| Josh B. 2006-09-07, 1:25 pm |
| I've been lurking the forums over the past few days. I'm thinking
about putting in an HA system. I'm farily technical so I'm not as
concerned with software configuration aspect as I am with getting
hardware that is going to be reliable. For right now, I'm really just
interested in lighting control and motion sensors. I would like to be
able to control these devices via a software interface...preferably one
that is web based so that I could access it remotely.
>From reading here, it appears that X10 is on the downturn with Zwave,
Zigbee, and Insteon devices being available. It seems that some here
don't think highly of Zwave and Insteon has had some issues of its own.
I noticed that some posts have mentioned Hawking Tech is coming out
with its HomeRemote http://www.hawkingtech.com/homeremote.php devices
by end of 2006. So, my question is, would it worthwhile to wait for
the Hawking Tech Zigbee solution to be released, or will a technology
such as Insteon fit the bill? A few things that I liked about
HomeRemote was the fact that it had a hub that could be plugged
directly into ethernet and the hub has a built in web interface.
Ideally I would like a device that I could simply plug into my current
ethernet network so that I could control the system from anywhere
inside or outside the house. It appears that Insteon does not have
such a device so I would be left to purchase a USB Powerlinc and leave
my PC on all the time or go with a third party product if one exists.
The variable that still exists is that HomeRemote would be a new
product so what would the price point be? how many devices would be
available? what would the price point be on those devices? would
there be any issues in the fact that the product is new and one of the
first to use the standard for consumer HA?
On paper, for my needs it seems that HomeRemote does anything that I'm
looking for. But will it realistically do everything it claims to do
and do it well? That remains to be seen.
Any insight is greatly appreciated.
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