Re: Switching audio via an Ocelot and SECU's

["BruceR" <br@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

All good points. Another of the reason it's taken so long is the X10
patent that pretty much kept everybody else out of the biz. X10, even in
the early days had a lot of signal integrity problems which is why it
never became a mainstream product like an iPOD.  X10 has certainly sold
a lot of product but most people have still never really heard of it.

From:Robert Green
ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx

> "Jeff Volp" <JeffVolp@xxxxxxx> wrote
>
>> Comparing X-10 and Z-Wave is like comparing a PC with a Mac.  They
>> both do the same thing, but there's not much compatibility.  Even
>> today, stay within X10 (or Leviton DHC), and everything works fine.
>> It's perhaps even more compatible than the PC because those old
>> brown BSR X10 modules still work today.  They come into service
>> every year at Christmas candle time.  There aren't many parts left
>> over from my XT that are useful today.  Anybody want an ATI Wonder
>> card?
>
> An All in Wonder card?  I'll take it!  :-)  The point you raise is
> interesting.  X-10 didn't modify the underlying technology of its PLC
> protocol - but they did do an awful lot in both in the RF arena and
> with the CM11A as an automation controller that didn't need a PC.
> The CM11A was a technological extension of the CP290 - IIRC they hit
> a design wall in their design that make it unworkable on Win95
> systems.  BTW, I find my CP290 far more reliable than the CM11A! So
> there's been steady progress on the X-10 front, even though it may
> not seem that way.  If there's no pressing need to update the
> standard, it lingers until there is a reason to change or until it's
> no longer needed.
>
> Floppy drive cables haven't changed in 20 years - nor have floppy
> ports or parallel printer ports or keyboard ports or mouse ports.
> Sure there are more options today with USB, but those ports are still
> there, relatively unchanged because there was no pressing need to
> change them.
>
> I think Insteon and other have arrived on the scene at this moment
> for a reason:  The proliferation of CFL's and other signal suckers
> has finally rendered the X-10 protocol more likely to fail than to
> succeed in a first time deployment by a new enthusiast.  We see
> evidence of that here in CHA all the time.  The technological issue
> of a polluted power line finally triggered the burst of new
> protocols.  The same "we've hit a wall and must redesign" process
> occurs in the PC world, but about every 5 years, not every 30 as in
> home automation.
>
> --
> Bobby G.