :

Remember that its always a vocal minority and a happy majority around here. I for one love the XBMC work and appreciate that others can accomplish work that I certainly do not have the knowledge to do. Dont let comments from a few make you think it represents us all

[RyanE]

It doesn't matter to me either way. I'm not updating to 2.0 and I'm not buying the Flash SDK. I'm just trying to warn people before they spend a lot of money.

That's certainly your prerogative.

My point is just that with the SDKs available through the 4Store program, you can do a lot more than Calculator and Tetrad.

I personally think the 'killer apps' for an automation system is not a standalone flash app, nor an internet-enabled app, although that does bring additional value into the Control4 gear. I think the killer apps for automation systems are *Control* apps, that give you more functionality and value to the system.

Yes, many if not most of those types of applications will require drivers and the DriverWorks SDK, and my guess is that at some point, a 'developer' program would include that sort of access, along with the 4Store SDKs.

Even without DriverWorks SDK, you can build a lot of creative control applications, that use your existing devices within the home in different and better ways.

RyanE

[xc420]

Alan,

I guess my comments yesterday were a little out of line. What you decide to do with your drivers is none of my business. I'll just bite my tongue next time and stay out of it. I apologize.

[ILoveControl]

Hi all,

Like I said in the original post, this is not a thread about why C4 should or shouldn't do certain things AKA 4store etc, I have my own views and they will remain my views which I choose not to explore on a public forum.

Alan, I have added all the JSon RPC bits to the driver maybe we can have a chat offline .... this driver is evolving quite a bit, tools like VLC player, Media Player Home Theater Edition can all be controlled using HTTP commands to and I have updated the driver to support all these players to, this will give everyone quite a big choice.

Like you said most of the stuff sits in the "Command table" -> I am starting to think of creating a separate file that the driver reads (depends on how much this SDK is going to allow me to do) and that separate file will contain something like the following:

<Player name="VLC" Protocol="HTTP">

<Commands>

<Command Name="Play" Commander="GET /SomeHttpCommandHere">

</Commands>

</Player>

<Player name="XBMC" Protocol="JSonRPC">

<Commands>

<Command Name="Play" Commander="SomeJsonCommandHere">

</Commands>

</Player>

<Player name="Media Player Classic Home Theater Edition" Protocol="HTTP">

<Commands>

<Command Name="Play" Commander="GET /SomeHttpCommandHere">

</Commands>

</Player>

This way the main "guts" of the driver could be "installed" but most of the command's etc would be configurable .... again it depends on the SDK and how it allows to use config files or not...

As per my original post prototype "TYSON" is coming along very very well I should be done in the next week or two will start posting info

[tumult]

Ilovecontrol- sounds awesome!

tum

[jayace]

So ILoveControl, any news on the availability of the updated XBMC driver yet?

[ILoveControl]

It's done I am just travelling at the moment as soon as I am back I can get it out

[neildilgee]

It's done I am just travelling at the moment as soon as I am back I can get it out

Funny I send you a mail about an hour ago and here you answer it.

[jayace]

ILoveControl, or anyone else for that matter, can you advise if the updated XBMC driver is available yet? I would really like to update my XBMC to the beta release of Dharma but as far as I know I still need the updated driver.