Whole Home Control - In-wall iPad

[mfranzel]

Hi guys,

I was hoping to get some opinions/suggestions etc on what I want to do here.

 

I love the idea of putting an iPad in a mount and putting it in my wall.. like in the living room or common area, hallways etc. to control lighting, music. TVs and more. However, what I am having trouble with is finding the right program to do it with.

 

I was looking at another HA system called Control4 and love the way their app is set up:

 

 

Is there any app like this for INSTEON control? I was looking at DemoPad, but INSTEON support isn't built in. While INSTEON works with DemoPad, it looks incredibly hard to get it functioning properly.

 

Any thoughts?

[fitzpatri8]

I use MobiLinc HD for that:

 

[G W]

I have nothing against the iPad, but when you consider the expense of the iPad tablet vs that of an Android tablet, I'd rather go Android.

[mfranzel]

I have Mobilinc but you cannot customize it the same way you can with DemoPad. For something that will be "displayed" in my home, showing the same switches that are in the wall on the screen just doesn't look great.

 

As for Android over iPad, I already have the iPad, an older one, so why not use it?

[oberkc]

I like the iPad, as well. I use one daily. However, I find that it does not offer enough flexibility for my tastes to act as a whole-house controller. For that purpose, I use android tablets. Still, based on the image you posted, this looks like little more than an app for each function, whether lighting, TV, security, music, etc.... an iPad should be able to handle that.

 

For lighting (insteon/ISY-99 based), I use mobilinc, as well. For the rest (TV, music, security, HVAC, camera) there can be, but need not be, any relationship to insteon. For those functions, in my mind, finding the right app would be dependent on the system and hardware you have or are willing to purchase.

 

I control my tv/theater system through a logitech review and app called "Able Remote". I don't do HVAC nor security. For music, I have a simple system based upon a Grace media streamer and use an android app from Grace to control this. For IP camera viewing, I use an app called "IPCamviewer". I also employ an app called "Tasker" to automate the display of various widgets, firing of apps, and modes based upon time of day. To emulate what you show regarding the control4 app, it would be a simple matter to create a home screen with these apps on it.

 

Most of those apps are completely unrelated to my lighting system or insteon. The need to integrate many of those functions with insteon is simply if you have a desire to trigger security, TV, music, etc... from an insteon device or switch. The ISY controller can also help bridge communication between some of those systems.

 

If, however, the only relationship you maintain between the various systems is the fact that all are to be controlled via a single tablet, then I see little need for all to be able to speak insteon.

[G W]

I will start work on an application for tablets this summer. I will be using a product called phonegap to write the application as it's just easy to do.

[arw01]

Curious why not try a HTML5 app. We could scale it from a floor plan app, and it being on a local network should be fast enough and completely flexible being a html5.

 

I thought I read all the phone and tablet browsers are 5.0 compliant

[G W]

If HTML5 applications worked well, no one would be writing native applications. Native applications work much better.

[arw01]

I always thought that was a function of the latency on the network itself.

 

What causes them to not work well? Do they really run on the webserver or strictly in the client? As the clients get faster and faster with more RAM, I suspect this problem goes away?

[DigitalAnvil]

What your looking for is what I aim to do eventually. I already have 2 iPads (in in the kitchen wall and one in the basement for now). I use both the ISY994i Pro and a HomeSeer SE Pro (its a hardware solution that includes HSTouch, but they do also have software only options available as well). HSTouch can be customized to look exactly the way you want it and gives you a lot more control over what your interface will look like (I personally haven't had the time yet to do so and just use their default interface, I plan to invest more time in creating one once I move later this year)

[mfranzel]

I am in the process of installing an iPad mini flush on the wall using an an IPad Wall Bracket http://Www.ipadwallbracket.com. I use Mobilinc for lighting, ADT Pulse for security, Nest for climate and VueZone for Caneras. Huge fan of all four. Works and looks great.

 

That is where I purchased my in-wall mounts from. I use Alarm.com for security and everything else is through my ISY. I just wish there was a better program that is more customizable than Mobilinc to let me have access to it all from the iPad screen.

[auger66]

Maybe iRule.

 

I use it for a Windows Media Center and ISY interface. They have a new version out that is supposed to make ISY integration easier. I haven't tried it yet, though.

 

http://www.iruleathome.com/