House Gadgets?

[neo-ninja]

Howdy peeps,

 

I am (fingers crossed) soon to be buying my own home! When we were looking i came across some cool gadgets that i thought would be ace for me to have in my home.

 

So was wondering if there any i might have missed, the rules are it has to be something that is attached to the home, and surves some sort of purpose.

 

one of the things i thought was sweet was touch/ remote/ dimmer switches, i went round one house that had them in and they made it look so much more modern and trendy imho.

 

here is an example:

[Wasso]

I've got one of these to power my Hi-Fi, TV, Sky and Lighting in the lounge.

 

 

Controlling the lights I use one of these (sockets are self learning)

 

 

Yet to get my main lighting in the lounge - simple remote switch on the wall, but would really like some of these bad boys....

 

(Remote control blinds/curtains)

 

 

 

I'm yet to find a suitable chip to control the Mrs....

[neo-ninja]

self learning sockets sound interesting, what do they do then? how are they different from those normal socket remote switches?

[Wasso]

The ones I purchased from the Gadget show last year, basically turn on and off by any given IR signal. For instance I could have 3 of these in the room all within the same line of fire. I can dictate the control of these by 3 different signals, or by 1 same signal. I have setup my Logitech to send a random signal which the plug socket learns.

 

I would have thought all plug/switch sockets are the same? Or at least have a learn facility so that you don't have to use the remote control provided with the socket??

 

They can also be used for 4 way extension leads for instance. So you could turn off a number of items with one button?

[neo-ninja]

The ones I purchased from the Gadget show last year, basically turn on and off by any given IR signal. For instance I could have 3 of these in the room all within the same line of fire. I can dictate the control of these by 3 different signals, or by 1 same signal. I have setup my Logitech to send a random signal which the plug socket learns.

 

I would have thought all plug/switch sockets are the same? Or at least have a learn facility so that you don't have to use the remote control provided with the socket??

 

They can also be used for 4 way extension leads for instance. So you could turn off a number of items with one button?

 

Ah yes i see, what you mean, sorry i thought you meant they learnt when you turn them off and on and started doing it themselves etc..

[SparksCW]

Multi Zone audio (and video if you're feeling flush)

 

All nicely integrated with wall key pads and in-ceiling speakers etc... if you got a few grand to spare and live in Hampshire (ish) area give me a shout

 

But on a more budget note then at least wall mount all your TV's and chase the cables into the wall so there's nothing on show, houses look so much better when they are sleek and clutter free!

 

There's so much you can do housewise depends on budgets really!

 

Intelligent lighting

Home automation

Fibre-optic star ceilings

Home Cinemas

 

You name it, it can be done.... dependant on budgets!

 

What sort of thing do you have in mind?

 

p.s those dimmers are alright, but can be a pain in the arse and they'll buzz. But short of spending out on intelligent lighting there's not many other alternatives. One good point though is they can be controlled by IR remotes so I'd suggest spending out on a Logitech Harmony 1 remote... £150 but it'll control pretty much anything you can throw at it, including those light switches and all your AV gear. it also has macros so one button press can turn on tv, blu ray player and tune the tv to the right source and even turn the lights down if theres a light IR receiver in range of the AV kit...

[Keyser]

+1 On SparksCW (I have the Harmony control)

 

If your re-wiring then put at least 2 CAT5/6 (PC Cable) from a central point to each room - I know you can use wireless but if (like me) your going to have a HTPC in every room and a single store for all your music and films etc hardwire is the way to go. Also good for your Xbox/PS3 etc

Then you need a coax and HDMI to each TV centralise the SKY - cable box/es and your on your way

 

(I have the touch/remote/dimmers as well - they do buzz and the brushed steel finish being metal gets bloody hot as well )

[Tarmac@TarmacSportz]

 

Magic Wand as shown on dragons den

 

We bought one of these for the oldest kid, it works with anything that is remote control, you just have to programme it in. TV, SKY, HI FI etc etc

 

He's thinks he's Harry Potter

[neo-ninja]

You name it, it can be done.... dependant on budgets!

 

 

Oh sadly i am on a very tight budget, i was more thinking of some cool cheapish "pimping". Although i like the sound of a unit that can not only control lights but everything else.

 

Also when you say buzz, how bad are we talking, as i dont remember hearing buzzing when i went through the houses that had them (small sounds like buzzing and rattling really annoy me!)

[SparksCW]

+1 On SparksCW (I have the Harmony control)

 

If your re-wiring then put at least 2 CAT5/6 (PC Cable) from a central point to each room - I know you can use wireless but if (like me) your going to have a HTPC in every room and a single store for all your music and films etc hardwire is the way to go. Also good for your Xbox/PS3 etc

Then you need a coax and HDMI to each TV centralise the SKY - cable box/es and your on your way

 

(I have the touch/remote/dimmers as well - they do buzz and the brushed steel finish being metal gets bloody hot as well )

 

+1 back at ya.

 

Keysers right if you're rewiring throw some cat 6 around (not cat 5..) make sure it's a decent brand, it's pretty damn cheap for what it can do so it's worth doing. I'd say at least three to each TV point as if you use Cat6 for HDMI distribution you'll need 2 x cat 6 and best to have 1 x cat 6 as a data point for internet TV services/ps3/xbox/music box etc. Even if you don't use it for a few years after installing it, it's worth doing if you're re-wiring or having all the floors up for any reason.

 

IMO don't bother throwing HDMI cables around, it gets expensive... use cat 6 and then hdmi baluns... they're not cheap (well, amazon do a range for a very reasonable price but I've not tested how good they are, they're reviewed well though!) but usually cheaper than long HDMI cables and a lot more flexible. Not only that but the wiring is cheap and you can add the baluns one by one as you can afford them rather than having to spend out on hdmi cables

 

Also +1 on keysers point against wireless.. almost everything is wireless now but it'll never be as good as wires run wires or you'll regret it later!

[SparksCW]

You name it, it can be done.... dependant on budgets!

 

 

Oh sadly i am on a very tight budget, i was more thinking of some cool cheapish "pimping". Although i like the sound of a unit that can not only control lights but everything else.

 

Also when you say buzz, how bad are we talking, as i dont remember hearing buzzing when i went through the houses that had them (small sounds like buzzing and rattling really annoy me!)

 

Some dimmers are better than others, if the dimmer is near its capacity (watts) then it'll buzz more than one thats only half it's capacity.. also depends on the make and model of the dimmer switch, if it's compatible with low voltage lighting transformers etc..... almost all dimmers buzz. They will usually buzz mostly when the lights are on their lowest dim settings and often won't buzz at all when not dimmed.

 

Try a dimmable floor lamp, dim it down to it's lowest and you'll hear it buzz away! If there's not too many lights on your circuit and you use low energy lamps (make sure they lamps are dimmable though!) then the buzzing may not be too bad....

 

The Harmony remote and a few IR gadgets is a good cheap budget way of making a house "automated". Coupled with nicely wall mounted TV's etc you should be onto a "high tech" uncluttered feel for a relatively small amount of money. Cheap TV brackets on ebay too

[Keyser]

You name it, it can be done.... dependant on budgets!

 

 

Oh sadly i am on a very tight budget, i was more thinking of some cool cheapish "pimping". Although i like the sound of a unit that can not only control lights but everything else.

 

Also when you say buzz, how bad are we talking, as i dont remember hearing buzzing when i went through the houses that had them (small sounds like buzzing and rattling really annoy me!)

 

I can only speak for mine you need to have your ear within 6 inches to hear it but they seem to vary a bit my mate had some cheap ones and they were "annoying" mine cost £70 quid fo 1 3 way light switch (3 buttons 3 seperate light rings and thats just the MM Room ) and if you think you could buy a standard dimmer for about £10 it can get expensive real quick!

 

But they are great along with a learning remote

 

OK SpatksCW is correct CAT6 is best but I used CAT5 (cause I had all the bits on stock) - I have the balums as well but used HDMI cables and they are a real pain to flush mount as the wire is so thick!

But as Sparks said if you have the floor up or are redecorating put the wires in it will be worth it!

