OmniTouch 7

[mdpeterman]

I got both of my OmniTouch 7s in white in from Worthington Wednesday. I haven't even had a sec to power them up or doing anything with them. I am hoping to tomorrow. Excited to see how it feels. I'm hoping its very snappy because I feel the OmniTouch 5.7e seems slow to respond a lot of the time. 

 

[js19707]

Now that OT7s are starting to appear, I'm hoping someone will get a chance to try loading third party apps, and find out whether the units are fully locked down or not. If you happen to give it a try, please post here and let us know.

 

[mgabe]

I am also interested in this unit, but only if it is relatively open. I have a PC & IP camera-based surveillance system installed in my house running Blue Iris, so I need a controller that can communicate with it and show live video feeds. All cameras are PoE and driven by a Cisco 3550 switch. I would use the same setup to power the OT7s. Is it possible to install the Android version of the Blue Iris app on the OT7? Is Google Play accessible from the unit? If someone could clarify, that would be great. Thanks.

 

[mdpeterman]

I got one of my OT7's up and running today. 
There is no access to Google Play or any part of the Android OS from what I can tell. I can only enter the controller IP address, port,  encryption codes and thats it. You can view the DHCP address the touchscreen receives, but thats it. I wish you could assign a static address just in case the DHCP server went down on the network.
 
In my use of the screen for the past 6 or so hours I haven't really been impressed. I have been able to confuse it several times. There is a "Home" button at the bottom left that I would think would take you back to the main home screen each time but I have several times been able to confuse it where the Home button takes me to a screen that definitely isn't home. I have also had it slow down and have a nasty lag of several seconds between press and response. Lastly I have had it stutter where the single beep you should get when you open a zone, the screen got stuck and the beep just was repeating and I actually had to unplug the unit from power and have it restart.
 
I think the screen has a lot of potential, but the software is not ready yet and honestly I would still be more comfortable putting 5.7 and 5.7e's in customers home as of now. Maybe next software revision some of the issues will be resolved. 

 

[ChrisS]

Is Automation studio still supposed to be the programming interface for customizing these screens or is there something new out for them?
I finally sat down tonight to play with a 7 and cannot get Studio to see it on the network

 

[neillt]

There is no programming for them.  You get the canned system and that's it... it reads the config off of the controller and provides you with an interface.
 
Either they are coming out with something later on and are doing the "release early, release often" concept, or are dumbing the system down so Joe Electrician that sells Leviton stuff can put in an Omni panel without knowing any network voodoo.

 

[Frunple]

Wothington says a new automation studio is coming for the OT7's.

 

[lupinglade]

It is possible to install third party apps on the OT7. Its a bit of work. You use adb from the Android SDK. Its even possible to get Google Play working on it. Navigating is a bit of a pain though as there are no hardware or soft buttons. If you do end up trying it, be careful as you can mess the system up by doing something wrong and it may void your warranty. YMMV

 

[wkearney99]

Navigating is a bit of a pain though as there are no hardware or soft buttons. 

 
Reminds me of the days using the original B&N Nook tablet.  I seem to recall there were 3rd party apps that would provide an on-screen version of the missing hardware buttons.  Same thing with hacking it to be able to load normal apps.
 
I wonder, is the OT7 functionality loadable on just regular Android devices?  Pardon me if this is a dumb question, I've not fiddled with the HAI stuff yet.

 

[deborahT]

Just received my OmniTouch 7 and upgrade chip for OmniPro II. It is Saturday and Leviton and my distributor closed for weekend. 
 
Problem is ...  existing Omnipro consoles use 4 wires directly to the controller.  The Omnitouch 7 wants an RJ 45 LAN/POE cable.  I have CAT 5 but not sure if I can use same 4 wires and if so, in what positions?  If I put the Omnitouch 7 on the "network" will OmniPro II be able to see it?  
 
I searched all over, any suggestions?
 
Thanks all

 

[Desert_AIP]

The OmniTouch is an IP device.
It communicates to the controller through your LAN.

Both the controller and the Omni Touch need to be connected to the LAN.

 

[wkearney99]

And it gets it's power from a Power Over Ethernet (POE) connection.  This means you either have to be using a switch with POE capability or an adapter that 'injects' power into the wires used for it.  There are various POE injector/splitter schemes out there, but they all accomplish pretty much the same thing, getting power out to the devices passing the ethernet signals on to a regular connection.

 

[deborahT]

Thank you both for your responses.  I am clear now.  Off to buy an injector.  

 

[deborahT]

I just installed my new POE capable network switch and got the OmniTouch 7 online, and interfacing with the OmniPro II.  Went very smoothly and looks great. I have successfully added it to the Extended Setup in the Dealer PC Access 3 software.  Now, I have made changes using the software, and wrote those changes to the OmniPro II.  

1. How do I get the OmniTouch 7 to pick up those changes? 
2. Is there a manual or training for the OmniTouch 7, a programming guide or something?
3. Is there a manual for PC Access 3 software?  Specifically, Rooms and GUI Pages.

Thanks all,
Deborah

 

[e2djonline]

I just installed my new POE capable network switch and got the OmniTouch 7 online, and interfacing with the OmniPro II.  Went very smoothly and looks great. I have successfully added it to the Extended Setup in the Dealer PC Access 3 software.  Now, I have made changes using the software, and wrote those changes to the OmniPro II.  

1. How do I get the OmniTouch 7 to pick up those changes? 
2. Is there a manual or training for the OmniTouch 7, a programming guide or something?
3. Is there a manual for PC Access 3 software?  Specifically, Rooms and GUI Pages.

Thanks all,
Deborah

1) Click the settings icon, then hold the settings icon, click save and exit and the OmniTouch 7 will pull the new config file. 
2) No real guide on the programing. You cannot configure much from the OmniTouch 7 itself. 
3) In PC Access 3 under help then contents, it contains the manual for the software.