New Halo and Halo Touch Remotes

[msgreenf]

4 minutes ago, Nupe1911 said:

When can I buy the Halo?  it said Q4, however no specific date.  Any dealers selling on here?  $500 is not bad at all.

I believe @chopedogg88is pre ordering. Right now no exact release date has been announced 

[Nupe1911]

6 minutes ago, msgreenf said:

I believe @chopedogg88is pre ordering. Right now no exact release date has been announced 

@chopedogg88 is this true?

[chopedogg88]

I'm taking pre-orders from my clients but we aren't able to purchase yet. 

[therockhr]

I’ve noticed they are showing off the appletv integration in videos. Have they made changes with that for the Halo? I have never actually saw the problems with appletv that others on here have had with the official driver. Mine has never missed a beat since I started using it. 

[Nupe1911]

1 hour ago, chopedogg88 said:

I'm taking pre-orders from my clients but we aren't able to purchase yet. 

Ok, if you sell to non-clients then let me know.  In the meantime, I will check with local dealers in my area.

[Gene]

 

[RyanE]

On 9/27/2022 at 3:57 PM, zaphod said:

Doesn't Wifi also consume a lot more power than Zigbee?

It certainly *can*, and that has to be managed.

RyanE

[RyanE]

A non-official reply to answer a few of the questions / statements posted here:

• The 'OFF' ('Room Off') button is on the top of the remote when looking at the remote face.
• The thing on the top of the remote that looks like an IR window is a light sensor for display auto-dim.
• The microphone is located on the top of the remote.
• Both the Halo and Halo Touch are *Wifi* remotes, 2.4GHz + 5GHz.  The Wifi chipsets in these remotes are much more robust than the Neeo.  Despite running at CEDIA (horrible Wifi environment), the remotes did not 'drop offline' or just fail to control the system, although they did from time to time have delays, which is understandable due to the environment and also they are pretty early pre-release firmware.
• Announced at the show is voice integration with Xfinity X1 and AppleTV, both are updated versions of the existing IP drivers.
• The 'voice target' for the remote is currently the selected device in the room, so the AppleTV example would require the AppleTV to be the active video device to receive voice.
• The Halo remote is *NOT* a touchscreen, it is list-based, similar to (but significantly improved on) the SR260.  While you could accurately say it's a replacement for the SR260, Snap One has not to my knowledge expressed an EOL for the SR260.
• The Halo Touch remote is a touchscreen, and it is a replacement for the Neeo.  The UI is not the Neeo UI, and is not Android.
• Both remotes are running a more full-blown base OS than the SR260 or the Neeo, and I believe it will allow Snap One to do some really fun update features post-release, although of course, I'm only going to discuss things that are currently announced or were fully discussed at the show.

I'm excited for the new remotes, and hope they'll be as awesome as I think they will be at release (and later!).

RyanE

 

 

 

[Jakelay]

Not sure if this was discussed, and maybe a dumb question, but if we have Apple TV’s set up via IR for control (still hard wired to Ethernet/network for data) will the voice control still work? Does anyone know yet?
 

Thanks!

[JSTRONG]

On 10/1/2022 at 6:59 PM, Nupe1911 said:

4 minutes ago, Jakelay said:

Not sure if this was discussed, and maybe a dumb question, but if we have Apple TV’s set up via IR for control (still hard wired to Ethernet/network for data) will the voice control still work? Does anyone know yet?
 

Thanks!

I asked that question at cedia and the answer was that we need to use the ip driver for apple. 

[jimbones]

22 minutes ago, JSTRONG said:

 

Hoping the updated IP driver to support voice control will also allow additional features:
- mapping of AppleTV commands to Halo's soft buttons (so we can finally add support for the opening of tvOS control centre)
- mini app support
 

[zaphod]

Do we have an MSRP for the new Halo remotes yet?

[Jakelay]

4 hours ago, JSTRONG said:

 

Thanks and ugh! Did not have great luck with the ip driver and it is somewhat limited in functionality. I guess I’ll have to try it again on one TV and see if we have the same issues.  Maybe they will look to update the driver since it will be a requirement for the new remotes . . .fingers crossed. . . 

[JSTRONG]

4 hours ago, jimbones said:

Hoping the updated IP driver to support voice control will also allow additional features:
- mapping of AppleTV commands to Halo's soft buttons (so we can finally add support for the opening of tvOS control centre)
- mini app support
 

I asked about mini apps and its a "no" for now. (apple restrictions.. not control4)

[Baubas Cat]

So are these remotes capable of showing camera feeds? 

[RyanE]

1 hour ago, Baubas Cat said:

So are these remotes capable of showing camera feeds? 

Their CPU and Wifi chipsets are capable of that sort of functionality (much more than the Neeo), but no intercom / camera functionality has been announced.

RyanE

[WisC4]

1 hour ago, Baubas Cat said:

So are these remotes capable of showing camera feeds? 

answering the chime doorbell would be great.

[GregCAMS]

11 hours ago, zaphod said:

Do we have an MSRP for the new Halo remotes yet?

