3. Remote Control

The next addition to my music capabilities was the Express Remote from Keyspan. This device, which plugs into the Airport Express, is designed to let you control iTunes using an IR remote.

Keyspan Express Remote

One I had the remote installed and functional, I sat back and thought about all that was occurring over the network just to play a single song. It goes something like this:

Pressing the "Play" button on the IR remote, sends a command to the Express Remote which is connected to my Airport Express via USB. The play command is then sent from the Airport Express onto the network, and then passed wirelessly via my Linksys WRT54G to iTunes running on my iBook. iTunes then sends a daap command wirelessly back through my WRT54G, back to my wired network, and on to mt-daapd on my NSLU2. mt-daapd interprets the command and sends the requested music back across my wired network, and then wirelessly through my wrt54g to iTunes running on my iBook. iTunes encodes the music and sends it wirelessly to my Airport Express via my WRT54G and my wired LAN. The Airport Express decodes the requested music and sends it through the audio output into my stereo.

Sheesh! Of course, this all happens in the blink of an eye, but it shows that there is a lot going on compared to my old CD player plugged directly into the stereo - and many more places for problems as well!

I was happy with the Express remote for a while, but then I found myself using it less and less; there were a number of reasons for this. It really didn't work well for selecting music since it had no display of its own. I had to use my iBook screen just to see what was going on, so I figured I might as well use my keyboard for control. The small size of the remote was also an issue; it was just one more item to dig up when I wanted to play music.

After a few months, I unplugged the device and put it away. In its place, I used the single USB port on the Airport Express for a printer that I hid away behind a door of my entertainment center. This was possible due the the fact that the Jack-of-all-trades Airport Express can also function as a print server.