Amazon Echo to HA Controllers

[snesgenesis]

Yeah that was kind of the idea. My home is only 1700 sq feet and acustics travel very well and I already have a mounted Kinnect above my tv and ZBOX HTPC running XBMC. My Kinnect has surprisingly great voice range in my home and was considering trying castle os as something complimentary to my HA system.

 

[ChrisCicc]

Yeah that was kind of the idea. My home is only 1700 sq feet and acustics travel very well and I already have a mounted Kinnect above my tv and ZBOX HTPC running XBMC. My Kinnect has surprisingly great voice range in my home and was considering trying castle os as something complimentary to my HA system.

 
Yeah you basically have the ideal setup to get going with voice control

 

[snesgenesis]

I have yet to try Castle OS out but the more I read about it I feel with managed expectations it could be a handy addition to an HA system. I'm not sure how it would do as a primary software controler but for me I wouldn't need it as such so I would disregard Castle OS in that respect and use it only for VR around designated areas. 

 

[ChrisCicc]

I have yet to try Castle OS out but the more I read about it I feel with managed expectations it could be a handy addition to an HA system. I'm not sure how it would do as a primary software controler but for me I wouldn't need it as such so I would disregard Castle OS in that respect and use it only for VR around designated areas. 

 
Once you go VR, you never go back  

 

[ChrisCicc]

I have yet to try Castle OS out but the more I read about it I feel with managed expectations it could be a handy addition to an HA system. I'm not sure how it would do as a primary software controler but for me I wouldn't need it as such so I would disregard Castle OS in that respect and use it only for VR around designated areas. 

 
To answer your question about comparing to the ISY, I am the first to say the ISY has the best INSTEON functionality (better in my opinion than even INSTEON's own!), and we're striving to match it. We're 95% of the way there, and for 99% of the users, there is no difference.
 
On the Z-Wave side, I think we are on par with each other at the moment, though when we launch Z-Wave Plus later this year we'll be a generation beyond (unless they do the same - though there is no indication I'm aware of that they are doing so). 
 
Edit: we're on par in terms of device support. But the ISY creates a device for each protocol, in other words there's an INSTEON device and a Z-Wave device. So you end up with different device classes. CastleOS abstracts that (as well as for all the other protocols we support), so a smart device is just a smart device to the user. A motion sensor is a motion sensor, it doesn't matter the brand or the protocol it speaks...

 

[snesgenesis]

Do you offer any sales to Cocoontech members?

 

[snesgenesis]

Anyway you cut it ISY is a beast and I've been a user for years. I recently upgraded to to the 994i model mostly because my sister in laws husband recently quit his job at ADT and gave me some Z-Wave dimmer switches and a door lock. I also had some newer Insteon stuff I feel would do better in a new environment.

 

[ChrisCicc]

Do you offer any sales to Cocoontech members?

 
20%. Once you register an account on CastleOS.com I can generate a code for you. 

(For future reference for others, this is for existing Cocoontech users. New accounts won't get the benefit, so signing up for an account here isn't a free 20% off pass We don't usually discount our software, even on holidays.)

 

[ChrisCicc]

Anyway you cut it ISY is a beast and I've been a user for years. I recently upgraded to to the 994i model mostly because my sister in laws husband recently quit his job at ADT and gave me some Z-Wave dimmer switches and a door lock. I also had some newer Insteon stuff I feel would do better in a new environment.

 
I give them a lot of credit for being rock solid at what they do. They don't do everything, but what they claim to do, they do pretty freaking well. 

 

[ChrisCicc]

I give them a lot of credit for being rock solid at what they do. They don't do everything, but what they claim to do, they do pretty freaking well. 

 
To expand on this - if I never started CastleOS, I'd probably be running the ISY at my own home. That's why we'll be adding support for their API to make the integration between the two as seamless as possible. We know there are ISY users who would only give it up from their cold dead hands  

 

[snesgenesis]

See that where I think your product would be more successful. It seems HA in general doesn't want to mesh well with anyone when in fact there should be a standard protocol and everyone should try to make their products seamlessly integrate as much as possible.

 

[ChrisCicc]

See that where I think your product would be more successful. It seems HA in general doesn't want to mesh well with anyone when in fact there should be a standard protocol and everyone should try to make their products seamlessly integrate as much as possible.

 
We think a standard protocol is years away. So many years, it isn't worth planning for. So we have a different philosophy: if you have an API, we'll consume it. 
 
(Side note: typing that, hungry hungry hippo popped into my head. I can't remember the last time I've thought about that game, it's been at least a decade!)

 

[IVB]

As the video above shows, you haven't seen everything CastleOS can do. I'm not going to say it can do everything (no system can), but it certainly isn't as you describe.

Here's more on the multimedia control: http://www.castleos.com/FeatureSpotlight.aspx?feature=MultimediaControl

 
Is that via IR? Wondering why it isn't on your controlled devices page.

 

[ChrisCicc]

Yes, via IR with Global Cache and our custom scripting. 
 
We do state on the Compatible Devices page:
 
"Here are some of the devices that work with CastleOS, but it's only the start!"
 
I'm honestly not sure we could practically list them all on one page...

 

[IVB]

ok we'll just have to agree that we have different definitions of the word home automation.
 
To me, IR isn't automation, its really not robust nor reliable and requires visual confirmation of accurate execution. I abandoned IR back in 2004 because the only reason the wife agreed to let me buy a plasma TV was if I wallmounted it and put all visible equipment out of sight, ideally in a different room. To turn the TV on and change input settings on both it & the stereo, set the volume, required several IR commands. Despite putting the IR repeater directly attached to the unit, sometimes it fired too fast to have the stereo catch them all. I had to repeatedly execute the command.
 
To me, automation isn't an 80% accuracy target. How many times has pressing a remote control button not work so you hit it again? Then again i'm not just playing around. If I execute a command, I expect it to be done. With RS232 or TCP, I have bidirectional communication. I not only have guaranteed execution of commands, but I can also take monitor devices then take action on them. If I turn off my HDMI-switching receiver, the system knows that and it'll turn off the TV.
 
I'll agree with you on the usefulness of VR, but if I have to choose between A) using my voice far-field and hoping a command will work, and B)using my voice near-field and knowing it'll work, there's no contest. I don't want to leave the house hoping the IR execution worked.
 
And please don't try and tell me IR is actually highly accurate, there's a reason zWave/Insteon, or TCP control was invented.