Administer a media centre PC from the
comfort of your sofa using your Android phone
If you take home entertainment seriously,
the likelihood is that a PC will already be at the heart of your living room. A
few years back, it was the only route to high-definition utopia, and it’s still
a great way to watch on-demand TV if you don’t have a console or expensive TV
package.
If this sounds like your home, then this is
an essential guide. We show you how to control your living room PC using your
Android handset, and what’s more, it only takes five minutes.
Unfortunately, no matter how good you make
your media computer and modern systems can be very good indeed, enabling you to
watch, record and play back TV in perfect silence – there’s often one weak
point in do-it-yourself home media networking that is sure to bring the rest of
the house toppling down.
The weak link in question is the remote
control. Many of us use a keyboard and mouse, or some kind of cobbled-together
version of the two to control a media PC from a distance. Neither option is
particularly good losing the mouse or the keyboard running out of battery, is
commonplace. You could purchase a third, more expensive option in the form of a
media centre remote, but this isn’t the best method.
Software options
So what are you left with? Well, there’s a
solution, and you probably already own it: a smartphone. Not just any
smartphone though – the mobile of choice for this kind of work comes from the
hands of the smiling green bug of Android, allied to a little application
called Gmote that gives you complete control of your media PC.
If you’ve never used it before, then you’re
in for a rare threat – Gmote is an eye-opener to the world of Android. When
such a simple app can work so harmoniously with the devices it’s connected to,
you start to wonder what else your smartphone is capable of.
As well as being a great way of controlling
the media on your PC for playback on a big screen TV, you can also use Gmote to
stream media from your PC to your phone or tablet. Here’s how to install the
app on your device as well as the software needed on your computer.
1. Get the app
Get
an app
Gmote 2.0 is available on Google Play, so
download and install it. The first time you open the app, it will inform you
that you need to install the Gmote server on your computer by downloading it
from the website. You can get Gmote to email you the link, or alternatively
just go to www.gmote.org/server and
select the right installer for your PC.
2. Allow it access
Allow
it access
Now that you’ve installed Gmote on your
Android phone and PC, allow the program access to the internet. Create a
password for connecting to the Gmote server through your Android phone, then
select the location of the media files on your hard drive. Click on ‘Add path’,
then simply choose the folder (or folders) that you want to share with the
phone.
3. Never too late
Never
too late
If, at a later date, you change your mind
and decide to create a more secure password for your smartphone’s access or
wish to add more folders to share, or even remove those folders that you’ve
linked to previously, all you need to do is right-click the Gmote icon in your
taskbar tray and select the appropriate link from the Settings menu.
4. Start Android
Start
Android
Once your PC is ready for action, it’s time
to get your Android device into gear. Go back to Gmote and tap the button on
the screen to let the application know that you have Gmote installed on your
machine now. The name of your PC should show up on the screen, so option below
it to enter your computer’s IP address manually.
5. Enter the password
Enter
the password
You’ll now see the remote control layout on
your Android device’s screen, complete with media playback controls and more.
Tap any of the buttons on the screen and it’ll ask you to enter the password
you used earlier when setting up Gmote on your PC. Once that’s done, it’ll
connect to your computer – you’ve just got yourself a remote Android control.
