"magic" mirror for home automation announcements!

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ph0n33z

Active Member
Alright,

I stumbled upon this at the AVS forums. This looks like such a fun idea for a theater/gameroom/themed room. Here is what AVS has to say about it:

Talking Miror: It Isn't Just For Fairy Tales Anymore

You loved it in "Snow White" and "Shrek." Now you can have your very own talking mirror. It warns you when someone pulls into the driveway, and alerts you when the Jacuzzi has reached the correct temperature.

When nothing is happening, the mirror looks like any other ... until some event occurs, like a visitor trips the driveway sensor. At which point a fairy-talish character called Basil appears in the mirror to announce the breach. Then surveillance cameras fade into view like one of those dream sequences in the movies.

The Magic Message Mirror is the brainchild of Craig Barr, principal of Themeaddicts Inc. He's famous in the "animatronics" world, having produced the King Kong attraction at Universal Studios Florida and created the T-Rex in "Jurassic Park."

In addition to the mirror, Themeaddicts has an automated toucan and a pirate skull that make pronouncements based on schedules and events. Is it trash day? These animatrons will tell you so, with perfect lip synch.

Themeaddicts is working with Crestron for integrating these characters into automation scenes.

More pictures and the complete story at Electronic House.
Click to expand...

For more info go to http://www.themeaddicts.com/pages/mirror.html
 
Price?

The release stated, "Themeaddicts is working with Crestron for integrating these characters into automation scenes.

Probably enough said for me to forget I ever heard about it!
 
I guess I need to finish up my video-behind-mirror project. It's a bit smaller display (5" diagonal, only part of mirror) and composite video, but I guess I could get a PC to drive the same type of display.
 
And yes of course I'm going to hire a voice actor for all my voice announcements...

Errr on second thought TTS will do.
 
I emailed these guys and this is the response:

Hi Greg;

We are still finalizing our pricing/ marketing materials for our debut at the Cedia show, but the initial MSRP keeps coming in around 19k. We plan to sell through integrators who will provide the services below. This price is for the MMM30P preloaded with (10) themed messages. Additional integration costs that must be considered are:

1. Installation- The unit is mounted within a typical wall in a provided “in-wall†enclosure.

2. Audio system / installation (The mirror has stereo line level RCA outputs)

3. Home automation system/ programming to trigger the mirror


This version uses pre-canned, highly themed messages with sound and visual effects. We have considered implementing a text to speech version but we opted to debut using the precanned approach. Greg, how many messages do you currently use around your home? I seem to routinely use about 8. I have learned that there is a fine line between functional and an annoyance.


We recognize that this price point will exclude many. If you are still interested, let me know and I will send you one of our product cut sheets when they are completed.

Thanks for your interest; I look forward to hearing from you!

Craig Barr
 
For $19K, i'll come over your house and stand behind your mirror, and poke my head out everytime you want...
 
BraveSirRobbin said:
electron talked about an idea like this (that he thought of) over a year ago with me one night! :huh:
Click to expand...
It's too late now. Apparently, they have filed for a patent on this.
 
Yea, he had this idea of using special glass and placing a touch screen behind it so it looked like it was "in" the mirror when the screen was active. Other than that it would be hidden.

He was thinking about showing HA related stuff like headline news on it (while getting ready in the morning).
 
19K??? Hold on...Let me pull that out of my back pocket. For 19K I would expect a much larger mirror. I can't even begin to imagin how the cost got up that high.
 
I assume it's priced for the market and not based on the technology/hardware. They are trying to appeal to people who expect to pay a lot of money for something. If it were cheap, they wouldn't even consider it.

I don't think it's meant to appeal to most of the people who hang out here. How many of us would be happy with a product like this that only had 10 canned messages, at any price?
 
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