HomeTech.fm

If you are a fan of the HomeTech Podcast, and aren't familiar with Mike Wolf, you should be! Mike is a good friend of the show, and a great source of knowledge and insight when it comes to the smart home market. He is the founder and chief analyst at NextMarket Insights, a premier market research firm in the connected home space. As a fellow podcaster Mike hosts the NextMarket Podcast as well as the Smart Home Show, which both come highly recommended. Mike also runs the Technology.fm podcast collective, where we at HomeTech are honored to be listed.

On this episode of the podcast Mike joined us for a chat that was bit outside of our normal format. Instead of talking about a specific product or company we opted to keep it loose, discussing a handful of recent home technology stories and their respective impact on the smart home market at large. We also discussed Mike's work at NextMarket, including a recent report they put out covering the burgeoning DIY home automation market. We really enjoyed chatting with Mike, and hope you enjoy listening!

• The Smart Home Show
• Next Market Podcast
• Patreon - Support the creators you love
• Pomplamoose
• Speed!: Understanding and Installing Home Networks
• AMX
• Next Market Insights
• The Do-It-Yourself Explode In Coming Years According To NextMarket
• IBM Home Director
• Episode 17: HomeKit 201: Beyond the Basics
• CEDIA Panel: Commoditized Home Automation: It's (Not) a Threat - Friday, September 12, 2014 3:30-5pm

On episode 27 of the HomeTech podcast we were joined by co-founder and CEO of Chui, Shaun Moore. Chui claims to be the "world's most intelligent doorbell". And after our conversation with Shaun, it would be hard to argue against their claim. The concept of a a smart, connected doorbell is not completely novel. There are a number of products on the market that can alert to you to someone being at your door, and send you alerts, notifications, and live streaming video based on this information. And while Chui can do all of this, what takes the product to the next level is it's facial recognition technology.

Utilizing a combination of facial detection and proprietary recognition technologies, Chui's built in camera is capable of automatically detecting who is at your door. Through integrations with other smart home products, Chui can then act as a trigger point for home automation scenes based on this information. So, for instance the locks could automatically open when you come to the door, or automatically lock and send you an alert if it's your ex girlfriend (or boyfriend). Pretty cool stuff.

We had a great time chatting with Shaun about Chui, and about the smart home landscape in general. Download the episode now to learn more about this exciting new product!

• AppleTV to get the NFL Now
• Gazelle.com article showing an image of Tim Tebow playing for the Broncos?!
• Revolv joins the AllSeen Alliance
• Best Buy’s new Home Automation system? Peq
• CEDIA Expo 2014
• CHUI: The Word's Most Intelligent Doorbell

It is estimated by the EPA that up to 50% of landscape water usage in the US is wasted by over-watering. This means that on average Americans are spending roughly twice as much money to water their lawns as they should be. Perhaps even more disturbing though, is the fact that this wastage is taking place in the midst of major droughts throughout the country.

On this episode of the Home Tech Podcast we were joined by Skydrop Co-Founder and CTO, Clark Endrizzi. Skydrop is a smart sprinkler controller that promises to bring irrigation control into the era of the smart home. Users simply have to replace their existing controller with the Skydrop unit. Skydrop then jumps on the WiFi network, and the magic begins.

Through its use of aggregate weather data the system can prevent sprinklers from running unnecessarily, for example during a rain storm. The Skydrop software will also help users create an optimized watering schedule, tailored to their specific lawn, by having them answer a series of simple questions. The system is controllable via apps and a web interface, giving users the ability to monitor usage and alter settings as their needs change.

We enjoyed the conversation with Clark, and hope you do as well! If you're so inclined, please take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks for listening!

Show Notes

• Dropcam halts production of tabs, cancels pre-orders
• Huge Losses for Traditional Home Technology Companies
• CEDIA 2014 Manufacturers' Excellence Awards Finalists
• What on Earth is Crestron pyng?
• Basalte iPad Frames
• iPort LaunchPort with buttons
• Sonance Discreet Architectural Opening System
• Sonance Soundbar
• Leon Speakers
• HomeTech is now on Stitcher!
• Skydrop.com
• Join the Skydrop Waiting List
• contact: [email protected]

In broad terms, the smart home market can be divided somewhat cleanly into a few different camps. On one hand you've got the traditional dealer-installed technologies like Crestron, Savant, and Control4. On the other end of the spectrum you've got home automation-in-a-box solutions like SmartThings, Revolv, and the Staples Connect. But somewhere in the middle lies an entire community and ecosystem of products designed for the more hardcore hobbyist / enthusiast crowd, or as we like to call them 'prosumers'.

On this episode, Seth and Jason sat down with home automation prosumer, and fellow podcaster / blogger Richard Gunther. Richard hosts a podcast called Home : On over at the Digital Media Zone. The show and the website are both great resources for anyone interested in home automation and the smart home in general, especially for DIYers and hobbyists.

