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[john murphy]

Jimmie, <BR>Daniel is not frustrated with the X10 <BR>concept, he is pissed at the COMPANY X10, for <BR>their piss poor operation. And specifically <BR>their wireless X10 products and the support <BR>of such. <BR>Which without a doubt suck. I called to <BR>question the capability of the low light <BR>camera or rather lack of functionality and <BR>was told if I didn't want the camera to <BR>return it. Instead of getting pissed and <BR>boxing the crap up I starting messing with <BR>it. I figured I had a 90% chance that my <BR>returning the product experience, would be as <BR>unpleasant as my phone calls. <BR>I noticed a X10 person does touch base in the <BR>contractor forums. But the response are <BR>mostly links to the web sites lame FAQ's and <BR>tech docs. <BR>After reading the policy at the bottom of the <BR>forum post page, and reading some of the <BR>posts, it's obvious that noone from X10 <BR>moderates these things. <BR>If I had the cash, I'd buy the company, <BR>****can everyone and start over, beginning <BR>with R&D. <BR>

Are all x10 products cheap junk? [1 of 5]

Re: Are all x10 products cheap junk? [2 of 5]

Re: Are all x10 products cheap junk? [3 of 5]

Re: Are all x10 products cheap junk? [5 of 5]


[TTA Edit: Experiment to determine whether or not SPLITTING 'Highly-Viewed' / 'Highly-Replied' but currently INACTIVE threads from LONG, LONG AGO (I'm starting with ~2 years) into parts will allow current ACTIVE threads to appear in the Top 10 Topics (by Replies) section of the Statistics Center (aka More Stats) Page.

NOTE: I *WILL* address the <BR> problem...]

[jimmie l]

OK!

Most of my clients come to me, not X10. I
then either give the answer if I have it or
work at finding one.

Remember, you are dealing with a large
corporation. Most of their employees are
hired because they have the right
paperwork, it doesn't mean they know
anything, or if they do they don't know how
to apply it.

If you have questions you know how to get
hold of me. Maybe I have some answers.

[daniel toner]

Jimmie, you're a nice guy but it's not your
responsibility to cover for their stupidity.
Also problems rarely lie with the "bottom"
employee. The problem is with the managers
and trainers for their support team, and
their performance is a direct reflection of
the individuals in charge who have the
ability to clean the whole thing up. A small
correction here though, my frustration is
indeed with the poor quality of the product
AND the poor customer service. So actually,
I'm all around pissed at X10.

Topic: Are all x10 products cheap junk?
Answer: YES!
Does X10 care in the slightest?
Answer: NO!
Do they care enough to AT LEAST offer amazing
customer support for their faulty products?
Answer: NO!

Now primarily my problem is with their
cameras and other related products. X10 does
a decent job with wireless relay switches so
you can turn your lights on and off with a
remote. They're great for just that and
that's all.

Their marketing team is top notch! They
peddle their crap all over the internet.

[bh]

My night light/camera broke after one night
on. The lack of set up instructions make the
whole system useless. I want my money back.
I will be putting in a credit card dispute.

From an aircraft electrical engineer!!!!!!!

[bh]

My night light/camera broke after one night
on. The lack of set up instructions make the
whole system useless. I want my money back.
I will be putting in a credit card dispute.

From an aircraft electrical engineer!!!!!!!

[bh]

My night light/camera broke after one night
on. The lack of set up instructions make the
whole system useless. I want my money back.
I will be putting in a credit card dispute.

From an aircraft electrical engineer!!!!!!!

[alex]

to John Murphy (9/23/05)

lay off the profane language

[john murphy]

To Alex

Yes mother.

[mj]

          1 of 3
My story in short:
I just got involved with home automation /
surveillance at the beginning of this month
after an impulse buy (I’ll get to that in a
minute.)

Once I got it home I did some research on
other systems that were available, which is
how I came across X10.

Executive Summary:
You get what you pay for!

Details:
Since I was / am on a budget, I needed an
expandable system that wasn’t going to cost
me an arm and a leg.  My primary goal has
been to have a computer controlled system
with 4 reasonably secure cameras and the
ability to add home automation features
later.

The Impulse:
The impulse buy was for a Motorola HomeSight
system from Sam’s Club.  It cost $300 before
tax, came with 2 wireless cameras (with
built in motion sensors), software, a door
sensor, and the base unit.

