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80% => Computer & Technology => Topic started by: thedarkprince on Friday, June 19, 2020, 05:11:59



Title: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: thedarkprince on Friday, June 19, 2020, 05:11:59
I’ve not ventured into the whole smart home world yet but Amazon are having a sale on their devices so I’m tempted. Does anyone have the Echo Plus & Hue combo? Any drawbacks? Any better combinations (Google Home?)? Anything a newbie should know? Even after reading up on it, must admit, I’m not sure whether I should get the Hue Bridge or whether the Plus’s zigbee hub will do most of what I want - mainly intending to control lights and smart plugs, nothing too complex.

Thoughts on the Hue stuff too would be good. Do people use the Hue button or just control lights through apps/smart devices?


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: pauld on Friday, June 19, 2020, 09:12:45
I’ve not ventured into the whole smart home world yet but Amazon are having a sale on their devices so I’m tempted. Does anyone have the Echo Plus & Hue combo? Any drawbacks? Any better combinations (Google Home?)? Anything a newbie should know? Even after reading up on it, must admit, I’m not sure whether I should get the Hue Bridge or whether the Plus’s zigbee hub will do most of what I want - mainly intending to control lights and smart plugs, nothing too complex.

Thoughts on the Hue stuff too would be good. Do people use the Hue button or just control lights through apps/smart devices?

I have that combo (Hue bridge + Alexa), can't comment on comparisons as I don't have anything else! It works well, although it's probably a bit overblown (and a bit overpriced) for what we need. At the time, it was all fairly new and Hue was about the only thing I could find that would work reliably with Alexa. I suspect if I was buying now, I'd just get a bunch of cheaper Alexa-aware smart bulbs and dispense with the Hue part. But it does work well and once we got it set up (which really wasn't very difficult) we've had minimal faff with it.

As to the Hue button etc, we usually just use Alexa voice commands to control the lights, occasionally use the Hue app if I want to set up a new brightness/colour setting that I can then voice control. Although tbh we don't use the different light settings nearly as much as I though we would, I thought that would be a really cool thing and I think if we got into the habit of using it, it still could be, but we mainly just switch the things on and off. Hope that helps.


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: Bogus Dave on Friday, June 19, 2020, 09:39:09
We had a pair of smart lightbulbs. Once the novelty wore off we ended up just using them like normal lightbulbs, manually turning them off and on. Bit pointless with hindsight


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: Samdy Gray on Friday, June 19, 2020, 09:42:28
I have a Hue bridge and a series of Echo Dots around the house, plus Hue dimmer switches in most rooms. Recently managed to get an Ikea bulb & switch to work with the Hue bridge too. Oh and a smart switch to control a lamp too.

If you're a bit geeky (like me) it's fun to tinker with home automation. I also run Home Assistant which acts as a central point of control, rather than setting up routines in different places.


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: pauld on Friday, June 19, 2020, 09:52:16
I have a Hue bridge and a series of Echo Dots around the house, plus Hue dimmer switches in most rooms. Recently managed to get an Ikea bulb & switch to work with the Hue bridge too. Oh and a smart switch to control a lamp too.

If you're a bit geeky (like me) it's fun to tinker with home automation. I also run Home Assistant which acts as a central point of control, rather than setting up routines in different places.
Yeah, we have a whole bunch of stuff controlled by smart plugs, including we recently rebuilt our lean-to and everything in that (lamps, heating, strip lighting, music) is entirely controlled by Alexa. It's quite fun to leave the room and turn everything off by just shouting over your shoulder as you walk out, still feels very Sci Fi. Not yet got the heating on it as don't see the value for the expense, especially at the moment when we're in all the time anyway, but I dare say that will come. So to supplement my previous answer, I like Smart Home automation, just unsure whether Hue gives best value any more.


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: pauld on Friday, June 19, 2020, 09:53:55
Yeah, we have a whole bunch of stuff controlled by smart plugs, including we recently rebuilt our lean-to and everything in that (lamps, heating, strip lighting, music) is entirely controlled by Alexa. It's quite fun to leave the room and turn everything off by just shouting over your shoulder as you walk out, still feels very Sci Fi. Not yet got the heating on it as don't see the value for the expense, especially at the moment when we're in all the time anyway, but I dare say that will come. So to supplement my previous answer, I like Smart Home automation, just unsure whether Hue gives best value any more.
I also still quite enjoy being able to piss about with the bedroom lights when the missus has gone to bed and I've taken the dog out for a walk, I can do a whole lightshow from three streets away, drives her fucking mental :) Childish, me?


