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Thank you so much for the thorough review including the sound meter tests. I just wish you could have sound tested the Lutron Serena shades to see how they compare as well. Seriously looking at theses they have Thread and don't require a Hub or cloud account to make them work.
Hi, thanks for the feedback, it’s much appreciated. If you head over to Shane Whately’s channel he does have Lutron shades as well, so you may get an idea of how they compare.
@@homekitnews Actually, I have been a member of Shane's channel for a couple of years now. I saw his review first and then spotted your review after that. Both videos did a great job of reviewing these shades. In fact, after watching your video and seeing you do a sound check with a sound meter I recommended to Shane through email that he should look into getting a sound meter to test the noise level of these products instead of giving a purely subjective rating of "this one sounds a bit louder than this one". He sent me an email reply back saying that he appreciated the feedback and would look into getting a sound meter for future testing of noise levels for future videos. In his video he did mention that the Lutron Shades were quieter than the Eve shades, but since he doesn't have a sound meter, he could not quantify that statement.
I think it’s important to use a sound meter, even if the surrounding are not exactly lab conditions, and wish I’d bought one sooner to be honest, so I imagine Shane will probably get one, as I’m sure he feels the same way ultimately.
Your reviews are always concise but deep. Thank you. Btw a suggestion the website search should have a option to sort by date. Frequently I do search for products I remember I read on RSS but the sort by relevance make hard to find the news article. Your are the best. Also you could have a database hotsite of all passed reviews/news of past devices. Like a old school website map.
Hi João, and thanks for the kind words. I’ll take your suggestions on board regarding the website and see what I can do, which I’m sure is possible. Thanks again!
I've also bought this kind of smart blinds. (The curtain is made by an other company but the motor is the exact same). But I've found these to be uncomfortably loud. Good that you made a sound test, because I want people to know that these are probably too loud to be in a bedroom or any room where you rest. I've programmed it to open and shut at times when I'm not in the neighborhood of it. It's such an high pitched irritating noise I can't believe that there is no fix for it, my neighbor has an heavy anti theft roller shutter, and it makes less sound! I still like the product, but this is a big con for me and I think it's important for people to know, because it's still a lot of money you're paying for a smartblind.
Thanks for the comprehensive review! We’re you able to sync the left and right one? I saw in another video that they weren’t syncable, but yours looked pretty much in sync.
Hi, sometimes they aren’t in sync when you close them via a Siri command for example, but in this case when recording my first take, I had programmed a Hue Dimmer switch to open and close them, and it worked first time. I thought it might improve things if I also grouped the blinds together in HomeKit, but it actually makes no difference.
Thanks for your review. It seems that the blinds hit the pull cords (example at 5:20 ish) when they go up and it makes a noise. This seems like design flaw and would be quite annoying, in a bedroom perhaps. Is this true, or am I missing something? Thanks!
The way I set my blinds was so that they roll from the front as opposed to the back. I had to do this due to a section of the window frame sticking out. So in normal circumstances, with the blinds opening from the back, they wouldn’t catch the cord at all.
Hi, not sure what you mean. Are you referring to the white part where the motor and charging section are housed? If so, I think it only comes in white.
@@ChillumT no, unfortunately there’s nothing provided for this section, so I suspect that this section is white regardless of the colour of the fittings you opt for. You could probably just use some black tape (the kind used for electrical wires) to mask it off I guess, with a hole cut out for the USB charging port. Not ideal, but these situations sometimes require direct solutions!
Don't forget, you can also find us on the following social media platforms;
Facebook: facebook.com/homekitnews
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Thank you so much for the thorough review including the sound meter tests. I just wish you could have sound tested the Lutron Serena shades to see how they compare as well. Seriously looking at theses they have Thread and don't require a Hub or cloud account to make them work.
Hi, thanks for the feedback, it’s much appreciated. If you head over to Shane Whately’s channel he does have Lutron shades as well, so you may get an idea of how they compare.
