When implementing a system, do I need an EA-1 at each TV?

[JH113]

I've been experimenting with a few different system setups and the question of whether or not I need an EA-1 at each TV crossed my mind. For example, in one room I have a Samsung smart TV and a Roku Ultra. When I identify the TV in Composer Pro, it correctly auto-populates the IP address and wireless MAC address in its properties. Still, it does not respond to any commands or programming.

I would think that if Composer has that information and is on the same network as the EA-5 (the primary controller for all my test systems), it would be able to function with that information. This has raised a few questions for me:

• Do I need an EA-1 in this room to control the TV?
  • If so, why?
  • If not, under what circumstances would I need an EA-1 in a room?
• Can a device be controlled if the EA-5 just has the IP address and wireless MAC address, and both the controller and the device are on the same WiFi network?
• If a device is connected in the IP network in Composer, would I need a zigbee device in the room, too?

Thanks in advance for the help. Hopefully this thread can help someone else, too.

[msgreenf]

it sounds like you didn't send hte pairing commands to samsung....under actions

[therockhr]

4 minutes ago, JH113 said:

I've been experimenting with a few different system setups and the question of whether or not I need an EA-1 at each TV crossed my mind. For example, in one room I have a Samsung smart TV and a Roku Ultra. When I identify the TV in Composer Pro, it correctly auto-populates the IP address and wireless MAC address in its properties. Still, it does not respond to any commands or programming.

I would think that if Composer has that information and is on the same network as the EA-5 (the primary controller for all my test systems), it would be able to function with that information. This has raised a few questions for me:

• Do I need an EA-1 in this room to control the TV?
  • If so, why?
  • If not, under what circumstances would I need an EA-1 in a room?
• Can a device be controlled if the EA-5 just has the IP address and wireless MAC address, and both the controller and the device are on the same WiFi network?
• If a device is connected in the IP network in Composer, would I need a zigbee device in the room, too?

Thanks in advance for the help. Hopefully this thread can help someone else, too.

No, you only need one if you have the following needs:

• Want the on screen Control4 display to be on that TV
• Need the IO ports (IR, serial) to control the TV or other devices
• Need to extend the Zigbee network

There could be a bunch of reasons that composer cant control the TV even though it found it.

[eggzlot]

7 minutes ago, JH113 said:

I've been experimenting with a few different system setups and the question of whether or not I need an EA-1 at each TV crossed my mind. For example, in one room I have a Samsung smart TV and a Roku Ultra. When I identify the TV in Composer Pro, it correctly auto-populates the IP address and wireless MAC address in its properties. Still, it does not respond to any commands or programming.

I would think that if Composer has that information and is on the same network as the EA-5 (the primary controller for all my test systems), it would be able to function with that information. This has raised a few questions for me:

• Do I need an EA-1 in this room to control the TV?
  • If so, why?
  • If not, under what circumstances would I need an EA-1 in a room?
• Can a device be controlled if the EA-5 just has the IP address and wireless MAC address, and both the controller and the device are on the same WiFi network?
• If a device is connected in the IP network in Composer, would I need a zigbee device in the room, too?

Thanks in advance for the help. Hopefully this thread can help someone else, too.

EA1 per TV is used for OSD, extra audio outputs, I/O outputs, help with zigbee/2nd mesh, etc but as a dealer with Composer Pro you would know this already?  Is it needed or not is really a system by system design which you probably learned in the dealer training courses.

[msgreenf]

EA1 isn't really for audio - just OSD

[JSTRONG]

3 hours ago, eggzlot said:

EA1 per TV is used for OSD, extra audio outputs, I/O outputs, help with zigbee/2nd mesh, etc but as a dealer with Composer Pro you would know this already?  Is it needed or not is really a system by system design which you probably learned in the dealer training courses.

Lol Egg,  you know darn well mister JH did not attend the mandatory 4 day training class. 

Hey JH, I highly suggest taking that class. Its a must. And sorry to say the worlds best trainer, Jacob, has been promoted and is no longer teaching.  

 

[OceanDad]

3 hours ago, eggzlot said:

but as a dealer with Composer Pro you would know this already? 

[therockhr]

18 hours ago, eggzlot said:

EA1 per TV is used for OSD, extra audio outputs, I/O outputs, help with zigbee/2nd mesh, etc but as a dealer with Composer Pro you would know this already?  Is it needed or not is really a system by system design which you probably learned in the dealer training courses.

I know you are being unnecessarily facetious about the dealer training to him but from everything I have read the training tells dealers to put EA1's at every TV location regardless. So it would make sense that even someone who has the training would question why they would need an EA1 at every TV location.

