It should work just fine for you. I use remote desktop to access servers remotely and I can see no reason why it should not be possible to use for your purpose. Just don't expect to be able to do any <editing:> remotely.

You'll need XP Pro on your studio system to do this.

There are also a few other remote control programs - one I use is called Remote Admin 2.

I just completed a consulting assignment with a startup that is getting into the GoToMyPC space. Also, I used to run a company that, long ago, made a product that looked exactly like Netmeeting, which is sort of a forerunner to Remote Desktop.

The big issue is the firewall. Any "takeover" of the remote requires that you somehow breach the corporate firewall. This can be done by port forwarding the router, but this means your IT manager will have to cooperate. The other way, that doesn't ivolve the IT manager is to use an external service that can convert all traffic into standard IP requests, so that the traffic looks exactly like the traffic from a browser.

There are also issues of performance. Some of the long-established products that have been around for almost twenty years, like PC Anywhere, have amazing tricks embedded in them that will cache all sorts of things so that performance improves the longer you use the same application remotely.

Obviously you should start with Remote Desktop. It's free, and if it works, don't look any farther. If you run up against the (fire)wall, then try GoToMyPC. Be forewarned that their free trial is VERY difficult to cancel. They use a lot of the same tactics made famous years ago by companies selling record album subscriptions that you could never get to stop.

i use a program which runs through a SSL connection based on REALVNC (winVNC), but is more secure .. called TRIdaVNC Pro

Remote desktop works great. You have to turn it on in XP on the desktop you wish to control. Remote PC and even be Windows 2000 as long as you install the client.

If you run into problems with the port with a firewall you can change the port in the registry - check google. Then you just access the remote machine via xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:#### where ## is the port you chose.

I prefer to move it from the default anyway as it keeps people from finding it and trying anything.

I've been using gotomypc.com for a couple of years now, and love it.
Sometimes I'll be monitoring my second machine from across the room, sometimes from out of state. It's all the same.
You can't really "edit" but you CAN select areas for rendering, setup titles and basically anything that doesn't take a lot of muscle power.
I use one machine to take all of my email and then monitor the emails via gotomypc.com, from basically anywhere. That way all email is on one machine, in one place.
I also can do layouts, graphics and DVD layouts via the web.
I also screen stuff for clients from my machine, with them as guests.
I'm not a sales shill for gotomypc - just a satisfied customer.

I use remote desktop and have no problems with most programs. However, I have found Vegas to be problematic. Not sure why.

I have tried using Remote Desktop to monitor how long my render has come, but when I log onto the computer I get an error and the render stops.