Dianemo from CHT - Professional Home Automation

[mardibloke]

Shot of part of Dianemo's UK distributor RedLine's stand at the CEDIA Home Technology Event in London 28-30 June 2011

Great looking stand Andrew, am sure it was a busy few days.  Had tickets and plans to attend, but end of month work got in the way at the last minute.

- --
Rod,  UK

[totallymaxed]

Great looking stand Andrew, am sure it was a busy few days.  Had tickets and plans to attend, but end of month work got in the way at the last minute.

- --
Rod,  UK

Hi Rod,

Thanks - yes the stand was a big improvement on last years. Show was a little slow overall but our inquiry levels/demos were up on last year. Sorry you couldn't make it though.

All the best


Andrew

[rocket39]

I am very cool in here, abaton go ahead..

[totallymaxed]

Just a heads up that we have successfully tested the upgrade of a standard Dianemo 10.10 NerveCentre installation to Dianemo 11.04. This is the first phase of testing in preparation for being ready to upgrade existing systems and to transition to Dianemo 11.04

I should stress that this is a test of the process and should not be attempted yet by end users. When we are confident that we have any issues addressed then Dianemo users will get notified that they can Upgrade if they wish too.

Expect more updates on this here in this thread in the coming few weeks.

All the best


Andr

[totallymaxed]

Hi all,

Ever since we shipped the first Dianemo 07.10 Systems in early 2008 we have been asked by LinuxMCE Forum members about whether we could provide a Dianemo software only solution to install on their existing hadrware. Up to now we have always answered - no to that question. Well at last we are now almost ready to offer a Dianemo Software only product to the LinuxMCE community!

This will be paid for software product that will enable you to have a Dianemo installation on almost any LinuxMCE compatible Core hardware that you already own. The software only product will be supported via the LinuxMCE forum to keep its cost to a minimum. We cannot guarantee that all hardware will work with Dianemo so there will be some restrictions as to which hardware you can install it on. One key restriction is that both for Hybrid NerveCentre's and Media Managers we will only be supporting nVidia GPU's. Each installation will have a Dianemo installation ID and will be upgradable to future releases using a disc-less online update/upgrade procedure. You will get 12 month's of updates/upgrades included in your initial purchase cost and there will be an annual charge to continue to receive updates/upgrades for subsequent years. Updates will be release as and when required and upgrades will follow shortly after Ubuntu OS releases and dates. Any customer who does not sign-up for the paid for updates will not loose access to their system they will just not receive any updates/upgrades.

If you would be interested in a Dianemo software only installation package please contact me via PM here in the forum. Initially we will be looking to sign up a small number of interested people, somewhere around 50 in the first instance - so dont delay as these will disappear pretty quickly I expect. The Dianemo Software Product will be priced at a low introductory price of £249 +VAT (VAT only applies to customers located inside the EU)

We're looking forward to hearing from you if your interested and will provide additional information to you once you have registered your interest.

All the best


Andrew

[aagesen]

Hi.
i find the release of Dianemo as software very interesting. But i have some questions i hope you can find time to answer.

Z-wave: What kind of modules do you support? Motion sensing? Door/window/temperature?  Everspring Siren?
Spotify: Is it supported?
Media handling: Does it autoscan my library and download information from the internet? This is important for TV and movies.
Subtitles and audio tracks in movies/TV and live TV. Is it supported?
MythTV: Can you help me set up softcam so i can use cable without my provided PVR? (In norway this is not illegal, card SHARING with other households is) Id like to use about 8 tuners.
Do you have the EPG in the orbiter?
Denon/Onkyo - do you support ip and rs-232 control?
Other brands than LG Tvs that are fully supported with rs-232 or ip?
Sonos: is the support on par with the squeezebox support? can i control the "line in"? Switch and group zones?
Internet radio: Is it supported?
Is Voip working?

Are all the major containers and codec supported?

What brand/model of receivers, TVs and audio system do you recommend when you sell your system that is available in europe? Id like to control most with ip and rs-232
Do you have a in-house "recommended-hardware-for-integration-list"? i.e not hardware for the software it self. HDMI matrix's, tvs, receivers, multiroom audio, light/curtain/hvac/ ir control. The hardware you would sell if you should build a medium priced solution in a four bedroom apartment.

