leerph,

There are many ways of going about this. Each of us has our set of "tools". Personally, I am not a Harmony fan, but the D.I.Y. (Do It Youself) crowd loves them. I suggest that you hire a pro. In this application the user interface is critical. Ask to see an example of the user interface that the pro will provide. User interfaces are personal a great interface for one is a clunk for another user. Don't be fooled by the the things that blink and slide around on the screen, these things are cute the first day, but the really great interfaces minimize the number of things that you need to touch or press.

First, you should layout what you want to see and hear and how much control you want. Do you need two way control? At this stage don't worry about how this might be done, that's the pro's problem. You should concentrate on what, not how. Sometimes customers come up with impractical ideas. At this point I'll suggest alternatives or point out the large price associated with their idea -- but at least I know what they are thinking.