I hope for a beta test starting early December with release in 3 to 4 weeks after that in a perfect world. :hesaid:
Hi Spanky,
I know we don't live in a perfect world.....but when is the Russound > M1 under rules control likely to see light of day? :rockon:
Cheers,
Fleetz
Friends
Pre-written interfaces for Russound or any other product make things nice, but much of this integration can be done without Elk's help. Of course code is saved when hardware exists, but we can move forward on almost any integration we want without waiting on anyone....
Consider this story below to get a look at how we interfaced an M1 with a Nuvo Grand Concerto without custom drivers or hardware (outside of a serial port)
Consider this..... The horsepower under the hood of the M1 has allowed me to make the following claim and as yet, no one can dispute it. "If you can think it up, the M1 can do it".
Automation, lighting, automated speech, Audio integration you name it.
A while back Elk really stepped up to the plate and assisted me on a project that went where no man had ever went before.
It was related to designing and installaing a system that allowed a Lou Gehrig's patient to use the M1 to control his entire home. Lou Gehrig's victims suffer a slow (sometimes rapid) paralysis of their entire body leaving only their eyes that will move.
The power of the M1 and the hearts of the ELk staff allowed me to interface their product with numerous other 3rd party products (including the Grand Concerto audio system from Nuvo).
The big picture is this. The M1 has enough power to allow any integrator to brave new worlds. The limit has always been your creativity. With such power the door is always open to "work arounds" that allow integrators to accomplish anything they can imagine.
Since the story I linked to was published, I have visited Steve Smith several times. Today all he can move is his feet. But the last time I visited Steve he used his M1 to play tricks on his Nurse by turning out the lights in the rooms she would enter (X-10 lighting was provided by OnQ Legrand and works flawlessly). He can see the rooms via cameras that he switches using the M1. He carried on a meaningful (but automated) converstation with my wife and I, changed the channels on his satellite dish and played his favorite music in any room in the home.
He can also answer the door and telephone using automated voices Coordinated through the M1. And he has a series of screens on his PC that allows his Toe Mouse (and soon his eyes) to activate any event installed.
Steve's install has much more installed that you will learn about when you read the rather lengthy story. Note that the videos of our interviews with Steve was while he still had some movement and could talk somewhat.
Out of the box, the already written drivers and currently available hardware interfaces are a strong combination. But YOU can interface the M1 to any other product that has open architecture. The limit is in the integrator, not the M1 controller........
In summary, let's put the power of the M1 behind us and say that the limit to it's power is in the integrator not the product. And.... let's all agree that Elk is a partner any of us would be privaleged to have...
Lastly, Steve himself was in our business before ALS struck him silent and motionless. He was a Master Crestron programmer but now controls his LIFE by a much less expensive product - The M!.
God Bless
Tony Stewart