When renovating our "new" house, i  put a lot of cat5/6, speaker wires, audio cables and  HDMI in my walls, all ending up in the attic. Cat 5 at central locations to use with my vidabox ipad wallmounts.
Im eager to put all the cables at work.


Lot of questions, i know. But i hope you find time to answer them.

[totallymaxed]

Hi.
i find the release of Dianemo as software very interesting. But i have some questions i hope you can find time to answer.

Z-wave: What kind of modules do you support? Motion sensing? Door/window/temperature?  Everspring Siren?

Re ZWave
We support motion sensors, multi-level sensors & switches ie door/Window & Temp. Everspring siren... not currently or at least never tested one.

Spotify: Is it supported?

Re Spotify
Not supported in the the Orbiter directly yet. But in desktop browser yes and also on iOS devices as separate App.

Media handling: Does it autoscan my library and download information from the internet? This is important for TV and movies.

Re media Handling
If the rips/TV recordings are made by dianemo/mythTV then we pickup metadata automatically. If the content already exists then the process is semi-automatic and will require some human intervention.

Subtitles and audio tracks in movies/TV and live TV. Is it supported?

Re  Subtitles
Yes they are supported.

MythTV: Can you help me set up softcam so i can use cable without my provided PVR? (In norway this is not illegal, card SHARING with other households is) Id like to use about 8 tuners.

We do not use or get involved with any CAM's at all - and they cannot be discussed here in this forum either. You would need to find a local engineer to assist you with that.

Do you have the EPG in the orbiter?

Re EPG
We are about to add Mythweb to the iOS Orbiter. This will be an update in Sept/Oct i hope.

Denon/Onkyo - do you support ip and rs-232 control?

Re Denon/Onkyo
Yes we have templates for Denon & some Onkyo models.

Other brands than LG Tvs that are fully supported with rs-232 or ip?

We support Panasonic & Toshiba and Some Sony models. Other can be added easily if required.

Sonos: is the support on par with the squeezebox support? can i control the "line in"? Switch and group zones?

Re Sonos
Sonos support is similar to Squeezebox support functionally. We do not currently support control of 'Line-in' switching or Group zones inside the ZonePlayers. We may in the future support 'Line-in' switching control.

Internet radio: Is it supported?

Re Internet Radio
This is supported internally in both Squeezebox & Sonos through use of their control Apps. We plan to provide access to this via the Orbiter Directly soon. This will be in a future update.

Is Voip working?

Re VOIP
Yes Asterisk is working but some of the orbiter integration is not fully operational yet. All standard Asterisk telephony functions are working however.

Are all the major containers and codec supported?

Re Conainers/Codecs
We support all of the same containers & codecs as LinuxMCE.

What brand/model of receivers, TVs and audio system do you recommend when you sell your system that is available in europe? Id like to control most with ip and rs-232
Do you have a in-house "recommended-hardware-for-integration-list"? i.e not hardware for the software it self. HDMI matrix's, tvs, receivers, multiroom audio, light/curtain/hvac/ ir control. The hardware you would sell if you should build a medium priced solution in a four bedroom apartment.

If you are purchasing a complete hardware solution with support and remote installation assistance from us then we can recommend/design & implement a system to your needs. However the Dianemo S10.10 software only product is not a full service product and is aimed at those people who have a more constrained budget and/or would prefer to do more of the installation and technical backup themselves. We have deliberately structured ur products in this way to provide both full-service and entry level options to suit all budgets and preferences.

When renovating our "new" house, i  put a lot of cat5/6, speaker wires, audio cables and  HDMI in my walls, all ending up in the attic. Cat 5 at central locations to use with my vidabox ipad wallmounts.
Im eager to put all the cables at work.


Lot of questions, i know. But i hope you find time to answer them.

Your approach sounds sensible but without more details and a much better understanding of what you have and what you plan to have/do/integrate its not possible to comment with any accuracy about your plans or existing installation.

If you require high levels of support then you either need to purchase a full service hardware solution from us or purchase Dianemo S10.10 and do it in a more DIY style. I hope the above is useful - let me know if you need more information.

