ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
How much do you want to control your B&O and home with your Apple Watch?
Beoworld app with direct photo upload and emoticons.
I think it's an inevitable and logical next step for our B&O and home control. With Siri integration, we could use voice commands to control the lights and even to start a song/album/artist playing on our BeoSound 5 or Moment. I already use Siri to play my music in the car and it feels very natural. Remember the old BeoWatch and how amazing we thought it was then to be able to control the volume of our B&O system from our watch? I just wonder if the days of wearing a watch might be behind many of us. I haven't worn a watch in years and have just been pulling out my phone to check the time.
beojeff: I just wonder if the days of wearing a watch might be behind many of us. I haven't worn a watch in years and have just been pulling out my phone to check the time.
I haven't worn a watch since I got my first mobile phone 20+ years ago, and have no plans of going back to 1994.
--mika
Same here guys! I haven't worn a watch since I was at university. If I need to know that time, I check my iPhone. I'm not keen on these smart watches. Wifi and bluetooth continuously on the skin and body is not exactly cancer proofing the human body is it?
I haven't worn a watch for over 40 years
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
BeoNut since '75
elephant: Tangentially in reading up the Beoremote One anniversary details I noticed that BR1 also supports non-B&O IR signals ! Did everyone else know that and I am getting slower ? Has anyone used the BR1 as a "universal" remote ?
Tangentially in reading up the Beoremote One anniversary details I noticed that BR1 also supports non-B&O IR signals !
Did everyone else know that and I am getting slower ?
Has anyone used the BR1 as a "universal" remote ?
The BeoRemote One page states: IR as 455 kHz for Bang & Olufsen products and 20-80 kHz for third party non-A/V product control, do you think that's what B&O meant by non B&O IR signals? This description is fairly limited to non AV product control like Lights, home automation, etc. at least that's how I took it to mean.
Last time I wore a watch? Can't recall that moment. Now we got other devices for time.
But to control B&O all I need is one push on a Beolink 1000 or the Beosystem 6000. How complicated is that?
While I'm not interested in wearing a watch, a biotech implant in my body that would allow control of my B&O via Siri voice commands I WOULD welcome. I would be first in line to be the world's first BeoBionic Man.
beojeff: While I'm not interested in wearing a watch, a biotech implant in my body that would allow control of my B&O via Siri voice commands I WOULD welcome. I would be first in line to be the world's first BeoBionic Man.
Jeff, why would you even need Siri for that... full mind control my good man... FULL. MIND. CONTROL! :-)
Paul W:Wifi and bluetooth continuously on the skin and body is not exactly cancer proofing the human body is it?
lol, if you're worried about that, everyone is better off inside - being outside isn't cancer proofing the body either. It's more the signal going through your brain i always thought.
But in answer to the OP, if i have a controller, such as the Beo Remote One, i prefer to use that that an i whatever. For my Hue however, there is no other controller so i use a pad for that, but if they had a wall controller like a light switch i would prefer to use that.
Id prefer not to use a pad to control things, but it seems the software of apps is sometimes superior and more intuitive (because it has the opportunity to do so)
Bit of a paradox showing up here.
Lots of Beoworlders claim not to have worn a watch for years.
Lots of Beoworlders (in the watch thread) seem to spend a fortune on mechanical watches.
Lots of Beoworlders say they are happy to wear an Apple/Smart watch even though most of these watches rely on the mobile phone in your pocket.
Change/ upgrade your phone and there's a good chance you'll have to do the same with the watch.
i have always liked/ used Apple products, but their last software upgrade for the IPad has been diabolical as far as the 2/3 models are concerned. I am not going to buy a smart watch that is likely to be redundant or have impaired functions in two years time.
One more paradox. The wrist watch eventually replaced the pocket watch because of miniaturisation and convenience of use, yet the mobile phone is now readily used by many instead of a wristwatch for telling the time? Isn't it more convenient to use a wrist watch just for this one function alone? I can see a future for the smart watch that operates completely independently from a mobile phone: in other words the mobile phone itself becomes the watch on your wrist.
