zaphod Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 It would be useful to control additional devices, and you could do something like this (which uses a Harmony remote acting as a Bluetooth PC keyboard to send commands) to control an AndroidTV, and other devices: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 cause BT has no range Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreatheed Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 BT in the WMB had range limitations, and that box didn't have other wireless radios in close proximity. It would be worse in a controller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 But IR only has range as far as a cord in most instances. I know that this won't work so well for a centralized systems but doesn't the typical system have a controller sitting with other AV components under a TV, or on a shelf beside the TV? Why would range be an issue for those considerations to control a PS4, Switch, PC, Xbox, AndroidTV device, etc? And don't many SoCs come with Bluetooth built in, or very easy and cheap to implement. A Raspberry Pi Zero W has Bluetooth alongside the rest of a complete SoC and is $10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreatheed Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 IR can be extended across cat5 a long ways. Done it many times. BT cannot. BT also conflicts with BOTH WiFi and ZigBee for 2.4 Ghz communications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 I know IR can be extended, but it usually doesn't have to. Nor would BT in most instances. But wouldn't a Bluetooth bridge like this do the trick? (Assuming that this product was released - it seems to have been announced at CES a year ago but it isn't clear if it is shipping) I don't mean to be cheeky, but there must be (not exaggerating) over a billion devices on the planet that have both wifi and BT. (like every smartphone, tablet, Amazon echo, laptop, etc). They manage to coexist without F'n each other up. Why can't a C4 controller? I probably have at least two dozen of said devices in my home. Does Zigbee cause additional issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 And even more devices have ip. If a device is advanced enough to have bt. Shouldn't it have ip control? Sent from my BBB100-1 using Tapatalk mstafford388 and South Africa C4 user 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 And there is no Bluetooth device control profile so there is nothing in common that all devices would be able to do Sent from my BBB100-1 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstafford388 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 You almost answered your own question by pointing out that pretty much every device on the planet does wifi, so why not just use network drivers that don't have the limitations BT has? South Africa C4 user and msgreenf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 Because many of these devices don't offer IP control for various reasons, often security I assume. Is that not the case with AndroidTV devices (other than adb or hacks), gaming devices like Nintendo Wii or Switch, Sony PS4 and others - they have IP addresses on your LAN but you can't control them via IP? Don't C4 users use a USB Ir device for boxes like the Shield? I can use my Harmony remote control to control a BT device, why shouldn't a C4 remote (or Nav) have the same functionality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstafford388 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 I can honestly say that I can't remember a dealer ever asking me about adding BT to a controller. It just doesn't come up and I spend all day everyday with dealers. I'm not saying there wouldn't be a few uses for it but it's not something that dealers seem to want. sonic30101 and msgreenf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 But dealers are buying IR units to allow control of the Nvidia Shield and PS4, are they not? And they are not installing "No control" drivers for Nintendo game devices? My dealer just did for me when I got my kids a Nintendo Switch for Christmas. Isn't a "control" driver better than a "no control" driver? In most instances you will be using a gaming controller, but it you want to use a gaming device to watch Netflix, Plex or Kodi then just using your C4 remote makes sense. But you have to buy additional devices to do so today. I believe there is a thread here on the front page about just such a device for a PS4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreatheed Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Harmony remotes are designed to stay in one room, where BT range isn't an issue. Control4 remotes are not. Plus, Harmony assumes all your equipment is in that room, again, negating the BT range issue. In Control4, you frequently have sources in a centralized location or in multiple locations. BT range is a deal breaker for everything but static one-room solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Harmony remotes are designed to stay in one room, where BT range isn't an issue. Control4 remotes are not. Plus, Harmony assumes all your equipment is in that room, again, negating the BT range issue. In Control4, you frequently have sources in a centralized location or in multiple locations. BT range is a deal breaker for everything but static one-room solutions.But nothing prevents anyone from building like a z2bt hardware. What limits people is the market. There would be no roiSent from my BBB100-1 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 Doesn’t BT make sense in any and all instances where you have one controller per room with AV controlled by C4. I assumed that only a small minority of C4 setups have centralized sources, but maybe I am wrong on that. Does anyone know the stats on that? Are C4 remotes really meant to travel through your house? To me it makes sense to have one per room, and that’s especially the case if you are going to have multiple TVs in use at the same time. And aren’t the buttons on remotes mapped to a room anyhow? When you press a blue button the blue button is found under rooms on Composer. Another use case case for BT is to feed headphones. I bought a BT transmitter on Amazon that I plug into the headphone output of the AVR in my bedroom to listen to TV or music in bed when I am not allowed to make any noise due to kids or wife. It would be nice to be able to switch audio to BT