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: Samdy Gray on Friday, June 19, 2020, 09:56:28
Haha, I've flashed the bedroom lights to wake the wife up when she's been enjoying an extended lie-in occasionally.


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: Berniman on Friday, June 19, 2020, 09:58:07
I use Alexa with Eufy smart lights and robovac, also Ring doorbell and camera.  I bought the Eufy bulbs on a deal from Amazon and because I already had the vac so it made sense to stick with the same brand.  Works really well, as PaulD says getting up and going to bed whilst instructing Alexa to turn off the lights on the way up the stairs is weird, but you soon get used to it.

Works really well and I would expect to add further smart lights and gadgets around the house as things expire and when new additions are added.


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: @mwooly63 on Friday, June 19, 2020, 12:46:43
Have an echo dot and a couple of LoHas multicoloured bulbs from Amazon.
Mrs loves them, turns the lights to blue then get Alexa to drop the % till low level.
Or use the app. Funnily enough you cant use Alexa to turn the bulbs red. Am considering the same set up in the bedroom as easy to use.


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: Bob's Orange on Friday, June 19, 2020, 13:05:58
Without coming over all 4D, just what is the absolute point of any of this? Are people that lazy that they need to pay for a little box to turn the lights on and off with some bit of kit that steals your data anyay?

All seems a bit of frivelous nonsense to me.


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: pauld on Friday, June 19, 2020, 13:47:26
Without coming over all 4D, just what is the absolute point of any of this? Are people that lazy that they need to pay for a little box to turn the lights on and off with some bit of kit that steals your data anyay?

All seems a bit of frivelous nonsense to me.
We originally got one because the only place we could put a second wardrobe in our bedroom was right in front of the main light switch. So it was either no wardrobe or no light.


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: donkey on Friday, June 19, 2020, 13:50:29
Without coming over all 4D, just what is the absolute point of any of this? Are people that lazy that they need to pay for a little box to turn the lights on and off with some bit of kit that steals your data anyay?

All seems a bit of frivelous nonsense to me.

In general, it does seem to solve a problem that doesn't exist.


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: Berniman on Friday, June 19, 2020, 13:52:48
Without coming over all 4D, just what is the absolute point of any of this? Are people that lazy that they need to pay for a little box to turn the lights on and off with some bit of kit that steals your data anyay?

All seems a bit of frivelous nonsense to me.

I am sure the same things were being said about remote controls when they first arrived :)  Like I said, i started using the bulbs because I got the offer of some free when I bought my Ring Doorbell, and so set them up.  I am not dependent on them being voice activated, but it's a nice touch, especially as I didn't pay for the bulbs..


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: Batch on Friday, June 19, 2020, 13:56:24
Without coming over all 4D, just what is the absolute point of any of this?

Because you can.

#nerd


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: Bob's Orange on Friday, June 19, 2020, 14:05:17
I am sure the same things were being said about remote controls when they first arrived :)  Like I said, i started using the bulbs because I got the offer of some free when I bought my Ring Doorbell, and so set them up.  I am not dependent on them being voice activated, but it's a nice touch, especially as I didn't pay for the bulbs..

That's a good point about the remote controls, I can actually remember my gran and grandad had a remote control TV in the one room and the old TV in the main living room, of which you had to manually get up of your arse to change from one channel to one of the other three!  :cry:

We originally got one because the only place we could put a second wardrobe in our bedroom was right in front of the main light switch. So it was either no wardrobe or no light.

Fair enough, or you could have got a thinner wardrobe?  :hmmm:


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: RobertT on Friday, June 19, 2020, 14:09:10
Star Trek has probably only one or two inventions left to master.  Even teleportation has been achieved on light I think.  Stun guns could do with some work though, Tasers are a bit pre-historic in comparison.


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: pauld on Friday, June 19, 2020, 18:57:53
Star Trek has probably only one or two inventions left to master.  Even teleportation has been achieved on light I think.  Stun guns could do with some work though, Tasers are a bit pre-historic in comparison.
We still don't have nearly enough doors that go "Schoooouuup" when they open


Title: Re: Amazon Echo Plus & Philips Hue
Post by: RobertT on Friday, June 19, 2020, 19:06:47
I think Star Trek should do an In Between version - before everything was mastered.  Like having an early day Siri involved as the ships computer, and maybe Checkov swiping his fingers across the touch screen when piloting but being locked out because it can't recognise his finger.  Uhura would being using a Translation tool that isn't yet fully refined, giving out some dodgy translations and Scotty having to eep telling Kirk that the power source doesn;t quite have the range we need yet, so they keep stopping to recharge the Dilithium.