[mythtv] using myth as a remote client of iTunes.

[Chris Ribe]

That seems like a lot of hoops to jump through if you aren't even
going to be doing playback through the Myth audio device.


On 3/19/06, Darnell Morgan <morgande51 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I've been using knoppmyth for about a year and a half now. All in all,
> its been quite a good experiece for me. The only thing missing is
> figuring out a way to use both iTunes and Mythtv.
>
> I get a lot of my music from the iTMS. Apple has positioned iTunes and
> the iPod as the stewarts of the Fairplay wrapped content. The problem
> is figuring out a way to consume/access Fairplay content outside the
> iTunes and iPod mediums...and not violate the DMCA.
>
> Best I could figure, there is no present way to get Fairplay DRM
> wrapped content onto Myth for play back. Next best way, IMHO, is to
> remote control iTunes.
>
> iTunes on Mac OSX is an application that is completley controlable via
> AppleScript. OSX has hooks built into Applescript that allows for
> outside applications written in other languages to communicate with
> Applescript aware applications.
>
> By trade, I happen to an Enterprise Java Developer. Quite easily,
> there is a way to write applications in Java that communicate with
> other Apple "iLife" applications via Applescript. This includes
> iTunes.
>
> It is possible to wrap Applescript calls to control iTunes in Java,
> and expose the calls via some form of remote method invocation. I was
> thinking about XML-RPC, but Corba will work just as easily.
>
> Since version 4 I think, all iTunes content information is saved in an
> xml file called iTunes Music Library.xml. Parsing this xml file could
> give a remote client application everything it needed to call and
> control iTunes and its music.
>
> The hardest thing to do would be to create a Mythtv add-on to control
> iTunes. The overall control flow would kind of work like this:
>
> User interacts with a Myth iTunes remote client. The Client makes RMI
> calls to a Java server, that it turn controls iTunes via Applescript.
> iTunes processes commands from remote client, and plays music to a
> home stereo device via direct connection or Airtunes.
>
> In theory, this project wouldn't be too hard. Hell, there is already
> an open-sourced project called mytunes that has the
> Java-to-Applescript framework for iTunes already done. It also parses
> the iTunes Music Library.xml Only thing to do is wrap the calles in
> RMI, and create a myth client.
>
> Anyone up to help with a project such as this? Im not sure, but I
> think you can control iTunes on a PC using COM, but Im not sure. If
> so, it may be possible to create a cross-platform Java iTunes Remote
> Client.
>
> Anyone who is interested please let me know.
>
> --
> DM
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