if possible. While we are discussing future functionality another interesting idea would be to give C4 controllers AndroidTV capabilities. I am not 100% sold on that but it is interesting to think about. And you wouldn’t need to switch inputs on your TV to go from Navigator to content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 11 minutes ago, zaphod said: Doesn’t BT make sense in any and all instances where you have one controller per room with AV controlled by C4. I assumed that only a small minority of C4 setups have centralized sources, but maybe I am wrong on that. Does anyone know the stats on that? no stats, but I would also say a small # of projects have BT control only devices 11 minutes ago, zaphod said: Are C4 remotes really meant to travel through your house? yes, thats why they use zigbee 12 minutes ago, zaphod said: And aren’t the buttons on remotes mapped to a room anyhow? When you press a blue button the blue button is found under rooms on Composer. no, you use the list button to change rooms and then the blue button applies to that room. I do it nighty to turn out lights and TV's in rooms that no one is any longer in 13 minutes ago, zaphod said: Another use case case for BT is to feed headphones. I bought a BT transmitter on Amazon that I plug into the headphone output of the AVR in my bedroom to listen to TV or music in bed when I am not allowed to make any noise due to kids or wife. It would be nice to be able to switch audio to BT if possible. BT for control and BT audio output as a different zone are totally different beats 13 minutes ago, zaphod said: While we are discussing future functionality another interesting idea would be to give C4 controllers AndroidTV capabilities. I am not 100% sold on that but it is interesting to think about. And you wouldn’t need to switch inputs on your TV to go from Navigator to content. you are all over the place...but yes, I tend to agree the controllers should do more then just Navigator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Quote Why don't C4 controllers have Bluetooth? You mean why isn't there direct bluetooth connectivity in the software. Because of it's extremely limited use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 37 minutes ago, msgreenf said: no stats, but I would also say a small # of projects have BT control only devices yes, thats why they use zigbee no, you use the list button to change rooms and then the blue button applies to that room. I do it nighty to turn out lights and TV's in rooms that no one is any longer in BT for control and BT audio output as a different zone are totally different beats you are all over the place...but yes, I tend to agree the controllers should do more then just Navigator So then what do people do for control if they have one of the following: PS4, Wii, Switch? And the Shield (and other AndroidTV devices) would be more easily controlled with BT vs. other methods. Some AndroidTV devices have built in IR, some don't. Some have apps that can be controlled with IP but I don't think that is the case with all apps - I think it is true for stuff like Kodi and Plex but not native apps like Netflix, YouTube. BT for audio and HID are two different beasts but there is no reason that it can't work. Cars can have multiple BT conections to your phone -- for handsfree audio, data, etc. AndroidTV had noting to do with BT (otherthan you can use BT to control AndroidTV devces) but I just thought I would throw that one out. I have been reading up some of the stuff on Netplay and with AndroidTV on the controller it could act as a receiver for content from Netplay. But even if you don't care about Netplay you can get almost al of the content you want with apps in AndroidTV so it can allow you to go back to one source in many instances. A controller can act as an audio receiver of a sort with stuff like Shairbridge and Spotify Connect, so why not do the same with video? wappinghigh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 7 minutes ago, Cyknight said: You mean why isn't there direct bluetooth connectivity in the software. Because of it's extremely limited use. Bluetooth software and a Bluetooth radio would be required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 I’ve never wished for Bluetooth control, and I’ve controlled about everything that can be controlled. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 6 hours ago, zaphod said: Bluetooth software and a Bluetooth radio would be required. Yes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 13 hours ago, Cyknight said: You mean why isn't there direct bluetooth connectivity in the software. Because of it's extremely limited use. Again - what about for controlling the PS4? Didn't you say this a couple of weeks ago about the IrUSB: Quote Now if we could get that expanded to control a PS4 I'll start buying these by the crate So why wouldn't it be useful to be able to control a PS4? Or a Shield without an IrUSB? Or a PC? wappinghigh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 IMHO, yes it would be useful for those 2 devices. sure. but IR, serial and IP support THOUSANDS of devices. Why have limited development resources focus on such a niche? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THawes Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Yeah, I personally don't see where I'd use it in my own system, much less any client systems we've installed over the years. PS4, XBox and the like I'd be more inclined to use IR on them given the limited amount I'd be controlling them anyway. Bluetooth is finicky enough with headphones and car connectivity, I don't think I'd want to carry that potential headache over to AV systems that need to "just work". As others have said, the ROI for this seems very limited which is probably why it's never been considered. I know this is the first time I've seen it come up myself. Neat idea, but limited in application. sonic30101 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seth_j Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 My experience with Bluetooth -- every version of it, even the "good" version -- has been less than stellar. Its shit technology that is never implemented correctly by the vendor or manufacturer. Maybe next year they'll get it right. 🙄 Hard pass. Use something that works. Bluetooth -- It'll be awesome next year!®️ msgreenf and sonic30101 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.