Here is my setup finally seeing as I was the one that asked JB to add this forum in the first place.
It is way more than my eHome setup but I thought folks might be interested in whole setup.
Family Room HTPC:
This machine is really doing too much right now but I have not had the time or inclination to move some of this off to another machine. It is also difficult as it uses IR to control my home theater and so it easier if it runs Powerhome. Slimserver is free and worth taking a look at if you use iTunes. It can see your library and your playlists and has a touch screen skin for the web client. Even though it is an old machine (2003), with the graphics card it is able to handle full screen video playback, even HD and digital audio including Dolby Digital and DTS. I also use a Marantz RC5000i remote which is incredibly flexible and I have designed my own touch screens on it for controlling the home theater components and also as input into Powerhome. Ideally I would eventually replace this with an eHome client running on a wireless touchpad.
System:
- Compaq Presario 6400NX (1.53 GHz Athlon XP 1800+)
- 1GB Memory
- 1.5 TB Storage
- nvidia geforce 6200 A-LE graphics card
- Very old Soundblaster AWE Gold sound card with optical spdif out
- Gyration Go Optical Air mouse
- 50" Plasma as monitor via DVI
- USB UIRT adapter
- USB PowerLinc Controller
Relevant Software:
- Powerhome
- Meedio (HTPC front-end)
- iTunes (All my music, no video)
- SlimServer (supports my Chumby and iTunes)
- eHome Server (weather)
- eHome Screen designer
- No eHome client yet. Using Meedio for that but trying to decide how I could integrate the two.
Touchscreen Controller:
This is currently my only touch screen and is mounted on the Kitchen wall with industrial velcro with the wiring run to the PC in the garage. Surprisingly clean looking install and the velcro is extremely strong. As you can see from below all of my controls are in HA screens in eHome and I am not using any of the provided servers except the weather.
System:
- Sony Vaio Desktop (1.4ghz P4, 1GB memory)
- Lilliput 7" VGA LCD Touchscreen
- Ethernet over power adapter for networking
Relevant Software:
(1) eHome client
- Audio: music library via SlimServer in a browser in an eHome HA screen
- HVAC: via an eHome HA screen, macros and global variables in Powerhome
- Calendar: via a .mac iCal calendar in a browser in an eHome HA screen
- Weather: standard eHome
- Lighting: via a couple of eHome HA screens linked to Powerhome. The floorplan you see in the screen shots is active so pressing on a room turns it's lights on and off.
- Cable TV: again via a HA screen linked to powerhome. Allows control of the family room TV from the kitchen.
(2) Online News Screensaver
- http://www.cool-screensavers.com/onlinews.html
- I have this configured to turn on after 15 minutes and show a selection of news and my favorite rss feeds. People comment on this the most as it looks like the news displays you often see in airports, etc.
- I changed the background image to match eHome and so it looks seamless
- Screen shots below
Other Clients:
Chumby:
- My whole house audio until I get a real system installed
- acts as a Squeezebox slimclient and is easily moved between rooms to provide music anywhere
- Lots of other channels via Chumby network.
- http://www.chumby.com/
HA Devices:
Insteon:
7 x KeypadLincs (8 button)
10 x SwitchLincs
5 x LampLincs
1 x RemoteLinc
1 x Venstar T1800 Thermostat plus Insteon Thermostat Adapter and Humidity Sensor
1 x PowerLinc Controller USB
2 x Access Point
X-10:
1 x motion sensor
2 x Chime
Screen Shots:
