Re: Mini-ITX PC's a the future of HA

["Dean Roddey" <droddey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eN2dnUguUO_oDwnZnZ2dnUVZ_qmdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxx

> I'm still not sure that in the future home there will be only one machine
> serving all three functions:  HA, security (HA/S) and entertainment.  As I
> said previously, since the horsepower requirements are so different
> between
> HA/S and entertainment uses, it makes lots of sense for me, at least, to
> split those areas.  I can't see how you could ever leave a media server
> "alone enough" to keep it protected.  You're always adding new media and
> if
> you're running "street legal" you need constant updates to various players
> and intermediate software.

I never made that claim by any means. We wrote a network distributed
automation system so that bits can be distributed as required. Most systems
though will have a central server that provides the core information such as
security, drivers for distribution, storage of macros, images, etc... That's
how ours works. You can distirbute the functionality though however you
want.

> I'm sorry, but I don't buy into the "dumb human" argument very deeply.  MS
> has created tons of access "holes" into its computer programs that require
> end users to become "hole experts" and very familiar with ways to stop
> data
> from leaking out of or into their PC's.   Mac users don't have to frenzy
> about what patches to add and what add-on software to buy but PC users do.

The Mac has a tiny fraction of the number of users and hence a tiny fraction
of the number of people out there trying to whack it and a tiny fraction of
the number of companies (of varying competence) building hardware, and
traditionally it was a more closed world and some of the stabiltiy came at
the price of limited options.

> I challenge you to find the Windows user out there
> that *hasn't* inadvertently loaded a "killer" program that blew out
> something on their machine, whether it was another app or the whole damn
> thing went to the BSOD.

I'm one of those people. I have four machines, a server running Windows
server, a workstation where I do development, a laptop, and the automation
machine. They run just fine. My work machine I beat the crap out of 7 days a
week and it's rock solid.

> Where's our resident zookeeper?  Surely you *can't* be allowed to design
> HOME automation software if you don't HAVE one!!??  (Sorry, just kidding -
> I
> couldn't resist after some of the replies I've read.)
>

The problem is that people who can afford a real home automaiton system
aren't desparate enough to spend years making nothing in order to create an
automation system, or something like that.

> Seriously, though, I hope you see why I don't want to mingle the two, at
> least in my larger installation.  Right now, AV comes from the media room
> and it's piped via RG6 to where it's viewed.  Each "viewstation" can also
> feed the rest of the house, if required.

As stated above, I don't. It's purely up to you. In my case, I have a
theater controller scenario, plus lighting for the apartment. So it doesn't
make sense to have more than one machine (though I can access CQC from any
of the other machines any time I need/want to since it's networked.) In a
larger home, you'd likely have  medium-strength server that acts as the
automation server and controller for centralized hardware, and some number
of other machines around the home as required.

> I'm sure you'll agree that there are lots of way to manage and transport
> video and audio around the house.  It will be interesting to see which
> ways
> prevail in the long run.  HD TV is going to change a lot of standard ways
> of
> doing business and will probably cause some sort of shakeout in the
> industry.
>

Who knows. But, luckily, it makes little difference to us. We are hardware
agnostic. As long as it's controllable, we can control it. But the PC is
clearly going to be one of the media platforms in the home.

> Interesting.  You can do the IR with Adicon's IR module.  Same concept, I
> believe, just a more modular and external approach.
>
> What's connected to all the serial cards.  Are any of these items
> available
> as USB components?  To me, adding external "bricks" to the Via is a better
> way to go because once you've run out of slots with a PC, you're done.  I

As a rule, it's not. Profesional installers would generally prefer an
appliance style box, not a bunch of external things that require separate
wall warts and which can accidentally be unplugged. A really large system
could conceivably run out of room, but if it's a large system, you are going
to have an Elk or Omni involved and it'll provide all the digital I/O and
contact closures. You can get 16 port per slot serial cards, so two slots
get's you 32 ports, which would be a very large system. Some systems require
no IR, so that would leave that slot open.

My own system has a Dwin projector, Lexicon processor, HD Leeza video
processor, Sony DTV STB, and Sony 777ES DVD changer, all of which are
serially controlled. Serial is far and away the dominant control interface
still, and will likely remain so. It's very low level, point to point (i.e.
you don't have to depend on whether other users of the wire are doing the
right thing), and would rarely not have sufficient speed. It's not the best
protocol of all time, but it has it's advantages.

-------------------------------------
Dean Roddey
Chairman/CTO, Charmed Quark Systems
www.charmedquark.com