Technology Comparison

[upstatemike]

There's also one thing about the Insteon switches that people seem to be selectively ignoring. Smarthome has stated that the end devices will have RF built into them next year. So, this means that the current switches will also be discontinued next year. Just something to keep in mind....

I'm not sure I understand the value of putting RF in the individual switches in addition to the PLC capability. I can already plug a SignaLinc into an outlet close to any switch I need to communicate to via RF. What does paying a bunch more money to put it in the switch itself really gain me?

A better idea would be to make switches that use INSTEON RF instead of INSTEON PLC. This way you could have an installation that was all RF or all PLC or any mix of the two. That would also allow the per switch pricing to remain at it's current low level.

 

[WayneW]

A better idea would be to make switches that use INSTEON RF instead of INSTEON PLC. This way you could have an installation that was all RF or all PLC or any mix of the two. That would also allow the per switch pricing to remain at it's current low level.

That is an interesting idea. If you used RF instead of PLC, you would presumably avoid the X-10 signal sucking issues, which would make it more friendly for retrofits. The Insteon SignaLincs are not much more expensive than PLC appliance modules. Therefore, I don't think the RF components would add that much to the product cost, although I don't know if it would exactly match the PLC price.

 

[dwarf]

PMP = Z-Wave. Z-Wave can probably be compared best to the portable video player market. Early versions of Z-Wave can be compared to some of the early personal video players. They lacked some desirable features, and there were some growing pains. A few years later, the newest Z-Wave devices are like the new 5th-generation IPOD Video. Lots of well-known manufacturers are getting in on the game and creating fully-functional interoperable devices (with LED light bars, even ), the majority of which are easy to set up and use. Additionally, they work really well, can be understood by typical consumers, and the price point of the inside chips keeps dropping. Of all the current contenders, this seems to be the one with major industry backing and with the longest track record of reliability (of the protocol and chips).

I don't have a crystal ball, and I'm not sure where we'll be with home control protocols in five years. But as for the forseeable future, I am very excited that some new technologies have come forward which may truly make home control a reality for consumers everywhere.

Chris

Chris, your spin on moving Z-wave from Beta to PMP is great but aren't you just a little Z-wave biased considering you are a Z-wave developer? :blink:

 

[upstatemike]

Strong bias is not only allowed it is encouraged. My reason for starting the thread was to give people another way to express their opinions. Too much agreement is boring so I hope everybody re-writes the list the way they think it should be... Long live bias!

 

[WayneW]

I agree with Mike. The only dangerous thing is a SECRET agenda or bias and Chris makes no secret of his love for Z-wave. :blink:

In that vein, I am an Insteon owner, so I hope my support and bias towards Insteon is no secret either.

 

[ChrisWalker]

Chris, your spin on moving Z-wave from Beta to PMP is great but aren't you just a little Z-wave biased considering you are a Z-wave developer? :blink:

Oh, quite probably

But our views toward Z-Wave aren't biased because we develop solutions around Z-Wave. The fact that we develop solutions around Z-Wave is due to our extensive research and "real world trials" of a number of technology.

So our bias is mostly due to the pain we encountered trying to get some of those technologies to work--or even figure out if they could work--in real-world "non-techie" consumer applications.

I try to be fair and balanced in my views, and I try to give all protocols the benefit of the doubt. But yeah, I admit that we are proponents of things which we find meet our criteria of reliability, usability, and affordability.

Chris

 

[dwarf]

In that vein, I am an Insteon owner, so I hope my support and bias towards Insteon is no secret either.

Same here. At last count it is 22 switches, 3 keypadlincs, and a handful of lamp and appliance modules.

I am just waiting on the software and for more products to be released. :lol:

 

[dwarf]

I try to be fair and balanced in my views, and I try to give all protocols the benefit of the doubt. But yeah, I admit that we are proponents of things which we find meet our criteria of reliability, usability, and affordability.

Have you talked with smarthome and the insteon guys? Sounds like insteon meets your criteria. :lol:

 

[tech-home]

If Insteon meet everyones crteria we wouldn't have anything else.
I'm a Zwave guy, I don't like many of the issues smarthome has with Insteon they can't even get things straight. I don't see any Zwave switches version 2 completely different and then talk of doing away with them for RF (sounds like Zwave to me) as martin stated. I would hate to outfit my house with Insteon then have them change the design half way through.

But to not be one-sided there are goods and bads to everything each of us go with what fits us the best.

 

[ChrisWalker]

I try to be fair and balanced in my views, and I try to give all protocols the benefit of the doubt. But yeah, I admit that we are proponents of things which we find meet our criteria of reliability, usability, and affordability.

Have you talked with smarthome and the insteon guys? Sounds like insteon meets your criteria.

We are always looking to integrate with and provide the best solutions on the marketplace. We will continue to watch the situation, for sure.

The engineers who put that protocol together have a bunch of great ideas, so they get a lot of respect from me!

I've been following a lof of the new product announcements from across the industry. It looks like EHX is going to be a banner show this year--so many new products and announcements. I can't wait.

Chris

 

[fitzpatri8]

I don't see any Zwave switches version 2 completely different and then talk of doing away with them for RF (sounds like Zwave to me) as martin stated. I would hate to outfit my house with Insteon then have them change the design half way through.

You misunderstood what Martin was saying. The idea being discussed is *adding* RF to PLC, so that the switch operates as a combination SwitchLinc/SignaLinc RF.

That way, the system is inside the walls, vs. the current plug-in SignaLinc RFs. They would increase PLC strength on far-flug circuits the way BoosterLincs do now for x10. This is a dual-path technology, and no one wants to change that--except the competition!

Tom

 

[rocco]

I don't see any Zwave switches version 2 completely different . . .

But we HAVE seen ZWave change, and it's due to change again. When ZenSys released the "association" feature, many user's found that their remote was obsolete. Something similar will probably occur when ZenSys releases dynamic routing.

It's all part of pushing the envelope.

 

[ChrisWalker]

I don't see any Zwave switches version 2 completely different . . .

But we HAVE seen ZWave change, and it's due to change again. When ZenSys released the "association" feature, many user's found that their remote was obsolete. Something similar will probably occur when ZenSys releases dynamic routing.

It's all part of pushing the envelope.

The forward march of technology is always fun

I guess this is one of the nice things about Z-Wave software and upgradable remotes, like the new Logitech Harmony 890 remote. It's really easy to add support for new functionality via a simple download.

The nice thing is that everything is interoperable, whether based on old Z-Wave libraries or newer ones. The consumer just has to find the feature set they want, and then they can plug anything into their network.

This month marks the first time that Z-Wave certified hardware/software has been upgradable to support new features. It's a very exciting time.

Chris