Dedicated Hardware for HA or Set-top Solution?

[topsub]

Hey,

First post, i found this forum from a search. Thought i would post here. I currently have been looking at some HA solutions. From Verde, ISY994i, Homelinc and HomeSeer. They all seem pretty good so i thought i would post here to get more feedback. I already have a HTPC that runs 24/7 and could handle another program running ( Quad Core w/ 16 Gigs ram and SSDs ).

I do have confusion that i think i would need to buy hardware to talk to all the RF, Z-Wave, X-10, and insteon devices.

Questions:
- What hardware do you guys use to do this? Is there internal PCI Antennas or all external usb antennas to talk to Z-Wave, X-10?
- How good is homeseer with dedicated hardware?
- I am trying to find a guide for 'getting started' but not sure if i missed it.


Needs / Wants:
Cameras
Scenes ( Triggered Events? )
Light Control
Door Control
TV / Music Control ( nice to have but not 100% have to have )

Current Hardware:
Cat 6 network house ( in ever room )
24 port dell switch
PFsense Router
30TB Nas Server



Seems this is the insteon device i need?
[background=rgb(251, 251, 251)]PowerLinc Modem - INSTEON Serial Interface (Dual-Band) @ smarthome(.)com[/background]

Thanks for any input / help you can give!

 

[topsub]

Since i can't edit
Also want remote access via app or something while not at home.

 

[topsub]

So it seems Homeseer and UPB with mix of z-wave is what most people are doing now a days? Any feedback?

 

[MobileMe]

If you have the money, Homeseer is a good way to go. I recommend openremote. It works with a lot of protocols and is very versitale. The program takes some work to configure, but I think its worth the time. As far as hardware goes, z-wave is very popular. I like working at the hardware level so I use webcontrol boards with relays.

 

[tmbrown97]

The ISY is very powerful for Insteon with Z-Wave to be added soon supposedly; I don't think it's big on apps though so if you like customized screens I don't think it's your best option. The Vera is very good for Z-Wave - not sure if it handles Insteon yet... and it does have some stock screens as I understand.

If you don't have a problem with a computer on, then software will be even more powerful - they let you make your own touchscreen apps that can run on computers and some have native iOS/Android apps. To me that's a big one. As MobileMe said they take a long time to get all set up but it's because they're so powerful they can do just about anything. CQC, HomeSeer, Elve, Premise - are the popular ones with many more out there.

 

[Chassmain]

I'd have to put in a second vote for a software solution, especially if you already have a server that's running 24 hours per day. Quite similar to what I've got; Windows Media Center server sending audio/video out to a number of HTPC's / Extenders with Elve picking up the automation duties.

A program like CQC, Elve, Homeseer, etc. can communicate with UPB using straight serial or USB depending on how the driver is written for the specific automation software. I'd probably check out the three mentioned and see if any of them play nice with all the hardware you'd like to use.