[man64]

do all setup but where we will find short cut or insteon icon

Note: This addon is designed to be used with the new INSTEON Hub as the INSTEON Scene controller. However, it may also work with the older SmartLinc 2414N controller - however I have not tested this - I would really appreciate if someone could test and let me know if it does.


Addon Overview

I love XBMC. I also love Home Automation. My technology of choice for HA is INSTEON (please, let’s not turn this into a debate about the best home automation technology). INSTEON works great for me, does exactly what I want – best of all, it is extremely affordable and reliable.

The goal of this addon is to combine two of my passions (XBMC and INSTEON). It just makes sense, doesn’t it?

Imagine, after a hard day's work, you settle down on the couch to watch a movie using your favourite media centre – XBMC. Ok, now imagine that when you start playing your movie, all of the following happens without you having to do anything other than get comfortable…

• The overhead lights turn off
  
• The lamp turns on, dimmed to the perfect viewing level
  
• Perhaps you close the curtains
  
• And of course, turn on your popcorn machine
  

Now, when the popcorn is ready, you pause your movie… and…

• The overhead light turns on to 30% brightness
  
• The hallway light turns on to 30% brightness
  
• The kitchen lights turn on
  
• The popcorn maker turns off
  

Now that you are ready to resume your movie, INSTEON turns off the kitchen and hallway lights and returns everything to the perfect movie watching environment.

When the movie ends, INSTEON will then...

• You get the idea!
  

That’s exactly what this addon is looking to achieve (and hopefully a little more).

So let’s get started…


Adding the INSTEON Home Automation Addon to XBMC

1. Download the services.insteon.addon.(version).zip
   
2. XBMC – Navigate to System > Settings > Add-ons > Install from zip file
   
3. Locate and install the downloaded services.insteon.addon.(version).zip
   
4. After the Addon is, well, added – scroll up and enter Enabled Add-ons
   
5. Scroll down to and enter Services
   
6. Find and open the INSTEON Hub XBMC Event addon
   

Setting the INSTEON Home Automation Addon Settings

1. XBMC - Scroll up and enter Configure
   
2. This will bring you to the addon settings, the first setting we want to enter is the INSTEON Hub Settings…
   

SETTINGS

Entering the INSTEON Hub Settings

The addon needs to know how to communicate with the INSTEON Hub, there are four settings we need to enter:

1. The INSTEON Hub local IP Address

Not sure what your Hub IP address is? Luckily we can find it easily using the INSTEON for Hub app (available free for Android and IOS).

1.1. Open the INSTEON for Hub App and login
1.2. Press on the Settings Gear Icon in the bottom right corner of the App
1.3. Select Edit Settings
1.4. Now select House
1.5. Scroll down to Local IP – this is your INSTEON Hub IP address

2. The INSTEON Hub Port. I doubt this will be different to the default setting of 25105, so you should be able to leave it. (You can of course also see this setting in the INSTEON App)

3. The INSTEON Hub Username and…

4. The INSTEON Hub Password

If you are unsure what your Hub Username and Password are, we can also find (or change) this information in the INSTEON for Hub App (towards the bottom on the same screen where we found the Hub IP address above).


Activating / Deactivating Night Mode

Think of this setting as a timer for your INSTEON Scenes. As an example, you may only want INSTEON Scenes to be activated between certain hours of the day. It may not make a lot of sense to be adjusting lights when it is daytime… So we don't want our INSTEON Scene triggered during the day. If you would like to activate Night Mode…

1. Set Night Mode Activated to Yes (default is No – not active)
   
2. Set the Night Mode – On Time (24 Hour Clock) to the desired active hour of the day.
   
3. Set the Night Mode – Off Time (24 Hour Clock) to the desired inactive hour of the day. Please note that the full current hour will still be active – so if it is set to 7 (7am), Night Mode will not switch off until the start of 8am. Confused? Me too!
   

