TinCanHero
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2019
- Messages
- 214
- Reaction score
- 203
Hey guys, I thought id made a thread on my initial reactions to the new AI Hydra 64.
I purchased this light as an upgrade to my Hydra 26 HD that I've had for around 18m now. I totally love the 26HD, great control, WIFI, etc.
I decided to upgrade to the 64 to give me better spread as I was pushing it with my 26HD, I also recently made a small frag tank so I thought it would be perfect to use my 26 on that.
I must admit I didn't do much digging on the new 64 before I purchased it, I was only aware that there was no WIFI on this model, apart from this I expected pretty much a 56 just updated. Boy was I wrong.
My first reactions are its packaged nice, no plastic bag to protect it like on the 26 but it made it here fine.
The power cord has a barrel plug between the light and the power brick this time around. No water protector on this jack, a little disappointed as it's designed to be used around saltwater and in a humid environment.
Only two mounting holes for screws. I would have liked to have had the same 4 in the corners or even 6 to give options as mounting down the middle is hard to level and it blocks the fan if you use a bracket.
As for the light itself, it seems well made, all LED's work (as expected ^^) not much to note here.
Here is where things get really disappointing.
No WIFI: while I knew this it just seems like a step backward. BT is fine for local usage but any sort of cloud integration is impossible now unless AI releases a standalone hub product to connect to. I have to admit I used the web app more to show off to friends than to actually control the tank but it would have been nice to have the option.
You cannot pair to older devices: I get that the lighting is different because of a change in the number of LED's but it still is a bummer not to be able to pair them both up. Yes, I can run the same profile on the two devices but it's not the same as having one-button control for both lights.
The control in the app its self is a serious step backward.
I mean, whats happened here??!
The home screen is awful, the old 3 buttons - on, off, and schedule worked perfectly. I like the new Feed mode button, more to use for WC,s or when I'm working on the tank but that is it...
You cannot just turn the lights off from the dashboard anymore...? The only way I have found to do it is to use the new live demo mode and manually pull everything to 0..?! really?! like why..?!
What is this new Live Demo crap?? I see 0 use for it apart from turning the light off.
What happened to Manual mode?? Like this was really, really useful. Now, how do I just dial-up my blues if I want? The live demo is the closest thing to it but you don't have your current settings (from your profile that is running right now).. the only way I can see to do it is to actually edit the current time in the profile and then reload your old one in..
Overall I'm disappointed with the new models. I'm hoping alot of this is addressed in software updates but I'm not going to hold my breath personally I think unless the community makes enough noise we will be stuck with this.
Its a pretty huge deal killer for me, personally I ranked Hydra's as one of, if not the best light on the market but this new model has drastically changed my mind. Would i go and buy another one? probably not. Id go as far as saying I'm thinking of returning the light and going to for something else.
Just my 2cents after having the new light for a few hours.
Kind regards, TinCanHero.
I purchased this light as an upgrade to my Hydra 26 HD that I've had for around 18m now. I totally love the 26HD, great control, WIFI, etc.
I decided to upgrade to the 64 to give me better spread as I was pushing it with my 26HD, I also recently made a small frag tank so I thought it would be perfect to use my 26 on that.
I must admit I didn't do much digging on the new 64 before I purchased it, I was only aware that there was no WIFI on this model, apart from this I expected pretty much a 56 just updated. Boy was I wrong.
My first reactions are its packaged nice, no plastic bag to protect it like on the 26 but it made it here fine.
The power cord has a barrel plug between the light and the power brick this time around. No water protector on this jack, a little disappointed as it's designed to be used around saltwater and in a humid environment.
Only two mounting holes for screws. I would have liked to have had the same 4 in the corners or even 6 to give options as mounting down the middle is hard to level and it blocks the fan if you use a bracket.
As for the light itself, it seems well made, all LED's work (as expected ^^) not much to note here.
Here is where things get really disappointing.
No WIFI: while I knew this it just seems like a step backward. BT is fine for local usage but any sort of cloud integration is impossible now unless AI releases a standalone hub product to connect to. I have to admit I used the web app more to show off to friends than to actually control the tank but it would have been nice to have the option.
You cannot pair to older devices: I get that the lighting is different because of a change in the number of LED's but it still is a bummer not to be able to pair them both up. Yes, I can run the same profile on the two devices but it's not the same as having one-button control for both lights.
The control in the app its self is a serious step backward.
I mean, whats happened here??!
The home screen is awful, the old 3 buttons - on, off, and schedule worked perfectly. I like the new Feed mode button, more to use for WC,s or when I'm working on the tank but that is it...
You cannot just turn the lights off from the dashboard anymore...? The only way I have found to do it is to use the new live demo mode and manually pull everything to 0..?! really?! like why..?!
What is this new Live Demo crap?? I see 0 use for it apart from turning the light off.
What happened to Manual mode?? Like this was really, really useful. Now, how do I just dial-up my blues if I want? The live demo is the closest thing to it but you don't have your current settings (from your profile that is running right now).. the only way I can see to do it is to actually edit the current time in the profile and then reload your old one in..
Overall I'm disappointed with the new models. I'm hoping alot of this is addressed in software updates but I'm not going to hold my breath personally I think unless the community makes enough noise we will be stuck with this.
Its a pretty huge deal killer for me, personally I ranked Hydra's as one of, if not the best light on the market but this new model has drastically changed my mind. Would i go and buy another one? probably not. Id go as far as saying I'm thinking of returning the light and going to for something else.
Just my 2cents after having the new light for a few hours.
Kind regards, TinCanHero.
