liuje Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I am new member interested in implementing C4 mainly for Rhapsody and other music distribution over 3 zones. Currently, home automation features such as lighting control, door lock, thermostat control, etc are secondary.Backgroun Info:I have a 12 channel amp already set up for 3 separate music zones. Currently using Yamaha MusicCast2 Rhapsody music distribution system which is smiliar to Sonos but not as good. Based on my research I have found that HC500 has 3 analog output which is a perfect fit for my amp's 3 zone input setup. The new HC800 has 3 outputs as well but one is a digital output which I presume I can use a digital-to-analog converter for the 3rd analog zone input. Ebay has HC500 for less than $300 vs HC800 which is $1k?? I would like to spend the least amount of money to get the music distribution setup but I am welling to step up to the HC800 if there are enough advantages and reasons to upgrade. I have spoken to a local C4 auhtorize dealer and he tells me that HC800 is extremely fast and the HC500 will work for what I want to do but there are slowness issues and he suggests that I get the HC800, from him of course. I plan to use C4 iPad and Android phone apps to control the HC500 or HC800 unit. Per my C4 dealer, going the the HC500 route, the project cost would be about $1,000: $500 for iPad/Android site license, $200 in programming fee, say $300 for an used HC500. HC800 would be $700 more.Here is where I need the forum users' help. My questions are:1. Is the HC500 fast enough to stream Rapsody up to 3 zones? I read in a thread that a forum user had to wait 20 to 30 seconds after pressing the "ADD" to the library or queque command before executing another command. (sorry I couldn't find the thread again to quote it verbatim). I can't imaging C4 putting out a product that is slow to operate.2. How do you add MP3 music to the HC500's harddrive? Is it simple procedure or is it a time consuming process?3. Some HC500 on ebay have the v1.8.2 software. Based on my reading in this forum that it is the ZigBee Pro version which is more CPU intensive to run but it will support more recent automation gadgets. Does v1.8.2 impact the Rhapsody stream performance? Should I stick with the v1.7.x HC500?4. Do I always have to have a C4 authorize dealer to make any changes to the iPad/Adroid app? If so, I can see one can spend a lot of money just to get the programming done on implementing new automation gadgets.5. What are the advantages of the HC800 over the HC500? Is it worth the additional $700 to step up to the HC800?6. I plan add an Ethernet "Speaker Point" unit to drive 2 additional speakers that are not hooked up to my amp. Can I control and stream Rhapsody through HC500 to the Speaker Unit with iPad/Android app? 7. Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the lenghty post. Thanks in advance for any help to my questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookedOnC4 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I am new member interested in implementing C4 mainly for Rhapsody and other music distribution over 3 zones. Currently, home automation features such as lighting control, door lock, thermostat control, etc are secondary.Backgroun Info:I have a 12 channel amp already set up for 3 separate music zones. Currently using Yamaha MusicCast2 Rhapsody music distribution system which is smiliar to Sonos but not as good. Based on my research I have found that HC500 has 3 analog output which is a perfect fit for my amp's 3 zone input setup. The new HC800 has 3 outputs as well but one is a digital output which I presume I can use a digital-to-analog converter for the 3rd analog zone input. Ebay has HC500 for less than $300 vs HC800 which is $1k?? I would like to spend the least amount of money to get the music distribution setup but I am welling to step up to the HC800 if there are enough advantages and reasons to upgrade. I have spoken to a local C4 auhtorize dealer and he tells me that HC800 is extremely fast and the HC500 will work for what I want to do but there are slowness issues and he suggests that I get the HC800, from him of course. I plan to use C4 iPad and Android phone apps to control the HC500 or HC800 unit. Per my C4 dealer, going the the HC500 route, the project cost would be about $1,000: $500 for iPad/Android site license, $200 in programming fee, say $300 for an used HC500. HC800 would be $700 more.Here is where I need the forum users' help. My questions are:1. Is the HC500 fast enough to stream Rapsody up to 3 zones? I would say yes... Would I buy the older 500 No.I read in a thread that a forum user had to wait 20 to 30 seconds after pressing the "ADD" to the library or queque command before executing another command. (sorry I couldn't find the thread again to quote it verbatim). I can't imaging C4 putting out a product that is slow to operate. Don't know about this...2. How do you add MP3 music to the HC500's harddrive? Is it simple procedure or is it a time consuming process?I think it's easy and can be done with composer media.3. Some HC500 on ebay have the v1.8.2 software. Based on my reading in this forum that it is the ZigBee Pro version which is more CPU intensive to run but it will support more recent automation gadgets. Does v1.8.2 impact the Rhapsody stream performance? Should I stick with the v1.7.x HC500?I would want the new software 2.24. Do I always have to have a C4 authorize dealer to make any changes to the iPad/Adroid app? If so, I can see one can spend a lot of money just to get the programming done on implementing new automation gadgets.Yes, programming is something you would work out with dealer...5. What are the advantages of the HC800 over the HC500? Is it worth the additional $700 to step up to the HC800?I don't have the 800 but it's the latest equipment and they say it's faster. I have 2 300C, 200B, 200 and 1000V2/3 and my system works great.6. I plan add an Ethernet "Speaker Point" unit to drive 2 additional speakers that are not hooked up to my amp. Can I control and stream Rhapsody through HC500 to the Speaker Unit with iPad/Android app? I have six speaker points and they work great...7. Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the lenghty post. Thanks in advance for any help to my questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdvr Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 good thing you plugged "J River media center 17. "Lord knows we cannot get through the day without you talking about J RiverThank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 good thing you plugged "J River media center 17. "Lord knows we cannot get through the day without you talking about J RiverThank youBrent, didn't you hear, JRiver is going to lower your taxes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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