Automation - I'm glad you are excited about Homeseer. I hope it is perfect for your situation. But your "comparison" of CQC and Homeseer is just plain wrong. First, for the sake of transparency, I am a CQC user. I also think that each person should research each option and pick the one that fits their needs best. To say CQC isn't as good because the forum traffic is less than Homeseer is just crazy. I think it also tries to coverup the real differences between Homeseer and CQC. (Perhaps you are not even aware of the differences between the two).
Homeseer's site is more active than CQC. However, I venture to say that there are a lot of "frustrated" posts from users where they have bought plugins that are either buggy or no longer work and don't seem to be supported anymore. This "issue" shows the biggest difference between the CQC and Homeseer model.
Homeseer allows individuals to write and sell "plugins" which are the programming language part needed to control any device. Each of these "plugins" are unique and cannot be changed or modified by anybody except the original author. If that author stops supporting it or simply disappears, the user is stuck with a plugin that cannot be changed. Manytimes it forces the user to go and buy another plugin for the same device that is either newer or simply being supported currently by the author. Homeseer users are also forced to buy plugins for each device they want to use. So as your system might expand, you have to continue to buy new plugins.
CQC on the otherhand has a unique programming language that Dean has provided to all users. This programming language is controlled and designed to prevent users from creating "drivers" (CQC's equivalent to Homeseer's "plugin") that can crash the main CQC program. Sometimes this limits a driver author in what they can do, but in general it provides for a much more stable system. That's not to say that every CQC driver works well, because there are some out there with bugs in them, but in general, those issues will not corrupt the rest of the system.
99% of CQC's drivers are also open. Meaning that any person can open it in a driver builder software that is included in the CQC package and modify or change the driver. There is only one driver that I am aware of that is not open to the public and that is due to a NDA with the device manufacture. Even the drivers that Dean authored are open for others to modify. What that allows is someone to come in after a device driver as already been written and either make it better, or fix a problem that might appear in the future. This generally means that there is only 1 driver for each supported device. This is unlike Homeseer where many times there are several different plugins being sold for the exact same device. This is because the plugins are not open and so a person cannot build on someone elses work to improve a driver. Instead they are forced to start from scratch and write/sell a completely new plugin.
As I stated earlier am a CQC user and to be honest, I wasn't completely aware of all these differences between Homeseer and CQC when I choose CQC. I feel lucky that I choose CQC because IMHO, it clearly has the better business model regarding drivers and updates. Yes CQC can be more expensive to buy, but it is an "all inclusive" price. You get access to every driver and every device that is supported either officially or in beta when you purchase CQC. You don't have to continue to buy new drivers every time you add a new piece of hardware. Also, should you decide to pay the $95 yearly maintenance fee (which is optional) you get access to all regular updates and any new drivers that are created. So with CQC the expenses are a known item. You can plan accordingly because you know exactly how much it will cost you upfront and on an ongoing basis. With Homeseer, your cost will depend on how much you add to your system. With drivers averaging between $30 and $100 each, it can quickly add up and become much more expensive than the CQC cost.
You are correct in that Homeseer is designed for the DIYer. CQC on the other hand is designed for the professional integrator but is also DIY friendly. In that capacity, it has to be bomb proof or the integrators won't use it. I doubt there are many (if any) professional integrators using Homeseer. It simply isn't reliable enough for that environment and unless a intergrator wrote every one of the plugins they use, they would be relying on someone else for support.
EDIT - corrected my statement that Homeseer's forum is only slightly busier than CQC. Clearly it is much busier than CQC's site. But that isn't an indicator of quality or capability of either system.
How dare thee! If I wasn't such a cocoontech fanboi, I'd be totally out of here. But this site is so freakin' awesome, especially compared to that [insert other HA related site here] place...it suxxors!
