Dracarys

New house - found a 3yr old nib plm and used hub in a box...what to do? I previously had an ISY 994i ZR based system with >60 Insteon switches/outlets/lamp plugs/outdoors/etc. I was deep into multiple integrations with scenes, network, programs, mobilinc and even variables supporting pushover, hue, milight, and Alexa. The system stayed when we sold that house last year. Then Insteon folded, was purchased, and from what I've gathered due to lack of public information comes with an unknown strategy for both the near term and long term. Devices might become available again soon? Which ones? Ecosystem compatibility? Etc... We're moving into a "new to us" house this month. I loved the local instant response of my ISY Insteon system. While packing I found a box that contains three switches, a keypadlinc, nib plm (my backup), v2 hub w/Alexa, and a couple of lamplincs. I assumed that I would need to build my next system based on something like Smartthings/Hubitat or Home Assistant with Caseta (or Z-Wave) because I need ~70 smart switches for the new house, plus flexible integration with the non Insteon ecosystem. I've read quite a bit, including about thread/matter. I also believe new hardware from UD might be on the horizon. Given that I can start from scratch, does it make sense to just sell the Insteon bits?

I think it depends on your definition of local. I run the BWS Systems emulator locally on a Mac Mini file server. If you know certificates, the emulator setup should be easy for you regardless of device. Sure, the Echo's voice processing still happens in the cloud but the execution of the HA is local. I haven't switched to the Echo/UDI Connected Home functionality due to the emulator supporting the Harmony Hub as well as UDI programs. My understanding is that if I switched I also would lose push notifications from Mobilinc Connect.

I personally was very happy when she stopped saying "Ok" and assumed an update had been applied. However, I completely agree with giving the user the ability to choose. Had I not been happy with the surprise change I might be inclined to grab a pitchfork. Multiple choice is something they should pursue. I also really like the idea of custom user input as canned responses...ie "I'm sorry Dave...", "What you talkin' about Willis?!", "I got you", etc. But with two dots on order, the best improvement for me would be the room specific config. The previous explanations by stusviews regarding the more natural "in room" UI is excellent reasoning for this to be implemented natively asap (minus the need for the sub-account piece).

I ordered two as well for the same purposes - master suite and office. The delivery estimate of May 10th is a bummer. I hope it doesn't take that long.

If I understand your question correctly, I believe the answer is yes. Go to the "Start an Activity" section PUT http://host:8081/harmony/start { "activityid" : "Watch TV" }

Barry covered it - I want an audio output from the Echo. I'll take either wired or Bluetooth AVRCP to my AVR (Denon). That way the Echo audio can be routed to my Klipsch reference speakers and wired outdoor speakers. Some folks have tried to patch into the Echo's internal speaker wires but none have been successful from what I understand. Instead of using ISY network resources, I control my A/V setup (TV, Projector, AVR, Xfinity, Apple TV, Wii, Blu Ray, etc) from the Harmony Elite/Hub. With one of my echobridge emulators configured for the Harmony API I can say "Alexa, turn on the TV" or "Alexa, turn on the Big screen" and it executes the Harmony activity or individual device command. A bonus is that the Harmony wand remote AND smartphone apps are immediately updated/put in that activity for seamless switching between voice, physical, and app control. Given that the voice control is limited by the Hue setup, I hope in the future Amazon integrates directly with Logitech. Hopefully that would give me "Alexa, mute the TV" instead of "Alexa, turn on some-word-not-including-mute-because-it-seems-to-be-reserved".

I completely agree. I would love it if the Echo could pair with an AVR (like my Denon receiver).

A big thanks goes out to Barry and BWS Systems - this integration is awesome! I appreciate the effort and willingness to share. I LOVE being able to turn on the TV, lights, etc so easily. To start I got a single emulator up and running for testing (on a mac mini network fileserver). I only added 18 devices and now am very appreciative that Barry setup multiple emulators. I know that I'm going to saturate those with all the cool ideas bouncing around in my head. But the killer feature is what mwester noted - an intuitive interface. With thoughtful friendly names the voice control is intuitive to practically anyone. Until yesterday the HA WAF was at an all time low with my "weird switches", ipads, remotes, etc throughout the house. In the span of an hour the tides have changed. Thanks again Barry...

+1 Not sure how common these are: task (in my kitchen these are upper/lower cabinet lights, with a KPL button labelled "Task") "task lights" "kitchen task lights" hutch / china hutch "china hutch lights" niche / art / art niche "living room niche lights" "art niche lights" "art lights"? path "path lights" "backyard path lights" bed "bed lights" "under bed lights" groove "Tell Izzy to turn the groove on"

Is there a shared Network Resource for the iTach Flex at the link below (or elsewhere)? I haven't been able to find one. I'm considering migrating AV control from iRule to my ISY. I have an iTach Flex wifi on a projector and a wired iTach Flex in a cabinet. It would be great if I could simply import a Network Resource, and as a result my two iTach Flex units would be ready to go. Thoughts? http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/13909-call-for-network-resources-crowdsourcing-request/

Great direction - that would be a game changer.

I just wanted to chime in as a complete HA rookie (10 Insteon devices for lighting, Nest, ~2 months with Insteon Hub II, and now ~2 months with the isy994iZw). I also have iRule setup on iPad and iPhone to run my main floor media (projector, tv, avr, multiple sources, multiple zones, etc). I'm very intrigued by the possibility of integrating voice control and definitely would pay for a module. I read the dev email/support site details about ASK. For me, a standard ASK approach won't work. It must be native - without the three additional words. It must be more elegant than "launch ISY" or "ask ISY to...". However, if this one deal breaker for me is removed the only other issue I have is with the cloud processing of voice commands. Apologies if this has already been covered, but is it possible to restrict ISY requests to the LAN, but leave the ability to ask for the weather (or other random cloud thing)?

[deleted original post - my programs have changed]