CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 5643 Location: Comedy Central

Secret's of HT has a new review of Irule.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/video-accessories-misc/video-accessories-misc/irule-home-automation-system.html

stefuel · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:36 am Post subject:

Well Spanky, I have Crestron gear in my theater and in my whole house for that fact and I wouldn't trade it for all the smart phone apps in China Thumbs Up

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 5643 Location: Comedy Central

You also didn't pay retail for it. IIRC you got it for pennies on the dollar.

Also, what is the learning curve? I remember being in a clients home and she was waiting for the guy to come and fix some little bug. It took him like five minutes. I didn't ask how much that service call cost.

stefuel · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 2:31 am Post subject:

ecrabb · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 3:14 am Post subject:

HaydnG90 · Joined: 22 May 2006 Posts: 1356

SC,
I think you responded to a query I had regarding programming an ADA processor in the absence of an original remote this evening. Small world.

I was about to pull the trigger on an RTI universal remote system so this thread was perfectly timed. I have an underused iPad3 and I'm picking up an iPhone 5 shortly so this solution is ideal for me.

I'm trying to get my head around the gateway hardware. What would I need for an OPPO BR player, surround processor and the G90 in the HT room and a DVR, standard def and high def TV's in the living room 12 feet away?

stefuel · Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 11:24 am Post subject:

Every room in my house that requires control has either a wall or table top 10.5 inch dedicated touch screen.
I know it's just me but I hate cell phones. If I didn't need one for work, that flip phone would get flipped out the window.
I don't text or go on line with my phone. It's to distracting. But probably the biggest reason is my youngest child. He is autistic. I have designed all the screens so it is easy for him to figure out and he has mastered them. Thumbs Up

ecrabb · Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 5:28 pm Post subject:

Hey, Chip -

My wife is a speech-language pathologist. Her speciality and life-long focus has been working with autistic and autism-spectrum kids, so I know the kids and challenges well. I love that you designed a remote so your son could use it. I'll just point out that kids - autistic or not - really love iPads. Wink

Seriously, though... I think it's the light, tactile, hand-held nature of them that kids and adults alike all enjoy. Of course, the high-quality displays with beautiful graphics and animation are also attractive. There's a reason they're as popular as they are. I just got an iPad mini, and it's even better for a remote control than the original iPad was. I love it, actually. Back before I even built my theater, I dreamed of an AMX/Crestron-style remote, and I have that with iRule - and it was cheap. And I can use the devices for other things when they're not being used as a remote. Win-win.

I hated flip-phones, too. Then I got a smartphone and found there more uses for it than even I imagined. I love being able to look something up in an instant. I love being able to look at a PDF of an equipment manual no matter where I am. Of course, there's maps, email, and a million other things, too. Just being able to use some time effectively that would otherwise be wasted is great. Five or ten minutes waiting for my wife to come out of the mall or waiting for the kids to come out of school is now productive time. I love it.

SC

ecrabb · Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 5:45 pm Post subject:

HaydnG90 · Joined: 22 May 2006 Posts: 1356

SC,
Thanks for the considered reply. This is all new to me so I'm trying to figure out the best way to integrate the 2 zones (HT and living room). I've been doing more research over the past few days and looking at best case scenarios. Ideally I'd like to move all the hardware in the HT room into a centralized location.

Best scenario: Move the entire HT hardware consisting of ADA Mach II processor, OPPO 83 BR player, APC H15 power conditioner and the ADA MPA500 power amp (currently on 2 equipment racks in the HT room) to an equipment closet about 6 feet away which is conveniently located between the HT and living rooms. The closet currently houses the FIOS box and wireless router.

In this arrangement if I buy a GC-100-12 I will have 2 serial outputs for connecting the ADA processor and G90 via RS-232 cables. The OPPO and FIOS DVR can be connected via IP directly to the router. One of the IR outputs on the GC-100 can be configured as a sensor output to control the Sony 34XBR960 HDTV in the living room via a Control S cable.

