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Don't criticize Roomie Remote

post #1 of 10
10/13/12 at 8:15am
Thread Starter 
I am generally pleased with the Roomie Remote, though it has a few issues. I posted an issue on their support forums and they didn't like my response and deleted it. I posted again asking why they didn't address my comments but they deleted that thread too. So much for good customer service. One way to insure there are no complaints is to ignore and delete them.

This was the original thread they deleted: http://bgp.nu/~tom/pub/Roomie-Delete.jpg
And here is the second: http://bgp.nu/~tom/pub/Roomie-delete2.jpg

Do you really think they couldn't have responded? You just can't question their UI?

Strike One, Roomie.

Tom

PS: Meant to post this in the Roomie Remote section, sorry...
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post #2 of 10
10/14/12 at 5:05pm
I read your original post and didn't interpret it as anything negative or even as an overt criticism - it read more like a personal observation and a implied suggestion for improvement (it was in the "Feature Request" section after all). From everything I've seen, the Roomie guys have always been very professional and accepted input in the spirit it was intended - this seems very out of character and I'm unsure why they appear to have been so sensitive to your posting. Taken at face value, this is disappointing.
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post #3 of 10
10/14/12 at 9:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DGF View Post

I read your original post and didn't interpret it as anything negative or even as an overt criticism - it read more like a personal observation and a implied suggestion for improvement (it was in the "Feature Request" section after all). From everything I've seen, the Roomie guys have always been very professional and accepted input in the spirit it was intended - this seems very out of character and I'm unsure why they appear to have been so sensitive to your posting. Taken at face value, this is disappointing.

Yes, and even more disappointing is that I DO really want my edits to be available on a remote that might not be the main remote for that activity. For example, I use the Roomie AppleTV original remote while watching AppleTV. But I do find that I might want to then turn on my Blu-Ray player (that has vudu and other streaming services). I should be able to select the Blu-Ray remote and turn on the blu-ray player. But I can't because Roomie says these are "emergency remotes". Huh, who ever heard of an emergency remote? How about just the regular ole remote (that I happened to modify)? I have other concrete examples, ie, wanting to use my Denon remote that I edited. How often have you wanted to use the remote to your receiver? Sorry, emergency remote only. eek.gif

Don't get me wrong, I like the thing. But they won't listen (or at least address) a real UI issue?
Tom
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post #4 of 10
10/15/12 at 6:23am
They removed a couple of my posts as well or said they moved them to support whatever that means, because I was describing the bug they have when adding an activity and you try to add additional commands to the startup or stop macros and they won't show up if you hit the '+' sign. I was getting the same feeling that they were deleting posts describing legitimate issues regardless of how big or small the issues are. All they need to do is keep pulling posts and alienate the folks who like the thing and will tell others about it, because these same people will start asking what's up in other forums they can't control.
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post #5 of 10
10/15/12 at 4:08pm
A while back I purchased the two device version of Roomie Remote in order to try it out. To my surprise it would only work with IP devices and they wanted several more dollars for IR codes that I would need before I could do my testing. I cut my losses and said to heck with Roomie Remote. A least iRule allows you to test drive before you buy.
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post #6 of 10
10/15/12 at 4:09pm
Thread Starter 
And to add insult to injury, they deleted my account on their support site! Nice customer service. mad.gif
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post #7 of 10
1/28/13 at 3:25pm
Bummer, I really was leaning toward getting Roomie for my new HT build. They have by FAR the slickest UI design, and the 2-way communication capabilities sound awesome, the built-in guide display, so many things. And they already have Z-wave support via Vera and are promising Somfy controls for my curtain masking system. I thought they would be my ideal HT control system: dimming house lights to off, dim stair lights to low, set up the source and amp, open the curtains to 16:9 for TV or 2.35:1 for movies, all in one iPad app. So far it seems like my best option short of paying $20-30K for a Crestron system, or $6-10K for a Control4 system. But not if they're going to be so un-user friendly. This does give one pause.

David
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post #8 of 10
1/28/13 at 6:16pm
David,

If there are that many compelling aspects of Roomie for you, I'd say to go for it. I'm very happy with my decision to implement a Roomie-based whole-house & theater setup, and have personally found the support to be responsive and informative. As Tome discovered, there are obviously topics that touch a nerve and get handled in a "sub-optimal" manner, but overall I feel that the positives outweigh the negatives......just don't mention the UI biggrin.gif
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post #9 of 10
1/28/13 at 11:19pm
DGF,

Thanks for your advice! I was actually really excited when I stumbled onto Roomie Remote. In terms of an attractive, polished UI, it stands head and shoulders above every other app, including Control4's, which was the most polished (IMO) before Roomie. But after reading this post and the others who chimed in with their own deleted posts, I'm now worried that after committing hours of setup time and hundreds of dollars on the app, in-app purchases (options) and interface devices, I'll find myself with an unsupported, broken setup.

I still don't see any better alternatives that meet my esthetic standards, so I'll probably go with Roomie, but I'll go in with eyes a bit more wide open.

David
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post #10 of 10
1/29/13 at 7:19am
David,

For a meager investment at least compared to your other options, I don't think you can go wrong by trying roomie first and if it is not what you expected you aren't out that much money. I will say I have had Control4 in my house 6 years now and am happy with it especially for lighting, but I switched my downstairs family room system to all Roomie instead of C4 and find it much more user friendly for the family and the ease of adding components puts the other solutions to shame by requiring and outside dealer/integrator. I have had no issues with Roomie support, and after you spent just a few hours with it, if it takes that long you won't need support anyway.
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