ISY26 vs ISY99

[brobin]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question but here goes: I understand the differences in the capabilities of the ISY 26 vs. the 99 and its various flavors and I know that updates have been available for both keeping their functionality on par. My question is this: Will there a come a time when the two products will meet a fork in the road and only the 99's will continue to move forward? IOW, is there a prevailing reason for one to upgrade to the 99?

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello brobin,

 

Excellent question.

 

There are major improvements planned for ISY-99i PRO which cannot be supported in ISY-26 because we have almost reached the memory limits of ISY-26.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question but here goes: I understand the differences in the capabilities of the ISY 26 vs. the 99 and its various flavors and I know that updates have been available for both keeping their functionality on par. My question is this: Will there a come a time when the two products will meet a fork in the road and only the 99's will continue to move forward? IOW, is there a prevailing reason for one to upgrade to the 99?

[Brian H]

Would the ISY99i have the same limits as the ISY-26; on the major update plans?

[d_l]

Michel, is that a flash memory or RAM memory or both limit on the ISY26?

 

Thanks,

Dave

 

 

There are major improvements planned for ISY-99i PRO which cannot be supported in ISY-26 because we have almost reached the memory limits of ISY-26.

[brobin]

Thanks, that's exactly the information I was looking for. My upgrade order will be forthcoming. I don't want to be left in the dust later on!

 

 

Hello brobin,

 

Excellent question.

 

There are major improvements planned for ISY-99i PRO which cannot be supported in ISY-26 because we have almost reached the memory limits of ISY-26.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question but here goes: I understand the differences in the capabilities of the ISY 26 vs. the 99 and its various flavors and I know that updates have been available for both keeping their functionality on par. My question is this: Will there a come a time when the two products will meet a fork in the road and only the 99's will continue to move forward? IOW, is there a prevailing reason for one to upgrade to the 99?

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello Brian H,

 

No. 99i and 99i PRO have the same hardware. We just have to figure out an easy firmware upgrade to migrate a 99i to 99i PRO without the need for factory reprogramming.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Would the ISY99i have the same limits as the ISY-26; on the major update plans?

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello d_l,

 

It's only the RAM. We are still using only 512K of flash.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Michel, is that a flash memory or RAM memory or both limit on the ISY26?

 

Thanks,

Dave

 

 

There are major improvements planned for ISY-99i PRO which cannot be supported in ISY-26 because we have almost reached the memory limits of ISY-26.

[Brian H]

Thank you for thet information and great support.

[paulbram]

Hello brobin,

 

Excellent question.

 

There are major improvements planned for ISY-99i PRO which cannot be supported in ISY-26 because we have almost reached the memory limits of ISY-26.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

I'm trying to decide if I really need the 99 PRO, or if the 99i/26 would be good enough. Could you by any chance give me an idea of what these major improvements are going to be? I'm really looking forward to getting an ISY, but don't want to pay the big bucks for the PRO if I don't need to.

 

Thanks!

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Paul,

 

We are trying to support the same features in 99i and thus you won't need 99i PRO.

 

Here are the features that will be supported shortly (there will be a flat fee for each feature):

1. Integration of programs with Weather Information (temp, humidity, gust, wind direction, rain today, etc.)

2. Integration with Brultech energy meters

3. Integration with Open DR (where available) to sense and respond to load level on the grid

4. Calling a URL from the programs

5. Customizable home pages

... and many more

 

With kind regards,

 

Hello brobin,

 

Excellent question.

 

There are major improvements planned for ISY-99i PRO which cannot be supported in ISY-26 because we have almost reached the memory limits of ISY-26.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

I'm trying to decide if I really need the 99 PRO, or if the 99i/26 would be good enough. Could you by any chance give me an idea of what these major improvements are going to be? I'm really looking forward to getting an ISY, but don't want to pay the big bucks for the PRO if I don't need to.

 

Thanks!

[G W]

Michel,

 

I'm starting not to like you. Just when I thought I was through spending for this year, you tell me I'm not.

 

Item 1. Software - Built into the ISY.

Item 2. Hardware - We will need to purchase an ECM-1220.H-WR-200.

Item 3. No clue - Please tell us more.

Item 4. Software - Built into the ISY

Item 5. Software - Built into the ISY

 

On the "many more," I am interested in any hardware enhancements you have planned.

 

At this time, I guess I need, at least, a ECM-1220.H-WR-200. What do I need for it to talk to the ISY?

 

Please tell us as much as you can.

 

Best regards,

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Gary,

 

Thanks so very much for your vote of confidence!

 

Hardware enhancements are currently isolated to IR out/expander which we are currently testing as well as a serial expander which allows you to communicate with more serial devices.

 

For the meter, you need their network enabled devices. That's about it.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

Michel,

 

I'm starting not to like you. Just when I thought I was through spending for this year, you tell me I'm not.

 

Item 1. Software - Built into the ISY.

Item 2. Hardware - We will need to purchase an ECM-1220.H-WR-200.