Kind regards


Andrew

[Randall]

Hi Andrew,

Sorry for the vague question, but is there a post/wiki entry that outlines what the difference between a LMCE and a Dianemo software-only system actually is?

Thanks.

[totallymaxed]

Hi Andrew,

Sorry for the vague question, but is there a post/wiki entry that outlines what the difference between a LMCE and a Dianemo software-only system actually is?

Thanks.

Hi,

Hmmm... no there isn't as such. There are some obvious and big differences though such as we are shipping on Dianemo 10.10 which as the name implies is built on Ubuntu 10.10 and we can allow all of the Ubuntu updates through without any concern for them breaking Dianemo at all. We also have already tested updating Dianemo 10.10 to Dianemo 11.04  based on Ubuntu 11.04 and so far we are very pleased with results. We expect to authorise customers that they can safely upgrade in the same manner in the next few weeks too. The base operating system is just really important to a whole range of things - hardware support is the biggy... but there are others too like massively improved kernel event handling in 11.04 which makes a noticeable difference to the performance and overall smoothness of the UI and video playback.

There are also a load of user level and operational differences too... so I guess I should at least start a Wiki page on these to map at least the major ones out. I will try to do that over the weekend if i have some time. Thanks for the suggestion.

All the best



Andrew

[alx2k]

Hi Andrew,

I find interesting being able to get just the software solution. However I have some questions, I would be pleased if you could answer them.

Firstly, about the upnp & DLNA support, is LG and/or Samsung already supported or on its way? Also, do you have a Wiki page or a list of supported pnp devices?

Secondly, is the upgrade to 11.04 included? Maybe a silly question, I guess every update would be included for as long as you still have the 12 months support or you still pay the maintenance afterwards.

Thirdly, How much would it cost the maintenance? I couldn't find it on the topic.

Thank you for your help.

Alejandro

[totallymaxed]

Hi Andrew,

I find interesting being able to get just the software solution. However I have some questions, I would be pleased if you could answer them.

Firstly, about the upnp & DLNA support, is LG and/or Samsung already supported or on its way? Also, do you have a Wiki page or a list of supported pnp devices?

Secondly, is the upgrade to 11.04 included? Maybe a silly question, I guess every update would be included for as long as you still have the 12 months support or you still pay the maintenance afterwards.

Thirdly, How much would it cost the maintenance? I couldn't find it on the topic.

Thank you for your help.

Alejandro

Hi Alejandro,

Its really impossible to maintain a specific device compatibility table for DLNA/UPNP... we tried but firmware changes meant we could never keep it current. Most DLNA/UPNP TV's will play back content ok... but some do not implement pushed content to them. WD Live TV's are what we test against internally and with everything apart from .iso & .dvd rips we get good compatibility. The .iso & .dvd files some time suffer language track selection issues and very infrequently sound quality issues. We also cannot provide access to the DVD's chapters... we just stream the movie. We do not currently provide any integrated way to rip BluRay discs but we are testing makeMKV and this is likely to be what we integrate for BluRay in the next few months.

You get all the version updates & all the bug fix/feature updates for 12 months - so yes 11.04 is included and 11.10 too. It then costs £49.95 for each subsequent year of updates.

Support is via the LinuxMCE forum... this is free. If you need 1-to-1 support of need specific configuration carried out for you, or new device templates created etc etc, then you can tell us your requirements and we will quote you a price based on your needs.

if you have more questions just let me know.

All the best


Andrew

[Farmboy]

Hi Andrew,
Great that you're shipping Dianemo as software. I know it's a gray area, but is it a bit easier to install than 'standard' LinuxMCE for an average Joe?
Cheers
Paul

[totallymaxed]

Hi Andrew,
Great that you're shipping Dianemo as software. I know it's a gray area, but is it a bit easier to install than 'standard' LinuxMCE for an average Joe?
Cheers
Paul

Hi Paul,

Yes I believe it is - certainly in comparison to the process of installing the LinuxMCE snapshots etc. We have a tiny (< 5k) pair of deb files that you install from the Ubuntu desktop. One is a key file that is used to identify your NC's hardware and the other is the installer itself. Double click the key deb & then do the same to the installer and they are both installed. Now open a terminal a copy n' paste a command and hit enter... type in your Ubuntu password and then come back in about 90 mins (depends on the speed of your broadband ;-) )... and the basic installation is done.

