Recommendations now the OmniPro is gone

[feobrien]

This is slightly out of scope, but my question really is geared to people that know the power of OMNIPROII . I am a big fan of the HAI OmniPro II. It is feature rich, easy to program, relatively easy to integrate with some other systems, great home automation, nice touchscreen,  reliable, etc. I've installed three of them in my homes as I've moved.  Now that Leviton has discontinued the product, what are people's recommendations for the future?  Are there other alarm systems that integrate with home automation (or better yet included as with OMNIProII), whole house audio, etc.  I am just a hobby installer so I don't know what else is out there. I did like the power of the OMNI Pro II security with the multiple access codes, allowing time settings for the codes, logging  etc.  I liked that I could use the motion sensors to trigger home automation activities. The OMNITouch is nice, personally I don't think it ever fully lived up to what it could have been, but the price point was reasonable. 
 
I've played with SmartThings and Homeseer (the OMNI plug in allowed me to easily integrate with other home automation systems/devices (Honeywell thermostat, Bond, Liftmaster, etc.)
Thanks for any thoughts and experience people have.

 

[pete_c]

I continue to get the most I can from my OmniPro 2 panel(s).  Along the way have accumulated a knowledge base and extra hardware.  The Elk M1 is the alternative which is still being sold and promoted.  I purchased an OmniPro 2 panel after I read about the Homeseer support for it in the early 2000's. 
 
Now it is an age thing and mostly about not wanting to change something that is not broken even though it is no longer manufactured.
 
That said to keep my head going tinkering with new WiFi stuff and MQTT these days.  None of it is compatible with the OmniPro 2 system. Not really necessary other than learning about it.
 
recommendations for the future?
 
iOT / AI / personallity in a home which is not here yet and just around the corner.  

 

[feobrien]

I continue to get the most I can from my OmniPro 2 panel(s).  Along the way have accumulated a knowledge base and extra hardware.  The Elk M1 is the alternative which is still being sold and promoted.  I purchased an OmniPro 2 panel after I read about the Homeseer support for it in the early 2000's. 
 
Now it is an age thing and mostly about not wanting to change something that is not broken even though it is no longer manufactured.
 
That said to keep my head going tinkering with new WiFi stuff and MQTT these days.  None of it is compatible with the OmniPro 2 system. Not really necessary other than learning about it.
 
recommendations for the future?
 
iOT / AI / personallity in a home which is not here yet and just around the corner.  

Pete,
Thanks. I did the same thing, I purchased an extra panel which I have boxed in the garage. My original intention was to keep it just in case of a failure. Am considering moving hence my question.  I could take the boxed panel and I could likely find some keypads, maybe OMNITouch and a zone extension on the Internet.  Sure wish Leviton kept the product line.  They should have spun it off as the original company that it was (HAI). My current OMNIPRO is fine, although the most recent Russound update has caused some incompatibility with OMNIPro.  Once I disconnected the serial connection between the two, my problem went away. I spoke with Russound, but they couldn't help.  Anyway I'm evaluating what to do should I move.  I like the Contorl 4 stuff, nice touch screens, but it looks expensive and very proprietary, although they do work with many other systems.

 

[keepersg]

Elk M1G is the likely alternative.  I installed mine (you can see the installation on my gallery).  Still being sold and supported.  Pretty much as many hard wired sensors as you want.  Integrates with the correct wireless adapter with Elk, Honeywell and Interlogix sensors.  Native automation. Mature integration with ISY, Homeseer.  And is a real security system.

 

[feobrien]

Elk M1G is the likely alternative.  I installed mine (you can see the installation on my gallery).  Still being sold and supported.  Pretty much as many hard wired sensors as you want.  Integrates with the correct wireless adapter with Elk, Honeywell and Interlogix sensors.  Native automation. Mature integration with ISY, Homeseer.  And is a real security system.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

 

[sic0048]

The alternative is to go with a "dumber" alarm system and can integrate with a third party automation system.  Even though I have an Elk M1, I really don't take any advantage of the built in automation because I use an automation system for all of that stuff.  (Personally I use CQC).  
 
The advantage to this method is that it might be cheaper (certainly the alarm portion is cheaper), you can integrate a lot more things, new technology can be integrated without relying on the alarm company to update their system (which likely never happens), and the logic and rules are more robust and there are no size limitations like there might be in a alarm panel.

 

[DavidL]

As others have suggested, the ELK M1 Gold is the best replacement for an HAI system.  The wiring / sensors should be directly reusable.  So the swap should only be a few hours plus programming.  The Elk, can do some rudimentary automation programming.  But many use a dedicated automation controller to get the most out of the system.
 
The myServer 6 application is close to launch for DIY'rs.  It already supports ELK.  It will not support HAI natively.  HAI had a windows .dll file that doesn't work within the .NET Core software development environment that myServer 6 is developed in, plus it's end of life.  It is possible to run HAI on myServer 5 and integrate that to myServer 6 but I would look at that as a band aid.