Not official but article here from CEDIA Expo from a C4 dealer that wrote article.  Would guess the price info here is an approximate based upon showroom floor conversations with Snap/C4

 

https://www.residentialsystems.com/blogs/tales-from-the-cedia-expo-trail-part-3

[zaphod]

9 hours ago, gregheard said:

Not official but article here from CEDIA Expo from a C4 dealer that wrote article.  Would guess the price info here is an approximate based upon showroom floor conversations with Snap/C4

 

https://www.residentialsystems.com/blogs/tales-from-the-cedia-expo-trail-part-3

Here is what that says:  Look for the Halo Remote in Q4 at $500 and the Halo Touch in Q1 2023 for $900.

[therockhr]

1 hour ago, zaphod said:

Here is what that says:  Look for the Halo Remote in Q4 at $500 and the Halo Touch in Q1 2023 for $900.

Not cheap but not dumb expensive either, at least for the regular Halo.

I know different strokes for different folks but I just dont get the need for a touchscreen handheld remote. The whole appeal of a handheld remote is that you can look at your screen without looking down at the remote. This is why using your phone as a remote stinks. The new Halo seems to be the best compromise I have seen. Nice screen to view things if needed but its not a touch screen.

If they get the voice passthrough for Dish network and/or Roku working on this I will definitely pick up one.  

[Jakelay]

1 minute ago, therockhr said:

Not cheap but not dumb expensive either, at least for the regular Halo.

I know different strokes for different folks but I just dont get the need for a touchscreen handheld remote. The whole appeal of a handheld remote is that you can look at your screen without looking down at the remote. This is why using your phone as a remote stinks. The new Halo seems to be the best compromise I have seen. Nice screen to view things if needed but its not a touch screen.

If they get the voice passthrough for Dish network and/or Roku working on this I will definitely pick up one.  

Cheaper than Crestron - and it’s Wi-Fi instead of having to buy a gateway.  I’m not sure if that’s still how Crestron remotes connect but it added a good chunk of change for an updated remote Plus dealer programming and setup.

Personally, I have a lot more things I would like to do where 3 shortcut buttons just aren’t enough so I will likely give the touchscreen a try. Things like shades, scenes, lighting, all off/goodnight commands, outdoor screens and a few others. I have a lot of lights and scenes I could see using the Halo Touch for so I wouldn’t have to scroll through the non-touch screen for certain things I do often. I like the idea of the touchscreen but the Neeo wasn’t quite the remote I liked to use for its obvious failings - limited hard buttons, no backlight, etc. so I didn’t have it nearby or use it often.

We also switched from DIRECTV to YouTube TV so we don’t need the hard buttons any longer.

I may just get one to try in my most used room and possibly add another if I like it.

Another question if anyone knows the answer - will these be user setup like the Neeos or do you need a dealer to actually program anything? It looks like the C4 screen and favorites would have to be set up for this if I’m reading correctly but I would want that anyway to get the most out of the remote.

Thanks!

[JSTRONG]

15 minutes ago, therockhr said:

Not cheap but not dumb expensive either, at least for the regular Halo.

I know different strokes for different folks but I just dont get the need for a touchscreen handheld remote. The whole appeal of a handheld remote is that you can look at your screen without looking down at the remote. This is why using your phone as a remote stinks. The new Halo seems to be the best compromise I have seen. Nice screen to view things if needed but its not a touch screen.

If they get the voice passthrough for Dish network and/or Roku working on this I will definitely pick up one.  

The regular functions are mostly hard buttons now. I don’t see myself looking down on the screen much unless I want to switch sources or something more advanced then guide pause ff etc. 

[JSTRONG]

Also this new halo touch is way nicer hand feel and looks then the Crestron tsr-310. And I hope you can wait over 1 year if you need a remote from Crestron , I recently received my tsr-310 from an order that I placed last October. 

[RyanE]

Roku does not have a Voice API, and Control4 doesn't have contacts within Roku.  That is unlikely to happen anytime soon (although, of course, if a Voice API shows up, it would be fantastic).  The voice APIs in Roku are for the Roku *APPS* to receive data from the voice input of the Roku.

Snap One has not announced integration with Dish, but Control4 does have contacts within Dish, so I'm much more hopeful we will be able to make that work.

The price of the Halo Remote is not much more than the MSRP of the SR260 + the Charging Base, which combined was something like $440 MSRP, and value for money, the Halo remote looks to me to be pretty fantastic.

RyanE

[RyanE]

2 hours ago, Jakelay said:

Another question if anyone knows the answer - will these be user setup like the Neeos or do you need a dealer to actually program anything? It looks like the C4 screen and favorites would have to be set up for this if I’m reading correctly but I would want that anyway to get the most out of the remote.

The user setup on the Halo remotes will be done with the Control4 app on Android or iOS, using a QR code provided by the remote on bootup.  It's similar to the Neeo, but entering the data is done on the phone, which makes it much more convenient than trying to enter wifi data using a list-based interface on the Halo remote...

RyanE