Yesterday Bradley Mauk launched his Windows Phone 7 remote control app for Windows Media Center. The app is a great looking Media Center remote that works with Xbox 360 Extender sessions as well. You can browse music, pictures and videos libraries from your phone, search for songs and play pictures or videos.
You can download the app for £2.49 and there is a free trial. If you do try it don’t forget you will need to install the server which can be downloaded from Bradley’s site
Today I caught up with Bradley and asked him some questions about the developing for Windows Phone 7 and why he decided to do a Media Center app
How easy was it to make the transition to Windows Phone 7 development?
I am a Sr. Consultant for enterprise software development at a global IT consulting firm. My current area of specialty is in Silverlight 4 enterprise applications. For me the transitions was quite easy already having that experience in Silverlight and services development.
Why did you decide to develop for Windows Media Center?
I am avid evangelist for the Windows Media Center platform and the integrated home, which for me means combining WMC with Windows Home Server (I am currently running the RC of WHS 2011) + Xbox 360 extenders. The big draw to Media Center for me is the active developer community and the potential that the Microsoft platform brings to home entertainment and integration.
What made you develop a Windows Phone app for Windows Media Center?
Being a software developer by profession, I am a tinkerer. I have Android and iDevices in my house and have used a number of different apps to control my media center on those products. The main app that I have been using for all these devices has since stopped being developed and supported. Because of my work in the Microsoft technology stack, I was drawn to switching to the new WP7 platform. There are apps already out there with similar functionality, and more in development I am sure, but I wanted to try and develop something of my own as a side project. Eventually I received enough support and feedback to turn my side project into an actual consumer level application. I also have hope and confidence that Microsoft will eventually get a handle on their tablet strategy and I wanted to be in a position to jump into that arena as well.
What kind of Media Center setup do you have at home?
Media Center Box CPU: Intel Core i5 650 Dual Core @ 3.2 GHz MB: Intel DH57DD Ram: 4GB DDR3 1333 HD: 30GB SSD OS: Win7 x64 Ultimate Windows Home Server Box CPU: Intel ATOM D510 Dual Core @ 1.66 MB: Zotac NM10-B-E Ram: 4GB Raid-5: Intel RS2WC080* HD: WD 1TB Green x 4 (3TB of storage in Raid 5)* * Raid controller supports on-line array expansion for future growth. OS: Windows Homer Server 2011 RC1
All of my Music, Pictures, Movies, Videos, DVD’s, and TV episodes reside on the Windows Home Server box within the same HomeGroup as the Media Center. I point the Media Center libraries to the WHS HomeGroup folders. They live on the same Gigabit network.
Are you considering any other Windows Phone apps or Windows Media Center apps?
I do have plans to bring more features to the Media Center Remote app, the most requested being a way to see EPG data on the phone. What I will develop outside of that app is yet unknown, but I do plan on staying with the WP7 / Silverlight platform.
How did you find the Windows Phone development process?
I rather enjoyed it. The development tools are great and there are plenty of active developers out there doing amazing things that are willing to share their experiences. The community has been a big help.
What would be your dream Media Center system be?
I would have to say I am fairly close to running my dream Media Center now. I do have 2 wishes for the future though. First, I would like to see what I call the cost to entry be drastically reduced. I have several family members and friends that admire my setup, but may not be tech savvy enough to build it out on their own. There needs to be an out of the box solution similar to what some other competitors have. The second would be better acceptance by content providers and cable operators for an a-la-cart content experience. I don’t want to bundle 300 channels to get the ones I want. In my eyes the future is a-la-cart programming and streaming, but for now there is too much resistance to see this wish granted.
{"id":null,"mode":"button","open_style":"in_place","currency_code":"GBP","currency_symbol":"\u00a3","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/thedigitallifestyle.com\/w\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/thedigitallifestyle.com\/w\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":500,"top_media_type":"none","featured_image_url":false,"featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"Leave a tip","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"TheDigitalLifestyle.com","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"TheDigitalLifestyle.com","form_subtitle":null,"currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you for being a supporter!","payment_confirmation_title":"TheDigitalLifestyle.com","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}