Questions. Can I configure a relay or sensor connection on the GC-100 to turn on the power amps via the 3.5mm mini plug trigger input on the H15 power conditioner?

It would be nice to have control via an iPAD and iPhone, which is possible with the GC-100 but only if the active handset is turned off ie its control released.

What do you know about the new iTach product, the iTach FLEX? Can't find much info about it. I imagine since its going to be unveiled at CES more will be forthcoming then. Has already one an award so there must be something noteworthy.

ecrabb · Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 7:08 pm Post subject:

Yes, move the equipment into a closet where it should be - out of sight, out of mind. I wish I had done my room that way. I still could, but it would mean drywall and paint work, and I'm not that excited about it. Might do a door or something - we'll see.

You could control the G90 via RS-232, but there's really no need. There's no feedback, and unless you had IR reliability issues, there's no real benefit. You'd be much better off using your second RS-232 output to control the Oppo. The reason I say that is because the Oppo IP control protocol is a disaster at this point... You can't even power the Oppo on via IP right now. Knowing Oppo, it could change, but for the near future, good IP control of the Oppo with iRule (or anything else for that matter) is questionable at best. IMHO, it's worthless. If you can't turn something on via IP, then it's useless. iRule's developers just got an Oppo for testing, but it'll take them a few days to dig into it to know more.

Yes, you should be able to use the GC-100 IR output to drive the Control-S input on the Sony XBR. No need to configure as sensor - that's for input to the GC - to see if something is going high or low.

Regarding turning on amps... Yes, the relays on the GC-100 are perfect, but they're dry contacts so you'll have to put a small wall wart in series with the GC-100 to provide the DC to trigger the H15. The H15 manual says 5-30v, so you should be able to use one of the tiny 5v USB adapters like for the HD Fury, or practically any other little wall wall wart you have laying around, as along as it's DC.

Yes, you can set up handsets on both your iPad and iPhone 5, but as you pointed out, you just can't use them simultaneously with the GC-100.

The Flex is fine for some applications, but not so much for you or me. Its two main advantages are its size, and that it can be configured as either IR or RS-232, so if an installer has a bin full of that one SKU, he can IP-enable almost anything he might run into. For CEDIA channel guys, it'll be a good addition for certain projects; for DIY'ers, it's not that exciting.

Personally, I'm not clear on how useful it will really be. Who needs a gateway with only one output? Don't you almost always have 2-3 devices in a location you need to control? Now, you need 2-3 Flex pieces... Did we really solve a problem?

What I wish GC had was a cheaper, plastic iTach, with three ports that could be IR or RS-232... Now, THAT would be useful. Basically, a triple-flex... One device, one wall wart, one IP address, but one covers nearly any simple bedroom or kitchen system, and two would cover most any den or living room system.

Regards,
SC

HaydnG90 · Joined: 22 May 2006 Posts: 1356

Thanks for the heads up regarding the OPPO IP issues. I had assumed its been on the market long enough that any bugs would have been worked out by now. Clearly not the case, which is unfortunate since RS232 input is an option on the BDP-83 and one I don't have. So what about hardwiring into the 3.5mm jack on the 83? Failing that an IR emitter would be needed.

The FLEX seems like a none starter for the reasons you give. No point waiting for its release. I think I'll get a GC-100-12 and have everything I need barring multiple handset access.

I'm sure I'll have more questions once I start acquiring hardware and getting things to communicate. Appreciate the help so far.

ecrabb · Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 7:26 pm Post subject:

OK, I completely forgot RS-232 was optional on the BDP-83. In that case, yes - you should be able to connect the GC-100 directly to the IR input on the Oppo with a stereo or mono 3.5mm cable.

SC

stefuel · Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 10:38 pm Post subject:

My wife is a speech-language pathologist. Her speciality and life-long focus has been working with autistic and autism-spectrum kids, so I know the kids and challenges well. I love that you designed a remote so your son could use it.

Designing the screens was a challange. I even tested it with the dumb blonde next door. I figured if she could do it Bobby would have no problem Laughing