ChefTel Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 From Electronic Househttp://www.electronichouse.com/article/panasonic_phones_to_integrate_with_control4_automation/C157Product NewsPanasonic Phones to Integrate with Control4 AutomationSlated to roll out by the end of April, users will access full Control4 menu on phone interface.The Panasonic KX-TD7685 IP desk phone is among those that work with the Control4 integration. As a result, homeowners will be able to control every home system that can be controlled via a Control4 controller through certain Panasonic cordless phones.The beta testing is complete for the integration, which is part of Panasonic and Control4’s strategic relationship, and it should be rolled out in the next few weeks “or definitely by the end of April,” says Panasonic public relations rep Martha Whiteley. Panasonic showed an early version of the technology at CEDIA Expo 2008.When paired with Control4’s Digital Platform, Pansonic’s IP-PBX phone systems can be used to remotely control lighting, thermostats, audio, video garage doors, network cameras, etc.Panasonic is targeting small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and high-end residential customers with the Control4 integration. The joint effort makes sense because customers that own high-end Panasonic phone systems are similar to customers that have Control4 systems, according to Panasonic marketing manager Bill Savino.Being able to provide Control4 control though a Panasonic phone provides installers with increased flexibility, says Panasonic director of product management Mike Timar. “You wouldn’t need as many [Control4] controllers. You can expand the power of the Control4 system; it creates a leveragable infrastructure.”The user interface on the Panasonic phones is similar to the interface the customers will see on their corresponding Control4 interfaces, according to Timar.When an installer adds/removes devices, they’ll automatically be available to the end user via the phone interface. Menus can be built on demand via the handset interface. The ease of programming also opens installation opportunities to any Control4 installer, as opposed to only master installers previously, according to Panasonic.Panasonic, which was listed by 80 percent of dealers as their top telephone system brand in CE Pro’s annual CE Pro 100 brand analysis, entered the strategic relationship with Control4 back in September 2008 (CE Pro is Electronic House’s sister publication). The goal was to pair Panasonic’s Communications Solutions Group’s IP-PBX phone systems pair with Control4’s Digital Platform to offer affordable, advanced home automation capabilities.This is the first product announcement to come out of the collaboration, but Control4 has been pushing lately to include its automation technology in various products, including LG TVs.It’s part of Control4’s quest to become the operating system for the home, or home OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav-Jason Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Control 4 does not typically pre-announce products... BUT PANASONIC DOES! I can already see people pointing their phones at their tv's. I guess I'm not sure of the practicality of it yet, but I'll check 'em out. Might be a nice little added bonus to throw in bids I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 This is nice but I have no desire to use a phone over a WiFi 7". I just invested in a Pany high-end phone system and 1/3 of it is in Texas for warranty work. This is three weeks into ownership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav-Jason Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 This is nice but I have no desire to use a phone over a WiFi 7".Agreed.I just invested in a Pany high-end phone system and 1/3 of it is in Texas for warranty work. This is three weeks into ownership.Ooof... ouchy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 The point is not that you would use your phone instead of the 7" or in the theater or a main room, the point is that if you have a Panasonic Phone system, you can use *any* of the phones (even the older 'digital' phones) as if it were a 10-button LCD keypad.That is, you can do full List Navigator functionality on the phone (even the DECT handheld phones).I can see using this in bedrooms or other locations where a bedside List Navigator device would be quite handy, anywhere you have a phone, you have a control point.It actually works quite well, but no, you're not going to replace your main touchpanels with it.And Control4 was displaying this at CES, and an earlier version of it at CEDIA (as well as in Panasonic's booth at CEDIA), so it's really already been pre-announced.RyanE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tebery Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Don't forget to pay $299 to Control4 so you can use it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjackson Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Will this phone system intergrate into C4 so that you can program in HE to execute events when the phone rings? Example mute the TV or flash lights similar to what you can do with a door bell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Hard to say, but Card Access already has a kit with ring detector in it to do the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 The point is not that you would use your phone instead of the 7" or in the theater or a main room, the point is that if you have a Panasonic Phone system, you can use *any* of the phones (even the older 'digital' phones) as if it were a 10-button LCD keypad.That is, you can do full List Navigator functionality on the phone (even the DECT handheld phones).I can see using this in bedrooms or other locations where a bedside List Navigator device would be quite handy, anywhere you have a phone, you have a control point.It actually works quite well, but no, you're not going to replace your main touchpanels with it.And Control4 was displaying this at CES, and an earlier version of it at CEDIA (as well as in Panasonic's booth at CEDIA), so it's really already been pre-announced.RyanEWithout studying this, do I understand that this would be some kind of reflash of legacy equipment in addiiton to built-in on new products? I know you said any phone but how does this feature get installed on exising equipment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 The functionality requires a PBX that supports CSTA III.Most of the older key systems don't have that functionality, as they were never designed to do more than just phone switching and don't have an ethernet port, etc..The new PBX supports all the older digital (as well as the newer IP) phones, as well as the DECT wireless handsets.The new PBXes also support things like SIP incoming lines, etc.RyanEEdited to Add: For clarification, the Control4 system connects up to the PBX, not to the individual phones. That's why the older Panasonic Digital phones with LCD displays can work, the PBX communicates to the phones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parbird Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 What is the part number for the Panasonic LAN card for the Control4 to integrate with the telephone system? Or is there a line diagram available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Here's a video demonstrating some of the Panasonic phone capabilities.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA-BGXM4rxI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Here's a video demonstrating some of the Panasonic phone capabilities.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA-BGXM4rxIDid anyone else watch the video and notice that he is demonstrating not only the phone system, but also the C4 "media point"? He selects a movie, and it instantly starts. This is obviously not a DVD, it is a digital file. Then, he pulls up the menu to control that device on the phone and it says "C4 Media Player".Oops... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav-Jason Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 LOL, oops indeed. Guess we'll call that one "Pre-announced" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 They were showing it at CEDIA last year, are we really that surprised? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wappinghigh Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 This is great the more integration the better..partic the "C4 Media Player"I've got a digital LG Aria PABX...any chance of getting something similar on this?...but compared with using an iphone ???...why wouldn't you just make your calls from that...............:cool:Please don't get me wrong, I think this added integration is great. As Ryan says, the more control points the better!! ...but I don't get it. Wouldn't engineers time be better spent bringing C4 navigator control onto a computer and the "digital calls" onto a C4 touchscreen?Our family doesn't actually make calls from fixed line phones any more. Just facebook/MSN/sms/email/skype/forums/etc. Pretty much 99% of our communication to the outside world is now done by mobile or computer..I have teenage daughters and the phone NEVER rings any more at out place. It's stone silent. Their communication is all done via computer or mobile/pda.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akg4y Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Video was a bit choppy on that media player... hopefully that has been addressed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Does anyone have one of these yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bog Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 @wappinghighI agree, I think development efforts could be spent on more useful applications. Let's see the Navigator UI on more practical devices.I'm actually a very big fan of the SR-250 remote interface. Even a text or less graphically intense itnerface would be beneficial to mobile devices (iPhone, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android, WAP, etc).Maybe even spend time improving the SR-250 interface. For example, media playback is getting more and more popular. Consider the remote more like an iPod. Some example, I'd really like to see the currently playing media (I currently have to press about 6 keys before I get this information) when the remote is picked up. I don't mean the source, but the actual track if one exists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Yeah, I've actually seen that as a request on the dealer forums, to see metadata on the remote. It's not in 1.8 though, so we'll have to see what 2.0+ brings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I agree, that would be a neat feature.Maybe also display the next song in the queue as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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