Graham
Apple moving upmarket (like B&O)???????
http://uk.pcmag.com/wearable-tech/40301/opinion/who-will-buy-the-10000-apple-watch
"The idea of a midmarket/luxury technology brand isn't that bizarre. That was Bang & Olufsen's wheelhouse for years. Nokia's Vertu brand spent a happy decade starting in 1998 selling bling-laden feature phones in Russia (and there are more arcane luxury phone brands, too, like Mobiado). We did a slideshow of super-luxury phones back in 2007."
Aussie Michael: For my Hue however, there is no other controller so i use a pad for that, but if they had a wall controller like a light switch i would prefer to use that.
For my Hue however, there is no other controller so i use a pad for that, but if they had a wall controller like a light switch i would prefer to use that.
You can use a Hardwarecontroller: - Philips HUE Tap- Living colors remote- Living white remoteAnd in combination with a MLGW:- Beo 4- Beo 5- Beo 6- Essence Remote- Beoremote 1 (?)And in the forum are suggestions for some Raspberry PI projects for infrard controlf of the HUE.
elephant: But back to original question - would I be happy to wear a B&O iApp on my wrist ?
But back to original question - would I be happy to wear a B&O iApp on my wrist ?
NO!
I would not.
I've got plenty of Beo4's all around the house - they are much more intuitive than a userinterface on a small watch-screen.
As for voice controlling (let us call it 'Beori') - we won't need a watch for that either.
That could be a part of the general B&O interface - if really needed.
And - I don't need the Apple Watch either. Especially not the 10000 one - even if I could afford it
But I am sure they will sell loads of them - including the 10000'ers.
I am going to put my mobile phone on a gold chain and call it a pocket phone watch.
PhilLondon: How much do you want to control your B&O and home with your Apple Watch?
Hi,
about half a year ago I bought a MOTO 360 and wear it almost every day now.
I really got used to it over the time.It is nice to read messages and mails or to see who is calling you without taking the phone out of you pocket. Sometimes I even use the "build in" speach-to-text function to respond to messages or starting a call. I also love the "magic" every time I look at my wrist.On some days the fitness function tells me that I am behind my daily average. But I don't actively use that for fitness tracking.
To see, whether it is useful or not I even wrote a little native app that allows you to control some basic functions of the B&O NL TVs from the watch.Of course I used it a lot the first couple of days.After about a week I really seldom did so and decided not to put more work into that for the moment.
BR,BeoMotion.
Several articles now claim that the Apple watch will only run for three hours with typical rather than standby use due to its tiny battery.
Apparently the three hours use is actually buried in the text in the official manual put out by Apple, and the presentation claims were rather hyped-up.
Good luck with controlling anything: most of these watches are going to be on permanent recharge!
vikinger:Several articles
Given that nobody has had it in their hands, I wouldn't trust anything I read yet.
So... I have to say I am a bit surprised by the answers, I was expecting a bit more enthusiasm, but they make sense. It is true that I stopped wearing a watch long time ago. I recently bought a nice watch, but I rarely wear it.
Ellen DeGeneres twitted ironically during the launch of the Apple Watch: "So excited for the Apple Watch. For centuries, we’ve checked the time by looking at our phones. Having it on your wrist? Genius." Apple had a sense of humour (for once) and re-tweeted it!
That said, being an internet nerd, I receive so many alerts and emails, that having them on my wrist would be cool. Also, I am slowly trying to add home automation into my flat, and I do think that having a mini remote on me would work quite well. When I am home, it's actually the only time when my phone isn't on me.
Anyway, I had to try developing something for the Apple Watch, couldn't resist, so the remote for B&O/MLGW is going to be the first one! And in a day I was already able to achieve this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=423WVCCwbDk
What you see is a real Apple Watch App, but running on a simulator provided by Apple. It connects to the MLGW or BLGW, fetches the configuration (room names, source names, channels, etc...) and works like the Beolink Remote App.
You'll see sometime I have problems clicking, but it's due to the simulator. Also, the look of it isn't great, don't forget I did that in a day! But it hopefully gives an indication of what can be achieved. And for any that will change their mind, it'll be on the App Store!
