Review of Life/Ware LMS200 Media Server
Reviewed by JCL Automation (www.jclautomation.com)
Life/Ware LMS200 Media Server
The LMS200 Media Server is an award-winning media server and a capable whole-house automation solution.
Overall Rating: 8.1 out of 10
Features
The LMS200 Media Server is a Windows Media Center System customized to provide complete home automation functionality. However, if home automation is your primary goal, the entry level LMS200 may not have adequate connectivity to all your home sub-systems. The LMS200 has two 12V trigger outputs, 8 USB ports, 2 serial ports, and 2 IR outputs; sufficient for lighting (USB), climate (serial), security (serial), and up to 4 entertainment system devices if dual-head IR emitters are used. Larger homes may require adding a Life/Controller, which is more energy efficient than running a LMS200 24x7 and has expanded connectivity to automation sub-systems.
Life/Ware is a software product from Exceptional Innovation (EI), which is installed as an add-on to the standard Media Center (MC) Menu interface. LIfe/Ware is a selection from the main MC menu. Within Life/Ware the underlying menu can be customized to the specific home and automation devices installed. Icons on this menu can be selected from the Life/Ware Gallery, which can include digital photos of your actual home devices or related shots.
Note, unlike Control4, Crestron, and others, EI chose to certify leading manufactuers of sub-systems for lighting, climate, security, and entertainment. This is particularly attractive for those who have certified sub-systems already installed, and would like to overlay a master controller for whole-house coordinated control. To view a full list of all Life/Ware certified 3rd party products click here.
But, if your main motivation is having a quality media server that also happens to be a whole-house automation controller, then the LMS200 will fit the bill. If you haven't seen the award-winning Windows Media Center interface in person, you owe it to yourself to do this before making a firm decision on a solution.
Rating: 9.0 out of 10
Ease of Installation
LIfe/Ware (L/W) products can only be sold and installed by a certified Dealer who has received the required training to install a LMS200 system. The Dealer uses the Visual Project software to configure and activate all the devices being controlled by the LMS200.
However, since the Dealer must be knowledgeable of the particular sub-systems you are interested in, a mismatch between your needs and the Dealers true expertise is a possibility. For example, if the Dealer is also a representative for Lutron lighting systems, but you prefer Insteon lighting, you may end up paying for this Dealer's learning curve on Insteon. Also, for this same reason, you may find the Dealer will no-bid the Insteon portion of the project, which will force you to find a qualified Insteon Dealer to install the lighting control system and document the installation for handover to the L/W Dealer.
While the L/W Dealer is backed-up by a capable technical support staff at EI, the basic fact that different product lines are installed can add to problem resolution time for the L/W Dealer if the respective tech support people engage in finger pointing.
For the above reasons, we recommend you ask for a fixed price or "not-to-exceed" price for total system installation.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Reliability
The LMS200, if used strictly as a media and automation server, and not also as a general purpose computer, is inherently much more reliable than a standard desktop PC. EI has taken steps in the LMS200 configuration to limit intrusion from external sources. Windows updates are discouraged from being installed unless recommended by the EI tech support group. Also, your Dealer will strongly encourage you NOT to install other desktop software on the LMS200 to minimize possible contamination of the system. In some cases the Dealer or EI may refuse support until the extraneous software is removed.