08Jan

It's now coming up to 2 years since the CommandFusion IR Learner was released, and we are yet to find an IR code that it can't learn! ... read on »

19Dec

Well its that time of year again, the time when everyone gets crazy busy and according to customers the world ends on December 25th - all jobs must be finished by then! ... read on »

17Dec

With the rise in popularity of Apple’s ‘Siri’ voice control, it was only a matter of time before voice control was tried in home automation environments. Recently we have seen a number of videos demonstrating voice control for home automation.

Individuals and companies have been experimenting with voice control for a while now. Even we (CommandFusion) have a module that makes use of Apple’s voice recognition system which allows implementation of voice control in iViewer and many people do use it.

But is voice control practical? Is it really going to be the revolution in home automation that some people seem to think it will be and change the way we control our homes forever? Or maybe it’s a passing fad or a useful tool…but for limited applications? ... read on »

19Nov

Since iViewer was released, it has changed quite a bit. The R&D team are constantly adding new features to keep up not just with the needs of our customers, but also to keep up with the abilities of the devices that iViewer runs on.
So we thought it was about time we put together a list of features that will help show you why iViewer is the best automation and control mobile device application on the market. ... read on »

03Oct

Since the release of our initial hardware lineup in May of 2012, one of the most common questions we get is "Why did you create CFLink when Ethernet already exists?"

While the easy method was to go with the crowd, and implement an IP based communications method – we didn’t believe it was the right choice. We chose to go with CFLink based on our experience in the industry, after extensive R&D and after talking to integrators about what they look for when choosing control hardware.

What is CFLink?

Firstly, lets take a look at what CFLink actually is. CFLink is a 5-wire RS485 bus that carries both power and data to devices over a maximum distance of 1.6 kilometers. Up to 238 devices can exist on a single network, and multiple CFLink networks can communicate with each other via Ethernet, providing an endlessly scalable system.

CFLink can run on any cable with 5 or more cores, including CAT5/6 and 2-pair shielded cable. When using CAT5/6, you should use one pair for voltage + and one pair for voltage - to decrease the voltage drop over longer runs.

20Aug

We have just added some new functionality to our IR Learner Software to make it even more powerful! It now has the ability to import and export Crestron .IR files. Also included in the latest beta update is the ability to view the IR waveform and store a photo of the actual remote control within the IR file. ... read on »

02Aug

With the recent release of iViewer Lite, there are now effectively three different versions of iViewer to choose from.

Each version is targeted at a different customer type, in this blog post we will take a look at the differences.... read on »

11Jul

MISCONCEPTIONS

In Part 1 of this series we looked at the advantages of using smartphones and tablets in home automation systems, in Part 2 we looked at the disadvantages. Today we take a look at the misconceptions.

Along with the valid arguments for each side, there are some misconceptions that are simply incorrect and should be put aside when considering a tablet or smartphone. ... read on »

05Jul

In part 1 of this article, we looked at the advantages of using smartphones and tablets as control devices in a home automation systems. On top of the numerous advantages, there are a number of disadvantages that may affect the decision of whether to use a smart phone/tablet or a proprietary device. These disadvantages can be addressed and most times removed all together if approached logically. ... read on »

02Jul

The Rise of the Consumer Mobile Device

Up until recently, integrators and end users had no choice but to use a dedicated and often proprietary touch panel to control their home automation or control system if they desired a comprehensive control interface.

Since the release of the first iPhone, iPad, and android devices, we have seen an explosion in the number of devices being sold and also in the number of applications released (such as CommandFusion's iViewer 4 ) that allow these devices ... read on »