[mj]

          1 of 3
My story in short:
I just got involved with home automation /
surveillance at the beginning of this month
after an impulse buy (I’ll get to that in a
minute.)

Once I got it home I did some research on
other systems that were available, which is
how I came across X10.

Executive Summary:
You get what you pay for!

Details:
Since I was / am on a budget, I needed an
expandable system that wasn’t going to cost
me an arm and a leg.  My primary goal has
been to have a computer controlled system
with 4 reasonably secure cameras and the
ability to add home automation features
later.

The Impulse:
The impulse buy was for a Motorola HomeSight
system from Sam’s Club.  It cost $300 before
tax, came with 2 wireless cameras (with
built in motion sensors), software, a door
sensor, and the base unit.

[mj]

          2 of 3+?
The Research:
HomeSight - Couldn’t find the kit online, so
I guess it’s a member’s only thing…  The
problem is that an add-on camera was another
$150!  Even though light control wasn’t a
primary goal, it would be $60 for one
controller!  (Go here for details and links
for pricing:
http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/home_
monitoring.asp)
= $600 for 4 cameras and no other
capabilities.

Insteon / Smarthome – Seems like a super
reliable setup with 2 way communication, but
I couldn’t seem to find good ‘kits’ on their
site. Looks like the computer controller and
software is like $189.
(http://www.smarthome.com/1411cu.html) But,
but, but. Could go on about that… OK, so
they have a 4 wireless cam kit for $300, but
I am still unclear as to how they want you
to hook the cams to the system, especially
since they don’t have ‘Insteon’ based cams.
It’s like you really have 2 separate
systems.  Looks like they have a computer
interface for video signals for $109…
= $598 for a mess of a system that I still
am unsure if it will work + expensive add-on
modules

Other – There are tons of other systems out
there, many of which look to be much more
reliable and 'better' than X10, but you have
to look at the costs! $80-90 to control a
lamp!? Why?

[mj]

          3 of 4 (Read from bottom up please)
X10 – After scouring their website, I was
still indecisive, so I called.  I spent over
an hour on the phone with my sales guy. In
short, 4 Cams - $110, ActiveHome Pro,
iWitness, Base unit, etc. - $100.  (bought a
ton of other crap too, but that’s not the
point.)
= $210 for tons of problems, yes, but I’ve
got most of them worked out (thanks forum
regulars – sorry I’ve been lurking) – Yes,
their customer service SUCKS, but when was
the last time you got through to Microsoft?
Yes, the system tends to be unreliable, but
it’s nothin’ that a phase coupler, an extra
transceiver, and a few macros can’t fix.

How much have I spent now? Ugh…
= $685 ($735 w/ warranties) – 4 wired cams
with Pan/Tilt + Multiplexer, ActiveHome Pro,
iWitness, Smart Macros, Base CM15A, USB Vid
Converter, 4 Camera remotes, 2 Palm Pad
remotes, 2 keychain remotes, 2 outdoor
motion floodlights, 6 motions sensors, 2
dimming wall switches, 8 Reg wall switches,
9 lamp modules, 7 appliance modules, 2
additional TM751 Transceivers, a chime, a
phase coupler (non X10 brand), and a 2 year
extended warranty for most of it.

Considering how much that would have cost on
any other system, I’ll take the
quirks / 'quality issues' of the X10 system.

[mj]

          4 of 4 (Read from bottom up please)

Actually, for all of you who are complaining
about how bad these products are and how bad
support is, why don’t you price out another
integrated system with the capabilities of a
system like mine? How about the system you
are working on... How much would that cost?

Bottom Line:
I would gladly have to read some forums, put
up with rude support staff, flaky modules,
and sub par cams…
if I can save THOUSANDS of dollars and
actually afford it!

[SnotGeezer]

dont be so melodramatic mary.  go to ebay
and buy junk from who knows who.  it is the
same crapshoot as x10, but better stuff
with more options.

[SnotGeezer]

thousands of dollars?  i can buy decent
quality ccd cameras for the same price as
x10 cmos junk.  the image quality is better
and so far the products actually work.
just search the web with yo favjorite
rengine and you will find all sorts of
suppliers.