New Project, Need some advice.

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  • wcavanagh
    Automated Home Lurker
    • Apr 2010
    • 7

    New Project, Need some advice.

    Hi all,

    I am pretty new to all this, and want to start a home automation project for my house. I love all things gadget ect. I have a very strong IT grounding, and am building my server at the moment.

    1st thing on my list, is what central software is my best option. I have seen so much out there. I am a windows user, so no Linux stuff for now.

    I will want to control the following eventually

    CCTV, All lights (control brightness), Heating, Alarm.

    At the moment, I am looking at the CCTV side. I was planning on a DVR card in the server, is this an option? How about compatibility with the home automation system. Also I have a dome camera, to PTZ control is needed too, for example when someone presses the door bell I would like the cam to pan round and show me who it is.

    Also I have an I-Phone and soon an I-Pad that I will want to use with the system.

    I have a super thermostat that uses MOD BUS at the moment, so would like to make use of that too.

    Sorry to ask so much, but as I am building the server at the mo, might as well get the right kit from that start.

    Cheers,
    Will
  • Andrew Millne
    Automated Home Ninja
    • Nov 2007
    • 269

    #2
    Take a look at Idratek, there's lots of folks here with the knowledge. http://www.idratek.com Also check out Gumby's blog for some more useful info.
    Visit my blog and Follow me on Twitter...

    Comment

    • wcavanagh
      Automated Home Lurker
      • Apr 2010
      • 7

      #3
      idratek looks just the ticket, thank you, I will have a good look over there website

      Comment

      • MadArtSoft
        Automated Home Lurker
        • Jan 2010
        • 6

        #4
        Please look madartsoft. Our solutions are based on the ZigBee (wireless technology). We're creating web interface for control appliances via the internet.

        Comment

        • chris_j_hunter
          Automated Home Legend
          • Dec 2007
          • 1713

          #5
          might be just me, but (via Safari) the MadArtSoft web-site is mostly unreadable (overlapping text & boxes) & when I tried to contact them (from the website) all I got was MAC error messages ...
          Our self-build - going further with HA...

          Comment

          • katman
            Moderator
            • Jan 2004
            • 247

            #6
            Originally posted by chris_j_hunter View Post
            might be just me, but (via Safari) the MadArtSoft web-site is mostly unreadable (overlapping text & boxes) & when I tried to contact them (from the website) all I got was MAC error messages ...
            Hi Chris, Just tried it in IE8. FF3 and Chrome and it looks OK in al of them. downloaded Safari for Win7 and the madartsoft server isnt responding atm but one thing I have noticed is that if your window is less than 1280 wide the text boxes on the right overlap the central content. Happens in all the browsers listed above. What resolution are you running on the Mac ?

            BTW.... I hate stylesheets atm.... am currently battling with one trying to get a page to layout properly in IE
            KAT5.tv - affordable high quality AV Distribution
            http://www.kat5.tv

            Comment

            • chris_j_hunter
              Automated Home Legend
              • Dec 2007
              • 1713

              #7
              yep, not responding for me, either - & 'was quite slow first time !

              thanks, screen resolution is 1920 x 1200, window was something less - I'll try again next time they're up ...

              interesting - there are quite a few HA systems to choose-from, all with their own pros & cons, none without gaps - wish them luck !

              Chris
              Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 6 April 2010, 04:51 PM.
              Our self-build - going further with HA...

              Comment

              • MadArtSoft
                Automated Home Lurker
                • Jan 2010
                • 6

                #8
                I've tried open the web site and it works ok (Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera). For more information please contact us office@madartsoft.com

                Comment

                • chris_j_hunter
                  Automated Home Legend
                  • Dec 2007
                  • 1713

                  #9
                  yep - worked this time ... inclined to be slow but OK when (as Kat said) we open-up the width to something quite large (for a window) ...
                  Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 6 April 2010, 05:09 PM.
                  Our self-build - going further with HA...

                  Comment

                  • TimH
                    Automated Home Legend
                    • Feb 2004
                    • 509

                    #10
                    Originally posted by wcavanagh View Post
                    Hi all,

                    I am pretty new to all this, and want to start a home automation project for my house. I love all things gadget ect. I have a very strong IT grounding, and am building my server at the moment.

