beojeff wrote:

It's sad that any discussion of the Halo seems to attract the troll(s) who have not lived with a Halo for any serious amount of time.

The Halo was primarily intended as an interface for home automation with the BLI. Its function as a replacement for the Essence remote was secondary. It meets both goals astonishingly.

When I wake in the morning, iI merely roll over to look at the Halo and it knows that I'm looking at it and displays the time and weather. I push the "morning" button and it begins my morning routine adjusting the lights, brewing the coffee, and playing the morning news.

I put a vinyl album on its stand and the music starts playing just like in the Boston showroom video. I go into the kitchen and can join that music with the Halo to play on the Beosound 1 in the kitchen. I can also join that same music on the Essence in the dining room. I can control the volume from ANY speaker, can see the metadata of what's playing, and can move between tracks and sources -- all with just one hand without needing to pick up a phone or tablet. I can adjust the lights in the kitchen with a simple roll of the Halo wheel. The concept is extremely elegant and it just works. This degree of elegance just can't be achieved with a phone or tablet.

All B&O software has had its bugs. We just need to inform B&O about them so they can continue to polish them out. They've come a long way already.

Sandyb wrote:

beojeff wrote:

 

It's sad that any discussion of the Halo seems to attract the troll(s) who have not lived with a Halo for any serious amount of time.

 

The Halo was primarily intended as an interface for home automation with the BLI. Its function as a replacement for the Essence remote was secondary. It meets both goals astonishingly.

 

When I wake in the morning, iI merely roll over to look at the Halo and it knows that I'm looking at it and displays the time and weather. I push the "morning" button and it begins my morning routine adjusting the lights, brewing the coffee, and playing the morning news.

 

I put a vinyl album on its stand and the music starts playing just like in the Boston showroom video. I go into the kitchen and can join that music with the Halo to play on the Beosound 1 in the kitchen. I can also join that same music on the Essence in the dining room. I can control the volume from ANY speaker, can see the metadata of what's playing, and can move between tracks and sources -- all with just one hand without needing to pick up a phone or tablet. I can adjust the lights in the kitchen with a simple roll of the Halo wheel. The concept is extremely elegant and it just works. This degree of elegance just can't be achieved with a phone or tablet.

 

All B&O software has had its bugs. We just need to inform B&O about them so they can continue to polish them out. They've come a long way already.

 

 

Intended as a device for home automation? Really? That may be the bit that it’s good at, but at launch it had zero home automation ability, so not sure how that can be described as it’s primary intended function?

 

 

My dealer explained that the home automation was not yet ready at launch but that a replacement for the Essence remote was needed. That's why the launch was made early.

Update.

I have bought another Level and playing them as a stereo pair now.

stability of the Halo itself is very decent, not 100 percent, I did two resets last week but since we use it daily and quit a lot, that’s ok for now.

Battery performance of my table version Halo however is poor again. A few posts above I mentioned the setup with just one Level and we got at least three days with fifty percent of the battery, was really happy with that.

Currently running Halo firmware 1.4.790 that was released on serial by the dealer to fix the known random reboot issues. The Halo is programmed to just to control the Level stereo pair and nothing else. Wifi connection for the Halo in the app states anything from good to excellent. But the battery struggles to keep out for 24 hours. According to techsupport Halo’s battery eating bug was fixed already in B&O app version 3.17. The only difference with the longlasting battery setup I managed to get before is the Level being stereo paired now and the firmware 1.4.790. Hard to think the second level is the culprit, so it must be the beta firmware then fixing the random reboots but eating the battery again….

Currently there is no difference anymore with the B&O app running in the backround or not.

if someone has tips, please let me know. Otherwise I will just connect an ugly 50.000 mah powerbank to the Halo ;)

All 5 of my Halo remotes have been solid and reliable for weeks now. I think that assigning permanent IP addresses is a good idea. I also think that software updates have fixed the problem. Also, I always have my Halos connected to power. I don't think that the Halos were really intended to be used mainly on battery power. Perhaps just for the occasional mobility. However, the Halo isn't like a Beoremote One or Beo4 that's intended to be lifted from the table. Mine work well now and that's all that I care about.

Thanks Jeff. But there was a moment / configuration the battery performed really well. Could you do me a big favour and just unplug one of your Halo’s to see how much time your battery can last ? Big thanks ! 

LeMirage wrote:

Thanks Jeff. But there was a moment / configuration the battery performed really well. Could you do me a big favour and just unplug one of your Halo’s to see how much time your battery can last ? Big thanks ! 

 

No. Because that's not how I use my Halos. I keep them always connected to power and they work flawlessly.

LeMirage wrote:

Thanks Jeff. But there was a moment / configuration the battery performed really well. Could you do me a big favour and just unplug one of your Halo’s to see how much time your battery can last ? Big thanks !

It’s total nonsense that a device designed with a battery can’t operate an acceptable amount of days without recharging and is not intended to use on the battery. 

They call my Halo a TABLE STAND , how much tables have a power outlet built in ?!  

1100 mah’s gobbled in 24 hours for a device with such a small screen, very tight programmed screensaver time and simple networking capabilities is nothing but absurd.

Series 7 iwatch with it’s 300 (!) mah battery and retina Oled sceen:

All-day battery life is based on 18 hours with the following use: 90 time checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 60-minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth, over the course of 18 hours. Apple Watch Series 7 (GPS) usage includes connection to iPhone via Bluetooth during the entire 18-hour test. Apple Watch Series 7 (GPS + Cellular) usage includes a total of 4 hours of LTE connection and 14 hours of connection to iPhone via Bluetooth over the course of 18 hours.

It’s just messy programming or a bug. Hopefully fixed before I start using my Halo as an overpriced paperweight.