I have a MX 3000 and I am looking at adding some lighting control to my house. I have been looking at x10 but then I saw someone saying something about INSTEON and I was able to find an IR converter box so that it will work with my MX 3000. My question is; I get how x10 works, i need to get the main control box with the software to be able to set up macros and what not. But what is a good setup of Insteon products for home theater light control and some home control?

If all you want to do is add some lighting control, why not use the URC lighting switches & dimmers? No control box as they communicates with the MX3000 via RF natively.

I was wanting to start with lighting control in the theater, but work up to controlling more of the house and using some smart macro's. i was liking to idea of adding the motion sensor's to it to be able to automate it a little. I knew that the X10 dose all of this, i just don't know anything about the Insteon product?

I just added a URC lamp dimmer and am going to order some more dimmers soon.

It works great and I love it. I added the light control into macros and works like a charm.

the MX3000 has an event timer, i would imagine the 6000 dos as well . I have not played with that yet , but will very soon. That should handle some of your needs as well. Using variables should help as well.

at least try it in the theater and decide if you want to add it to the rest of the house.

I use Lutron RadioRA for my lighting system. It works flawless, although it is more expensive than X10 or Insteon and it is only lighting. There is no other home automation involved. I have it all connected with an MX-3000 and an MX-980, as well as the base remotes that come with the Lutron package. Almost all lights in my house are on the system and since I have a few remotes hooked up to the system, I can adjust the lights no matter where I am in the house.

A friend of mine has a few X10 dimmers/switches and he has nothing but problems with it. It works maybe 1/3 of the time as intended. I know there are some on these boards who have had flawless or near flawless setups. I believe the house in question here has goofy electrical problems which constantly interrupt the X10 signals. I guess mileage may vary with X10.

Insteon is supposed to be the next generation of X10, or at least that is what it is compared to. You should go to the forums at www.smarthome.com for more details about Insteon and post questions there.