Switching from Homeseer to CQC
- Thread starter toymaster458
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Michael McSharry
Active Member
IE Image. I had to scale these down to fit into the 150K limit, but the point about the sharpness of the text on the two images can still be seen. When blown up to touchscreen size the blur is more pronounced and one does not see the breakup of the text that is seen in this reduced image.
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toymaster458
Active Member
I never meant this thread to be a debate between CQC and Homeseer nor MainLobby and CQC. This debate could go on forever. I agree there are positive and negatives to EVERY automation solution out there and I am not one to say what is better then the other. My whole intentions where to have other users follow an old Homeseer user as he changes to a different software package. I thought it would be helpful to others that where looking at CQC as a solution.
The reason I left Homeseer is because I felt I could not accomplish what I wanted with out the addition of other software like MainLobby and that Homeseer has not been a stable platform that could be installed in an end-users home and left alone.
I have looked into MainLobby and felt it could not do everything I wanted in a single solution and required to work with other solutions to provide me what I wanted to offer my customers. It would also require me to get formal training on Flash or hire sub contractors for flash development along with purchasing Flash. Going this route, in my opinion, would lower the reliability factor and increase the points of failure.
I feel that CQC is a growing solution that will provide all of my customers needs in a single package. Having everything in a single package provides me with a single point of contact if something goes wrong. I have a direct line to the developer and when I am at a customer’s location I do not want to be searching the internet for a way of fixing the issue. Talking with Dean on the phone gave me a warm sense of comfort with his company and product. I very much like the way his application is based and the strides he takes in keeping it reliable.
I strongly feel using the Elk M1 Gold as my base hardware Security/Automation controller with the CQC Software along with the Elk Touch Screens for the end-users UI and UPB will provide a very strong and stable platform.
The only big issue I can see is if Dean goes to the moon in a balloon and we are all doomed!! But wasn’t this the case when Homeseer started up also.
Give CQC a chance and I think it will suprise you.
The reason I left Homeseer is because I felt I could not accomplish what I wanted with out the addition of other software like MainLobby and that Homeseer has not been a stable platform that could be installed in an end-users home and left alone.
I have looked into MainLobby and felt it could not do everything I wanted in a single solution and required to work with other solutions to provide me what I wanted to offer my customers. It would also require me to get formal training on Flash or hire sub contractors for flash development along with purchasing Flash. Going this route, in my opinion, would lower the reliability factor and increase the points of failure.
I feel that CQC is a growing solution that will provide all of my customers needs in a single package. Having everything in a single package provides me with a single point of contact if something goes wrong. I have a direct line to the developer and when I am at a customer’s location I do not want to be searching the internet for a way of fixing the issue. Talking with Dean on the phone gave me a warm sense of comfort with his company and product. I very much like the way his application is based and the strides he takes in keeping it reliable.
I strongly feel using the Elk M1 Gold as my base hardware Security/Automation controller with the CQC Software along with the Elk Touch Screens for the end-users UI and UPB will provide a very strong and stable platform.
The only big issue I can see is if Dean goes to the moon in a balloon and we are all doomed!! But wasn’t this the case when Homeseer started up also.
Give CQC a chance and I think it will suprise you.
I am a very new user to CQC,in fact I have only been using the trial for about 10 days and I can comment on some of the graphics/font differences.
One advantage CQC has over Mainlobby with button creation is support for transparent .png images, in case you are not aware if you can only use .jpg images they are not transparent so if you make a round button it will not show up well on gradient backgrounds..if you make a buttton that looks good on a grey background the same button will not work on a black background and will have a grey background because it lacks transparency..this will leave your round button looking square.
At this time Mainlobby while a great product does not support transparent .png and instead only allows you to import .jpg images, however you can import .swf files and use flash images but be aware there is no easy support for you to make an up down image so when you press a button it changes color etc...Cinemar does offer buttons they create for a price that allow on and off states but why would a person like me purchase them and when I can design the same thing myself easily?
CQC interface designer allows you to create buttons with a pressed/unpressed state using .png files that support transparency and this is a *huge advantage* if you wish to design your own control system graphics and have some sort of feedback from your buttons when you touch them...you also have a focus and overlay state you can specify for buttons.
CQC goes one step further and can allow the user to create their own power/status buttons easily that are transparent, users are not forced to use .jpg or purchase special graphics packages that cost money just to have working power buttons that are transparent...you can create your own with your own personal graphics and have the button look that you desire.
As for fonts..after using Mainlobby and the complete line of Cinemar products for over 6 months another thing that was lacking is font support, the *only* fonts that can be used in Mainlobby are the fonts that are compiled into the Mainlobby application..you do *not* have a choice to use your system fonts so if you are looking to insert any sort of pixel fonts into your designs the only way you can do this is to draw them yourself on the buttons or backgrounds..you can only use the fonts included by Cinemar in Mainlobby and custom fonts or purchased fonts will *not* work.