[eggzlot]

1 hour ago, therockhr said:

I know you are being unnecessarily facetious about the dealer training to him but from everything I have read the training tells dealers to put EA1's at every TV location regardless. So it would make sense that even someone who has the training would question why they would need an EA1 at every TV location.

His other questions lead me to believe he did not attend training

[South Africa C4 user]

21 hours ago, JSTRONG said:

Lol Egg,  you know darn well mister JH did not attend the mandatory 4 day training class.

 

He must have attended… He has Pro 

[therockhr]

5 hours ago, eggzlot said:

His other questions lead me to believe he did not attend training

Is that a qualifier in determining if someone can ask for help in here? I'm not being facetious I am genuinely asking because I see these threads pop up quite a bit where people start questioning whether a user has legitimate access. If it is, then I think that something needs added to the site FAQ or something that says users who do not have legitimate access to Composer Pro are not allowed to ask questions about it.

OR (and this is what I would suggest) it is assumed that everyone who asks a Composer Pro related question (not access mind you, technical questions) has legitimate access. If someone feels the user may be lying and/or can't be helped because they don't understand basic concepts then they should refrain from helping.

[eggzlot]

4 hours ago, therockhr said:

Is that a qualifier in determining if someone can ask for help in here? I'm not being facetious I am genuinely asking because I see these threads pop up quite a bit where people start questioning whether a user has legitimate access. If it is, then I think that something needs added to the site FAQ or something that says users who do not have legitimate access to Composer Pro are not allowed to ask questions about it.

OR (and this is what I would suggest) it is assumed that everyone who asks a Composer Pro related question (not access mind you, technical questions) has legitimate access. If someone feels the user may be lying and/or can't be helped because they don't understand basic concepts then they should refrain from helping.

I mean this thread here is about asking for/downloading cracked copies and the stance of the forum on such topics:

 

So based on the spirit of that sticky post (one of the few stickys on this entire forum - which I believe there should be more) I think its clear that someone using a version of cracked composer pro is well, not really playing by the rules of this forum.  It was also the users first post, and never came back either, so ya have that too...If it was a professional I am sure he'd want the answer to solve a client's issue because well, got to make the client happy.  Most dealers posting for help/ideas on here are fairly engaged in the back and forth because they are looking for client solutions to make a client happy.

I am an end user - but I still offered some help - regardless if it was with a bit of sarcasm or not.  So there's that too.

The other two questions would clearly be answered in training.  Furthermore the post starts off by mentioning "experimenting with a few systems".  That is likely someone buying stuff off ebay, plugging it in, playing around and tinkering.  Not someone who has an established business, put the up front time/cost into C4 training and is starting to sell C4 solutions.

I look at it this way - I am an end user, and some of those questions are super basic.  The fact that you know (as well as I know) that in training they recommend an EA1 at each location but it is not really necessary makes me wonder why someone would even post that question who is a legit copy of Composer Pro.  In the classroom (in person or virtual) I am sure they explain why and I am sure someone could raise their hand and ask questions.  I would hope C4 even gives new dealers post training support so they could ask follow up questions so seems odd to ask it in a public forum as a "professional".  100% i can see an end user asking that question after getting a proposal or maybe 2-3 proposals and 1 includes 10 EA1s at 10 TVs and another has an EA5 and an EA1 or something and they wonder why 1 quote has 10 units and 1 quote has 1. That is a totally rational question to ask.

So yes, I surmise it is a cracked copy of Composer Pro.  And given the post I linked to I believe asking for help using Composer Pro is just against the spirit of the forum, that's all.  Just my personal opinion.  Its not right or wrong.

[Control4Savant]

4 hours ago, therockhr said:

Is that a qualifier in determining if someone can ask for help in here? I'm not being facetious I am genuinely asking because I see these threads pop up quite a bit where people start questioning whether a user has legitimate access. If it is, then I think that something needs added to the site FAQ or something that says users who do not have legitimate access to Composer Pro are not allowed to ask questions about it.

OR (and this is what I would suggest) it is assumed that everyone who asks a Composer Pro related question (not access mind you, technical questions) has legitimate access. If someone feels the user may be lying and/or can't be helped because they don't understand basic concepts then they should refrain from helping.

#1. He's a dealer that has legit access to Pro.  If this is the case and these are real questions he has no business selling or designing C4 systems and needs to retrain or get training in general. 

#2. He's a professional thats getting transshipped gear and and has a login from a different dealer.  A technical no no and definitely see #1. 

