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HC800 vs Core 3


markymark

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Can anyone who's had an HC-800 and has a Core-3 now give us some insight on if it was worth it to upgrade?

I've read things about how the Core-3 has memory issues and will use up 90-100% of CPU fairly easily. The HC-800 has been a workhorse for many years for me but since it's not being supported any longer I thought it's time to make the switch.

Would appreciate any feedback

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4k video output. better sound quality and a faster processor. 

I have not had any issues with mine other than HDMI but it was due to a hardware issue which they have resolved. If anyone is having issue with a project getting out control like that their is a rogue driver causing that issue and any controller would be affected.

 

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6 hours ago, Matt Lowe said:

4k video output. better sound quality and a faster processor. 

I have not had any issues with mine other than HDMI but it was due to a hardware issue which they have resolved. If anyone is having issue with a project getting out control like that their is a rogue driver causing that issue and any controller would be affected.

 

Matt, can we now see 4k CCTV Images ?

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14 hours ago, Matt Lowe said:

I have not had any issues with mine other than HDMI but it was due to a hardware issue which they have resolved.

 

Please enlighten as to who and how solved, still having ongoing issue with Navigator.

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30 minutes ago, Matt Lowe said:

need to contact tech support and they will review your options.

 

I have, I'm awaiting their response, so if you have any info I can poke them with it would be appreciated (other than setting to 1080p output).

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 12/7/2022 at 2:20 AM, Matt Lowe said:

4k video output. better sound quality and a faster processor. 

I have not had any issues with mine other than HDMI but it was due to a hardware issue which they have resolved. If anyone is having issue with a project getting out control like that their is a rogue driver causing that issue and any controller would be affected.

 

I am interested to know what this issue was.

I have a new Core5 as a slave to my CA10 and have picked up a number of issues (all seem to be HDMI related (sort of)).  These include:

1. The OSD stops displaying after a while (rebooting the rack fixes this);

2. The OSD will not display 4K no matter what we try;

3. Announcements played in the room where the OSD is (must go via the AVR) stop laying after a while - presumably at the same time as point 1 (rebooting the rack fixes this).

4. Playing an announcement throughout the house (14 zones) where one of the zones in the room referred to above - I.e. via the AVR fails in the other rooms - the failure is that the announcement cuts to silence after a few seconds.  Removing this AVR room from the announcement group fixes this.  Rebooting the rack also fixes this.

Is this similar to the issue you had? Is this probably hardware related? Will I need to get a replacement?

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I've gone from a HC-800 to a C3.  Other than the memory hog issues, which I've yet to find any reasonable explanation, the system has been working flawlessly and is much faster than my ol' HC-800. 

Oh, the price of the Core series, that stinks too.  But not much we can do about that.  lol

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On 12/6/2022 at 6:21 PM, markymark said:

Can anyone who's had an HC-800 and has a Core-3 now give us some insight on if it was worth it to upgrade?

I've read things about how the Core-3 has memory issues and will use up 90-100% of CPU fairly easily. The HC-800 has been a workhorse for many years for me but since it's not being supported any longer I thought it's time to make the switch.

Would appreciate any feedback

There are some minor downsides as the HC-800 has better IO options than the Core 3 when it comes to relays, sensors, and it has full DB-9 serial ports as opposed to using an IR port for serial. HC-800 is bigger which is normally bad, unless it is in a rack.

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1 minute ago, zaphod said:

Buy used EA-3s or EA-1.

Too late for me, but yea.  An EA-3 would have likely served my needs.  I guess I can find comfort that I'll be good for a long time on a Controller that is going to be supported for a LONG time.

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17 hours ago, zaphod said:

Buy used EA-3s or EA-1.

Stupid question but will the EA3 be an adequate replacement for an HC800 in a relatively small project. What more would give me and does it fit in a rack?

Sorry to be so dull and not talking about newest stuff. 🙂

 

Thanks

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On 12/6/2022 at 7:20 PM, Matt Lowe said:

4k video output. better sound quality and a faster processor. 