                    1st thing on my list, is what central software is my best option. I have seen so much out there. I am a windows user, so no Linux stuff for now.

                    I will want to control the following eventually

                    CCTV, All lights (control brightness), Heating, Alarm.

                    At the moment, I am looking at the CCTV side. I was planning on a DVR card in the server, is this an option? How about compatibility with the home automation system. Also I have a dome camera, to PTZ control is needed too, for example when someone presses the door bell I would like the cam to pan round and show me who it is.
                    Hi Will,

                    Think about whether you *need* to have a server running all the time but also what would happen if the server crashed. There are other solutions which don’t require a PC to be on all the time, e.g. Homevision, CBus, Idratek (partially). The Idratek Coretex software is very feature rich and while it does need a PC to run on, the Idratek modules can revert to a basic control state in the event of a PC crash.

                    How much mains re-wiring were you looking to carry out? Do you need a wireless / plug-in module solution?

                    Geovision has a very competent CCTV product although this is best run on a dedicated machine. A dedicated front-door camera might be a better /additional option – you may also need to trigger the frame-grab prior to the doorbell being pressed if you want to capture a face.

                    Also have a look at the xAP protocol (www.xapautomation.org) it’s a home automation protocol that grew out of the HA community with the intent of offering a single “glue” to join disparate bits of automation technology together, e.g. have the phone number of the caller be displayed on a SliMP3 player for example, as well as your doorbell-photo idea.

                    Originally posted by wcavanagh View Post
                    Also I have an I-Phone and soon an I-Pad that I will want to use with the system.
                    Some vendors have their own apps you can use (Sonos is the first that springs to mind) not sure about other vendors. I’ve just checked and Geovision also seem to do a free one for their CCTV products (http://www.cctvcamerapros.com/Geovis...etup-s/329.htm).

                    You’re probably into rolling your own though if you want a single “app” to cover all of the systems.

                    Originally posted by wcavanagh View Post
                    I have a super thermostat that uses MOD BUS at the moment, so would like to make use of that too.
                    Modbus is usually employed in industrial automation – what’s the make & model of the thermostat and how is modbus presented?
                    How does it currently interface with your heating system?


                    Originally posted by wcavanagh View Post
                    Sorry to ask so much, but as I am building the server at the mo, might as well get the right kit from that start.

                    Cheers,
                    Will

                    No worries – come back with further questions

                    HTH,

                    Tim.
                    Last edited by TimH; 8 April 2010, 12:53 PM. Reason: flippin' typo
                    My Flickr Photos

                    Comment

                    • Andrew Millne
                      Automated Home Ninja
                      • Nov 2007
                      • 269

                      #11
                      As Tim says I don't think there really is a "one size fits all" product out there, especially if you're into tinkering, there'll always be something else you'd like it to do. Just try and make sure your core system Idratek, Cbus, homevision etc is flexible enough to cater to those new applications that will appear. Things like xAP are great because if you can't get a function natively you can sometimes link 3rd party tools together.
                      Visit my blog and Follow me on Twitter...

                      Comment

                      • wcavanagh
                        Automated Home Lurker
                        • Apr 2010
                        • 7

                        #12
                        Thanks all, got a lot to think about now.

                        I have a 39 day trial of IDRATEK to play with. It is a shame it cant control the PTZ of my dome camera, as I think pressing the doorbell should trigger an event to go to a preset position and take still images.

                        Maybe I will have to dig deeper

                        Comment

                        • Karam
                          Automated Home Legend
                          • Mar 2005
                          • 863

                          #13
                          I suppose if there is a standardised PTZ interface then we will eventually consider adding intrinsic support. But for the moment, if you have knowledge of the PTZ interface and have programming skills then digging deeper might mean writing your own code which then links to Cortex via the Cortex API. Alternatively maybe a xAP route?

                          Comment

                          • wcavanagh
                            Automated Home Lurker
                            • Apr 2010
                            • 7

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Karam View Post
                            I suppose if there is a standardised PTZ interface then we will eventually consider adding intrinsic support. But for the moment, if you have knowledge of the PTZ interface and have programming skills then digging deeper might mean writing your own code which then links to Cortex via the Cortex API. Alternatively maybe a xAP route?
                            I can write code no problem, so will have a look into this, and see how i can make it work with the automation software.

                            Comment

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