CQC on the other hand allows you to use all system fonts, as long as the font is present on the server/clients the scenes will have pixel perfect fonts with Cleartype settings...essentially what this means is sharp/crisp fonts that look great on all resolutions..team this with your own pixel fonts or purchased fonts and one look at the screen and you can see a definite advantage you have being able to use the system fonts instead of compiled fonts with very few choices...with Mainlobby you would always be forced to use what is included in the product and freeware fonts *they* decide to include.
An example of pixel fonts can be seen in the screenshot below on the genre selection buttons, very legible fonts that can work on many displays and resolution..and this is important if you plan to design for smaller displays 8-12 inchs.
**I should mention that with Cinemar you can build you own flash library of buttons and have up/down buttons but be forewarned this isn't easy and if you have 400 buttons to create look at it taking a month or so to get them all to work properly, it should also be noted when I learned to do this properly and create my own librarys Cinemar warned me my librarys may not be compatible with future versions...at that point I got the feeling someone didn't want me making and giving away free librarys so I looked for alternatives that could satisfy somebody like me with Photoshop experience, the whole thing of even having to spend countless weeks making a flash librarys so I could have pressed/unpressed buttons was not appealing..especially after being told the might not work in future versions..would you waste your time?
I also have been looking for a solution to get away from Homeseer and my new approach will be pairing the Elk M1G with a Russound CAV6.6 and after using CQC for 10 days I am pretty well sold and have no doubt Dean can whip up drivers to control my serial processor/preamp/dvd with full 2 way feedback.
Another problem I faced with Mainlobby was controlling my collection of 1100+ CD's in .flac format, while Mainlobby was able to control my collection the Musiclobby program is not at all modular..your are basically forced into using one interface designed by them to control your music and essentially all you can do is scale it larger or smaller with no control whatsoever over button size/text size within the program..this is not good and what happens is you and everybody else that uses Musiclobby all have the same looking music player...a much better approach is the modular design of CQC where the media playing system is broken into widgets allowing the placement of artist info ,coverart etc where you want it and at the size you want it..you also can make your buttons any size you choose, once again for someone that can create any sort of graphics this is a huge advantage and you can produce some great layouts rather quickly that are not of the boxed variety...having custom graphics is what I desire when building my control system..I'm sure you realize that by now ;-)
Here are a few screenshots of something I built to control my CD collection this week after learning the basics of CQC, I can say without a doubt the control is *exactly* what I wanted and once again I can use *any* graphics I want and position any of the data you see in my template anywhere...these features alone have me sold on CQC
**You may notice their is no artist name in the album cover view above the cover art and also in the text view..this has been mentioned to Dean and it will be fixed very soon.
**Cannot seem to post more than 2 images(user posted image error?) but I'm sure you get the idea of what can be made..its all custom the way you want it!
**Note this scene is basically an overlay and will be placed in the middle of a 1024x768 template with navigation buttons on the sides and menu bars top and bottom that show status/weather/caller id etc....I'll post screen shots of all that in the near future once I get more familiar with CQC and have some drivers made.
One advantage CQC has over Mainlobby with button creation is support for transparent .png images, in case you are not aware if you can only use .jpg images they are not transparent so if you make a round button it will not show up well on gradient backgrounds..if you make a buttton that looks good on a grey background the same button will not work on a black background and will have a grey background because it lacks transparency..this will leave your round button looking square.
At this time Mainlobby while a great product does not support transparent .png and instead only allows you to import .jpg images, however you can import .swf files and use flash images but be aware there is no easy support for you to make an up down image so when you press a button it changes color etc...Cinemar does offer buttons they create for a price that allow on and off states but why would a person like me purchase them and when I can design the same thing myself easily?
CQC interface designer allows you to create buttons with a pressed/unpressed state using .png files that support transparency and this is a *huge advantage* if you wish to design your own control system graphics and have some sort of feedback from your buttons when you touch them...you also have a focus and overlay state you can specify for buttons.
CQC goes one step further and can allow the user to create their own power/status buttons easily that are transparent, users are not forced to use .jpg or purchase special graphics packages that cost money just to have working power buttons that are transparent...you can create your own with your own personal graphics and have the button look that you desire.
As for fonts..after using Mainlobby and the complete line of Cinemar products for over 6 months another thing that was lacking is font support, the *only* fonts that can be used in Mainlobby are the fonts that are compiled into the Mainlobby application..you do *not* have a choice to use your system fonts so if you are looking to insert any sort of pixel fonts into your designs the only way you can do this is to draw them yourself on the buttons or backgrounds..you can only use the fonts included by Cinemar in Mainlobby and custom fonts or purchased fonts will *not* work.
CQC on the other hand allows you to use all system fonts, as long as the font is present on the server/clients the scenes will have pixel perfect fonts with Cleartype settings...essentially what this means is sharp/crisp fonts that look great on all resolutions..team this with your own pixel fonts or purchased fonts and one look at the screen and you can see a definite advantage you have being able to use the system fonts instead of compiled fonts with very few choices...with Mainlobby you would always be forced to use what is included in the product and freeware fonts *they* decide to include.
