The Halo still a viable choice?

[Carolpa]

2 Halo’s in my setup.
I use them often. The reason I use them often: the BLI programmable buttons.

I can select a lot of different sources connected to and/or integrated in different Netlink en BeocontrolLink devices on a lot of devices: for example BLC Line In connected BS5e or BG4000 directly to my Shape or Beoplay A6 or BV Harmony.
I can link/join products with the wheel and one button.

I can put devices on standby even if I am in a different room.

The batteries, normally hold about 6 days on a charge.

Only the B&o app has similar abilities, but there is no other remote capable to control the system this way.

So to me extremely viable.

 

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

Again the consensus is that the Halo is useful if you more than DOUBLE the cost of it with the BLI.  The point I was making as a product on its own its extremely underdeveloped and expensive for what you get.

[Sandyb]

That was indeed the point I made at the start of the thread.

It gets plenty of enthusiasm from those with BLI’s and home automation stuff, and I can understand that.

But it clearly gets a more shrug-like response from those who dont, and for whom their use is confined to music etc.

A pretty fair summation I thought.

Though I was pilloried for being a troll.

The days we live in eh….

[Rolli]

I also believe that this sums it up quite well.

I wonder if the upcoming introduction of the matter standard by B&O potentially will make the Halo a much more attractive option even at the current price point.

Imagine if the whole universe of smart home control that is currently only possible with the BLI would come to Halo without further costs due to compatibility with matter.

I believe Halo could become a very nice and attractive product for many B&O customers. Thus Halo could be a unique and elegant interface not only for audio (and video?) control but for the entire house. I could well imagine that B&O Halo in this case becomes a shining star within the product portfolio and a design icon for many years to come.

I own a halo myself. I like it for its simplicity, ease of use and elegance of the object itself. The product idea holds so much potential, but on a stand alone basis without BLI it does not really live up to what it could be. Even simple things that were possible in the good old times of Masterlink like setting an alarm or showing the time are not possible as far as I know.

The current BLI in my opinion is …

a) a very substantial investment (950 Euro for the box + potentially 690 USD for a software update to “Pro” Version if this is required).

b) not all that easy to install (normal users will have either to invest some time and effort to get all this installed by themselves or will need external assistance with even further cost)

c) not future proof: as BLI to my knowledge is currently not compatible with the matter standard it is not clear when this will be available and if it will require a software update only or if this will require a new hardware version.

From B&O perspective and economically speaking I ask myself if the customer base that is willing to pay a minimum of 1.700 Euro (Halo + BLI essential) or 2.340 Euro for the Pro Version (Halo + BLI + Pro update) for an integrated remote control is big enough to pay off not only the production cost and software maintenance expenses but also the development cost. Does anyone know how well the Halo/BLI combo sells ?

Let’s see where B&O is going with the matter standard. They now have the opportunity to do a lot of things right not only with regards to Halo. I keep my fingers crossed.

Kind regards

Rolli

[Sandyb]

This was from Christian on the Discord server a few days ago…..to the question of whether a BLI will not longer be required (once Matter rolls out)….

Without having had a look in the crystal ball, I would say: probably not. Matter can potentially be the “saviour of simple automations”, but deep product specific features (let’s take the overlay functionality on Mozart as an example) will probably not be exposed via Matter. To me, a good, local, open and preferably well documented API will win over Matter-compatibility any day. Don’t read this as “Matter is baaaad!”. I think it will make it much easier for “everyone” to do more stuff with their devices in general suing Matter, but if you like the nitty-griddy stuff like me, I don’t think it’s superior.

13 January 2023
 

[kawo]

I agree with most of the comments, it could be a great product but a lot missed opportunities due to limited software.

I own a Halo myself for one simple reason: remote control my BL50 with sources outside the B&O world. So to switch input, volume control and speaker profile without the app the Halo is the only option. I got a good deal for a display one, but still a hefty price for the purpose I use it.

For me a big drawback is the limited functions for a Harmony. I often switch Speaker groups between just the Harmony speaker and a full blown 5.0.2 setup, also the sound presets. Unfortunately not possible with the Halo.

So the Beoremote One is still used in parallel for TV and basic multiroom functions.

Sooner or later I may get the BLI as I would love to control light and

But looks really nice on my coffee table on top of the famous B&O Book, LOL

[T.W.G]

Update:
Due to B&Os great multi room system, I’ve found out, that the sound of a bluetooth connected device is shared across all connected NL devices, too. I didn’t know that before.
Very nice.

[Steph]

Do you think the “off-centre” logo in the motion sensor is a faulty design or a necessary choice for a proper operation of the product ?

 

[LeMirage]

They should have made that logo with a tiny always on led behind it to find the Halo in the dark and place the motion sensor maybe somewhere else.

 

[Jaffrey]

I love the Halo. I use it with a Stage and other products (A9, 2x Core etc) and I use it all the time…I don’t use it for home automation.

[Jaffrey]

TBH, the Halo is a product that has grown on me. The in-store experience does not do it justice. It is great for listening to music.

[T.W.G]

It’s very nice even without home automation for pure audio control around the house. No “where’s my phone”, just a central HALO on every floor is great and comfortable.

BUT: Please add Alarm control of supported products. Would be nice to just choose e.g. Beosound 1, and turn alarm on/off with the Beoremote HALO, too.

Hopefully Bang & Olufsen has made it reliable this time!
Not as unreliable (mechanical) as the Essence remots that become stiff or leaking grease. That’s nothing but a shame for their brand!

[andy_js]

The BLI is a joke.  You have to pay for the PRO version before you can write your own plugins.  Way to knee cap any community driver development B&O.  I have half a mind to write a replacement that can run on a raspberry pi.  As none of the communication is encrypted (a bit brave considering the state of IOT) it is easy to reverse engineer their APIs.  I have a partial software reimplementation of the BeoSound Moment that their app is more than willing to talk to.

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