Home Automation and SageTV integration

[tpboyce]

Out of curiosity, what functions is everyone looking for out of Home Automation integration? For me, I want to be able to bring up a menu and turn on/off lights of scenes. I would also want to be able to have the extender send a message that would dim the lights to preset levels when I play a movie, and maybe brighten certain lights if I hit pause (po(pcorn)(tty)) break. Are there other features you guys are looking for.

[IVB]

Originally Posted by tpboyce

Out of curiosity, what functions is everyone looking for out of Home Automation integration? For me, I want to be able to bring up a menu and turn on/off lights of scenes. I would also want to be able to have the extender send a message that would dim the lights to preset levels when I play a movie, and maybe brighten certain lights if I hit pause (po(pcorn)(tty)) break. Are there other features you guys are looking for.

For me personally, there's a few things:

1) (can do now via CQC): When I press the pause button, i want the automation engine to intelligently determine what is being enjoyed and route the pause command appropriately. (CD via CQC mp3 player vs DVD via physical DVD player vs TV/ripped-DVD via SageTV).

2) Set home security alarm from inside Sage screen

3) See which lights are on in the house, turn them off

4) See what the current temperature is outside the house (via my Elk security/automation panel)

5) See who the last 10 people that called were

there's a few other things, but they're in the "mega-nice-to-have but seriously optional". they're in the site in my sig.

FWIW, this thread on the CQC forums has a series of posts discussing how to get a CQC screen to show up on the sage extender, as they're proving to be such useful and cheap devices.

[rerooks]

How about the feature to automatically turn on a HD-PVR when there is a recording taking place? They like to lock up so much that if you could have them off and only turn on when they need to record, it might be useful.

Originally Posted by tpboyce

Out of curiosity, what functions is everyone looking for out of Home Automation integration? For me, I want to be able to bring up a menu and turn on/off lights of scenes. I would also want to be able to have the extender send a message that would dim the lights to preset levels when I play a movie, and maybe brighten certain lights if I hit pause (po(pcorn)(tty)) break. Are there other features you guys are looking for.

[wayner]

I have a Control4 HA system controlling my lights and HVAC. My only complaint with it is that it is too dealer focussed as you need "dealer access" to add hardware to this system and to do certain types of programming. C4 also seems "closed" in that it doesn't appear too easy to integrate it with other computer applications.

[stevech]

homeseer.com

[mikesm]

Originally Posted by stevech

homeseer.com

+1 on that. My homeseer system is very stable. Controls the stats, the lighting, sprinklers (even computing evpotranspiration and using rain forecast data to avoid sprinkling before or after a storm, and even if the winds are too high), and soon security. It's a very capable PC based platform that talks to pretty much everything.

They have bunch of API's and a web server, but it would take some work to see it integrated into sagemc. On one hand, I'd like to be able to set device controls via sage and the extenders, but most of the time, it just does what it needs to do without intervention, which is how a HA system should work in my opinion. The rest of the time, I usually talk to it via a browser on my laptop or via voice control from the phone system.

So while I think having it in sage would be nice, I have to say I don't miss it much. And then there is the issue of the kids playing with a remote and messing up HVAC or lighting settings, etc...

[stevech]

I've run HomeSeer and Sage on the same PC for years. But no integration of the two. Haven't seen the need.

[mbowling]

Originally Posted by stevech

I've run HomeSeer and Sage on the same PC for years. But no integration of the two. Haven't seen the need.

I also run HomeSeer and SageTV. They mostly run independent of each other but I have enjoyed integrating the two via the SageInfoPopup plug-in.

I send messages from HomeSeer to a popup window in Sage:
When the garage door opens.
When a weather advisory is issued for my area.
Caller ID information is sent from my VoIP phone system via HomeSeer.
I can push a button on an X10 remote control and display information from my weather station.

[MitchSchaft]

I've been running mcontrol for 1.5 years off of my WHS box. It integrated well with windows media center. But, now I hope they come up with a Sage addin sometime.

[sic0048]

There is a new CQC driver that utilizes Nielm and shadeBlue's pop-up plug in. It allows the automation software to write whatever you want into the popup. So it is an easy task now to have custom popups on Sage for whatever you can dream up.

[MitchSchaft]

I was thinking something more along the lines of the interface integrated like for Microsoft's media center .



http://www.home2sound.com/home_automation.htm

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by MitchSchaft

I was thinking something more along the lines of the interface integrated like for Microsoft's media center .



http://www.home2sound.com/home_automation.htm

Sorry, my comments weren't directly specifically to you. It was more of a general annoucement than anything else!

[tpboyce]

Mitch,

What features of the interface are important to keep? Any thoughts on Navigation? I am in the beginning phases of working on a plugin for mControl.

[MitchSchaft]

I'd like to see all of the features that are already there . I can't think of another way to do besides what they've already done.

[nick_l]

Just wanted to throw my support behind anyone who wants to tackle any sort of integraton with Homeseer.

[tpboyce]

Originally Posted by MitchSchaft

I'd like to see all of the features that are already there . I can't think of another way to do besides what they've already done.

Mitch and others, would you be interested in giving a plugin a try? As I am wrapping things up, a couple of questions...

Would it be terrible if configuration were left to the standard web interface?
I can get lights going pretty quickly. Can probably get thermostats in as well. Alarms and sprinklers and cameras would take a little more work. Is everyone coold with that?

Right now, I have modeled exactly off of MControl's MCE interface. It uses all of the same buttons, etc. It is hardcoded to the static_blue MCE interface.

[MitchSchaft]

I'll be here to help with any testing, for sure.
I have no problem with the configuring left in a web browser. I never configured while in the MCE app anyway. Too tedious with the 10-foot interface.

I can get lights going pretty quickly. Can probably get thermostats in as well. Alarms and sprinklers and cameras would take a little more work. Is everyone coold with that?

I am very cool with that. The perfect part to start out with.

[kingwr]

I would say don't spend any time on configuration screens. I don't even use the web interface for that, since mControl has an editor program which is superior for configuration.

I would like to see the look and feel match one of the available STVs, however, like the stock SageMC interface. There have been a lot of cool STVs created out there, such as the MovieWall, but gathering them all together into one consistent system is difficult, and having a hodge podge of interfaces makes the product look cheap and immature.

[MitchSchaft]

Any updates?

[tpboyce]

It is going pretty well. I am kind of designing it as I build it, so am rethinking the base framework of the Java classes. One thing that I do know for sure is that I intend to create this using the MCE design. From that STVI, others will be able to see what it is doing and make their own improvements. I am not a strong GUI guy, and the number of icons that would need to be edited is quite large.