Whole home mic system

[Haddood]

Tris answer my questions ... Will start looking for an affordable android devices

[jitterjames]

You must know someone who has one you can borrow to try it. Start with VoxWav free.

I'm not convinced that it is reliable enough to assume you can use it as an always on solution, and I certainly can't guarantee it. Maybe others who have really tried to use it for this purpose can offer their opinions on that.  Dropping five dollars on VoxWav pro is no big deal but buying an android device only to find out that you don't like VoxWav would be unfortunate.

[LilFonky]

I can corroborate James's assertion that VoxWav is not ideal for open mic use. There are lots of things I like about it, and it works well in ptt mode, but the intermittent nature of the audio stream makes it flaky in always-on mode.  Also if you're restarting Vox frequently (like when programming) you have to restart the always on feature each time you re-connect.  I've had better luck on the whole with WO mic, though I think Vox is the better app in many ways.

Today I received my most recent ultra-cheap mic in the mail and surprisingly I'm having decent luck with it attached to an Android tablet, casting audio to VC via WO Mic. After a bit of training I'm getting pretty reliable performance from several feet away, even with the tv on in the background. Too bad the WO client isn't multi-channel...   

This is the mic:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390866946296?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

It's a little big, but it's not very acoustically sensitive so I'm not getting a lot of unwanted ambiance in my test recordings. It doesn't produce a lot of output gain but since VC doesn't do so well with high gain that's ok.  I'll keep playing but so far I'm pretty happy given what I spent (<$11 USD shipped). Only real gripe is I have to use a trs to trrs adaptor, which disables sound output from the tablet. 

[jitterjames]

Yeah,  VoxWav was really designed to be interacted with.

User activates recording using either tilt or a button press, and then gets visual feedback of recognition results, alternates, OSD messages, confirmation messages, and TTS.

The goal was to create something similar to the Amulet, but better, that would be essentially free for those who already had an Android.  The beauty of it when used as originally intended  is that it is not too hard on your device's battery, your false positives should be close to zero, and the range is usually really good (whatever your wifi range is).

The only reason I created the always on mode was because of user's demands for it.

If you are using always on mode then it probably makes more sense to use a virtual microphone app like WO mic (Android) or Headset (iOs).  In this case you don't want to be running on batteries.

The one advantage of VoxWav even as an always on mic is that you can use more than one simultaneously with a single instance of VoxCommando, and combine it with a "normal" windows mic, without having to install special programs like VAC.

[Haddood]

In fact I am not planning for android as an always on solution ... It is more press a button to say what I want ... For the moment it is the most reliable solution

[MikeMelga]

Ok... my 2 cents:

Although I am registered here for over 2 years, only now I am starting to trial Voxcommando.
Because my house took more time building than I initially expected, only last week I have connected and powered up my mic installation.

By the way... I was truly happy to find out that VC now supports Microsoft Speech Recognition Engine.

So... let me describe you my whole house mic system:

I have 2 Gentner AP800 mic mixers and a Gentner AP10 telephone gateway. I have 8 ceiling mics installed through the house from various manufacturers: Crown, Astatic, Beyer Dynamics and Audio Technics. All of these were bought from Ebay. An used AP800 should sell for $100 or less.

The Gentner AP800 is widely used in home automation scenarios. It supports 8 mics, features rs232 control, and has all the features one should need for every scenario. One of the cool features is that if you feed an audio source (TV, music, whatever) it can 'substract' that audio from the mics feed. For example: you can issue voice commands on a room playing loud music.

I have the mixers connected to my server running Eventghost. When VC detects a command, it tells EG, I query the mixer for the gated mic and know the location where the command was issued. I use it also has an intercom system.

This is, of course, theoretically because only now I will power up the mixers and start playing around. I'll have to set gains and volumes for the whole thing and try speech recognition accuracy.

Anyway... this just to say that the Gentner's AP800 are a very good option for whole house systems.

Regards,
Mike

 

 

[keithj69]

Thanks for mentioning the ap800. I see it has much support than my vortex.
I just might get one. Thanks.

[Haddood]

Thank you mike ...
For awhile I was reluctant which mixer to go, Vortex or ap800, the noise cancelation is deal maker ... Add to your comments the power supply issue of vortex, when buying from ebay, and the balance will tip comfortably to ap800

[keithj69]

Mike,  I am curious how you will use the "subtraction" part.  Are you also going to have a whole house media setup that allows you to tie into the system?   For example, my vortex is in my spare bedroom and my cable boxes are with my tv's in other rooms.   Not really feasible for me to run stuff back in an existing 60 year old house.
Haddood,  I wonder where you got the notion of vortex power supply issues from.......

[Haddood]

Keith, all the vortex I found on ebay, was without power supply... Even somebody mentioned here in the forums that one should find it with a power supply ... On the other hand ap800 seems it have the power supply built in

[jitterjames]

I don't think it was an "issue" as long as you got a power supply.  The issue is that a lot of people are selling power supplies that cost more than the vortex itself.  The power supply appears to be a special one so you can't just substitute a generic one for it.

[keithj69]

Haddood, I was joking around. I mentioned the power supply issues and ebay.....
 Even though I have a vortex up and going, I am really interested in the ap800/xap800 route.  Just the fact alone that I can find more than 4 posts (not including mine) on the internet that have good info is a plus to me.  
I am still researching the line in ist fur the subtraction.  Trying to find out how to do it without losing surround sound.

[Haddood]

Trying to find out how to do it without losing surround sound.

How about if you split each Chanel before it goes to the speakers, mix all the splits and feed to vortex as one Chanel ... Sure you need a mixer for that and splitters (maybe y splitters will do)

Just a thought ... As I can't do tests since I have no vortex or ap800

[keithj69]

so for $30 total i just bought a used xap 800.  The xap800 is the upgrade to the ap800.  I found this http://www.zoelen.net/ZMC.htm that has a decent build out.  It does use a different ha solution, but the more info the better.

I found the above link from here  http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=165984&highlight=ap800

[MikeMelga]

Mike,  I am curious how you will use the "subtraction" part.  Are you also going to have a whole house media setup that allows you to tie into the system?

Yes. I have a 'control' room in the basement where I keep all multizone amps and servers. I just feed the AP800 with all the possible sound sources (TV, Radio, MP3, XBMC).