[SparksCW]

Just another thought about house gadgets.... I've recently done a job for a client sending Sky TV signal and digital TV to 8 different TV's in his house on a (relative) budget.

 

You can do it yourself for a reasonable cost, again if you're rewiring it's worth doing as all you need to do is run 1 x WF100 quality sheilded coax cable from each TV position back to the central box (best to install a data cabinet in this central location!) then install one of these;

 

http://www.globalinvacom.com/products/loftbox.php

 

Connect each of the TV coax's to the outputs on that... then take your Sky feed to the sky input, your digital TV feed into the TV input and an FM input into the FM (don't forget that the second sky feed needs to go to the living room or main viewing position so that you still have your twin tuners) or run both sky to the main TV then a coax uplink from the TV to the central position.

 

then at each TV install a TV outlet plate and connect a TV Link magic eye

 

http://www.globalinvacom.com/products/tvlinkeye.php

 

then set up your sky box and for a couple hundred quid you have digital TV, FM radio signals to every TV position and a clone of the sky box (in very good quality but not HD) with full remote control.. (changing channel will change everywhere but for a couple hundred £££ you can't have everything!)

 

It's budget, but it works really well and if you do all the work yourself it can be done really cheap.

[clarkie34]

Not all HDMI cables have thick leads.I've just set an av system up in my conservatory and used QED leads which are very flexible and thinner than previous HDMI leads I've used before.

[neo-ninja]

Just another thought about house gadgets.... I've recently done a job for a client sending Sky TV signal and digital TV to 8 different TV's in his house on a (relative) budget.

 

You can do it yourself for a reasonable cost, again if you're rewiring it's worth doing as all you need to do is run 1 x WF100 quality sheilded coax cable from each TV position back to the central box (best to install a data cabinet in this central location!) then install one of these;

 

http://www.globalinvacom.com/products/loftbox.php

 

Connect each of the TV coax's to the outputs on that... then take your Sky feed to the sky input, your digital TV feed into the TV input and an FM input into the FM (don't forget that the second sky feed needs to go to the living room or main viewing position so that you still have your twin tuners) or run both sky to the main TV then a coax uplink from the TV to the central position.

 

then at each TV install a TV outlet plate and connect a TV Link magic eye

 

http://www.globalinvacom.com/products/tvlinkeye.php

 

then set up your sky box and for a couple hundred quid you have digital TV, FM radio signals to every TV position and a clone of the sky box (in very good quality but not HD) with full remote control.. (changing channel will change everywhere but for a couple hundred £££ you can't have everything!)

 

It's budget, but it works really well and if you do all the work yourself it can be done really cheap.

 

 

Yeah this is what my parents have in thier newbuild house, works a charm actually.

[BulletMagnet]

Floor level motion activated lighting, so you don't walk into stuff when going to the loo in the middle of the night or a vacuum cleaner that is built into the walls and all you do it attach the suction hose and it automatically activates.

Saw both these things in magicians Paul Daniels home on the telly once and thought they were quite cool

[Willy P]

 

These are the touch dimmers I have in my house, they can get bloomin' expensive though .

[DoogyRev]

 

OK SpatksCW is correct CAT6 is best but I used CAT5 (cause I had all the bits on stock) - I have the balums as well but used HDMI cables and they are a real pain to flush mount as the wire is so thick!

But as Sparks said if you have the floor up or are redecorating put the wires in it will be worth it!

 

I hope you put CAT5e in and not CAT5

 

I would not bother with CAT6, as its far more difficult to put in, you have to take in to account the bend radius, which is far less than CAT5e. There is very little performance difference over 1Gb (50m runs)..... CAT6 is only worth it if your going to put a 10Gb switches in and 10Gb network cards in all your equipment.

[neo-ninja]

These are the touch dimmers I have in my house, they can get bloomin' expensive though .

 

The house isnt too big and really i would look to put it in say the lounge, bedroom, and maybe a couple more so around 5 rooms, at around £50 i have seen them for.

 

 

But anything else people have thats cool, no ones mentioned fancy showers or baths?

[choptop]

Best house gadget is 'my wife'