A couple of years ago I wrote about a Windows Media Center iPhone remote control called inControl. The app has been updated to version 3.0 and has some nice features that set it apart from other remote apps. As well being able to browse the Media Center EPG, set up recording and control the PC keyboard and mouse you can also use the app to control other equipment via RS-232.

This update adds automatic discovery of the inControl servers, wake-on-lan and a green button to launch Media Center.

For more information about inControl check out its homepage at:

http://incontrol.x10.mx/ and you can get the app from the app store and costs £1.49. At the moment only Windows 7 is supported but Windows 8 support is coming soon.

Full details:

inControl v3.0 has been released! (Control WMC using iPhone)

inControl is an advanced remote control solution for controlling Windows Media Center using an iPhone over a WLAN/3G connection. It focuses on the TV part of WMC and lets you browse program guide, recordings, and schedules on your iPhone as well as providing navigation utilities like keyboard and mouse. In addition, it contains tools that enables you to control your computer, TV set, home theatre system, and other equipment connected to your computer over RS-232. Simply press a button and trigger WMC to start, turn on your TV and receiver, and adjusts the volume to a suitable level!

The inControl solution consists of a server application installed on your PC, called inControl Server, and a iPhone application, called inControl Client. Recently version 3.0 of inControl was released and it further extended the feature set of this solution. The following list is an excerpt of the release notes:

Complete rework of the GUI in order to make it more visually appealing also to make it easier to understand and navigate

Adds a “Program listing” menu containing a chronologically list of all programs. It also enables the possibility to filter programs according to genre and title.

Adds support for automatic discovery of inControl Servers connected to the same network as the inControl Client device (automatically configures connection name, connection IP address,  and wake-on-LAN settings)

Adds support for having multiple inControl Servers configured in inControl Client. This means that it is now possible to control multiple Media Centers and easily switch between them

Adds support for viewing the program description of a scheduled program

Adds “Green Button” for opening Windows Media Center or returning to the Windows Media Center start screen

Adds support for stepping the MCE volume by tapping the speakers next to the volume slider

Screenshots:
http://incontrol.x10.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=57

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