control childrens computer from my desktop

[protoadies]

my children are 5 and 6 years old i have put all there movies on hard drive as a back up. i hooked up there desktop in there room to a tv.... i have a hard time reading the names of movies on the tv due to screen resolution... is there a way i can control there computer from my desktop downstairs, i want to be able to play any movie i want and be able to stop the movie when its bed time etc... all the computers are running windows 7 64 bit theres is 32 bit.... what is the best way to do this... i can stream movies with home networking etc... thats not an issue but like i said i cant read the names on the tv to well if i could read the titles on my desktop screen it would make my life so easy, plus if i can stop the movie at bed time that is the cream of the cake.... there computer doesn't have a keyboard or mouse i bring my usb mouse upstairs everytime i don't want them changing setting or doing anything like getting on the net.... this computer is strictly for there movie viewing

[DaveHCYJ]

If you have Win7 Pro or higher rather than Win7 home you can use the built in Remote Desktop.

Most people will typically have the Home version though, in which case you can use a 3rd party application like VNC. I believe RealVNC charges for their product now, but I would imagine there is an Open Source alternative.

Either of these application let you remotely view and control the computer as if you were sitting at it, which sounds like it would accomplish what you're going for.

[markp1989]

you could install realvnc on that pc, then vnc viewer on your downstairs pc and control it that way.

you , install xbmc media player, it has a http based control , you just have to enable it in the settings

[rickoles]

I don't know of any media centre solutions which would probably be best for your needs, but something I used to use was teamviewer

http://www.teamviewer.com/index.aspx

Teamviewer is free and allows you to setup a remote desktop connection between computers easily, allowing you to take full control of the chosen computer without that computer needing to accept. You basicly setup the connection initially and you can login and out as you please. It also has settings like 'hide from taskbar' so your little ones wont be able to close without going to taskmgr and other handy things. Have a read.

[PeddlerOfFlesh]

I would NOT use built in remote desktop. It'll log off the local console (their computer will just turn to a logon screen). TeamViewer, LogMeIn or VNC would be OK from complete computer control. If it's mostly for movie viewing, I would second XBMC. Have it set to run at startup and it has web control. At least I think I'm thinking of XBMC. Maybe it was TVersity, which I don't like as much. One of them I used I could browse the media and start / stop playback from a web interface.

Edit: Yeah, XBMC definitely does it. Only "issue" I have with it is that it doesn't use XBMCs "library mode" which is a slight inconvenience at most.