Home: On - a DIY home automation podcast from The Digital Media Zone

Smart home influencer Jimmy Hawkins joins Richard to talk about what caught their attention at the media preview events that (mostly) preceded CES this year. The post Home: On #159 – Pre-gaming CES with Jimmy Hawkins appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Allison Sheridan from Podfeet Podcasts joins us to discuss the more problematic side of home automation—when things don’t work as expected or desired. What’s annoying us in our respective smart homes and how do we deal with problems when they arise? Why do we even put ourselves through all this? We also touch on a few interesting smart home stories from the past few months. The post Home: On #158 – Smarthome Quibbles with Allison Sheridan appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Jeff Butts, Managing Editor at The Mac Observer joins us. We ponder why Signify would want to get into the security game (and why consumers would want them to), discuss some updates on previously reported news, and dive into a discussion about the current state of HomeKit. New architectures, Shortcuts, and Matter…and what’s with this Works with Apple Home thing? It’s all getting kind of messy. The post Home: On #157 – Pondering HomeKit with Jeff Butts from The Mac Observer appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

MyHomeKithome YouTuber and podcast host Dustin Boggus joins Richard to talk about accessibility in the smarthome. Sure, it’s fun and futuristic to have lights and digital assistants that obey your commands and react to your presence…but what if your ability to work and live safely in your own environment depended upon it? Dustin shares his experiences with specific technologies and products and shares some thoughts about what more the industry could be doing. The post Home: On #156 – The Accessible Smarthome with Dustin Boggus appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Amazon makes an infuriating money grab for Ring app features you’ve been using for years, Sonos is expected to use a product launch as an opportunity to raise prices again, and Leviton will be rolling matter support out to 2nd generation Decora Smart products with a firmware update. Finally, several quarters in now, what’s Insteon Technologies up to? Co-founder Richard Sudek joins us to share the latest on Insteon products and services, talk about some new products, and give us a glimpse at what’s in their sights for the future. Cue Richard Gunther’s standard Insteon disclaimer. The post Home: On #155 – Restarting Insteon with Richard Sudek from Insteon Technologies appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Richard once again joins other hosts from the Technology.FM podcasts to share in their annual tradition of the fireside chat. What caught their attention this year, what do they think will be big next year, and how did they fare with last year’s predictions? As always, this special DMZ mix offers fewer ums, fewer digital assistant triggers, and–perhaps most importantly–blocks Mike’s valiant attempt to trick your Echo into sending something very expensive to your home. The post Home: On #154 – Fireside 2022 appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Chamberlain kills its overpriced, unreliable HomeKit Home Bridge, Tado has a money-saving program that might use more energy, Lutron adds to its Caséta lineup, and everyone’s getting into Matter. HomeKit developer Matt Corey talks about some of the ways he’s using HomeKit, Shortcuts, and the Mac to help HomeKit users do more with smart lighting. The post Home: On #153 – Sending Signals with Matt Corey appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

You’re moving into a new home, and you want to do things right from the start. Where do you begin? This is the situation Richard’s friend Kent Fellure finds himself in, and we’re delighted to talk with him about some options for security, lighting, HVAC, and more. And of course, Kent joins in some banter about this month’s smart home news from Wemo, Twinkly, and LIFX. The post Home: On #152 – Starting Fresh with Kent Fellure appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

What do you do when you hit a wall on your smart home projects? You can’t do something, don’t know something, or just don’t have the time. Robert Spivak of DoItForMe Solutions is here to help! That plus, of course, we discuss the latest news and updates from Philips Hue, Insteon, and Wink. Yep, Wink. They’re down. Again. Is it for good? They say No. The post Home: On #151 – Some Help with Robert Spivack from DoItForMe Solutions appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

IKEA has a new smart home hub in the wings with yet another name we’ll all be trying to pronounce, Amazon ditches its old Cloud Cam but makes good on customers’ investments, and Insteon is back and under new management. Greg Rhoades from Leviton joins Richard on this episode to discuss all this plus his company’s recent push into the smart home with its latest generation of Decora Smart products. The post Home: On #150 – Decora Smart with Greg Rhoades from Leviton appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

With Insteon gone, companies are stepping up to fill in the gaps for thousands of smart home customers. Rohan Karamandi, co-host of the Home Assistant Podcast joins us to discuss all of this. And we dive into why Home Assistant might just be the perfect solution for DIYers looking to give new life to their Insteon products. The post Home: On #149 – A New Hope with Rohan Karamandi appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Seth Johnson is here to help make sense of some of the latest smart home news. While it’s a slow product season, two brands, iHome and Insteon, have gone dark with little to no notice! Meanwhile, IKEA’s new cellular shades have arrived in stores, and Seth and Richard try their hand at pronouncing those product names before talking about their latest respective smart home projects. The post Home: On #148 – A Disgraceful Exit with Seth Johnson appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

After a year’s hiatus, we are back to catch up on some of the recent news: A new smart switch from ORRO, more delays in the Matter standard, and a retail pioneer says goodbye. And Erik Glassen joins us to discuss what Kwikset’s been up to in the smart lock space, including a new biometric lock that lets you open your front door with your fingerprint. The post Home: On #147 – Simpler Security with Erik Glassen from Kwikset appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

RESET podcast’s Dave McCabe helps us reset our own show as we prepare for a new year of smart home products and services. We discuss new Ring and Philips Hue products plus a new feature from Ring and Amazon that may just freak you out a bit...but it’s pretty cool. The post Home: On #146 – Let’s Reset with Dave McCabe appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

It’s time for the Technology.FM year-end fireside chat, featuring HomeTech hosts Seth Johnson and Jason Griffing plus Richard's Smart Home Show co-host Adam Justice. The post Home: On #145 – Fireside 2020 appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

There’s still time left to get a smart gift for the favorite geek in your life. Of course, nowadays smart home products are showing up everywhere—in bedrooms, family rooms, and kitchens—and becoming a part of more people’s daily lives. Author and blogger Marlon Buchanan joins us to share some recommendations for the best smart home gifts to give this season. The post Home: On #144 – Smart Gifting with Marlon Buchanan appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Wyze introduces even more new products at record low prices, Cree returns to the smart bulb market, and Amazon is ready to leave packages inside your garage. We discuss all this and more, plus we dive into some innovative Z-Wave products with Inovelli’s Nathan Harte. The post Home: On #143 – The Red Switch with Nathan Harte from Inovelli appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Apple’s Adaptive Lighting is finally starting to come to products in the U.S, Wyze’s new $20 camera works indoors and out, and Moen’s Mason Hall provides some context around how the U by Moen faucet fits into Moen's broader smart water strategy. The post Home: On #142 – Smart Water with Mason Hall from Moen appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Google discontinues Nest Secure while introducing new Nest products that feel a whole lot more Google than Nest. Plus product announcements from Feit, Yale, GE Lighting, and more...all with insights and perspective from The Verge’s Dan Seifert. The post Home: On #141 – Thread’s Back! with Dan Seifert from The Verge appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Consumer Reports’ Dan Wroclawski joins us to run through the latest new products from Amazon, Ring, Wyze, and more! And if you’re interested in CR’s smart home product picks, Dan has you covered. Find out what they think are some of the best security cameras, doorbells, smart speakers, and more...even irrigation systems. The post Home: On #140 – Product Recommendations with Dan Wroclawski of Consumer Reports appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.