Need help with Choosing system
- Thread starter ccap
- Start date
Rupp
Senior Member
I believe the newer version as well as the older version will work. Here's some screen shots of the newer version.TLCNORM said:
http://board.homeseer.com/attachment.php?a...=1&d=1163622661
http://board.homeseer.com/attachment.php?a...=1&d=1163622971
http://board.homeseer.com/attachment.php?a...=1&d=1163622521
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I have been using zwave for a while now and like it allot. I have what I would consider a 100% reliability. I don't notice any delays and really like having a remote in numerous rooms. I don't want you to think the older switches are bad either. Mine have been extremely reliable and well built. In fact I have an Intermatic switch rated at 300watts handling a load of 585watts for quite awhile. Its my kitchen lights and gets used allot. I'm not recommending this but it does show how well built the "bad switches"are. I also put together a separate 14 module network for my Christmas lights this year. It has worked flawless just running off the timer in the remote. 99.5% of the time the lights have come on and off all at once. I few times there was maybe a 1 second delay on one module. I'm excited about the new z wave switches and stuff coming out but would still by the more reasonably priced switches for most locations in my house. I don't mind spending extra money on key areas like my theater room but having $400 worth of switches in my bathroom seems silly. All that being said everything I have read about UPB is good. I would have no trouble recommending UPB from all the posts I have read on different forums. It think you can go either way and be happy.
On the software side the two big dogs seem to be ML and CQC. I went with Homeseer for a few different reasons. 1.They seem to be on the leading edge with zwave stuff. 2. Price. 3. I can buy a pretty face for it down the road if I decide to get in to touch screens. 4. I'm not a tweaker. I would have preferred to stick a disc in answer a few questions and have my home automated. I get sucked into hobbies/projects way to easy to have one taking up all my time. If this was the only thing on my plate I probably would have gone with what appears to be more robust packages. As it stands I think HS will do everything I want and more considering how much time I want to spend in front of the computer versus enjoying the benefits that HA gives you, time spent with my family,watching movies in the theater room , finishing my basement and other projects, working in the yard, working on my car, ect, ect, ect..
On the software side the two big dogs seem to be ML and CQC. I went with Homeseer for a few different reasons. 1.They seem to be on the leading edge with zwave stuff. 2. Price. 3. I can buy a pretty face for it down the road if I decide to get in to touch screens. 4. I'm not a tweaker. I would have preferred to stick a disc in answer a few questions and have my home automated. I get sucked into hobbies/projects way to easy to have one taking up all my time. If this was the only thing on my plate I probably would have gone with what appears to be more robust packages. As it stands I think HS will do everything I want and more considering how much time I want to spend in front of the computer versus enjoying the benefits that HA gives you, time spent with my family,watching movies in the theater room , finishing my basement and other projects, working in the yard, working on my car, ect, ect, ect..
Steve said:
I Understand what you mean and thats what I was trying to figure out. I want a robust front end for touchscreens and you mentioned CQC. The only reason I was looking at ML is because its a bit more out of the box and easier to set up...I Think.
Also, if I were to use this type of set up, would I leave the lighing control on the HAI side or do you take lighting to the CQC od ML or another front end? This is where I am getting a bit confused.
Guys..Thank you the posts. I am starting to understand the order of events a bit more. 
So here goes. If I have the Home Automation Omni pro which as I have said before is being replaced by the latest unit so I will have CAT5 connection. I know that it is handling security and HVAC. I have an installer doing this for me.
Now for lighting, do I still leave that up to the Onmi and use UPB or Z-wave? Or do I hand the lighting control over to another product such as ML or CQC. Again on that front, I am a bit reluctant to move in that direction but I am looking for touchscreens that will run as a front end. That's why I mentioned Cortexa
So now that Security, HVAC, Lighting is being handled (I will await a reply on this), what about A/V?
As I have mentioned before, I currently have a Russound CAV 6.6 system installed that would have to be expanded to the new addition by two to three zones. I also want to distribute HD video throughout the house so in the future when it becomes more the norm , I will be ready. I know Russound is coming out with an HD Switcher soon.
I would like to have a single touch panel in each room that will handle all systems tied together. I have another A/V installer that is going to start running wires for the A/V in the house. He is the one pushing Crestron. He is going to run all the wires for the rooms and home run the m to the basement to my server room.
In addition, I have a nas server that is holding all my music, pictures, movies and videos. That's the reason why I was leaning towards MCE because that can me the interface to serve up the misuc, pictures, and movies.
I know I am being redundant and thanks again for being so patient. Looking forward to some great replies
So here goes. If I have the Home Automation Omni pro which as I have said before is being replaced by the latest unit so I will have CAT5 connection. I know that it is handling security and HVAC. I have an installer doing this for me.
