Philips Hue - an RGB LED bulb with Zigbee

[neil12011]

cool stuff, just read the article.

[ILoveC4]

Hopefully, if they have a documented API, someone can write a C4 driver that allows us to bypass that bridge and just interface with the bulbs directly as if it were a normal C4 dimmer. Then we could just replace a switch with a keypad, and have the lights "hot wired" (always on).

[Kevin L]

i got a kit today

[alanchow]

Control4 requires manufacturers to write in additional non standard commands into their zigbee stack to enable seemless integration into Control4. Philips will need to work with Control4 to make it Control4 friendly.

[Kevin L]

Control4 requires manufacturers to write in additional non standard commands into their zigbee stack to enable seemless integration into Control4. Philips will need to work with Control4 to make it Control4 friendly.

yup.. i am about to release a zigbee outlet.. it was fun going back and fourth with C4 and also a Zigbee firmware company

[cashmoney]

Of course they do! Why on earth would any manufacture want to rely on a standard? Those that wrote the standard don't know nearly as much so it of course needs to be modified to be proprietary. It just so happens that proprietary also = more $.

As much as I enjoy the benefits of my C4 system I'm learning to hate C4 as a company.

[cashmoney]

News flash C4, your not Apple who is one of the only ones who can get away with this sort of thing long term. Lots of PC makers experimented with the term proprietary, they all learned quickly that it was cheaper for them and better for the customer to not do such things.

I remember reading awhile back on this forum some comments from the "enlightened" that Microsoft, Apple, and Google would never really get into the automation game. If this isn't taken as a wake up call then I'm very glad that your not a publicly traded company that I could have wasted money on.

[neil12011]

News flash C4, your not Apple who is one of the only ones who can get away with this sort of thing long term. Lots of PC makers experimented with the term proprietary, they all learned quickly that it was cheaper for them and better for the customer to not do such things.

I remember reading awhile back on this forum some comments from the "enlightened" that Microsoft, Apple, and Google would never really get into the automation game. If this isn't taken as a wake up call then I'm very glad that your not a publicly traded company that I could have wasted money on.

Don't troll the thread. If you've got something to add to the Phillips product that the OP mentioned then do it, otherwise, move on.

[Kevin L]

News flash C4, your not Apple who is one of the only ones who can get away with this sort of thing long term. Lots of PC makers experimented with the term proprietary, they all learned quickly that it was cheaper for them and better for the customer to not do such things.

I remember reading awhile back on this forum some comments from the "enlightened" that Microsoft, Apple, and Google would never really get into the automation game. If this isn't taken as a wake up call then I'm very glad that your not a publicly traded company that I could have wasted money on.

lol

[cashmoney]

News flash C4' date=' your not Apple who is one of the only ones who can get away with this sort of thing long term. Lots of PC makers experimented with the term proprietary, they all learned quickly that it was cheaper for them and better for the customer to not do such things.

I remember reading awhile back on this forum some comments from the "enlightened" that Microsoft, Apple, and Google would never really get into the automation game. If this isn't taken as a wake up call then I'm very glad that your not a publicly traded company that I could have wasted money on.[/quote']

Don't troll the thread. If you've got something to add to the Phillips product that the OP mentioned then do it, otherwise, move on.

So commenting on a comment from Allen on how C4 requires additional non-standard code is trolling? Oh, and another dealer who responded to that same comment laughing about his experience developing a new product, that's on topic and answers the OP's question?

[lvs]

i got a kit today

Lucky dog... Can't find them anywhere in the Dallas Texas area and they are sold out online for 1-2 months.

[LSDave]

Control4 requires manufacturers to write in additional non standard commands into their zigbee stack to enable seemless integration into Control4. Philips will need to work with Control4 to make it Control4 friendly.

yup.. i am about to release a zigbee outlet.. it was fun going back and fourth with C4 and also a Zigbee firmware company

did you see the panamax bluebolt Zigbee outlets at CEDIA? Work as regular controllable outlets with control4 with a $95 retail, but if you use it with their bluebolt gateway, you can do energy monitoring. Kind of like the tweet-a-watt project from Ladyada.