Item 3. No clue - Please tell us more.

Item 4. Software - Built into the ISY

Item 5. Software - Built into the ISY

 

On the "many more," I am interested in any hardware enhancements you have planned.

 

At this time, I guess I need, at least, a ECM-1220.H-WR-200. What do I need for it to talk to the ISY?

 

Please tell us as much as you can.

 

Best regards,

[G W]

Good morning Michel,

 

When it comes to confidence, I have more in Universal Device than I do Smarthome and SmartHomeNet. I have not seen a company work so much to make another companies product work. You guys are great.

 

Thank you for the information on the Brultech. I hope to own one before the year is out.

 

Like most people, I have several IR devices and I have been looking at systems to allow full control of them. The kids leave TVs and DVD player on all the time. I'd like a way to turn these off with out having to go to every room that has them. Yes, my kids are spoiled. If any of you have idea, please share them.

 

I look forward to the hardware enhancements to the ISY. Maybe Christmas will come early this year (grin).

 

Best regards

[MikeB]

The kids leave TVs and DVD player on all the time. I'd like a way to turn these off with out having to go to every room that has them. Yes, my kids are spoiled. If any of you have idea, please share them.

 

Great idea, and definitely a tough problem to solve. Even if you did have IR out to all those devices, how do you detect that they're currently on?

 

Much to my displeasure, many TVs, DVD players, etc. do not have discrete on/off IR commands - it's simply a power toggle. Without a discrete OFF comamnd, and without a way of knowing the current state of the device, you might be turning the device ON instead of OFF!

[G W]

Great idea, and definitely a tough problem to solve. Even if you did have IR out to all those devices, how do you detect that they're currently on?

 

Much to my displeasure, many TVs, DVD players, etc. do not have discrete on/off IR commands - it's simply a power toggle. Without a discrete OFF comamnd, and without a way of knowing the current state of the device, you might be turning the device ON instead of OFF!

 

Good question Mike. One idea is to have a photodiode sit on top of the power diode of the device. That would tell me the TV or DVD player is on. I have also thought of putting ApplianceLincs on the power, then turn them off, wait one second, then turn them back on. That kills the power long enough to turn off the device, the restore line power so the remote works to turn it on again.

 

Either way, that is a problem that needs to be solved. A simple device to communicate the power state of an object. Dang, I sound like a programmer.

[MikeB]

I wish these vendors would just start implementing discrete ON/OFF (and input) IR commands across the board. Programming macros on a universal remote can be a nightmare because of this oversight.

[G W]

I wish these vendors would just start implementing discrete ON/OFF (and input) IR commands across the board. Programming macros on a universal remote can be a nightmare because of this oversight.

Now that I think of it...

 

I had a Sony TV that had an ON, and OFF and a Toggle command. I wonder if any other TVs havs this and just use the Toggle on the remote Power button. And how would we find this information?

[Algorithm]

Now that I think of it...

 

I had a Sony TV that had an ON, and OFF and a Toggle command.

Yes, I've had many pieces of Sony equipment that had discreet On/Off (and Input) codes, but only placed the toggle button on the remote.

 

But beware, some of that Sony equipment actually does have the discreet codes, but they don't work (bad firmware)!!

 

I wonder if any other TVs havs this and just use the Toggle on the remote Power button. And how would we find this information?

Two good resources are Hi-Fi Remote, and Remote Central.

[G W]

Thank you Darrell, I'll start looking.

[G W]

For the meter, you need their network enabled devices. That's about it.

At this time, I guess I need, at least, a ECM-1220.H-WR-200. What do I need for it to talk to the ISY?

 

Michel,

 

I'm not seeing a network enabled device on their website. Am I missing something? What am I missing?

 

Help me Mr Wizard. (Most of you are way too young to remember that.)

[G W]

The kids leave TVs and DVD player on all the time. I'd like a way to turn these off with out having to go to every room that has them. Yes, my kids are spoiled. If any of you have idea, please share them.

 

Great idea, and definitely a tough problem to solve. Even if you did have IR out to all those devices, how do you detect that they're currently on?

 

Okay, I know how, I just don't know what yet.

 

The how is to see if there is a current load higher than the normal stand by. So, we need an Insteon device that will send a trigger when the load reaches a set threshold. I would think that a LampLinc or ApplianceLinc might be able to me modified to do this. I need to open one up and look at it. Maybe Smarthome could see the need for this and build an in-line load sensor. It would be easy and cheap to build.

[jhimmel]

For the meter, you need their network enabled devices. That's about it.

At this time, I guess I need, at least, a ECM-1220.H-WR-200. What do I need for it to talk to the ISY?

 

Michel,

 

I'm not seeing a network enabled device on their website. Am I missing something? What am I missing?

 

Help me Mr Wizard. (Most of you are way too young to remember that.)

 

They are almost finished and ready for release. In fact, I believe they will sell you one now if you send them a personal request.

 

Jim H.