Debug Mode

By default, this is set to active (Yes). When Debug Mode is active, you will receive XBMC notifications and xbmc log entries. This can be helpful for testing your INSTEON Scenes etc. This will be changed in the final release version, hopefully with some detailed control over debugging.


VIDEO

This is where we assign INSTEON Groups (Scenes) to XBMC Video Events. The assigned INSTEON Scene will automatically happen when we perform an XBMC Video event (such as playing a video). Please be mindful that if we have Night Mode activated (see above), then these events will only fire between certain times of the day (as defined in the Night Mode settings).

So, let’s assign an INSTEON Scene to the Video Started setting…

Video Started

Note: Make sure you have created a Scene using the INSTEON for Hub App – this is the Scene that you want to activate when you start watching a video – name it something that makes sense (like XBMC Start Video). Creating INSTEON Scenes is outside the scope of this user guide. There is LOTS of information on how to do this on the web - the INSTEON for Hub app is really easy to use, it should be self evident on how to add an INSTEON Scene.

1. Set Video Start – Activate INSTEON Group (Scene) to Yes (this turns it on).
   
2. Enter the INSTEON Scene Group (Scene) ID (this is the INSTEON Group (Scene) that will be triggered).
   
3. Repeat the steps above for the other VIDEO Settings (if you like).
   

How do you find the INSTEON Group (Scene) ID? Good question, back to the INSTEON for Hub App…

1. Open the INSTEON for Hub App and login (if it's not already running)
2. Press on the Settings Gear Icon in the bottom right corner of the App
3. Select Edit Settings
4. Now select Scenes
5. Select the desired Scene
6. Look for Group Number – this is the INSTEON Group (Scene) ID.


AUDIO

This is exactly the same as the VIDEO process above, except it applies to Audio Events within XBMC. Should be self explanatory on how to set this up based on the previous Video instructions.


SHORCUTS

Here you can set up to 5 INSTEON Scene Shortcuts. To set a shortcut...

Settings:

1. Set Shortcuts Active to Yes
2. Set Shortcut 1 Active to Yes
3. Shortcut 1 Name: Give your Shortcut a name
4. Enter the INSTEON Scene Group (Scene) ID (this is the INSTEON Group (Scene) that will be triggered).
5. Shortcut 1 - Open XBMC Window: Select the XBMC Window you would like activated when this Shortcut is triggered (optional)
6. Repeat the step above for the remaining 4 Shortcuts (optional)

Activating:

You will need to assign the popup Shortcut menu to a keyboard press (which can of course then be triggered with a keyboard or MCE remote).

For more information, please see the post above.
[/quote]

[Bradles73]

@ man64

do all setup but where we will find short cut or insteon icon

I am sorry, I am not sure that I understand the question. There is no "shortcut" or "icon" as such. The addon is designed to be instaled within XBMC - it is not a standalone program. Let me know more details of the issue you are experiencing and I will try to help.

@ hansipi

Hi Bradles73,

Good job! lov it! works great!

Unfortunally u can't put X10 devices into insteon scenes and my house has a lot of X10 devices that i control with a insteon hub from the pi, using crontab and bash (HTTP calls). So my question, any chance of adding X10 control via the hub in your addon?

Keep up the good work!

Thank you for your feedback. I agree that it is a shame that the INSTEON Hub does not include the ability to add X10 devices to scenes. I doubt I will be adding direct X10 (or INSTEON) device control. It would get a little complex and limiting to only be able to control one device (be it X10 or INSTEON), I am confident that scenes are the way to go as it allows the user to control a number of INSTEON devices with one INSTEON (Scene/Group) ID. I will need to give this some more thought... as it is definitely desirable to include X10 control (ideally within INSTEON Scenes, although this of course is out of my control). Thinking cap on... stay tuned

[man64]

I think how to make it work now when I play any movie it will turn light on when pause or stop will turn light off .But when day time I don"nt want light how we setup day light (6am-6pm) right now I am set 18.00-6am this morning I try it out light turn on when I play
@ man64

do all setup but where we will find short cut or insteon icon

I am sorry, I am not sure that I understand the question. There is no "shortcut" or "icon" as such. The addon is designed to be instaled within XBMC - it is not a standalone program. Let me know more details of the issue you are experiencing and I will try to help.

