New to Home Automation

[aolson@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hello,
When i was finishing my basment about a year ago i decided to buy a
couple of x-10 switches to try out.  I just got my Home Theater put in
here a few weeks ago and decided to put the 2 switches in.  they are
made by x10 pro and one is a three way with a slave.  I also have the
IR543 to control them via a remote.  I bought this stuff to try and
learn how it works, but i am confused on how this home automation stuff
functions together.

I have a yamaha rx-v2500 receiver with a learning remote but no code to
control lighting that i can find.  Is it possible to program the remote
to dim the lights via the ir543 does anyone know?

Also, what is the difference between insteon and x10 or are they same?
If i want to control lighting via some programmed sequence (trun on
receiver, dvd player, drop projector screen, dim lights, etc) what is
the best method to go about doing this as far as purchasing hardware
goes and do you use insteon stuff or x10?

The x10 pro switches i bought are cheap feeling and seem like plastic
junk.  Is there a better 2-way, 3-way switches out there for a
reasonable price to accomplish the above?

Any good resources to learn what x10 is, insteon and all of this other
home automation stuff is, how it functions and what one would need to
do the above?

Thanks for all your help.