Want to replace current AMX system - but want to be free from dealers!

[jmorris644]

I might be jumping in too late also but I just saw the post and thought I would reply.
 
I am a complete DIYer. Work2Play and I have shared quite a few thoughts in the past through these forums.
 
I chose to go the UPB route and installed a HAI OmniProII controller with their control pads and screens (in the middle of replacing them) throughout the house. I am using a Nuvo Essentia music whole house system connected to the OMNI. I also have HaikuHelper running on a MAC mini. I also use an Atlona HDMI distribution system to route the video throughout the house. With these combinations I can control all of the security, lighting, cameras, audio from any iOS device anywhere in the world. 
 
Specifically for the theater I use an iPod and an iPad running iRule that I personally customized for my purposes. I have the iPad wall mounted in the entrance to the theater and the iPod is my hand-held remote. For any network capable media device control is very easy with iRule. For the few IR devices that I have I use a Global Cache network-to-IR device. This way, all of my remote controlling is from the iPod through WiFi. No IR repeaters.
 
All of my music is ripped to the Nuvo system and all of my movies are ripped to the Mac Mini which not only runs HaikuHelper but is also connected to the main theater system.
 
So far these combinations have worked extremely well for me. I think that it is important to have a central system that combines a majority of the for you and that you can then "attach" different sub-systems to it afterwards.
 
FWIW,
 
Joe

 

[AVSam]

Specifically for the theater I use an iPod and an iPad running iRule that I personally customized for my purposes. I have the iPad wall mounted in the entrance to the theater and the iPod is my hand-held remote. For any network capable media device control is very easy with iRule. For the few IR devices that I have I use a Global Cache network-to-IR device. This way, all of my remote controlling is from the iPod through WiFi. No IR repeaters.

 
Hi Joe, I want to control my home theatre from an iPhone or iPad Mini which would replace 4 conventional remote control units (Receiver, projector, BD Player and media player). A network to IR device would be great although I believe some of my devices do have an RS-232 interface. I would like to put all my AV gear into a cabinet or out of site if I can help it because I find the little lights on the AV gear a bit distracting. I've been reading good things about iRule - how easy is it to configure and set up considering the fact that I need the lights to switch-off mildly when I pause the movie and switch-off when I resume the movie.

 

[neillt]

iRule can do all of that.  You would need a few Global Cache IR and Serial interfaces depending on how many devices you have.  Your imagination really is the limit with iRule.
 
However, you mention lighting control but don't say what you have now.  iRule will talk to HAI/Leviton Omni Panels, so any protocol supported by them (UPB, RadioRA, ZWave, etc) will work.  If it's just that room, an Omni LTe can handle that for not too much money.  If you plan to expand throughout your house, look an an Omni LTe or OmniPro II.  If you don't need the security features you can use the Lumina line of products, which have the same lighting control and integration capabilities as the Omni line.

 

[jmorris644]

Hi Joe, I want to control my home theatre from an iPhone or iPad Mini which would replace 4 conventional remote control units (Receiver, projector, BD Player and media player). A network to IR device would be great although I believe some of my devices do have an RS-232 interface. I would like to put all my AV gear into a cabinet or out of site if I can help it because I find the little lights on the AV gear a bit distracting. I've been reading good things about iRule - how easy is it to configure and set up considering the fact that I need the lights to switch-off mildly when I pause the movie and switch-off when I resume the movie.

neillt is spot on. Personally, i try and stay away from serial. I have run into issues before and I do not believe that the hardware manufacturers pay that much attention to the serial protocols. My complete system is either IR or IP. For my lighting, and many other things, I use HAI with Haiku and Hailu Helper. Using iRule and Helper it is extremely easy to control the lighting. For example, for me to accomplish what you are asking for with the dimming when a movie is paused, etc it would take me about 20 minutes to get it set up and working. Probably less.
 
What is your lighting system?
 
Joe

 

[Dean Roddey]

There's nothing wrong with serial. It's still widely implemented, and it is a very simple scheme so it's pretty reliably once set up. It has its advantages.
 
For CQC something like a GC-100 is a good choice, since it provides a couple of serial ports and 3 or 6 IR ports. CQC can use the serial ports on the GC, so they are effectively IP to serial converters for CQC, but they show up as regular serial ports within CQC so you don't have to treat them specially.

 

[drvnbysound]

For the most part, I'd much prefer a serial based system to an IR system. The sticking point being that I can generally query a device for it's status via serial. With an IR system, it can be a bit trickier to keep track of on/off state.
 
Not always a big deal, but definitely can be when you're writing [automation] rules that depend on a device's current status.