Signal - The Ultimate Remote Control for Your PC's Media Player

This is a bug fix release that primarily addresses issues with playing and displaying songs that contain extended characters, but does include a couple of useful improvements.

• The media library back button now remembers the last page it was on when navigating backwards, and can also navigate back into the previous search result.
• When playing videos through iTunes the videos are now played using the default playback preference (set in iTunes under iTunes > Preferences > Playback). So if the default playback preference is full screen or windowed mode, videos or TV shows started through Signal will now use this as well.

The full list of changes is available in the release notes.

Signal 1.0.2 was released last week, this version includes full support for the iPod Touch, an updated view for the playlist, a software update notification interface for Windows, and several stability and performance fixes. Full details are available in the releases notes.

In particular, the iPhone version is now much better at handling situations where the iPhone initially wakes up on EDGE and transitions to Wi-Fi. Signal will now automatically detect that it does not have a connection and queue up commands to be sent as soon as the iPhone re-joins the Wi-Fi network. This means you can wake up the iPhone and tap pause/play, next track, etc without having to worry about whether or not the iPhone is on the cellular data network - Signal will take care of getting that command sent as soon as there is a connection.

This bug fix release addresses an issue with alternate iTunes libraries. If you have pointed iTunes at an alternate library by holding down the option key when starting iTunes (shift key on Windows) Signal will now automatically find an use that library. In addition, some compatibility issues with Windows Vista were fixed that prevented iTunes album art from being displayed. The complete list of changes is available in the release notes.

Signal 1.0.1 has been released, here’s what’s new:

iPhone:

• Added song rating support
• Added queuing support
• Moved volume bar to bottom of subcontrol screen and added volume up/down buttons for easier access

Mac:

• Artist and title information is now displayed for internet radio stations
• Fixed: Resolved a crash issue when reading the IP address on some systems

Now that both the Mac and Windows servers can read title information from internet radio stations I can talk about one of my favorite little features in Signal. When the application can’t find album art on your computer it will automatically search for it online. This works out great with internet radio stations - as soon as the server sees new artist and title information it pulls down the album art for it and displays it in your remote’s interface.

Today we’re very excited to announce the first public release of Signal. Signal is a remote control application that allows you to drive your Mac or PC’s media player wirelessly from your iPhone or Windows Mobile Pocket PC.

What makes Signal different from the typical remotes you use to control your stereo or PC is that it’s smart and it works anywhere. It uses your device’s gorgeous screen to display album art for the current song. It shows you the entire playlist so you can pick the next song instead of hitting “next” over and over until you find something you like. It lets you browse and search your entire media library so you can find and play exactly what you want - right from the palm of your hand.

Since these devices support Wi-Fi, you can go anywhere in the house and still control your music. Skip songs from the next room. Select a new playlist from your deck. Pull out the phone at your next party and use it to queue up your favorite songs.

But the best way to see what Signal can do is to download the demo and try it for yourself.

For those wondering what has become of RemoteAmp, it has become part of Signal. Signal provides the full set of Pocket PC control capabilities from RemoteAmp and takes them even further by adding album art support, a new media library view, Windows Media Player support, and iTunes for Mac support. Existing RemoteAmp customers can upgrade to Signal at a 40% discount, just enter the email address you used to purchase RemoteAmp on the purchase page.