Overwhelmed.....need advice for HT room

This is my first posts so hello to everyone.
 
 
Here is my dilemma. I have a few things I want to automate in my HT room just to increase the experience so I will ist what I would like to do.
 
1. Control curtains  opening/closing at the front of the room with my Nexus 10 Android tablet.
 
2. Slowly dim the lights down to completely off and slowly brighten them when the movie is over thru the tablet.
 
3. Raise and lower screen thru the tablet.
 
4. Get these 3 actions to all happen at the same time.
 
Right now I run XBMC on my HTPC and I control it thru my tablet using Yatse remote. It works perfectly. Find what I want on the tablet and play it on the screen. In fact, all the rooms have an HTPC that do the same. Daughter loves choosing her own movies in her room without me having to come get everything started.
 
Anyways.
 
I really want to come into the HT room, sit down and have the curtains close, screen lower and lights dim. Pretty simple really. Not even concerned with remotely turning on all the AV equipment (will tackle that later). 
 
I think my other questions will need to be posted in another section but for now this is what I am trying to do.

You could do all of this with ZWave, if you wanted to.
 
1. Somfy motor on curtains connected to relay triggered directly by zwave relay device (e.g., http://store.homeseer.com/store/Evolve-LFM-20-Z-Wave-Relay-Fixture-Module-P1007C178.aspx), or by a zwave appliance module connected to a 12V wall wart, which then triggers the relay
 
2. Easy with ZWave dimmers on the lights.
 
3. Same as #1
 
4. Create a scene in Vera specifying the light levels and relay states for the curtains and screen.
 
You can then use a Zwave-control app like Homewave on your tablet OR you can call the scenes from any other app by issuing a HTTP-Get command.
 
Hope this helps.

It sounds like you just need something to control relays.  I don't know the other lighting methods, but you could go UPB.  You'd need a computer module (and a computer to control it), some light switches, and the I/O module.  But then you'd need some sort of interface to trigger scenes.  I've never used the I/O module, so not positive on how it works.  But it looks like each module has 2 outputs and then you would configure a scene that would trigger the output.  Another option would be Global Cache.  I think you can download an app for the iTach.  But of course, the GC devices won't control your lights. 
 
I'd check out the lighting technologies, see what is controllable via app and how much you want to spend.  Some are easier to dip your toe into if you are just looking for one room.
 
My screen is fixed and I don't use curtains.  But my IR remote sends a signal to my HTPC, my PC receives it using a USB-UIRT and translates it to CQC (my automation software).  From there, it triggers the lights and other stuff.  If I were to add curtains or a motorized screen, I'd probably hard wire it to a relay controller like my Elk M1G or something.

Thank you for the suggestions. I am going to look into the Zwave stuff and the link above. I will probably go with a fixed screen also but i do like the curtain ideas.

tadr said:

You could do all of this with ZWave, if you wanted to.
 
1. Somfy motor on curtains connected to relay triggered directly by zwave relay device (e.g., http://store.homeseer.com/store/Evolve-LFM-20-Z-Wave-Relay-Fixture-Module-P1007C178.aspx), or by a zwave appliance module connected to a 12V wall wart, which then triggers the relay
 
2. Easy with ZWave dimmers on the lights.
 
3. Same as #1
 
4. Create a scene in Vera specifying the light levels and relay states for the curtains and screen.
 
You can then use a Zwave-control app like Homewave on your tablet OR you can call the scenes from any other app by issuing a HTTP-Get command.
 
Hope this helps.

Click to expand...

 
Tadr, what would be the most cost effective and reliable way to automate a dedicated home theatre room using Z-Wave. Need to control all the AV gear from an iPad-Mini or iPhone. I also need basic light control (dimmers) that switch-on when I pause the movie and switch-off when I resume. I am not a programmer but have a good understanding of IT. Hence, I need an easy to use and configure system. What controllers do you recommend ? - Vera Lite seems to be cost effective but then there is Fibaro Home centre lite and the SmartThings Hub. All in all, I want a cost effective, reliable and expandable system.

Zwave probably has more devices than UPB and many more manufacturers but I think UPB would win in the reliability department, simply due to the inverse in devices and companies making said devices.  Realize that you could go with a combination of Zwave for many devices and UPB for lighting to ensure higher reliability.
 
Another system I will throw out is Lutron RadioRa2.  It has lighting and shade support and indirect relay control.  It is a high-reliability system with higher end design aesthetics than Zwave or UPB but you pay for it as it is a premium system.
 
With any of these cotnrol technologies (Zwave, UPB, RadioRa2), you'd have to have some sort of controller or software.  Vera Lite was mentioned and that would work along with many others.  I personally use CQC and am impressed by its power. 

RadioRA2 would certainly handle all of this, and the control app is already built for you.  Not the cheapest solution, but you could expand to handle similar tasks throughout the house, too...  
 
RadioRA2 also has an API to allow these functions to be easily incorporated into an automation system or other app-based controller like iRule, too.  
 
Note that from an "easy" standpoint, controlling your AV gear is simpler than integrating lights, shades, motors...  So if you get this working, the AV gear will be a piece of cake!   B)