I have not had any issues with mine other than HDMI but it was due to a hardware issue which they have resolved. If anyone is having issue with a project getting out control like that their is a rogue driver causing that issue and any controller would be affected.

 

I replaced an EA-1 with a CORE 1 in a project with four EA-1's and an EA-5 as the main controller. After installing the CORE 1, the Onscreen C4 Navigator stops working and the CORE 1 fails to set the Digital Audio output to the CORE 1 when it joins Digital Audio sources from other rooms. The CORE 1 also fails to load the security cameras in the Onscreen Navigator. All of the EA-1's in the project perform these functions with no issues.

I submitted an RMA for the first CORE 1, but the replacement behaves the same way as the original.

Temporary solution has been to move the CORE 1 to a room that is not used daily (Guest Room).

Anyone else have issues with the CORE 1?

CORE 1 Issues.pdf

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3 minutes ago, Kirk N said:

I replaced an EA-1 with a CORE 1 in a project with four EA-1's and an EA-5 as the main controller. After installing the CORE 1, the Onscreen C4 Navigator stops working and the CORE 1 fails to set the Digital Audio output to the CORE 1 when it joins Digital Audio sources from other rooms. The CORE 1 also fails to load the security cameras in the Onscreen Navigator. All of the EA-1's in the project perform these functions with no issues.

I submitted an RMA for the first CORE 1, but the replacement behaves the same way as the original.

Temporary solution has been to move the CORE 1 to a room that is not used daily (Guest Room).

Anyone else have issues with the CORE 1?

CORE 1 Issues.pdf 263.62 kB · 0 downloads

So am curious to understand what is your dealer or C4 answers to your problems? Actually the temp solution is not acceptable by all means and deep investigation is required to understand this odd behavior, non of C4 equipment behaves like that, so it’s certainly require answers!

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20 hours ago, KirkN said:

I replaced an EA-1 with a CORE 1 in a project with four EA-1's and an EA-5 as the main controller. After installing the CORE 1, the Onscreen C4 Navigator stops working and the CORE 1 fails to set the Digital Audio output to the CORE 1 when it joins Digital Audio sources from other rooms. The CORE 1 also fails to load the security cameras in the Onscreen Navigator. All of the EA-1's in the project perform these functions with no issues.

I submitted an RMA for the first CORE 1, but the replacement behaves the same way as the original.

Temporary solution has been to move the CORE 1 to a room that is not used daily (Guest Room).

Anyone else have issues with the CORE 1?

CORE 1 Issues.pdf 263.62 kB · 7 downloads

Interesting - very similar to the issues that I am picking up on my new core5 - see above.  My setup is also similar (Denon and a matrix)

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On 12/31/2022 at 8:11 AM, prabeau said:

Stupid question but will the EA3 be an adequate replacement for an HC800 in a relatively small project. What more would give me and does it fit in a rack?

Sorry to be so dull and not talking about newest stuff. 🙂

 

Thanks

Depending on your IO and audio needs an EA-1 would be an adequate replacement (EA1 and EA3 are the same in respect to processing power). How many streams of audio do you use on your HC800 and what IO ports are you using? these are the questions you need to find out.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I updated my HC800 to Core 5. Biggest changes are speed of loading of iPhone app (almost instantly - huge improvement) and slightly improved Zigbee range (although it may be linked to other factors). No issues so far. 
Still experimenting with Zwave support. 
Happy with the upgrade. Vital for your system if working well - no… At least not yet. But no reason not to do it if you can/want. 

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On 1/19/2023 at 4:33 PM, istreich said:

I updated my HC800 to Core 5. Biggest changes are speed of loading of iPhone app (almost instantly - huge improvement) and slightly improved Zigbee range (although it may be linked to other factors). No issues so far. 
Still experimenting with Zwave support. 
Happy with the upgrade. Vital for your system if working well - no… At least not yet. But no reason not to do it if you can/want. 

I moved from HC800 to and EA5 and its way faster and mimic's your description, am sure a CA10 will make hell of a difference not an EA5 to Core5!

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