[Kevin L]

BTW im just laughing at the attitude everyone has. They make assumptions on things they dont know about / understand

[CSquared]

As interesting as these sound there is a problem with controlling a bulb and not a switch. If the bulbs are turned off and you don't have your idevice handy you can't turn them back on.

I just tested this and there's an easy way around it. If the bulb is turned off and you don't have your idevice' date=' you just turn the power off at the switch, the bulb automatically resets to defaults and you can turn it back on at the switch like a regular bulb. No idevice required.[/quote']

Good to know.

[alanchow]

BTW im just laughing at the attitude everyone has. They make assumptions on things they dont know about / understand

I'm tempted to minimise my posts to driver announcements.

[cashmoney]

BTW im just laughing at the attitude everyone has. They make assumptions on things they dont know about / understand

I'm tempted to minimise my posts to driver announcements.

Alan, I don't know that I've ever seen a post from you that I or anyone else perceived as being bad or negative toward the C4 user base. I unfortunately can't say the same thing for all of the dealers that are active here. I know the vast majority here, if not all, are thankful that you are a part of this forum.

The problem I think is that the regularly active user base here are well educated in not only AV but also automation and in some cases are as educated if not more then some of the dealers here. Many of the users also have large sums of money invested in their equipment and systems and thus get frustrated with the industry when everyone wants to write their own standards or constantly reinvent the wheel because they can do it better. I'm all for innovation but I'm also for standards. Zigbee has a standard that works well yet some feel it necessary to change it to "lock" a customer into their product or those of their partners. Imagine if say apple, Asus, and HP all used propriety versions of 802.11n standard. You too would be upset or disenfranchised.

The other problem is negativity on both sides, user & dealer, simply drive each to push harder against each other. Making comments that users simply don't know/understand is an example of this. I've been biting my tongue in an attempt to halt the negativity I know I've had recently, but its difficult.

To me none of this was trolling and it all ties into the general discussion of this product, and potential issues with it or issues with integration.

To try and get things back on topic, I'm very excited for this product and am currently on my way to the Apple Store to pick up my kit.

[alanchow]

Alan, I don't know that I've ever seen a post from you that I or anyone else perceived as being bad or negative toward the C4 user base. I unfortunately can't say the same thing for all of the dealers that are active here. I know the vast majority here, if not all, are thankful that you are a part of this forum.

The problem I think is that the regularly active user base here are well educated in not only AV but also automation and in some cases are as educated if not more then some of the dealers here. Many of the users also have large sums of money invested in their equipment and systems and thus get frustrated with the industry when everyone wants to write their own standards or constantly reinvent the wheel because they can do it better. I'm all for innovation but I'm also for standards. Zigbee has a standard that works well yet some feel it necessary to change it to "lock" a customer into their product or those of their partners. Imagine if say apple, Asus, and HP all used propriety versions of 802.11n standard. You too would be upset or disenfranchised.

The other problem is negativity on both sides, user & dealer, simply drive each to push harder against each other. Making comments that users simply don't know/understand is an example of this. I've been biting my tongue in an attempt to halt the negativity I know I've had recently, but its difficult.

To me none of this was trolling and it all ties into the general discussion of this product, and potential issues with it or issues with integration.

To try and get things back on topic, I'm very excited for this product and am currently on my way to the Apple Store to pick up my kit.

I try to be as helpful and diplomatic as possible however its hard to remain neutral all the time. Personally i'm kind of getting tired with the negativity of the forum. I think thats its not constructive and just ends up giving more headaches then necessary. The same old topics always come up and the entire forum turns sour again and again. Kind of feels like being kicked in the nuts when you're trying to help. Anyway nothing i can do about it. It is what it is.

