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NEWS: Kaleidescape's New iPad App!

As the forthcoming iPad App is at my preferred price point I don't mind waiting for what I expect will be fully polished bug free App.
 
brodricj said:
By the sound of it the iPad App for Kaleidescape is quite robust already, why the delay to late Q4 to release it?
Click to expand...



Still in beta.

Probably App. store/legal stuff as well.


Jim
 
I am wondering what this app means for folks who have Crestron systems, including touchpanels. I have several panels, custom programmed to control my Crestron system, including all video/audio sources, for example the kscape. The wireless touchpanels are heavy and a a bit slow, so it would be great to lift the entire experience to the iPad. I see Crestron now supports an iPad interface. I wonder if this new app could be used within the new iPad interface so I could move completely off the Crestron touchpanels to the iPad.
 
For the home I think Crestron is quickly coming out of the touch panel business. However, they make great control systems and also their own media server supposedly sells well (not up to K standards IMHO). The one place I think the iPad falls down as a remote is no hard buttons- I like having Vol +/- ; Channel or Chapter +/- buttons always at the ready.
 
Good point about the lack of hard buttons. We use those a lot on the Crestron panels. Another area of concern is ruggedness. The Crestron ones are very rugged - not sure I'd feel as comfortable using the iPad in that capacity. But the performance would be great, I'm sure.
 
Joe said:
...Another area of concern is ruggedness...
Click to expand...

My kids use their iPads all the time, and they've been dropped many times. Fortunately the only damage so far is a cracked screen (thanks to it been dropped onto a concrete floor), but it still works OK.
 
brodricj said:
........Fortunately the only damage so far is a cracked screen.......
Click to expand...

:eek:


I'm using a protective cover, but probably wouldn't do well on concrete....

Jim
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Look for a Christmas present, or if that's not your holiday, "should be soon.":)


Jim
 
I think they're close, but in the usual Kaleidescape way they want it as "perfect" as possible from day 1. There is a video of Tom Barnett on YouTube featuring it which will give you a very good idea of the capability.
 
I'm guessing a bit here, but I suspect that the automation App developers are being encouraged to make their control Apps Kaleidescape compatible. Meaning you use your automation App to do what it does, but if there is a call on a Kaleidescape player to play a movie then you initiate that within your control App and it executes a jump to the Kaleidescape iPad App. Once you're in the Kaleidescape App it will "link back" to the automation App for Volume control (meaning the Volume control buttons are in the Kaleidescape App but they ultimately execute actions via the automation App). Obviously for this all to be seamless the Automation App developers need to take stock of the Kaleidescape control protocols and update their Apps accordingly. But it's the smart way to do it because all the "heavy lifting" coding required to control the Kaleidescape system is built into the Kaleidescape iPad App, rather than being needed in the automation App.
....all this might prove to be wrong, but I've got a hunch that's how it will ultimately work.
 
Yeah, I'll have to ask my A/V guy how it's being done. I have a Crestron system, with all sources (radio, Fios/Tivo, Kscape, etc) accessible and controllable through Crestron touchpanels. I know Crestron now supports using an Ipad as a touchpanel. So, I've been wondering if I could take that whole, seamless experience we enjoy now - including Kscape control - and just move it all to IPad. Right now there's a Kscape / Crestron control module that does the heavy lifting. Not sure if/how that happens on the iPad. In one sense, I could see Crestron developing a substrate, which would essentially be a Crestron touchpanel emulator, so that all the existing skins and control modules still work.
 
What you'll probably end up with is Crestron Mobile Pro App on your iPad doing the whole of house control, thus making the Creston panels somewhat redundant. When you want to play a movie the Automation App will configure your system appropriately then simply call up the Kaleidescape iPad App into view and you'll control the viewing experience from there. As I said earlier, probably likely the Volume control buttons in the Kaleidescape App will execute their functions via the Crestron App running in the background.

I wouldn't be surprised if work is already being done on the automation Apps to make them work this way with the Kaleidescape App. We might even see updates to those Apps released when the Kaleidescape iPad App goes "live", or shortly after.

I wouldn't be too worried about what's going to happen here, pretty much rest assured you'll end up with the iPad controlling the home automation system seemlessly with complete Kaleidescape functionality.
 
Here is the information direct from the website.

http://www.kaleidescape.com/files/documentation/Integrating-with-the-Kaleidescape-App-for-iPad.pdf
"Here is the typical use case.
• The user is running Acme Controller App on an iPad and decides to use his or her Kaleidescape System.
• Within Acme Controller App, the user taps a Kaleidescape button, which is represented by the Kaleidescape app icon.
• The controller app sets up the A/V equipment appropriately, then launches the Kaleidescape app by opening a special URL.
• In the Kaleidescape app, the user can browse movies and music, play any selection, and control the Kaleidescape System.
• The Kaleidescape app has a return button in the top toolbar (only visible if the app is launched in this way).
• When the user is finished with the Kaleidescape app they can tap the return button and a popover says “Return to Acme Controller App.”
• Tapping on “Return to Acme Controller App” in the popover re-opens Acme Controller App."

