[mythtvnz] [OT] Home Automation

[Nick Rout]

Yes I can report success.

1. Ordered 20.8.13 on the Apple Store (NZ) and promised delivery on the
26th.

2. In fact it arrived on the 22nd having come from Sydney via Auckland. I
certainly think that's pretty good service.

3. Let it be known the bulbs are screw not bayonet. I beleive it is
possible to get adaptors but didn't need to look into it.

4. I put them in my lounge after removing the bulbs I had there. I plugged
in the controller. I downloaded and installed on an android device the
HuePro controller. It had better reviews on the Play Store than the
official Philips App. The app immediately recognised the controller, and
after I pressed the button on the controller they "paired' and the app
could control the lights in the expected way.

5. Downloaded the XBMC addon. It too connected/paired with no trouble. Now
when I start playback, the lights go out, when I pause or stop they come
back up to where they were before. To this point took maybe an hour,
including waiting for the existing bulbs to cool down, finding a sturdy
chair to stand on etc :)

6. There are plenty of software interfaces out there. Philips are open
about their API. It is documented and there is a reasonable sized community
of hackers and software authors. I played with the phue python extension
and could control stuff via python without too much trouble. I anticipate
that it would be possible to write a script that could be activated via
myth's events system, but I haven't tried that yet. I planned on searching
the user list first to see if someone had done it before.

All in all, if you want to control your lights from your media PC and don't
mind spending $280.00 to do so (bearing in mind you get a system that you
can do a lot more with, and extend throughout your house) I have no trouble
in recommending them.
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