Now for lighting, do I still leave that up to the Onmi and use UPB or Z-wave? Or do I hand the lighting control over to another product such as ML or CQC. Again on that front, I am a bit reluctant to move in that direction but I am looking for touchscreens that will run as a front end. That's why I mentioned Cortexa
So now that Security, HVAC, Lighting is being handled (I will await a reply on this), what about A/V?
As I have mentioned before, I currently have a Russound CAV 6.6 system installed that would have to be expanded to the new addition by two to three zones. I also want to distribute HD video throughout the house so in the future when it becomes more the norm , I will be ready. I know Russound is coming out with an HD Switcher soon.
I would like to have a single touch panel in each room that will handle all systems tied together. I have another A/V installer that is going to start running wires for the A/V in the house. He is the one pushing Crestron. He is going to run all the wires for the rooms and home run the m to the basement to my server room.
In addition, I have a nas server that is holding all my music, pictures, movies and videos. That's the reason why I was leaning towards MCE because that can me the interface to serve up the misuc, pictures, and movies.
I know I am being redundant and thanks again for being so patient. Looking forward to some great replies
Steve
Senior Member
Imho, absolutely leave lighting to the Omni. Wouldn't you want a robust dedicated hardware controller controlling your lights rather than software running on a pc (regardless of how stable the software is). So, if it were me, and in fact what I do - run as much as you possibly can thru the hardware panel - your Omni. Use the software to only complement it and provide functions the hardware doesn't do - like perhaps TTS, CalledID, stuff like that as well as providing the interfaces on the touch screens.ccap said:
As far as the software goes, they are both good packages, I can not say anything really bad about either. Just don't be fooled into thinking ML is an 'out of the box' solution. Even if it includes a generic prebuilt interface there is alot to setup and customize to your environment. Everybody has their opinion on this, while some people think ML is easier to get up to speed on, I struggled with it and found CQC to be much easier to use once over the initial learning curve (which each has). I also like the network distributed architecture and C++ codebase of it better. Also CQC is 1 price for everything vs ML which is base package plus plugins. That can be debated to death (and has) but I prefer to not have to worry abo0ut plugins adding up. In the end it is a personal decision that only you can make. You sound more like a person to have a CI set it up anyway, rather than mess with it yourself. Either ML or CQC is going to reguire effort on your part if you do it. If you do it yourself, just evaluate both free trials and see what 'fits' your personality that best. If you hire it out to a CI, well then I guess you can go either way as long as you find someone you trust. Either package will handle your Russound out of the box and can support pretty much any of your HT gear either with an existing or newly built driver. With the stuff you already have, there is no reason to throw Crestron into the mix, thats just what your A/V guy is used to putting in.
Thanks Steve for your help. You are right since I am going to have a new Omni why not run the lighting through it. I will talk to my installer of the omni system and talk to him about which upb lighting he likes. Is one company better than the other??Steve said:
Regarding the ML CQC thing. I agree, this topic has been beat to death with some discussions getting heated. I am a hands on guy, but I just want to make the right decisions.
Are there other "Front Ends" that anyone knows about other than ML and CQC that is a bit easier to configure and and change on the fly. Again I want to have touch screen control
THanks again.. Getting more excited
ccap, Because every setup and situation and needs are different, this requires configuration once a base install is done. This is for any solution on the market.
With MainLobby you can have a whole house audio system with multizone handling, A movie selection and launch system, Weather reporting, XM Radio support, basic ELk or HAI security panel support in a day. Less if you purchase Cinemar's server / UMPC with the software installed and loaded for you.
If you purchase the preloaded servers, out of the box you get the above with as much effort as it takes to plugin a PC to the Internet and turn it on.
Now, once the out of the box functions are setup, you can take as much time as you want to customize it to your individual needs with not much limitation. Or just leave it alone and enjoy.
With MainLobby you can have a whole house audio system with multizone handling, A movie selection and launch system, Weather reporting, XM Radio support, basic ELk or HAI security panel support in a day. Less if you purchase Cinemar's server / UMPC with the software installed and loaded for you.
If you purchase the preloaded servers, out of the box you get the above with as much effort as it takes to plugin a PC to the Internet and turn it on.
Now, once the out of the box functions are setup, you can take as much time as you want to customize it to your individual needs with not much limitation. Or just leave it alone and enjoy.
Thanks David,DavidL said:
Can you tell me a bit more about ML and your system? I imagine that you have an ML setup. Can you tell me what you have running. I do like the setup and know that I can handle the setup once I get past the learning curve.
I would love to see some ML examples, screenshots, etc. I know with this solution, I can use touchscreens, PDA's laprtops, etc to run the system.
Thanks again
I have a Gateway MCE. No way to upgrade other than spending $100 on a new MCE software package right?ccap said:
68sting,
I seem to following your path also. I am not a tweaker. I prefer a hardware based system. BTW what do you use for Thermostats? That will be my first purchase over the next few weeks.