#3. He's an end user with a certified Pro version. His first sentence could be taken as different setups for his own system. This is also a no no and that's an active registration so whomever is allowing that should be responsible in education, service and oversight. 

#4. He has a cracked Pro version. 

None of these are really ok. Dealers and brand supporters should question these types of composer pro posts. 

[therockhr]

11 hours ago, eggzlot said:

I mean this thread here is about asking for/downloading cracked copies and the stance of the forum on such topics:

 

So based on the spirit of that sticky post (one of the few stickys on this entire forum - which I believe there should be more) I think its clear that someone using a version of cracked composer pro is well, not really playing by the rules of this forum.  It was also the users first post, and never came back either, so ya have that too...If it was a professional I am sure he'd want the answer to solve a client's issue because well, got to make the client happy.  Most dealers posting for help/ideas on here are fairly engaged in the back and forth because they are looking for client solutions to make a client happy.

That sticky post says nothing about whether users who have an unauthorized version of Composer Pro can ask questions on here. It only talks about not providing them a copy of the software.

 

11 hours ago, eggzlot said:

So yes, I surmise it is a cracked copy of Composer Pro.  And given the post I linked to I believe asking for help using Composer Pro is just against the spirit of the forum, that's all.  Just my personal opinion.  Its not right or wrong.

Gotcha, I think this needs to be spelled out somewhere in a FAQ of the site or something then. This passive aggressive thing people are doing on here when someone ask for Composer Pro help makes for some awkward and non helpful threads. Either people can ask Composer Pro questions on this site or they can't, it should be that simple. They shouldn't be getting harassed (not a great word to use here but you get the point) about their access. It gives the forum an uninviting and bad look.

As I mentioned, I believe it should be assumed if someone is asking a Composer Pro question that they have legitimate access. It would make for a much more useful and inviting forum. If someone believes they are lying, they can choose not to help. The FAQ needs to address this, IMO.

 

[zaphod]

I think it is kind of silly that people frown on asking Composer Pro questions here when there is now a very active C4DIY discord channel, or group of channels, and some of the folks here are quite active on that channel(s). 

And that the process/software for "hacking" Composer Pro is hosted on the site (Github) that is the most used/reputable host for code, where Control4 posts some of its code and the site is owned by that nefarious support of hacking known as Microsoft. 

It isn't like you have to go deep into the annals of the dark web.

[msgreenf]

your argument of "because it's on Github it's ok" is VERY flawed.

[Cyknight]

2 hours ago, msgreenf said:

your argument of "because it's on Github it's ok" is VERY flawed.

You can find it on Google, so it's legal.

[msgreenf]

2 minutes ago, Cyknight said:

You can find it on Google, so it's legal.

Rofl

[eggzlot]

6 hours ago, therockhr said:

That sticky post says nothing about whether users who have an unauthorized version of Composer Pro can ask questions on here. It only talks about not providing them a copy of the software.

 

Gotcha, I think this needs to be spelled out somewhere in a FAQ of the site or something then. This passive aggressive thing people are doing on here when someone ask for Composer Pro help makes for some awkward and non helpful threads. Either people can ask Composer Pro questions on this site or they can't, it should be that simple. They shouldn't be getting harassed (not a great word to use here but you get the point) about their access. It gives the forum an uninviting and bad look.

As I mentioned, I believe it should be assumed if someone is asking a Composer Pro question that they have legitimate access. It would make for a much more useful and inviting forum. If someone believes they are lying, they can choose not to help. The FAQ needs to address this, IMO.

 

Again there is clearly no right/wrong answer.  But if there are requests not to talk about downloading Pro illegally I just automatically assume that means do not discuss using it illegally.  

First Rule of Fight Club - do not talk about fight club.

and I guess @therockhr- your theory is kind of correct.  Only 3 people chimed in with help and usually if an end user was asking about why they got 10 EA1s on a quote there would be lot more chatter.  So maybe that speaks for itself that when its clear the software is being used against policy most will not offer up their two cents.

oh and there are dealer forums too.  Most dealers are either asking their C4 rep for help or maybe posting on the dealer forum.  Most dealers do not post "do I need X amount of EA1s for this project" nor do they ask if a Zigbee device is needed per room.  They do ask for people's feedback on maybe drivers/hardware that they haven't used, etc.  I am not putting dealers up on a pedestal, my first one wasn't worth a nickel that I paid him and within being on this forum for 3 months I knew more about C4 that he knew post training.  But again this point goes back to my original point that I believe the intention of this forum is for end users and dealers to interact within the confines of the model of C4 which is a dealer based model.