multi room audio

[saspa]

I'm looking into intergrating a multiroom audio system into c-bus, I know that netstream works with c-bus, but I need to know if sonos will works as well and when programmed up, the c-bus colour touch screen can do the same things that the sonos remote can do eg. pull up a play list select different rooms, select different songs, select different radio stations ect ect, basiclly the same as the sonos remote but on a c-bus colour touch screen with feedback of course?

[Conformist]

No. Sonos go out of their way to stop integration into systems like C-Bus. Suggest you do a little research for systems that are better able to integrate and encourage integration and not stifle it

Cheers

[znelbok]

squeezebox has the option of integrating its server side with other systems for control. Using that and the new SB Duo should give the same results

Mick

[Newman]

If you've got the time, and are hooked on Sonos, this looks interesting:
http://www.purple.org/sonos/index.html

[wappinghigh]

If you've got the time, and are hooked on Sonos, this looks interesting:
http://www.purple.org/sonos/index.html

Yep. I have tested this. This does allow control of Sonos via a web browser.
This is the very reason why I have requested a widget within Wiser that allows the launch of a browser. Alternatively a widget to launch applescript would be helpful. But these are sort of half baked measures.

I have been following and requesting Sonos integration into Home Auto equip for a long time now.

Actually it is sort of wrong that the belief is still around that Sonos code is "closed". It is definitely out there. As an example, there is also a java controller and someone managed to write an iphone app (outside Sonos Inc) There is also a Pronto solution. There is nothing magical about the code.

But really. Blame Sonos? Blame the Home Auto Industry? This blame game has been going on for at least a couple of years now within the HA industry. Both continue to blame the other. Meanwhile customers: Saspa, like you and me continue to be left out cold.

IMHO it's a no brainer. It's up to the HA companies to integrate Sonos. Not the other way around. Why? Well look at the figures. The endorsed Sonos forum has now over 22,000 members. (around 9 times more than this one). That is only customers actually registered on the forum. There would be thousands more. That is 22,000 plus actual future HA customers, because Sonos users (like me) are the very type of users who will be taking that next step to home automation. They all have a basic understanding of networking, and what a "networking" multiroom solution is all about, so they are the logical future customers of something like the WISER platform.

And NO they are NOT going to want to suddenly ditch their Sonos gear just because the HA platform has their own multiroom set up. Why? Because the previous outlay is expensive. But more importantly, the Sonos way of multiroom audio is so darn effective and so darn good.

Does CIS (and the other HA companies for that matter) seriously think their multiroom audio platform matches the features, flexibility, portability and capabilities if Sonos?

I could go into "Why I think this is so"..but I'll save it unless it's requested..or just let the "numbers of users" speak for themselves.

So at present, Sonos users like me are left with basic work arounds (like using separate iphone/itouch apps). Or running the WISER from a browser and Sonos Software controller independantly. Obviously it would be "cleaner" to have a proper integrated CIS/Wiser solution (like AVD's pronto one), but until someone at CIS takes the initiative, you'll have to wait my friend...

[kjayakumar]

So at present, Sonos users like me are left with basic work arounds (like using separate iphone/itouch apps). Or running the WISER from a browser and Sonos Software controller independantly. Obviously it would be "cleaner" to have a proper integrated CIS/Wiser solution (like AVD's pronto one), but until someone at CIS takes the initiative, you'll have to wait my friend...

I think there may be another alternative. Both Colour C-Touch and Wiser support TCP/IP sockets in their logic engines. I don't have Sonos gear but I believe that they use a SOAP API with relatively basic entry points. That's pretty much just an advanced way of saying open a tcp client socket to a sonos server IP address and send "POST /sonos/soap-api/play" or "POST /sonos/soap-api/next-track" and then close the socket. So I think some very basic support could be implemented by enterprising integrators using just the logic engine's socket capabilities. Of course, this is all conjecture and I might be naively oversimplifying.

[wappinghigh]

Bring it on!! :):):):) Any such control implemented within Wiser would be a plus :D

[ievolve]

@wappinghigh - I'm working up a clipsal/sonos integration, have to have it for the wife acceptance factor. Also, adding the hooks for my iPad app while I am in there. So iPad/clipsal/sonos, this should be fun.

[ievolve]

Finally got my clipsal installed and have begun the integration. But I did get my DLT talking to the sonos, here is a video of it in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCeMnd_qZQY

Other pieces include c-gate, and some server side javascript (nodeJS) to marry it all together.

[tobex]

This is a little bit left of field but I use my iphone or ipad.

Sooner or later ... even CBUS will live totally on the ipad.

[philipi]

ievolve - Have you made any progress on the sonos c-bus connections?

Thanks!

-Philip