@ hansipi

[quote]
Hi Bradles73,

[Bradles73]

I think how to make it work now when I play any movie it will turn light on when pause or stop will turn light off .But when day time I don"nt want light how we setup day light (6am-6pm) right now I am set 18.00-6am this morning I try it out light turn on when I play

In the example you have given above, the light WOULD turn on between 6PM and 6:59AM - it would not turn on between 7AM and 5:59PM. Can you please confirm if this is not functioning correctly for you.

[aftermath2008]

wanted to again thank you for making this it is a really great addition to xbmc they are like friends holding hands and skipping. was wondering if you have tried the shutdown macro when turning off the htpc it will also turn off the lighting.

[Bradles73]

wanted to again thank you for making this it is a really great addition to xbmc they are like friends holding hands and skipping. was wondering if you have tried the shutdown macro when turning off the htpc it will also turn off the lighting.

Absolutely brilliant suggestion. Will add it to the list and implement shortly. Please keep the feedback and suggestions coming.

[BernieBl]

I was really happy to find this.
I am currently in the process of moving to an ISY-994i from a Z-wave setup.
I am planning to buy my unit in a couple of months when I move in the new house.

So first of all, thank you for making this available to the community and sharing your talent.

My question is, would you ever consider implementing events from Cinema Experience? (since it's an official XBMC plugin)
The reason I'm asking is that I currently have this setup controlled through EventGhost
And I really enjoy seeing my lights dim gradually as it moves from Trivia Slides, to Trailers to Coming Soon and the Featured Presentation.
I even have new plans for the new house to integrate with different lighting type and even possibly with the Phillips Hue setting up different color moods maybe based on Genres. Also thinking of having some lights blink 3 or 4 times just before the movie begins. Lots of possibilities.

Hope you can take it in considerations.

Thanks
Bernie

[Bradles73]

So first of all, thank you for making this available to the community and sharing your talent.

My question is, would you ever consider implementing events from Cinema Experience? (since it's an official XBMC plugin)
The reason I'm asking is that I currently have this setup controlled through EventGhost
And I really enjoy seeing my lights dim gradually as it moves from Trivia Slides, to Trailers to Coming Soon and the Featured Presentation.
I even have new plans for the new house to integrate with different lighting type and even possibly with the Phillips Hue setting up different color moods maybe based on Genres. Also thinking of having some lights blink 3 or 4 times just before the movie begins. Lots of possibilities.

Hi BernieBI,

With regard to Cinema Experience (which is very possibly the greatest XBMC Addon ever created), I believe that there is already home automation integration built in, however I have not used this extension yet, so I am not completely familiar with the level of integration or how to set it up. Given what you would like to achieve, I think that the CE home automation setup may be more suitable to your needs. Hope this helps and thank you for your kind words, I'm always happy to share where I can.

[nickr]

I am new to Insteon and home automation, although I do have a set of Philips Hue lights that XBMC is able to turn on and off on play/pause/stop.

My house is currently f*d due to an earthquake and the insurance company are fixing it. Almost all the wall linings are off and this seems an ideal time to do some extra wiring and get into some automation etc. Hence my pleasure at finding this thread by chance, and discovering that there are some Insteon products available in NZ.

I am confused by this X10 thing though. The products I have been looking at - eg http://www.insteon.com/2442-x22-micro-dimmer.html state that they are X10 compatible. Does that mean that they can't be added to Scenes on the Insteon hub? If so, it seems that most of the Insteon gear available in NZ will not work with this addon.

Thanks and cheers.

[Bradles73]

I am confused by this X10 thing though. The products I have been looking at - eg http://www.insteon.com/2442-x22-micro-dimmer.html state that they are X10 compatible. Does that mean that they can't be added to Scenes on the Insteon hub? If so, it seems that most of the Insteon gear available in NZ will not work with this addon.

