2008-10-29, 19:22
Thanks for all of the replies. With more thought (and some of the posts), I'd like to share some of my ideas.
It seems to me that the best thing is to have no automation code anywhere in XBMC. I'm not a member of that team, and the sheer amount of code is daunting to me. But, here's what I've been thinking about.
There needs to be an application that has the ability to dim lights. I bet that someone has worked on just such an application or a set of libraries to access low level details of protocols such as insteon and zwave (and maybe even others, I'd be interested in manipulating RGB leds behind the Screen). This application needs to be able to listen for commands from other application. This could eventually grow to support things that other people are looking for.
Something needs to listen for XBMC events. It sounds like post Atlantis the event server is going to get an upgrade. This listener will send back events to the lighting program. The lighting program will then react (and dim the lights).
Finally, I'd like to work on a script where you can edit the configuration options from within XBMC. This would ultimately just be another (probably simplified) front end to the lighting application.
XBMC is a media center (and the best one out there), but it's not an automation solution. I think it's important to respect that difference and utilize the hooks that the team has provided to integrate into an automation system.
Again, though, I'm just looking to dim a light when the movie starts.
It seems to me that the best thing is to have no automation code anywhere in XBMC. I'm not a member of that team, and the sheer amount of code is daunting to me. But, here's what I've been thinking about.
There needs to be an application that has the ability to dim lights. I bet that someone has worked on just such an application or a set of libraries to access low level details of protocols such as insteon and zwave (and maybe even others, I'd be interested in manipulating RGB leds behind the Screen). This application needs to be able to listen for commands from other application. This could eventually grow to support things that other people are looking for.
Something needs to listen for XBMC events. It sounds like post Atlantis the event server is going to get an upgrade. This listener will send back events to the lighting program. The lighting program will then react (and dim the lights).
Finally, I'd like to work on a script where you can edit the configuration options from within XBMC. This would ultimately just be another (probably simplified) front end to the lighting application.
XBMC is a media center (and the best one out there), but it's not an automation solution. I think it's important to respect that difference and utilize the hooks that the team has provided to integrate into an automation system.
Again, though, I'm just looking to dim a light when the movie starts.