An example of pixel fonts can be seen in the screenshot below on the genre selection buttons, very legible fonts that can work on many displays and resolution..and this is important if you plan to design for smaller displays 8-12 inchs.
**I should mention that with Cinemar you can build you own flash library of buttons and have up/down buttons but be forewarned this isn't easy and if you have 400 buttons to create look at it taking a month or so to get them all to work properly, it should also be noted when I learned to do this properly and create my own librarys Cinemar warned me my librarys may not be compatible with future versions...at that point I got the feeling someone didn't want me making and giving away free librarys so I looked for alternatives that could satisfy somebody like me with Photoshop experience, the whole thing of even having to spend countless weeks making a flash librarys so I could have pressed/unpressed buttons was not appealing..especially after being told the might not work in future versions..would you waste your time?
I also have been looking for a solution to get away from Homeseer and my new approach will be pairing the Elk M1G with a Russound CAV6.6 and after using CQC for 10 days I am pretty well sold and have no doubt Dean can whip up drivers to control my serial processor/preamp/dvd with full 2 way feedback.
Another problem I faced with Mainlobby was controlling my collection of 1100+ CD's in .flac format, while Mainlobby was able to control my collection the Musiclobby program is not at all modular..your are basically forced into using one interface designed by them to control your music and essentially all you can do is scale it larger or smaller with no control whatsoever over button size/text size within the program..this is not good and what happens is you and everybody else that uses Musiclobby all have the same looking music player...a much better approach is the modular design of CQC where the media playing system is broken into widgets allowing the placement of artist info ,coverart etc where you want it and at the size you want it..you also can make your buttons any size you choose, once again for someone that can create any sort of graphics this is a huge advantage and you can produce some great layouts rather quickly that are not of the boxed variety...having custom graphics is what I desire when building my control system..I'm sure you realize that by now ;-)
Here are a few screenshots of something I built to control my CD collection this week after learning the basics of CQC, I can say without a doubt the control is *exactly* what I wanted and once again I can use *any* graphics I want and position any of the data you see in my template anywhere...these features alone have me sold on CQC
**You may notice their is no artist name in the album cover view above the cover art and also in the text view..this has been mentioned to Dean and it will be fixed very soon.
**Cannot seem to post more than 2 images(user posted image error?) but I'm sure you get the idea of what can be made..its all custom the way you want it!
**Note this scene is basically an overlay and will be placed in the middle of a 1024x768 template with navigation buttons on the sides and menu bars top and bottom that show status/weather/caller id etc....I'll post screen shots of all that in the near future once I get more familiar with CQC and have some drivers made.
Dean Roddey
Senior Member
Very nice looking there dude. Kind of inspires me to take (yet another) shot at my own design. Actually I have to kind of redo my whole system from scratch on a fairly regular basis because it forces me to use the whole system from start to finish, which is a great test phase for the whole product. And it's probably about time I took it on again.
You should post those over on the CQC forum as well, to show folks what you've been working on.
You should post those over on the CQC forum as well, to show folks what you've been working on.
Thanks Dean..I just changed the snapshots I took because the first ones were .jpg and looked crummy..screen capture was set at wrong compression 
I'm starting fresh so I'm sure you will see alot of different things from me throughout the trial and the next few months while I learn everything..this is the exact layout I was trying to achieve all along to make music control easy for the wife and I, about the only missing thing is the artist name above the album covers while browsing them and in text mode and I'm set for controlling music
Here is an example of the music player in a 1024x768 template, later I will add Weather and Caller ID to the bottom bar and volume control..consider this the master remote version and I will have scaled down versions with less features on perhaps 10-12" touchscreens with only essential functions for that area.
1024x768 view incomplete
I'm starting fresh so I'm sure you will see alot of different things from me throughout the trial and the next few months while I learn everything..this is the exact layout I was trying to achieve all along to make music control easy for the wife and I, about the only missing thing is the artist name above the album covers while browsing them and in text mode and I'm set for controlling music
Here is an example of the music player in a 1024x768 template, later I will add Weather and Caller ID to the bottom bar and volume control..consider this the master remote version and I will have scaled down versions with less features on perhaps 10-12" touchscreens with only essential functions for that area.
1024x768 view incomplete
Dean Roddey
Senior Member
BTW, if any of you are Widescreen Review readers, I have an article in there this month, about automation. It just seems like the A/V world probably has a lot of potential automation converts, if they were aware of the ability to do it on the cheap these days, so I did a relatively A/V oriented automation article to try to get some of them into the light.
I've not even seen it yet, since I don't subscribe and thought it wasn't going to be out till the subsequent issue. So I'll have to make a run to a local A/V boutique and pick one up. Hopefully they didn't edit it to the point if incomprehensibility or anything.
I've not even seen it yet, since I don't subscribe and thought it wasn't going to be out till the subsequent issue. So I'll have to make a run to a local A/V boutique and pick one up. Hopefully they didn't edit it to the point if incomprehensibility or anything.
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