As someone who has implemented his own home technology for years, Richard has a very unique and hands-on perspective. We enjoyed chatting with him about both his personal experiences, as well as the broader home technology landscape.

Show Notes:

• Revolv Releases Android version of Home Automation app
• Webee Promises True 'Learning' Home Automation System at CEDIA 14
• Control4 Launches Home Automation App for Amazon Fire Phone
• The Digital Media Zone
• The Home: On Podcast
• Vera Home Controllers
• ISY99i Insteon Controller
• INSTEON for Sale in the Microsoft Store
• Voice control for the smart home coming to INSTEON
• Homeboy Control

Source: insteon.com

On this week's show Jason and Seth were pleased to welcome Macworld Senior Editor Chris Breen onto the show for a conversation all about Apple's entry into the Smart Home market with the HomeKit initiative.

Typically HomeTech show guests come directly from the smart home background, so the conversation with Chris provided a fresh perspective. As someone who lives and breathes Apple, Chris provides a unique take on HomeKit. From specific topics, such as the possibility of the AppleTV acting as a Home Automation hub, to a general overview of Apple's ambitions in the smart home space, the conversation covered all things HomeKit.

• Submit your installs!
• #LiveInstall on Twitter
• Chowmain Driver for Chromecast
• Honeywell Lyric Driver by HouseLogix
• Nest no longer works with Control4 (2012)
• Lowes to expand IRIS line of products
• Apple's HomeKit hub may already be in your house

On this week's show Jason and Seth discuss the weeks news in home technology and invent a new game based around the latest tech buzzwords.

• Samsung rumored to be acquiring SmartThings
• Vera Home Automation
• Thread Group announces new standard for home automation
• Big Ass Fans
• SnapAV introduces OvrC
• Bluebolt enabled products
• Phillips Hue Direct Integration with Nest Thermostats
• HomeTech Bingo Cards

Source: Bluecoast Live

On this week's episode Jason and Seth discuss the sales process related to buying a custom integrated system.

• Dropcam acquisition $555 Million
• Home On Podcast
• Technology.FM - A place to discover great technology podcasts.
• New LaunchPort with Hard Buttons
• Trufig
• AVShopTalk Podcast
• Lutron Caseta Wireless
• Ubiquity networks making smart in-wall devices
• RTI gets 2-way control with AppleTV
• My Device - RTI Drivers
• “The Big Decision” from Integrators Academy

This week Jason and Seth discuss the news from the past few weeks and integrator's disgust of certain smart TV features.

• Google IO 2014 Keynote
• Google Smartwatch Lineup
• Android TV
• Logitech Review (Google TV v1)
• Samsung SmartTV
• How to turn of Samsung Auto Motion Plus
• Nest API announced
• Dropcam Tabs
• Google/Nest Acquires Dropcam for $555m
• Yo App
• Staples Connect Upgraded and Price Dropped
• Insteon now in MicroSoft stores
• Jawbone Up
• Quirky's Wink App
• Wink Hub first look
• Wink Hub Deals on Amazon
• Control4 buys CardAccess
• Leave us a Voicemail!

On this week's episode we take a break from the news and discuss 5 really useful tips everyone should know before starting any home technology project. This list comes from our experiences working with customers on projects past and present.

• Example of a cabinet cooling fan system
• Example of a closet fan system
• CFM Calculator
• BTU/hr Calculator (select W and Btu/h)

• Plan out WAP locations
• Use POE powered access points for convenience
• POE Midspans
• Apple Airport Extreme Router
• Apple Airport Express
• Ruckus Wireless
• Unifi wireless access point system
• Unifi Layer 3 Adoption/Management
• ihiji remote management
• Embue's Switchboard

• Try to find a fiber to the home provider if available. Regardless of price the service should be better - but they will still suck.
• Turn off ads on Verizon Fios TV
• TiVo
• The many, many, many ways to configure a FiOS network
• Double NAT Configuration Explained

• HDMI is very hard to troubleshoot because of the lack of tools available to professionals and consumers. It should be "plug and play" but most integrators will call it "plug and pray."
• Check for firmware updates on receivers and TVs
• Cable boxes aren't always up to date (see point 3)

• Integrated systems are incredibly complex, hard to troubleshoot, and have multiple points of failure. Given time even the most stable, reliable system will break.

On this week's episode Jason and Seth chat about the weeks news and what we may see turn up at Google IO.

• VIA International announced $69.8 million in revenue in 2013
• Google IO 2014
• What to expect at Google IO
• Google Chromecast
• AppleTV
• Google IO Class - Nest for developers
• Nest Protect back on sale for $99
• Nest Protect Sanfu
• Microsoft launches Home Automation Startup Accelerator
• Life|ware
• Microsoft Azure
• Microsoft partners up with INSTEON
• xkcd: Standards