I am looking for a remote control/quasi-home automation solution.
When I first embarked on this journey I was very intrigued by Savant. Unfortunately, I cannot justify spending $6,000 on a home automation system; just doesn't make sense for me right now.
I am hoping there is some kind of remote/av solution for under $1,000 that will accomplish the following:
I am attempting to control all of my components after they are relocated to a separate "equipment closet". From there, my Apple TV, AT&T Digital Cable Box/DVR, LG Blu-Ray, and Apple MacMini will connect to an AV Receiver (which I have not purchased yet). I would then run 1 HDMI from the AV Receiver to my living room TV (a Samsung PN58B860 Plasma).
What is the easiest solution to control everything in this closet? Obviously there is no line of sight. The remote would need to have the ability to communicate with all the devices listed above, including the TV.
As a bonus, it would be nice to control my window treatments (Somfy motors - RF), my thermostats, and possibly my lighting (have not yet purchased lutron dimmers, but may in the future). These aren't a "must" though.
I should note that I will probably be purchasing an iPad pretty soon. I've been waiting to figure out this remote question first. Ultimately I would love a solution that allowed me to program the remote myself and avoid having to pay programming fees. To me, the iPad makes the most sense for this. I just don't know if the iPad will allow me to do everything I want without some expensive 3rd party system (i.e. Savant). I should also tell you I own only Apple computers (I know you probably hate that). I mention this only to make you aware that any self programming of the remote would have to occur on the Mac platform and not live in the "PC-only" world.
Any advice you could give on a remote solution would be much appreciated. Also, any suggestions on what kind of AV Receiver would be nice as well. It may not matter though; I just assumed it would need to "play nice" with whatever ultimate solution I reached.
