I Need some REAL Advice !! Please HELP.

["rocky_sondhi" <rocky_sondhi@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Everyone - Im a Newbie and I got this Automation BUG !!

But I'm confused.

This is what I'm looking for OR to do !!

---------------------------------------

I have the oppurtunity to make changes to my house as re-decorating
and its time to Automate and live SMART ! But I want to get it right
and budget correctly for it! HELP !

I have already cabled the house with CAT6 - therefore have network
connections in each room.

1)
Lighting

....I have been looking into Lutron BUT its damn expensive - I have
seen the Grafix eye solution and Lutron Homeworks - Whats the
difference - anyone got a quick answer/has got it - used it ?

I have seen the Rako system - its RF based and looks good - anyone
got it used it ?

I have also read about the ULTI "Clipsal Concept" - It looks
really
nice cosmetically/ its RF based BUT has anyone got that - used it ?

ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ??

2)
IR Repeaters

I want to control all my AV/Lights etc - I think I need a IR Learning
remote, and a IR repeater (Any good Repeater recommendations ? or
will any do?)
I have a Tablet PC and 2 x iPaqs, Does anyone have any
recommendations in terms of SOFTWARE ? and can I use it to control
all the AV/Lights etc etc + do I need a USB IR Extender as the IrDA
port maybe weak on the Tablet PC ???

3)
MULTI-ROOM Music/Video/Games etc

I got a PC with loadsa MP3s/Video's/Games upstairs - can I pipe this
to anyroom (Please note I have just cabled my house with Cat 6) - so
I can access the resources via ethernet anywhere BUT do I need a
seperate AMP in each room EXPENSIVE ? - or is there a cheaper way I
can do this - Maybe using Windows XP Media Centre and a Remote
control to select music/tv/vids/pics/Internet ? or xBox's in each
room ?

What are your ideas/thoughts ?

4)
FINALLY

How would I control all of this ? "Gooba" from AV Forum uses
Homeseer
as the back-end and main lobby as the nice front end ??
Any Ideas or Pointers will be great. I really need some help as there
are so many things you can do !!! I just need some focusing and
ADVICE !!

Many Thanks ALL