You still have to configure the system to do the stuff you want it to do etc and learn the concepts etc of what the system is about. So that learning curve is much the same as LinuxMCE. We have some additional features that we have integrated and we add new stuff all the time (you get those updates automatically). We often fix or help to fix/contribute to the common Dianemo/LinuxMCE codebase so those fixes flow through both. The Dianemo features usually migrate eventually down to LinuxMCE but you will always see them first in Dianemo.

The big difference between a Dianemo hardware product and Dianemo S10.10 is that you rather than us are the 'Installer/Integrator' and you are the hardware 'expert' too as you supply & build the hardware. Whereas when you buy a hardware product from us we have built the hardware & installed the basic system to your requirements and in most cases we have priced in some 'on-site' remote configuration & assistance too. So you get your 'hand held' by us to much greater degree than with Dianemo S10.10 - which has had as much of the support costs and the hardware removed to make it accessible to more people who don't mind doing more for themselves.

I hope that gets across what the differences are in overall terms.

All the best


Andrew

[totallymaxed]

We are pleased to announce that we are rolling out Secure Remote Access for all of our Dianemo customers as of today. Currently this service is only available on iOS devices running our Dianemo v1.4 App or later. Remote access means that you can securely connect to your homes Dianemo system from any location where you have internet access (compatible with Wifi or mobile data) using your iOS device and the Dianemo App. Anything you can control/view inside your home can be controlled/viewed remotely - lights, Security cameras, motion detectors etc.

For Dianemo hardware customers this service is free (for up to 8 devices) and they can activate their remote access simply by contacting us with the first 5 digits of their installation ID.

For Dianemo S10.10 customers the Dianemo Remote Access service costs £49.95 GBP annually for a single iOS device or £99.95 GBP annually for up to 8 devices. Dianemo S10.10 customers can pay via PayPal or bank transfer (contact us if this is your preferred payment method). Please include the first 5 digits of your Dianemo installation ID and your name/address with your PayPal payment;

Please make PayPal payments to this email address: customercare<at>chtukltd<dot>co<dot>uk

Dianemo Remote Access (single iOS device) - Annual charge;
Cost  = £49.95 GBP
PayPal Fees @ 4% = £1.99 GBP
Total Cost Inc PayPal Fees = £51.94 GBP (Excluding VAT price) **This is what you should pay if you live outside the EU and are paying by PayPal**
VAT @ 20% = £9.99 GBP
Total Cost = £61.94 GBP (Including VAT price) **This is what you should pay if you live inside the EU and are paying by PayPal**

Dianemo Remote Access (Upto 8 iOS devices) - Annual charge;
Cost  = £99.95 GBP
PayPal Fees @ 4% = £3.99 GBP
Total Cost Inc PayPal Fees = £103.94 GBP (Excluding VAT price) **This is what you should pay if you live outside the EU and are paying by PayPal**
VAT @ 20% = £19.99 GBP
Total Cost = £123.94 GBP (Including VAT price) **This is what you should pay if you live inside the EU and are paying by PayPal**


All the best


Andrew

[totallymaxed]

AVwizard - A new version of the AVwizard has been released that automatically detects what connector (HDMI/DVD/VGA) your display/TV is connected to and will automatically configure the highest resolution suitable for the displays EDID capabilities & aspect ratio. With this version there is no need to choose the 'Connector' as this is done automatically for you. The new AVwizard now uses the native uBuntu X detection first and if it succeeds it will use that otherwise it will test the previously used mode lines. You can still override its choice of screen resolution setup if required and the rest of the process is as before. However this version should avoid situations where some users cannot get a display to start X and therefore do not get video at all.

Please refer to the Dianemo S10.10 wiki page for details on how to access and use the update script; http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Dianemo_S10.10

Please be aware that when you run the Update script your system may also receive updates for the Ubuntu base OS too.

All the best


Andrew