[lvs]

I would have to agree, that is why I just lurk here... why does every thread have to turn in to this.

[IHateC4]

Hopefully, if they have a documented API, someone can write a C4 driver that allows us to bypass that bridge and just interface with the bulbs directly as if it were a normal C4 dimmer. Then we could just replace a switch with a keypad, and have the lights "hot wired" (always on).

LoL, replace a switch with a keypad, and have the lights "hot wired" (always on).. <<---- this is a DUMB move in term of being GREEN (saving the earth, saving energy)... YOU THINK THAT LIGHT BULB WON'T USE ELECTRIC WHEN THE LIGHT'S OFF ??? think again...

COME ON PEOPLE .. no matter how smart ASS you are, you are ruining the planet, save this planet for your kids and grand kids.. BY SAVING ENERGY,

stop being automation slave, everything has to be moderated and limit..

I WONDER HOW YOU TEACH YOUR KIDS OF BEING GREEN... again this is a joke.

[RyanE]

LoL, replace a switch with a keypad, and have the lights "hot wired" (always on).. <<---- this is a DUMB move in term of being GREEN (saving the earth, saving energy)... YOU THINK THAT LIGHT BULB WON'T USE ELECTRIC WHEN THE LIGHT'S OFF ??? think again...

COME ON PEOPLE .. no matter how smart ASS you are, you are ruining the planet, save this planet for your kids and grand kids.. BY SAVING ENERGY,

stop being automation slave, everything has to be moderated and limit..

I WONDER HOW YOU TEACH YOUR KIDS OF BEING GREEN... again this is a joke.

Yeah, how, exactly can you turn the light on remotely / on a motion or other automated method if the light doesn't have power to get the ZigBee signal to know it should turn on?

It's somewhat fundamental to be able to *control* the thing you want to automate...

Besides, the point with these bulbs is that they save energy when they're used, typically a *LOT* more energy than the incandescent / fluorescent they're replacing, even if they do use some small amount of current all the time.

RyanE

[IHateC4]

^^^ each switch in my house controls 4-6 light bulbs, if I replaced those 4-6 lights with the Philips Hue then I have 4-6 zigbee + 1 keypad running 24/7 with small current of electric.. and this just benefit the mood of automation

I would suggest just use standard LED light bulb with C4 switch/dimmer..

[RyanE]

I agree, it's different, and it's a tradeoff.

Your idea of control of these lights breaks down where you're talking (like here) about RGB lights. I totally agree if these were just LED lighting that replaces incandescent / fluorescent ('white') lighting.

You can't take already installed incandescents and replace them with RGB (color) lights and control them with a single dimmer. It just doesn't work. There's not enough wires going to your fixture. You only have: Hot, Neutral, and Ground going up to your fixture, and you need: Red, Green, Blue, and Common.

If you want to individually control RGB lights, it's not a bad way to go at the moment, but there will likely be other methods of control at some point in the future, with possibly ramifications in terms of wiring.

RyanE

[Kevin L]

i have been playing with the Hue system and so far its pretty cool.. its shockingly bright too.. most RGB color systems are just bright at certain colors. These are BRIGHT on all colors

[me23]

Kevin, just curious the outlet you are working on, is it an actual outlet or a big wall wart like the panamax one. Im going to have a theater sign put above my home theater entrance door and I have an existing outlet already there. Just wondering if I can swap the outlet out or have to do something else.

[urbanmark]

Agree with Kevin... these bulbs are brighter than other LEDs I've tried in the past. (Technically, the LEDs are not RGB, they're actually orange, lime, violet - a choice Philips made to produce higher quality white light).

The color changing capabilities are cool for occasional use. For example, for election night we just pulled up a photo of an American flag and pointed to the colors we want reproduced. Easy... it's all red, white and blue. (You can also shake your idevice and it will randomly pick new colors from the photo).

But, I also really like the 4 default white settings (Relax, Concentrate, Reading and Energize) which walk you through a warm white to daylight color temperature.