Hi QQQ,

I think the problem is that so little is known about the control applications that are now available... if you have a long hard look at MainLobby and Girder (with SlinkE for IR out and / or X10) and then ask what does this solution fail at...

I am not a custom installer so I am sure there are pratfalls I am not aware of but with a little Flash programming (thats gotta be easier the crestron programming from what I read about how its a installer level skill) you have fully animated menu's and backgrounds simply and easily (does crestron allow this level of animated everything cartainly the demo I was given was more static ??)...

I have had a few trade show looks at custom solutions from the big names and had literature posted to me (I am kinda in the wilds... No one handles that stuff on my island !!) and I was distincly underwhelmed at the interfacing and costs of what I thought less impressive that I already do with throw away hardware... NOTE :I am doing this purely for the fun and so use stuff like hacked net appliances... Those $100 touchpads I did a powerbuy on etc... This is just tinkering, I would expect a custom installer to use top notch hardware /NOTE

I am still trying to think of a problem that cannot be solved this way (throw me a bone) and the look and feel I have achieved with my admitedly amature attempts is already impressive... Look at some of the screenshots in this thread

[Link: avsforum.com]

[Link: avsforum.com]

This interfaces natively with IR out control and X10 as well as having built in network support for controlling other PC's (and by extension x10 or IR out of other PCs in other locations)... anything it does not support natively it has girder and command line support so a Homeseer approach can be applied..

Then consider an integrated EPG solution into this setup (can crestron interface with an EPG to any screen ??) Which can schedule recodings on a central server for redistribution from any terminal...

[Link: avsforum.com]

[Link: avsforum.com]

I realize that as a HTPC apostle and self confessed tech junkie (I must have 10 PC's in a 3 bed home with a non PC literate or interested girlfriend) that I am not the 'normal' user... I am also aware that I am in an installers forum talking about a DIY approach so I dont expect many to agree with me :) ... There is however a very real alternative (we have only had MainLobby for 4 months since its first beta efforts and already it is incredibly powerful... With TVLobby and the Escient powerfile firewire dvd jukebox native support in DVDLobby all happening at once this is an exciting time...) I will check the AVS forum for people having issues as we tend to discuss a lot of solutions in the HTPC section...

The one issue I will give you is that multi room support for audio is currently not elegant... Multi room is built into Media Jukebox but at this point I have not been able to get Glissando or 4AM music console to support handling of multi zones... If 4AM could be pursuaded to add another tab to thier screen containing a zones section it would be really sweet to integrate that flash app to the Lobby suites... As it is you need kind of a central management location for all the audio zones rather than each zone having independant control... I am sure this will be solved in the next month or two as good Multi Zone support only appeared just before Christmas...

What with Netremote / MainLobby / etc now all interfacing and working with Girder and now that we have native IR and X10 support (along with Homeseer integration), I am struggling to find things that are not possible...