RE: Comfort vs HomeVision

[Nigel Orr <Nigel.Orr@xxxxxxx>]

At 18:31 25/08/00 +0100, you wrote:
>I was under the impression that HomeVision had more functionality when
it
>came to IR control of Hi-Fi etc, in particular I am interested in
feedback
>as to whether the units are on, (I can't find discrete codes for my
>equipment).

I think it does, and it has IR in and out, whereas Comfort just has IR out
from up to 32 learnt codes.  The discrete codes thing can sometimes be got
around with a bit of ingenuity... for example, most TVs will turn on when
you press a channel button, so you can send a channel select code to
guarantee it is on, and then Power to guarantee it is off (assuming it
doesn't miss codes).

Similarly, some videos have a 'review' button which rewinds and plays the
last program recorded, so 'review' then 'stop' guarantees the video is
switched on.  Just a couple of examples, have a play and find out if your
equipment has any!

>One thing that concerns me is where to put these units, it seems likely
>that HV should be somewhere near the TV/Hi-Fi i.e lounge,  but this is
>not
>where I would put Comfort.

I'd have both in a cupboard convenient for wiring (not under the stairs
:-)  ), not sure why HV would need to be with the Hi-Fi, you can distribute
IR to it wherever it is, and run a single cable to transfer it's video
signal to the TV, can't you?  Anything that's going to have lots of cables
connected to it, IMHO, should be in a central location for all those
cables, but if it really needs to be elsewhere, you could bring all the
cables to a convenient point, then do one run of multipair or several
single cables to connect up to HV.

>   I like Comforts REM? module in that you only
>need one RS485 cable to get to a suitable place for all the I/O
>connections,
>the only thing I don't like about it is the price!

Have a look at Krone terminals.  Unless you need the extra I/O, all the
burglar alarm cables _could_ be sent in one multicore, not 'best practice'
because it's sort of putting all your eggs in one basket (but so is a
single RS485 cable to a REM), but if you choose it's route carefully it
shouldn't be an issue!

>I decided that it may be more useful to add a sounder and some sensors
>before adding the keypad ( I believe you can control everything from
the
>phone ) so that it at least provides some security!

You can't really do without the keypad.  First reason I can think of is
that Comfort disables local phones when in alarm, so if you set off the
alarm you'll have to get at the panel and reset it inside to turn it off
again.  I'd get it at the start.  But yes, whatever system you buy you will
need sensors and sounders at the start too if you want it to be a security
system.  If you are using HV for security, I'd suggest you definitely don't
want it near the hi-fi, as it would probably get stolen along with it...

>Again, I can get access to a PC for this job, however its a shame the
PC
>interface is extra, quite a bit extra at that!

It is worth having, but it's less vital than the keypad!  It depends on
you, if you're used to programming, and methodical, it should be OK without
it (though as Mark said, it's nice to be able to restore from a backup), if
you're used to assembly language, and methodical, it should be a
doddle.  However, if you want to program the whole thing in one great big
splurge, rather than adding bits as you install them, CSX is probably
vital, cos you're bound to make mistakes.  I tend to add about one or two
'features' per week, which makes it fairly easy to debug...

Nigel


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