document updated 12 years ago, on Sep 2, 2011
Ways to use your Android phone as a remote-control for an HTPC (home theater PC). That is, these are apps that let you PLAY THE VIDEO/AUDIO on the HTPC, and the Android tells the HTPC which video/audio to play. (as opposed to apps that let you play the video/audio ON THE PHONE, streamed over the network from the HTPC)
Remote control standards
- UPnP Remote UI (RUI)
- while the entire UPnP spec is pretty neat, most of it doesn't cover anything like what you'd think of when you think "remote control"
- All of the descriptions of UPnP
[1]
[2]
[3]
are somewhat confusing... "master", "client", and "control point" aren't totally obvious.
- "master" — a device that delivers streaming data over the network
- "client" — a device that receives streaming data, and plays it
- only the "Remote UI (RUI)" part applies to remote-control functionality
- WIDEX (IETF)
- XRT2 (Intel's eXtended Remote Technology)
- SIP
"While the SIP hasn't been yet adopted to remote user interface implementations, the IETF community has still written a draft that explains the application interaction framework for SIP based interactions and thus remote UIs."
- LRDP / Lightweight Remote Display Protocol (Nokia, IETF)
- more [summary] [PDF]