Remote control PC with Pulsar from Mac?

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vlaad3
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Remote control PC with Pulsar from Mac?

Post by vlaad3 »

Hello,
since I moved from PC to Mac a while ago, I'm thinking how to put my Pulsar in a good use.
I guess it would be possible to have a PC with WinXP and Pulsar remote controlled from my Mac?
Anyone doing it, and what would be the best soft/hard setup?

Also, I'm thinking about using a thin client PC as a dedicated Pulsar synth box. They are fanless, silent, some of them have PCI slots.
With some enclosure juggling maybe?
Is it doable? Any experiences?

Best,
V
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valis
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Re: Remote control PC with Pulsar from Mac?

Post by valis »

VNC will work, though I opted to simply go back to an extra mouse+keyboard+monitor. VNC tends to eat CPU overhead, and since I also run some plugins on my Scope PC it was causing me unnecessary headaches. But that's specific to that workflow, Scope+VNC will likely be OK if you aren't on a machine that's more than 15 years old.

You have many options now for mouse sharing. Logitech's FLOW software doesn't work on XP unfortunately, but I have successfully used Synergy 1.x for this in the past.

Remote Desktop used to be another option, but the difference between XP & Win10/7 has become so vast that getting this to work with an older XP system takes more work than it used to, and if memory serves some of the Scope interface components don't show up under certain Scope/RDP combinations.

In regards to a thin client PC, you would have to ensure both that the motherboard had a good PCI slot implementation (if it has that at all?) and that the case will still fit Scope cards.

With Scope as my non-primary machine, a small format keyboard and a mouse works fine for me (with the desktop space available).
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Marco
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Re: Remote control PC with Pulsar from Mac?

Post by Marco »

Scope forum members are fallen asleep! Nothing happens...... Zzzzzz
:wink: out and about for music production. Are you still configguring your Studio :lol: music first!
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garyb
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Re: Remote control PC with Pulsar from Mac?

Post by garyb »

there are numerous ways to share a desktop. it's very doable.
vlaad3
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Re: Remote control PC with Pulsar from Mac?

Post by vlaad3 »

Thanx valis, I was curious about direct experiences with remote boxes.
The noise factor is a huge issue for me. I'm a bedroom producer and try to keep things quiet. I use to have Noah Ex and got rid of it because I was annoyed by its fan making noise (great machine though). My old XP machine is so loud, I wonder how I tolerated it at all at the time :)
I'm ordering a thin client HP t5740, which is cheap, completely fanless and has a PCI slot of some kind, so I will try to build a Pulsar/WinXP synth box just for fun.
As for remote, I'm completely illiterate, but will try with some remote/vnc software. If the box works :)
vlaad3
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Re: Remote control PC with Pulsar from Mac?

Post by vlaad3 »

Just a quick follow up.
The thin client I bought (HP t5740) doesnt have a proper PCI slot, but some proprietary format unfortunately. The internet info wasnt clear on it, and on pictures it looked similar but...
Still, I think there are other thin pc options with proper PCI slots worth considering. These little machines with no moving parts are real pleasure to work with: completely silent, somewhat expandable, not much power though.
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valis
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Re: Remote control PC with Pulsar from Mac?

Post by valis »

Sorry to hear that about the slot.

Keep in mind as you look for machines that Scope PCI cards require a 5V 32-bit PCI slot. Some PCI slots are 3.3V only, some are 64bit, some will do all of the above: http://www.ni.com/product-documentation/54456/en/

Also keep in mind that the PCI slot implementation (southbridge, 3rd party chipset, etc) is critical to the functionality of Scope. I would rely on the community here for information on what boards (and thus PCI slot compatility) work best. GaryB specifically is a great source of information.
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astroman
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Re: Remote control PC with Pulsar from Mac?

Post by astroman »

I once had this board (single slot)
https://www.cnet.com/products/foxconn-4 ... 30-i945gc/
It's lame in CPU specs, but had the best PCI throughput I ever experienced and it recorded 32 tracks with VDAT to a 2.5" notebook HD. The standard cooler needs a small fan (get one that can start on 5V), but there also was a version with an extended double heatsink that may run fanless.
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