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does AMX have Xpanel type of remote control ?

letMeInletMeIn Posts: 15
in NetLinx Studio
My clients just requested to be able to remotely control the room. Can I create something like Xpanel in C*, so I can remotely connect to the controller and start a web-based touchpanel application ?

thank you

Mark

Comments

  • viningvining Posts: 4,368
    There's already a virtual keypad that you can use on a PC or you can just VNC into any G4 touch panel which allows you to to virtually be in front of a TP just like PC anywhere or remote desktop.
  • DHawthorneDHawthorne Posts: 4,584
    The virtual keypad requires a Duet master. It's a good solution if your master is up to it. If it's an older, non-duet one, there is a widget buried here in the forums that works as well, though you will need to do a lot of editing most likely to make it right for your application.
  • Chip MoodyChip Moody Posts: 727
    You can use TPDesign3 to create an HTML version of your touch panel file, which then gets loaded onto your master and served by the built-in webserver.

    I would test this first before offering it to your client - I don't remember what state of "support" this solution gets from AMX at this point. (I seem to recall certain firmware versions that didn't support this well or at all - don't know if the current ones are officially supposed to support it)

    - Chip

    letMeIn wrote:
    My clients just requested to be able to remotely control the room. Can I create something like Xpanel in C*, so I can remotely connect to the controller and start a web-based touchpanel application ?

    thank you

    Mark
  • AuserAuser Posts: 506
    letMeIn wrote:
    Can I create something like Xpanel in C*, so I can remotely connect to the controller and start a web-based touchpanel application ?

    To add to what the other guys have said...

    As Vining suggested, there's a web based 12 button keypad with a small, text LCD screen accessible on NetLinx control systems (see http://www.amx.com/products/NDT-VKP.asp ).

    If this doesn't provide enough capability, the VNC server on G4 touchpanels which Vining mentioned can be accessed via a web browser pointed at the NetLinx controller that the touch panel connects to (check out G4 Web Control in the NetLinx manuals).

    If the client doesn't wish to purchase a touchpanel for this purpose and you really feel like writing your own app you could go to the trouble of writing a custom "touch panel" application using i!-PCLinkExtra, which provides components allowing custom applications to communicate with NetLinx control systems. This is a licensed product from AMX, you'd have to check the cost and licensing arrangement with them. It'd be a fair amount of work though.

    The TPDesign3 HTML export version (G3 Web Control) is no longer supported by AMX and is problematic at best. The client needs to have a certain java virtual machine version installed on each PC they want to access the panel from and it tends to be a bit flakey, depending on browser, JVM version, etc. On the other hand it is free and may suit your purposes.
  • yuriyuri Posts: 861
    keep in mind you do need a real active touchpanel to use G4 webcontrol (VNC).
  • ericmedleyericmedley Posts: 4,177
    yuri wrote:
    keep in mind you do need a real active touchpanel to use G4 webcontrol (VNC).
    Using a TPI4 is a nice solution for this since no one has to be 'really' monkeying around with it.
  • ErikJackmanErikJackman Posts: 31
    Sorry to resurrect such a dead thread but personally I hate the G3 web controls hack. It is buggy and prone to locking up. Using VPN to remote control a modero requires you have a modero. My personal favorite method to remote access an AMX system is by opening up a TCP socket and writing a program with Visual Studio to communicate with the control system through that socket. It’s quick and easy and it works.

    If anyone is interested attached are source files for my AMX system and the source files for a PPC client, and PC client and the pass-through server. The reason for the middle man server is so that I can limit the number of open sockets on the control system without limiting the number of instances of the client interface interacting with the control system. It offsets the load to a fast machine that can handle it. :D

    Edited for typos.
  • Chip MoodyChip Moody Posts: 727
    I don't work with any of the PC development packages, so I'm not going to download that - but based on what you described, that's very cool... Nice goin'.

    - Chip
  • ErikJackmanErikJackman Posts: 31
    Chip Moody wrote: »
    I don't work with any of the PC development packages, so I'm not going to download that - but based on what you described, that's very cool... Nice goin'.

    - Chip

    Thanks

    I came from the computer science end of things before I started out at my first programming job. So I guess you could say I'm comfortable writing my own tools for the trade. :D If you dig into the code you'll even see the handler portion of a meeting manager style management client between sql server and the control system. :D

    This is all the result of idle hands and being bored at work between av installs. LOL

    Here's some screenshots

    GUI_Splash.png
    GUI_Xbox360.png

    the following below is a asp.net project but the source code is not included in the attachments but it gives you a idea of what the code in the source could can handle.
    RoomManager_DeviceProperty.png
    RoomManager_Macros.png
    RoomManager_RoomDeviceList.png
    RoomManager_EditEvent.png *edit forgot this image

    my personal av system :DAVSystemApril17th2008.png
  • fogled@mizzoufogled@mizzou Posts: 549
    Macs, Remote Desktop, and VNC

    I happen to use Macs a lot; I use Parallels on a Mac to do almost all my AMX development work. Apple's Remote Desktop program is a VNC-based screen sharing / remote control application, but I can't get it to work to access a G4 panel. I get the right window size when I connect, but all I get is black. It looks like there's some kind of security blocking direct access to the panel (without clicking the link from the controller web page). But I'm sure I don't have any security set on the panel I'm trying to connect to.

    Does anyone happen to have any ideas, or am I on my own on this one?

    Thanks!
  • iainshawiainshaw Posts: 133
    Mac VNC Client

    You could use a Mac VNC client. I've got clients doing remote access to Panels using a Mac client and it works very well. I'll post a link to the client I use once I've found it

    http://www.download.com/VNCViewer/3000-2179_4-10056423.html

    One watchout. Don't be too ambitious in colour depth. If you try and display too many colours you'll simply get a black box....I've been using thousands of colours and it's fine
  • ErikJackmanErikJackman Posts: 31
    iainshaw wrote: »
    You could use a Mac VNC client. I've got clients doing remote access to Panels using a Mac client and it works very well. I'll post a link to the client I use once I've found it

    http://www.download.com/VNCViewer/3000-2179_4-10056423.html

    One watchout. Don't be too ambitious in colour depth. If you try and display too many colours you'll simply get a black box....I've been using thousands of colours and it's fine

    Hmm isn't the black screen the problem he was mentioning? Maybe thats his problem on his current vnc application. fogled@mizzou can you lower your color settings on your mac vnc app?
  • fogled@mizzoufogled@mizzou Posts: 549
    iainshaw wrote: »
    You could use a Mac VNC client. http://www.download.com/VNCViewer/3000-2179_4-10056423.html
    ErikJackman wrote: »
    Hcan you lower your color settings on your mac vnc app?

    I'm not getting any success with Apple's Remote Destop product, no matter what settings I fool with. But, VNCViewer for the Mac works, and satisfies my needs. Thanks for the link!
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