CQC vs Cinemar? What to do!?

Ranger Digital

Active Member
From this site, I have learned some about cqc and cinemar. What I dont know is whats the difference? I am looking at adding a touchsceen and want more automation with my On-q HMS 1100 (same as HAI OmniPro is my understanding , other than some software, firmware).

It looks like the cinemar is very inexpensive. Anyone familar with either product as far as the differences and recommendations? I simply want to be able to "see" my automation and make things happen from a touchscreen, be it built in the wall or a hand held. Likely the in wall as its much cheaper.


THANKS!

ps. I have all the on-q software, but I dont think it offers what the above software packages can offer. if i am wrong, please advise.
 
I have been stumped on the decision for months... I just started my 30 days trials of the two (and girder with net remote)....

I am positive that they both can do what you want, the question is how much will it take to get there (i..e how much work by you to get it to work). All three packages offer direct elk integration out of the box (not sure about yours, but if it talks via serial, anything is possible?). I haven't gotten far enough in girder nor cqc to get it to work just yet, though i know it will (see: IVB) :) I don't think the 30 day trials of mainlobby include the plugins (i.e. elk) so i don't think i can test that (David will correct me if i'm wrong) - but that is a major stumbling block for me. I am more interested in testing the weather, elk, lobbyppc than the standard package. The automation / rules engines, etc aren't that important to me, i use elk for that. And I will not buy if i can't test...

I think out of the box, Cinemar is more ready to go", but i've even struggled with getting some pieces of that working. Which is why i highly recommend you test before you splurge. Price wise, both the packages you're looking at are expensive. If you get many of the common plugins for cinemar, base price gets comparable (and can exceed) to CQC but there is no maintainence fee. I did a price analysis once in a thread a while back - i think i was over 700 for all the goodies i eventually would want. The flip side is CQC doesn't allow you to pay by feature - well discussed here and i'm not questing Dean's reasoning... But for the homeowner looking to save dough and DIY, it is a factor.

In short, don't go into it lightly, make sure you can spend the time to get what you want...

-brad
 
Brad, thanks for the input. My goal at this point is something EASY that I can grow into if needed. I like the idea of instant weather on the screen and a room layout showing the lighting layouts. of course the on-q hms 1100 will control all the light, but it would be nice to see it on the screen and push a button to execute a macro.

just thought of something, couldnt i possibly need less "scene" buttons, as they are expensive, if i wanted to have buttons on the touchscreen to execute the same thing a scene button would do? of course the placement of physical scene buttons throughout the house has its advantages of course, so i wouldnt do away with the bulk of them.

since i posted this thread, i have read many post on cinemar and cqc and it looks like it will simply be up to the end user as to what they want, LOL. looks like both will do what i want. maybe the deciding factor will be what will interface with hal2000 the best? maybe one of them already does voice. not sure. got to read up on that. let me do a search here for hal2000 coz i just found out about it and it looks VERY cool.
 
actually, since i do not have the install finished on the house, a download trial will likely not do me anygood as i couldnt test anything. or is there value in looking at it now months before the house is done??
 
actually, since i do not have the install finished on the house, a download trial will likely not do me anygood as i couldnt test anything. or is there value in looking at it now months before the house is done??
Drivers and stability are the keys to whatever package you choose. How well are the driver written for your main hardware you plan to use?

Do you have the hardware now? If so, try some of the products on a mocked up system on your desk. This is the best way to "kick the tires".
 
I too wonder why HomeSeer wasn't mentioned. While it does lack a "pretty" front end (today), it's arguably the most capable of all the automation products. There's a plugin for Main Lobby and a couple of plugins for the Elk hardware. It too has it's own bulletin board and is the most active bulletin board of any of the automation packages. It comes with a 30 day free trial and has some really nice getting started videos available here:http://www.homeseer.com/support/tutorials.htm
Here's a link to the dedicated bulletin board.
http://board.homeseer.com
 
techhome, no i have not looked at homeseer. I dont understand yet why I would need that as the On-q 1100 will do the main controlling. I must learn more about homeseer but i didnt think it was something that i could use since i had the on-q hms 1100 (same hai omni pro).

let me do a search on homeseer. i sure like the look of cinemar but after i look at all the plug ins its as much as cqc but cqc sure looks complicated and higher end than what i need on this job. functionality and ease is key here.

i am lovin this site!!