Firstly, really sorry to hear about the earthquake. Hope it's a speedy recovery to get your house back in order!

INSTEON is really awesome, it uses wireless RF as well as your home's existing electrical wiring to communicate. This is known as a duel mesh communication system, it's (that I know of) the only HA technology that uses this dual carriage to communicate, so it is really reliable and fast. Up until recently, the only option we really had in Australia and New Zealand was X10 (without spending big bucks anyway) - this is the granddaddy of home automation (it was the first, created way back in the 70's by a few mad Scottish dudes!). For it's time it was awesome, and deserves some respect as it is still being used today (that's a long lifespan in technology years).

More recently Z-Wave (single RF mesh) became available in Australia and New Zealand, so X10 is starting to enjoy its golden years in retirement. Even more recently (for Aus and NZ anyway), INSTEON became available. Because X10 "talks" over the powerlines as does INSTEON (as part of it's dual mesh communication), there is some backwards compatibility. That's the long answer.

Here is the short answer...

All of the INSTEON gear in Australia and New Zealand will work with the INSTEON Hub, it's just that INSTEON has some backwards compatibility with X10 (however don't get them confused, X10 has nothing to do with INSTEON). Check out www.insteon.com.au to see the full range that is currently available in Australia and New Zealand (the product range is constantly growing).

Hope this helps.

[nickr]

Ok thanks. Are you an Aussie?

Earthquake was over 3 years ago, so no nothing happens quick.

Can I take it then that insteon equipment will all handle 'scenes ' and therefore your plugin, and x10 capability is a backwards capability only.

whereas generic x10 (non insteon) gear will be controllable from a hub, but not 'scene friendly'?

[Bradles73]

Ok thanks. Are you an Aussie?

Earthquake was over 3 years ago, so no nothing happens quick.

Can I take it then that insteon equipment will all handle 'scenes ' and therefore your plugin, and x10 capability is a backwards capability only.

whereas generic x10 (non insteon) gear will be controllable from a hub, but not 'scene friendly'?

Sure am an Aussie (don't hold that against me Kiwi). I remember the earthquake from some years ago very well, it got a lot of coverage here. I am simply amazed 3 years later you are still recovering. Hope things get a move on for you soon.

Regarding INSTEON and X10, you are correct in everything you say above.

[nickr]

Excellent thanks.

Still recovering? You wanna come over for some disaster tourism. See our cbd where 80% of buildings have been demolished. See suburbs abandoned and turned to wasteland. Wonder at the delays and prevarication of Australian owned insurance companies. Visit people living in garages, cars, red zoned houses.

PS we were grateful for the Aussies and other countries who sent search and rescue and support staff directly after. Spoke at length to some Federal cops who were part of the cordon when we were trying to get access to our office. Nice guys, if unco-operative LOL.

[Bradles73]

Excellent thanks.

Still recovering? You wanna come over for some disaster tourism. See our cbd where 80% of buildings have been demolished. See suburbs abandoned and turned to wasteland. Wonder at the delays and prevarication of Australian owned insurance companies. Visit people living in garages, cars, red zoned houses.

PS we were grateful for the Aussies and other countries who sent search and rescue and support staff directly after. Spoke at length to some Federal cops who were part of the cordon when we were trying to get access to our office. Nice guys, if unco-operative LOL.

I have been to NZ a number of times, disaster tourism, no thanks... sounds morbid. Really sorry to hear things have taken so long to get back on track, this is certainly not even known in Australia (no media coverage of how long the recovery is taking). When it comes to insurance companies... I wonder if big business being douchebags is a uniquely Australian thing? I sincerely hope things get a move along for (the collective) you, best wishes from across the pond.

[nickr]

No its not uniquely Australian, its just our insurance market is dominated by Australia.

Anyway too off topic. Thanks for the info on insteon. Cheers.