I’m tagging along this thread waiting to see what VP has to bring. The VeraEdge price @ $99 is very attractive right now but I guess that’s probably because they want to blow those inventory out before releasing the VeraPlus
Should have done a little research. Turns out Wink was sold to Flextronics a month or so ago. Will be interesting to see if they survive: Quirky files bankruptcy, accepts $15 million Wink bid from Flextronics | Fortune
Not entirely true… Flextronics has posted a “Stalking Horse” bid for Wink… The Company MAY end up being sold to Flextronics, but is still on the market.
BTW: Flextronics is the manufacturing partner for Wink (The Wink OS is labeled “flex-dvt”)… If Wink ends up in the hands of Flextronics, there is a good probability that they will continue to operate, at least in the short-term.
The Wink hub has always had an embedded web server… That is how the many third-party control applications were able to be developed (including the local_api functions of the Wink Connect plugin - It extended the embedded lighttpd web server)… Recent firmware has replaced the embedded lightttpd server with node.js… This web interface is used for hub provisioning and (not yet enabled) local control.
The plus for Vera is that it is customizable out-of-the-box, allows add-ons and is an open platform and has local control.
I don’t consider wink on the same level as VERA. Due to apps, Plugins, abilities, amount of devices that works among many other things. I see WINK more like IRIS and less like the new Smarthings.
Going to have to upgrade relatively soon from the VeraLite to take advantage of Z-Wave Plus. Since the VeraPlus is in the works, I see no need to buy a VeraEdge. This means Vera won’t see any money from me until they release the Plus, and I’m currently researching whether I’d be better served going to a Homeseer platform of some sort anyway.
Yeah I would wait for a PLUS. Have you don the free 30 day trial on Homeseer? That would be a good start. I bought a Z-wave usb stick from Amazon (which I returned) and did the free trail on a computer I have running Blueiris and Plex.
It wasn’t for me but you should test drive it.
^^^^ EDIT: the “FOR” that was missing
Yeah I would wait for a PLUS. Have you don the free 30 day trial on Homeseer? That would be a good start. I bought a Z-wave usb stick from Amazon (which I returned) and did the free trail on a computer I have running Blueiris and Plex.
It wasn’t me but you should test drive it.[/quote]
When I have enough time to make spending the 30 days to be worth it. I’m still trying to figure out the basics of how this stuff works and cannot comprehend how you guys come up with the stuff you do without it being a full-time job. I’ve got a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and i feel like an idiot sometimes because I don’t grok Devices, scenes, command classes, PLEG, Lua, LUUP, and all the other stuff here, even though it seems like this stuff should be really really simple. Humans can send probes to Mars and I’m having trouble getting outwardly simple things like light switches and doorlocks to do things. Maybe it’s just the interface screwing with the learning curve. Simple things are really really simple, but once I try to do anything advanced I feel like I have to “trick” the system into letting me do it. Documentation is either nonexistent or scattered so thoroughly throughout several wiki’s, knowledgebases, and forum posts, that by the time I find the answers, I’ve forgotten the questions.
I’m also getting the feeling that Z-Wave has an implementation problem. It is utterly failing in it’s core mission goal: interoperability. It seems like every time a new product comes out, it doesn’t work unless you hack it and write a plugin. I’ve been reading about the Aeon 6-in-1 sensor. Seems like an awesome product, but getting it work as designed is a headache. Either it’s some issue with Z-Wave plus, or it incorporates new features that controllers don’t understand, like a shock sensor, or whatever. In the computer world, we use drivers to overcome this. In Vera land, the device maker needs to make their device behave like an old device, utilizing existing architecture, such as controlling blinds like a dimmer, or for Vera to issue a new update to the system (Hey, Microsoft, can you build a new version of Windows for me so I can use this new hardware?), or for more advanced users to create plugins that, for the most part, achieve somewhere between the former and what drivers do (hence why my garage door control looks like a door lock). I feel like Apple will be able to fix this the best with HomeKit, but the end result will probably be limited, proprietary, expensive, you’ll have to use an iPhone to make it work, and everyone will suddenly think Apple invented home automation.
TL;DR: Venting.
Yes, Z-Wave isn’t exactly what I’d call “plug and play”. Until you get a true PnP type of technology then home automation will be regulated to the hobbyists and systems with proprietary models (Iris, ect).
It has gotten better, but nowhere near what it should be for public consumption.
Hi newzwaver –
I zoomed in on the picture provided. It shows a zwave, zigbee, wifi and bluetooth lights on the front. Assume it will handle those protocols.
Don
Wouldn’t the limited range of BT be kindof a waste of time, especially since most users already have WiFi?
That’s what I have thought in the past but who knows, probley security vs. wifi. If all my devices were wifi I would have unlimited range with network access points and such. I run ubiquiti unifi at one of the houses now and z-wave network doesn’t reach where wifi does.
I hate to point out that “late October” has come and gone. By Christmas maybe?
Yeah I would wait for a PLUS. Have you don the free 30 day trial on Homeseer? That would be a good start. I bought a Z-wave usb stick from Amazon (which I returned) and did the free trail on a computer I have running Blueiris and Plex.
It wasn’t me but you should test drive it.[/quote]
When I have enough time to make spending the 30 days to be worth it. I’m still trying to figure out the basics of how this stuff works and cannot comprehend how you guys come up with the stuff you do without it being a full-time job. I’ve got a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and i feel like an idiot sometimes because I don’t grok Devices, scenes, command classes, PLEG, Lua, LUUP, and all the other stuff here, even though it seems like this stuff should be really really simple. Humans can send probes to Mars and I’m having trouble getting outwardly simple things like light switches and doorlocks to do things. Maybe it’s just the interface screwing with the learning curve. Simple things are really really simple, but once I try to do anything advanced I feel like I have to “trick” the system into letting me do it. Documentation is either nonexistent or scattered so thoroughly throughout several wiki’s, knowledgebases, and forum posts, that by the time I find the answers, I’ve forgotten the questions.
I’m also getting the feeling that Z-Wave has an implementation problem. It is utterly failing in it’s core mission goal: interoperability. It seems like every time a new product comes out, it doesn’t work unless you hack it and write a plugin. I’ve been reading about the Aeon 6-in-1 sensor. Seems like an awesome product, but getting it work as designed is a headache. Either it’s some issue with Z-Wave plus, or it incorporates new features that controllers don’t understand, like a shock sensor, or whatever. In the computer world, we use drivers to overcome this. In Vera land, the device maker needs to make their device behave like an old device, utilizing existing architecture, such as controlling blinds like a dimmer, or for Vera to issue a new update to the system (Hey, Microsoft, can you build a new version of Windows for me so I can use this new hardware?), or for more advanced users to create plugins that, for the most part, achieve somewhere between the former and what drivers do (hence why my garage door control looks like a door lock). I feel like Apple will be able to fix this the best with HomeKit, but the end result will probably be limited, proprietary, expensive, you’ll have to use an iPhone to make it work, and everyone will suddenly think Apple invented home automation.
TL;DR: Venting.[/quote]
Wow, I feel exactly the same.
Hi guys,
This is what I found in my mailbox today, sounds very promising…
Our newest controller, VeraPlus, is expected to ship to dealers in December, and we are very excited about it. The new VeraPlus has all the great features of the VeraEdge, plus it adds the ability to communicate with devices using just about every major protocol in use today for home automation. To briefly review: VeraEdge handles Z-Wave and Wi-Fi, which actually is plenty for many applications. VeraPlus adds ZigBee HA1.2 and Bluetooth, enabling you to offer your customers an even wider choice of devices and brands for their smart homes.VeraPlus reflects our vision of offering consumers the maximum in compatibility. In one compact controller, VeraPlus works with four different wireless protocols. One caveat: Mesh networking is specific to each protocol, so a Z-Wave lamp dimmer will not act as a repeater for a distant ZigBee thermostat. Keeping that in mind, VeraPlus is now the go-to solution for larger homes (where more devices are likely to be used) or whenever a customer wants to use one or more specific smart home devices in their system.
Please stay-tuned for upcoming VeraPlus pricing and pre-order info.
That carrot is still just dangling just out of reach. They will push it to the last day of Fall or be late as normal. May have pre-orders by end of fall.
Seems like my gamble on the Move blind controls will be paying off as those support bluetooth. Guess I may be buying a VeraPlus. Hopefully some of the Lowe’s Iris Zigbee stuff is compatible with the Plus Zigbee implementation.
If some ‘end user’ beta testers are needed for the Plus, I volunteer. 
Thanks @Ricardasr25 , exiting news. I have plans to get one of these when they are out.
@BOFH I’m also waiting for the MOVE and were investigating the possibility to “MySensor” it but maybe I can forget about that then.
Cant wait to continue expanding my system
[quote=“Ricardasr25, post:34, topic:188851”]Hi guys,
This is what I found in my mailbox today, sounds very promising…
Our newest controller, VeraPlus, is expected to ship to dealers in December, and we are very excited about it. The new VeraPlus has all the great features of the VeraEdge, plus it adds the ability to communicate with devices using just about every major protocol in use today for home automation. To briefly review: VeraEdge handles Z-Wave and Wi-Fi, which actually is plenty for many applications. VeraPlus adds ZigBee HA1.2 and Bluetooth, enabling you to offer your customers an even wider choice of devices and brands for their smart homes.[/quote]VeraPlus reflects our vision of offering consumers the maximum in compatibility. In one compact controller, VeraPlus works with four different wireless protocols. One caveat: Mesh networking is specific to each protocol, so a Z-Wave lamp dimmer will not act as a repeater for a distant ZigBee thermostat. Keeping that in mind, VeraPlus is now the go-to solution for larger homes (where more devices are likely to be used) or whenever a customer wants to use one or more specific smart home devices in their system.
Please stay-tuned for upcoming VeraPlus pricing and pre-order info.
Looks like they forgot to include some other relevant information… I’ll fill in the blanks…
“The new VeraPlus is very power efficient… we provide barely the processing power and memory required so as not to overburden the sytem with unused silicon. We have leveraged power efficient technology from Intel, the 8086 with 64K of onboard RAM. You get 16bits of pure processing power that can run almost anything (except our OS can’t do branching logic, transaction based execution, or many things a modern HA system should have). All of this for only 5 times the price of what a low-end Android phone would cost you… sign up for yours now!”
any news on what is involved when upgrading? Not in the mood for a complete setup of my system right now but would consider it if there is a way to transfer devices, use PLEG’s and existing scenes, etc… ?
Same process of Upgrading as before. What controller and UI are you on now?