Have you looked at Homeseer? It has VR with a graphical interface.
 
bravesir, I am not sure I understand "how well are the drivers written for my main hardware". I assume you mean for me to look into ie cinemars drivers and ask them ? i surely can do that.

Yes, i have the hardware. its in a box, lol. the 1100 controller anyways. by doing a mock up do you mean plug all this stuff in, sit it on my desk? wow, thats a task to set it all up and have it work as if it were in a house, LOL. is that what your suggesting? or do yo umean just download the software trials and play with it? thanks!


actually, since i do not have the install finished on the house, a download trial will likely not do me anygood as i couldnt test anything. or is there value in looking at it now months before the house is done??
Drivers and stability are the keys to whatever package you choose. How well are the driver written for your main hardware you plan to use?

Do you have the hardware now? If so, try some of the products on a mocked up system on your desk. This is the best way to "kick the tires".
 
rupp, i MUST educate myself on homeseer. i thought it was hardware and did what my on-q will already do. i didnt know i even needed to consider it as an option. the eye candy part is not that important but it is going in a model home, well a home we are using as model (its my biz partners home, what a great way to test the waters before real installs!)

i will check it out for sure. thanks!


I too wonder why HomeSeer wasn't mentioned. While it does lack a "pretty" front end (today), it's arguably the most capable of all the automation products. There's a plugin for Main Lobby and a couple of plugins for the Elk hardware. It too has it's own bulletin board and is the most active bulletin board of any of the automation packages. It comes with a 30 day free trial and has some really nice getting started videos available here:http://www.homeseer.com/support/tutorials.htm
Here's a link to the dedicated bulletin board.
http://board.homeseer.com
 
Don't take this the wrong way, but we've had several threads about this on the forum, and i've made all my various points about this in those, so i'm not going to get into it again and discuss any of the points above. I looked at all the packages in great detail, and went that made the most sense to me. My choice was clear for me, I know others who've gone with non-CQC also said the decision was clear. That is the nice thing about having choices - pick the one that your gut tells you is right, and you won't be misled.

If it helps, I'll be publicly publishing the 1hr45min, 125MB WMV file that has the "Intro to HA" session recorded where it walks you through adding drivers, creating a screen, setting up ElkRP, connecting Elk<->CQC, creating triggered events using an Elk motion & a keypad button press to control lighting, and finally scheduled events for stuff like irrigation. If you weren't able to attend Sat am, or want to rewind and check something out, you can d/l that and go find what you want.
 
bravesir, I am not sure I understand "how well are the drivers written for my main hardware". I assume you mean for me to look into ie cinemars drivers and ask them ? i surely can do that.

Yes, i have the hardware. its in a box, lol. the 1100 controller anyways. by doing a mock up do you mean plug all this stuff in, sit it on my desk? wow, thats a task to set it all up and have it work as if it were in a house, LOL. is that what your suggesting?

I would check on the respective forums of the software you are investigating and see how many people are satisfied with the interface to the hardware you are planning to use.

As far as the mock-up, yes, that's what I would suggest. I did this both for my home and my friend's install. I used switches and jumpers to simulate zones, but I had an understanding of how the software worked and even had initial layouts way before having to install in any home. This helped a lot as there are just to many other factors that enter into new system installations without having to figure out how your software works. :)
 
shenendoah, the great majority of MainLobby plugins are avaialble for a 30 day trial...including the MLHAI and the MLELKM1 plugins.

I seem to remember one Cinemar customer using the MLHAI with an OnQ, but I might be wrong. Quick search on Cinemar's forum should tell.
 
I think from my perspective that ML is a bit easier to understand and program than CQC. I have tried both, to some extent and I am about to pull the trigger on ML with a few plug in.
I think they still have the deal where you get the whole suite for a pretty good savings.
 
Thanks david - i guess i was expecting them to show on the main trial page - now i see the link on theindividuals!!!

Note - the callerid link fails... and do not see doanloads for weblobby, weather, dvdlobby, musiclobby ppc

Again, thanks for your support here - installing now!
 
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