Volume Commands:
"To provide volume control without switching between apps, the Kaleidescape App for iPad can display volume control buttons. These buttons are displayed only when a connected controller reports that it can control volume. When these buttons are tapped, volume events are sent by the Kaleidescape player to all connected controllers. The control system can then adjust the volume and send the volume level and mute state to be displayed on the iPad. For more information, see the Kaleidescape System Control Protocol Reference Manual (section Advanced Integration, subsection User-Defined Events) at www.kaleidescape.com/go/control-protocol.
Modules and drivers including volume control hooks for popular control systems such as Crestron, AMX, and Control4 will be released with the Kaleidescape App for iPad."
 
sbutter said:
Here is the information direct from the website.

http://www.kaleidescape.com/files/documentation/Integrating-with-the-Kaleidescape-App-for-iPad.pdf
"Here is the typical use case.
? The user is running Acme Controller App on an iPad and decides to use his or her Kaleidescape System.
? Within Acme Controller App, the user taps a Kaleidescape button, which is represented by the Kaleidescape app icon.
? The controller app sets up the A/V equipment appropriately, then launches the Kaleidescape app by opening a special URL.
Click to expand...

I really hope Savant updates to allow the Kaleidescape UI to open after the app is selected. Its much more user friendly
 
I've been Beta-ing the iPad control app for several weeks now and I have to say it works brilliantly. Incredibly responsive. I know that Kaleidescape is continually making tweaks as I believe that I've had 4 updates to the version I started with. I don't have a Crestron or Savant control system (I use URC), so I can't comment on the volume control functions. Other than that, it is going to be pretty much everything that you could hope for out of a control app -- unless you liked the large cover art browse screen that Remotescape had. The K'scape app doesn't have that (though, to be honest, I always felt that a rather cumbersome way to search for things, especially with a large collection). As per usual, K'scape has been really receptive to suggestions for improvement, and I think the iPad will become a preferred control option for any system user. Happy to answer any questions if you want to direct them to me...
Best,
John Sciacca
 
Joe said:
Yeah, I'll have to ask my A/V guy how it's being done. I have a Crestron system, with all sources (radio, Fios/Tivo, Kscape, etc) accessible and controllable through Crestron touchpanels. I know Crestron now supports using an Ipad as a touchpanel. So, I've been wondering if I could take that whole, seamless experience we enjoy now - including Kscape control - and just move it all to IPad. Right now there's a Kscape / Crestron control module that does the heavy lifting. Not sure if/how that happens on the iPad. In one sense, I could see Crestron developing a substrate, which would essentially be a Crestron touchpanel emulator, so that all the existing skins and control modules still work.
Click to expand...

I have 14 amx touch panels and I just switched out 6 of them for iPads and they work great. The only thing I miss is the video however I do have all of my video sources showing on the iPads but it's only streaming via ip. I will most likely keep my large desktop tp's since i use them alot for video. As far as the kaleidescape app I will say it is excellent. I have been beta testing for over 2 weeks.

I have directv and even though I have great ip control of my directvs dvr's from the amx system, I much prefer directvs awesome iPad app. And I also find myself using the ipeng ipad app to control my rhapsody music which is another great app. So now i am swiping through pages on the iPad app going through 4 different apps it's not exactly what I want so my next project is to somehow connect them together.
 
jmdls said:
...Other than that, it is going to be pretty much everything that you could hope for out of a control app -- unless you liked the large cover art browse screen that Remotescape had. The K'scape app doesn't have that (though, to be honest, I always felt that a rather cumbersome way to search for things, especially with a large collection)...
Click to expand...

Not having the large cover art browse screen makes the App less "child friendly" than it would otherwise be. My kids find it much easier to navigate to what they want to watch by using normal iPad gestures to scroll through the cover arts, rather than through lists.

I'm to understand the Volume control feature in the Kaleidescape App is only functional when used in conjunction with another control system, which is fundamentally different to the approach taken by Remotescape.

I'm sure that the Kaleidescape iPad app will be typical Kaleidescape: slick, functional, intuitive and rock solid.
 
They could narrow the list down by selecting a collection, and then it would be swiping through just that list of films. But, the cover art only browse is not included in the app...at least not yet anyway. At first I thought any receiver/pre-pro that could control volume via IP was going to be supported, but from what I've read here, it does look like another control system has to handle this. I also *love* that there is a screen brightness adjust within the K-scape control app. A fully bright iPad is brutal on the eyes in a fully dark theater and being able to adjust it right there is a super nice touch. I really love it for music, as I can now browse/control my collection without the need to turn the TV on.
 
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