KeySpan TuneView serves up iPod and iTunes menus

Sure, it's easy to make your PC or iPod the center of your home entertainment network using various docking systems or wireless adapters like Apple's Airport Express. But what if you actually want to select music from another part of your home, without having to either run back to your PC/iPod to do so, or install a dedicated device like a Roku SoundBridge? KeySpan thinks it has the answer in the form of the TuneView, a remote control with a color LCD display that shows your iTunes or iPod library. The $99 remote works with either a $39 USB adapter to communicate with your PC, or with a $79 dock to connect to your iPod. Of course, you'll still need to hook up a set of speakers, but once you do, you can banish that PC to the home office, and still listen to your music in the living room.

[James Rice @ Mar 7th 2006 12:38PM]

I have the old, semi-usless KeySpan remote (in a box somewhere), but this one actually looks cool :)

[Joel @ Mar 7th 2006 12:41PM]

Why not just use a bluetooth phone with the salling clicker software? You can even see the album art on your phone as you play songs.

[J @ Mar 7th 2006 12:43PM]

Wow. This site is truly turning into a photoshop gallery.

"Look at what we MIGHT make one day."

[Silver @ Mar 7th 2006 12:53PM]

Ug, why not wi-fi connectivity? Controlling your wi-fi audio system via an RF adapter? How pass? And do I really need one more USB dongle hanging off my computer? No. No I don't. Very weak, KeySpan.

I've been hoping Apple would release something like an iPod nano, but instead of flash memory it would have a wireless chip that would allow me to control iTunes throughout the house. Essentially it would work just like an iPod but the media would be stored on the computer and streamed to the Airport Express. It would be the perfect remote solution (plus you'd get scroll-wheel goodness). Come on Apple, what's the holdup? Strip out the 1G chip in a nano, throw in a wi-fi chip, and sell it to me for $100. I'd be all over it.

[portorikan @ Mar 7th 2006 12:54PM]

Very sexy stuff.

[veniex @ Mar 7th 2006 12:56PM]

"Why not just use a bluetooth phone with the salling clicker software? You can even see the album art on your phone as you play songs."

Thats exactly what I use, and it works great.

[Silver @ Mar 7th 2006 12:58PM]

P.S. Joel, I've tried Salling on my cellphone for controlling iTunes. Even with a Class 1 Bluetooth adapter on my computer, I still get spotty performance (my computer is upstairs, my HT system is on the main floor and about 30 feet away horizontally) and I'm constantly losing the connection. Then I have to restart the whole Salling app on the phone. It's unusable for me. Wi-fi is the answer.

[doyouflip @ Mar 7th 2006 1:01PM]

If you follow the link, you'll see it says

"Pricing and Availability
The TuneView Remote has an MSRP of $99. The TuneView Dock for iPod has an MSRP of $79. Both will be available in May. The TuneView USB adapter has an MSRP of $39 and will be available this summer."

[zverg @ Mar 7th 2006 1:10PM]

Does this work with the airport express? Isn't this the company that sells the remote that you plug into the usb port on the airport express and then it controls itunes on the remote computer?

[JK @ Mar 7th 2006 1:16PM]

There won't be an apple 2 way remote, too expensive to produce they said. Also, there must be some sort of issue with using WIFI for 2 way remotes, Logitech had this wireless audio streamer and even that thing had R/F added on top of its wifi functionality just for the remote.

[Ben @ Mar 7th 2006 1:48PM]

I am sure the reason is it doesn't have wifi is a combination of cost (Im sure a wifi chip is multiples the cost of a rf chip) and power consumption (remember it is a remote that has to run on AA).

Just my 2 cents.

[BK @ Mar 7th 2006 1:55PM]

The user interface looks like a good alternative to the intuitive IPod one. Maybe, one of the MP3 companies could use this UI for their next "IPod Killer" player.

[BK @ Mar 7th 2006 1:57PM]

The user interface looks like a good alternative to the intuitive (but patented) IPod click-wheel one. Maybe, one of the MP3 companies could use this UI for their next "IPod Killer" player.

[Jordan @ Mar 7th 2006 1:58PM]

Awesome idea..

[Jas @ Mar 7th 2006 2:58PM]

So does anyone know if you could use this thing to control front row? I have the version of the imac before front row. I downloaded and installed it anyway with a hack. All I am missing is a remote. Do we think this would work?

[Trev @ Mar 7th 2006 3:12PM]

Jas, you can control hacked or regular frontrow with Keyspan's currently available (and much cheaper) infrared remotes, as I have done now for a while. You may have to remap some keys, but the software is very good and quite flexible. http://www.keyspan.com/products/homepage-Remotes.spml

[JK @ Mar 7th 2006 4:02PM]

beware of buying a remote. The Apple Remote switches to some sort of fast forward/backward/up/down mode when you hold a key rather then pushing it. You will definitly need this if you have large amount of albums in itunes. Only the salling clicker supports that sofar i believe.

[joel @ Mar 7th 2006 4:14PM]

saw the remote and thought it was cool..but now you guys have turned me on to this Salling software...looks awesome i'm going to set it up tonight.

Anybody use this (salling) with a treo650?

[Fan Boy @ Mar 7th 2006 6:14PM]

Silver,
You're down on this because RF is "pass?and a dongle will stick out?? That's verrrry weak if you ask me. The remote you describe will act pretty much like Keyspan's minus the size of Nano (I'd lose it in my cushions anyways) and RF for WiFi. Otherwise the same. Is RF really that bad? An iPodesque scrollwheel would be nice, but hey, nothing's perfect.

[Silver @ Mar 7th 2006 8:37PM]

Sure I'm down on RF. Why not? I have an Airport Express sitting right in front of my face, streaming data back and forth at high speed. But I have to bypass that completely and use another transmission type, something I'm not even sure how reliable the range will be? And yes, with far too many cables plugged into far too few USB ports already, a dongle is the last thing I want. It's just not very Apple-esque. And oh, by the way dear consumer, you have to buy the dongle separately anyway.

I'm waiting for something better. For now, AudioFaucet on my TiVo is doing the job quite nicely.

[Carl Lumma @ Mar 8th 2006 1:35AM]

Heh, I used to work for Keyspan, and I don't know where you got the capital "S" from (I don't see it in the press release).

And, #1, if you have a Digital Media Remote, take a closer look. It's one cool peripheral. Extremely powerful, fully programmable. Just hard to grok. Most folks just never figured out what it was for. I use mine all the time -- one small consolation for having worked for them.

-Carl

[zoara @ Mar 8th 2006 7:11AM]

The only problem with Salling Clicker is it requires a BT phone. Seeing as I have one of those but my girlfriend doesn't, when I leave the house she won't be able to control the music!

A dedicated remote not only avoids this problem, it's also easier to use - an important consideration when it might be used by the technically incompetent (like my girlfriend) or the impatient-with-fiddly-interfaces (like me).

I agree that this would be better as WiFi, or at least Bluetooth. I suspect that there may be issues about battery life that made them choose RF...