@@homekitnews Actually, I have been a member of Shane's channel for a couple of years now. I saw his review first and then spotted your review after that. Both videos did a great job of reviewing these shades. In fact, after watching your video and seeing you do a sound check with a sound meter I recommended to Shane through email that he should look into getting a sound meter to test the noise level of these products instead of giving a purely subjective rating of "this one sounds a bit louder than this one". He sent me an email reply back saying that he appreciated the feedback and would look into getting a sound meter for future testing of noise levels for future videos. In his video he did mention that the Lutron Shades were quieter than the Eve shades, but since he doesn't have a sound meter, he could not quantify that statement.
I think it’s important to use a sound meter, even if the surrounding are not exactly lab conditions, and wish I’d bought one sooner to be honest, so I imagine Shane will probably get one, as I’m sure he feels the same way ultimately.
Your reviews are always concise but deep. Thank you.
Btw a suggestion the website search should have a option to sort by date. Frequently I do search for products I remember I read on RSS but the sort by relevance make hard to find the news article. Your are the best.
Also you could have a database hotsite of all passed reviews/news of past devices. Like a old school website map.
Hi João, and thanks for the kind words. I’ll take your suggestions on board regarding the website and see what I can do, which I’m sure is possible. Thanks again!
I've also bought this kind of smart blinds. (The curtain is made by an other company but the motor is the exact same). But I've found these to be uncomfortably loud. Good that you made a sound test, because I want people to know that these are probably too loud to be in a bedroom or any room where you rest. I've programmed it to open and shut at times when I'm not in the neighborhood of it. It's such an high pitched irritating noise I can't believe that there is no fix for it, my neighbor has an heavy anti theft roller shutter, and it makes less sound! I still like the product, but this is a big con for me and I think it's important for people to know, because it's still a lot of money you're paying for a smartblind.
you can buy rubber pad, pad it on bracket, and try to fix the blinds on solid wood section. it ll make it nice and quite.
Thanks for the comprehensive review! We’re you able to sync the left and right one? I saw in another video that they weren’t syncable, but yours looked pretty much in sync.
Hi, sometimes they aren’t in sync when you close them via a Siri command for example, but in this case when recording my first take, I had programmed a Hue Dimmer switch to open and close them, and it worked first time. I thought it might improve things if I also grouped the blinds together in HomeKit, but it actually makes no difference.
Brilliant video mate, exactly what I was after!
Thanks Terence.
Thanks for your review. It seems that the blinds hit the pull cords (example at 5:20 ish) when they go up and it makes a noise. This seems like design flaw and would be quite annoying, in a bedroom perhaps. Is this true, or am I missing something? Thanks!
The way I set my blinds was so that they roll from the front as opposed to the back. I had to do this due to a section of the window frame sticking out. So in normal circumstances, with the blinds opening from the back, they wouldn’t catch the cord at all.
@@homekitnews cool thanks!
Does it work it aqara s1?
You can program the Magic Switch S1E to trigger the blinds, and although it’s possible with the Scene Panel S1 and the MagicPad S1, it’s not as easy.
Great video Simon, packaging ghetto imo
Ghetto fabulous in fact!
So very exciting!! Awesome review and great to see a HomeKit with thread option! These look really cool.
Thanks Brad, appreciate you taking the time to comment. Looking forward to more and more Thread stuff. The mind boggles at what’ll be next!
Is there no black cover for the middle parts on your blinds. The doesn’t really match the rest. I’m also looking at black blinds.
Hi, not sure what you mean. Are you referring to the white part where the motor and charging section are housed? If so, I think it only comes in white.
@@homekitnews yes. That’s the part I’m talking about :) Does it come with a black cover so you can hide the white part ?
@@ChillumT no, unfortunately there’s nothing provided for this section, so I suspect that this section is white regardless of the colour of the fittings you opt for. You could probably just use some black tape (the kind used for electrical wires) to mask it off I guess, with a hole cut out for the USB charging port. Not ideal, but these situations sometimes require direct solutions!
@@homekitnews what a shame. Do you get the coulisse version in for review as well ? Looks like they are a bit cheeper, but not sure.
I was only sent the Omnia blinds, but they all use the same technology as far as I’m aware, but I’ll have to double check and see.