P.
I already control Philips HUE with a LG Watch R and it's nice.I don't understand why there's no B&O development on the Android side... only Apple and not everybody likes the products from that company!
B&O's app are available on Android, aren't they?
PhilLondon:It connects to the MLGW or BLGW
Don't you think it would be much better to connect to the NL devices directly rather than going the way trough the BL/MLGW?
I think there are much less people owning a GW than "normal" NL products...
I do not have any NL products!! So I can't develop nor test. Also the protocol isn't documented (not that that would stop me).
PhilLondon: So... I have to say I am a bit surprised by the answers, I was expecting a bit more enthusiasm, but they make sense. It is true that I stopped wearing a watch long time ago. I recently bought a nice watch, but I rarely wear it. Ellen DeGeneres twitted ironically during the launch of the Apple Watch: "So excited for the Apple Watch. For centuries, we’ve checked the time by looking at our phones. Having it on your wrist? Genius." Apple had a sense of humour (for once) and re-tweeted it! That said, being an internet nerd, I receive so many alerts and emails, that having them on my wrist would be cool. Also, I am slowly trying to add home automation into my flat, and I do think that having a mini remote on me would work quite well. When I am home, it's actually the only time when my phone isn't on me. Anyway, I had to try developing something for the Apple Watch, couldn't resist, so the remote for B&O/MLGW is going to be the first one! And in a day I was already able to achieve this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=423WVCCwbDk What you see is a real Apple Watch App, but running on a simulator provided by Apple. It connects to the MLGW or BLGW, fetches the configuration (room names, source names, channels, etc...) and works like the Beolink Remote App. You'll see sometime I have problems clicking, but it's due to the simulator. Also, the look of it isn't great, don't forget I did that in a day! But it hopefully gives an indication of what can be achieved. And for any that will change their mind, it'll be on the App Store! P.
Phil-
I might have to get an Apple Watch just for your amazing app!
Phil, that looks amazing.
still prefer my Omega which I wear daily to the apple watch.
PhilLondon: I do not have any NL products!! So I can't develop nor test. Also the protocol isn't documented (not that that would stop me).
I never investigated the MLGW protocol but the BeoRemote protocol is quite easy and a lot of features are available. Especially using the "2-way" part is interesting and with nearly each software update they are introducing new features...
One more tip for UI: try not to use more then 4 or 5 actions per screen. So up/down, left/right and maybe a button in the middle is the maximum users can physically handle on such a tiny display.
Do you have any documentation on the BeoRemote protocol?
p.
PhilLondon:Do you have any documentation on the BeoRemote protocol?
No, sorry. The official documentation was not yet published by B&O. Let's see if this will ever happen...
Do you know the PolyMote app?
Yes, I have read about it, looks great, but unfortunately I am still with ML, so no good for me. They must have reversed engineered the protocol. Probably not that difficult.
Lutron now features their Apple Watch app on their website. However, it looks like it only works with their Caseta Wireless system and not RadioRa 2. However, with an MLGW/BLGW Apple Watch app, we could easily control RadioRa 2 lights and blinds. I much prefer the idea of an integrated MLGW/BLGW Apple Watch app like Phil is suggesting.
http://www.casetawireless.com/Pages/Caseta.aspx
Call me old - fashioned, but I prefer to look at my wrist watch to check the time. I don't want to pull the phone from the pocket everytime I need to check what time it is. As I have been using a lot of my spare time renovating my house for the last couple of years, I can tell you that it is much easier to look at your wrist when you are working with a hammer and saw, or painting the walls, or whatever - instead of putting away the tools and pull the phone out of the pocket.And I prefer an old fashioned Watch with a battery that runs for years, instead of one that needs to be recharged every day -or maybe several times a day.
As far as I have heard, the Apple Watch is not the best when it comes to battery time...Maybe the happy owners will mostly see this on their screen...
There's been much said on the net about the battery life, mainly from people that never had the watch in their hands. The official figures are here: https://www.apple.com/watch/battery.html
the next stage will be implantable tech .... not sure how far I will go
we tend to forget there is more to design than designing.