Smart Home | Vital Football

Smart Home

DeanoVilla

One Bloody Number
Right then.. as some of you may be aware I'm buying a brand new home at the moment, it's due to be built and ready to move in around end Feb time.

So obviously while Natalie is concerning herself with pointless luxuries such as sofa's, beds, wardrobes and cabinets, me being the sensible one am looking into the essentials like 60" TV's, multi room speakers, home hubs and other smart tech.

But it's a minefield....

I keep asking myself the same questions.

a) Do I really NEED it?
b) If I do then what is the best option

With regards to multiroom first off, I've heard nothing but good things about Sonos. So i started looking into it... but the more I looked into it the more I started to think, do i really need it?

I mainly listen to music in the bathroom and kitchen. I already have a small Bluetooth Speaker which is portable and more than adequate to listen to while taking a bath, sois it really worth forking out on a multi room system? Would I be better off just getting a decent speaker for the kitchen?

What are the advantages of multiroom? I honestly can't see a scenario where I'd want Oasis playing in the kitchen and Queen playing in the bathroom at the same time.... if I move from the kitchen to the bathroom I'd just take my phone with me and connect to a different speaker. or am I missing some other benefit?

If I do just go for a single speaker for the kitchen.....then next question, do I go for a nice, great quality wireless speaker? or would a Google Home Hub be a better option? I believe the speaker on that would be more than adequate for the size of the room, plus you get the screen which seems useful for cooking and watching Youtube etc..

In terms of compatability I use an Android phone so am fully Googled up app wise, so a Home Hub makes sense from that point of view.

Not sure if I then need to worry about the TV and compatability with that? Or will any smart TV do?

Then I haven't even got into the realms of smart lighting, heating etc....


HELP!!!!
 
The only thing with Multiroom is that there is more than one person in the House, so as the kids grow up, would it be good for them?

Personally, I bought a couple of Sonos One's. They have Alexa built in, and are going to add Google Home soon as well. The sound is good enough for me, and the smart functionality is exactly the same as an Echo.
 
How do smart bulbs work?

The house will have 6 downlights in the kitchen, 4 in the hall, 2 in the W/C and 4 in the bathroom.

So if I got smart downlights, could I set it up so I could be in the kitchen and say... "Hey Google, turn on the hall lights". ???

Or are they not that clever?
 
I haven't used Google Home yet, so I'm not 100% sure. Alexa lets you group things, or set a series of events. For example, you could set it to turn on the TV, Soundbar, lights etc when you say "Alexa, I'm home". I assume Google will do the same.

Where is most of your music stored? Have you got a lot of MP3 files, or is it all on Play Music?
 
We have Spotify family. So one subscription that allows us all to have our own separate Spotify accounts.

So it's all streamed rather than stored.
 
Sonos is amazing, and if money is no object, you might as well go down that road.

But the Amazon Echo is pretty good - we got one for Jr 1 last Christmas and it's great and the sound quality is decent as well. You can link Spotify up to that, so you could buy an Echo for everyone (or every room) and you'd be set.

I know nothing about smart lighting and think it's a bit weird. I am perfectly happy just to go into a room and turn on the lights if I need to. plus, the smart lightbulbs cost an arm and a leg as well. I just don't get why anyone would want to speak to their house. But I'm pretty antisocial :ROFLMAO:
 
As a massive Back To The Future fan the sooner I can hydrate a pizza and turn my lights on with my voice the better. lol
 
Sorry, had to go out to the Christmas staff dinner.

JPA is about right, if Spotify is all you use. An Echo is brilliant, as would the Google equivalent be.

If you are are really into your sound, you can buy the little ones, and link them to a Bluetooth speaker. Most Soundbars have Bluetooth, and I use mine to listen to my music in the living room.

As for the lights, it's all about getting the right bulbs. Heating is a useful one, with the phone apps and voice control it really is worth having a Hive or similar product.

For full TV control you really need a Logitech Harmony remote and hub. I say "Watch TV" and it turns on the TV, selects the right input, turns on the DVR and Soundbar etc.
 
I have Hive and find that great. I can't imagine ever wanting or needing smart lights.

But being able to control the heating from the phone is really useful, especially if you are going to be out longer than you thought, you can turn the heating down and save dosh, or obviously turn it up if you are out and want to go into a nice warm place.

I would think your place will be fitted with smart meters as well, they are good, you can look at your useage and work out where you can save a bit.
 
My mate has just got a door bell camera,speaker thing . So everytime someone goes to his front door a chime goes on his smart phone and he can see and speak to them from wherever he is, home or not.
Clever but not for me.

I have just bought an Echo but have yet to set up. I was thinking of getting some smart plugs to go with it.
 
My mate has just got a door bell camera,speaker thing . So everytime someone goes to his front door a chime goes on his smart phone and he can see and speak to them from wherever he is, home or not.
Clever but not for me.

I have just bought an Echo but have yet to set up. I was thinking of getting some smart plugs to go with it.

I nearly stopped reading after the 'my mate' bit... lets keep things sensible Melon Donkey!

Anyway! Agreed, they are really good. My physio has one and now, having just googled, so do I as the price is ridiculously good on this one.

https://www.wowcher.co.uk/deal/shop...MI1brnlemK3wIVh7HtCh2YcAQDEAQYASABEgIZHfD_BwE
 
I would never buy one of those doorbells on pure principle coz I find the advert fecking annoying....

Burglar rings door bell.
Smug man turns on cam and tells him "All I saw was you looking through my window, now I'd like you to leave"
Burglar says "alright mate" and leaves.


If I was the burglar I'd rob the smug git even more than I had planned to and then burn the house to the ground.

Anyway... 2 questions..

1) What kind of self respecting burglar rings the fucking bell before robbing you?

2) Whats to stop someone just ripping the doorbell off the wall?
 
I wasn't thinking re burglars, agree with what you say. It is more if in gym I can see who is at the door instead of going out and when away from the house, I can answer the door and if it is a delivery, tell them where to leave the parcel.

You berk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :grinning: