ajd123 Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 Is there a solution to allow for voice commands using a SR260 remote when the cable box is located in a different room? I noticed the "Halo" remote controls might offer this feature (says voice control for Xfinity). In Ontario we have rogers cable boxes which I believe are the same boxes. Are these remotes available and what will they cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 The halo remote voice control has not launched yet for Comcast. It is currently pending box firmware updates. With that said, the belief is it should work for Rogers if the boxes are updated to the same firmware. But that has not been confirmed yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 To be clear: the SR260 will not do voice control. This is new to the HALO series of remotes (the 'regular' or 'tactile' version is out now, the version with the touchscreen is expected in the next month or two last I heard). The hope is that other companies will in fact update to the same hardware firmware (meaning, the OS between rogers and other vs comcast can be different, provide the underlying device firmware is the same). But IF let alone WHEN that happens is unknown. Do note that you will HAVE to have the Rogers boxes on the same network as the Control4 system, and this SHOULD mean your Rogers router is not the one handling the boxes. I don't not know if this is possible with Rogers (I expect it is) but I would assume they do not SUPPORT that option - which means they'll not really support you with any issues using the boxes (at least not the moment it becomes apparent that signal issues may be the cause). As such you and/or your dealer will need to be able and willing to take up that 'burden'. RyanE 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajd123 Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 18 hours ago, Cyknight said: To be clear: the SR260 will not do voice control. This is new to the HALO series of remotes (the 'regular' or 'tactile' version is out now, the version with the touchscreen is expected in the next month or two last I heard). The hope is that other companies will in fact update to the same hardware firmware (meaning, the OS between rogers and other vs comcast can be different, provide the underlying device firmware is the same). But IF let alone WHEN that happens is unknown. Do note that you will HAVE to have the Rogers boxes on the same network as the Control4 system, and this SHOULD mean your Rogers router is not the one handling the boxes. I don't not know if this is possible with Rogers (I expect it is) but I would assume they do not SUPPORT that option - which means they'll not really support you with any issues using the boxes (at least not the moment it becomes apparent that signal issues may be the cause). As such you and/or your dealer will need to be able and willing to take up that 'burden'. The Rogers Ignite boxes are connected to the network via wifi OR in my case hardwired via Cat6. The Cat6 runs rom the ignite box to the Ubiquiti switch that services the house. The cable box control is via IR blasters NOT IP control. Not sure if this gives you any of the necessary information to provide more insight? I prefer the tactile buttons anyhow. Do you know what the 3 different model numbers are for the 3 different remotes being released. The literature states these remotes have 2.4 and 5ghz wifi. Will they still communicate via the Zigbee mesh network or will it strictly be wifi? What is the benefit of wifi communication over Zibee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 To use voice it has to be an IP driver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajd123 Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 58 minutes ago, msgreenf said: To use voice it has to be an IP driver Has anyone tested this yet? Are their latency issues? Does it respond as well/fast as if using the OEM remote in the same room as the box? When my original integrator installed the system, his opinion was IR blasters worked faster and more reliably than IP control. Has IP Control improved in the past couple of years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 it's not released yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 Voice control for XFinity boxes. I 100% recommend IP over IR RyanE 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 Early IP control undoubtedly suffered from some reliability issues in general - it was new after all. Speed wise, it's generally been faster - though sometimes not truly noticeable in regular use in most cases. Exceptions exist as always, the initial fireTV driver using ADB was awfully slow - ans some brands had their IP control down pat early on of course. These days IP control vs IR control really depends device per device, sometimes site/location be location. What networking is in place, is there a good wire run (wifi control of many devices is limited, though again, there are some that are flawless there as well) In the end: if you want pass-through voice control over something it will have to be IP. IR simply can't do it, nor I think could serial control (even if it could: it's unlikely it'll get developed as it would be considered wasted resources). To be clear, this is as opposed to have voice commanding: you can have an Alexa or Google Home in your Control4 system now to send commands to Control4 to activate things - pass-through voice control is what would allow you to use voice for things like entering searches. 'Course ideally companies would open up there API's to do these searches directly - in which case we're truly moving towards 'voice controlled systems' - but it's a start. As for the Halo - there will only be two distinct models, Tactile and Touch (disregarding colour options). Tactile still has a full colour screen with feedback, icons etc, but has added buttons for watch/listen and extra 'quick buttons' -it's the most similar to the SR series remotes int hat sense- while the touch has minimal 'hard' buttons (no numbers and things like watch/listen) - and is in that sense more similar to the Neeo remote. The reason for WiFi vs ZigBee here is simle: speed and data size: can't do voice over ZigBee. Oh and doing both wouldn't make sense: you're just causing more battery load. Do note that batteries in these will NOT last as long as SR series remotes: so far I'm actually fairly impressed how long it lasts, though others have complained - but I suppose I never expected them to last for a week on the table. RyanE 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 3 hours ago, ajd123 said: The Rogers Ignite boxes are connected to the network via wifi OR in my case hardwired via Cat6. The Cat6 runs rom the ignite box to the Ubiquiti switch that services the house. The cable box control is via IR blasters NOT IP control. Not sure if this gives you any of the necessary information to provide more insight? I'm still unsure with this if in your setup your boxes are behind the rogers router, or behind a 3rd party router - or if your system is running on the rogers router (possible at least on smaller setups, though I'd NEVER recommend it) for that matter. In the end, it just goes back to how easy or involved a move to IP control and thus, once or if available, voice control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajd123 Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 Will the Halo remotes also support voice control for Sony Android TV's (assuming the TV's are integrated with Conotrl4 system via IP)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 4 minutes ago, ajd123 said: Will the Halo remotes also support voice control for Sony Android TV's (assuming the TV's are integrated with Conotrl4 system via IP)? No such capability has been announced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Does Rogers tend to use firmware that is pretty much the same as Comcast or do they make substantial changes that could make these drivers not work on Rogers' Ignite boxes? Personally I have stayed on legacy (non-Ignite) cable partially for the networking issues mentioned in this thread and because I tend to not watch Live TV and just use Rogers cable boxes to feed a SageTV PC based DVR solution. The problem is that this doesn't provide a decent path for 4K content, both in terms of encoders and client playback, so if I care about that I will have to figure out a new solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajd123 Posted March 30, 2023 Author Share Posted March 30, 2023 1 hour ago, zaphod said: Does Rogers tend to use firmware that is pretty much the same as Comcast or do they make substantial changes that could make these drivers not work on Rogers' Ignite boxes? Personally I have stayed on legacy (non-Ignite) cable partially for the networking issues mentioned in this thread and because I tend to not watch Live TV and just use Rogers cable boxes to feed a SageTV PC based DVR solution. The problem is that this doesn't provide a decent path for 4K content, both in terms of encoders and client playback, so if I care about that I will have to figure out a new solution. I avoided switching to ignite for a long time (was using the Digital Boxes as well), but they have phased them out and don't even offer the digital plans anymore. When I made the switch, everything actually worked nice. I think the firmware is very similar, but cannot say for sure. Both the Comcast and xFinity app for streaming look and function pretty much identically, all the way down to the login screen... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 As I've mentioned before - it's the box' underlying OS firmware that handles the IP control: I doubt Rogers changes that at all. What 'skin' they put over won't have issues with IP control - but I can't say for sure to what degree it may affect VOICE control - but I doubt it will. What WILL affect it is that Rogers (and others) will be the ones pushing OUT the updates: and they're liable to be slow to do so. IP control here (Shaw) is fine, that was added numerous firmware versions ago, and I expect Rogers is at the same firmware - but as voice control will require a box firmware update we may find other providers being behind. If that's days, weeks or months I couldn't tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Thanks - in the past there have been substantial differences between Rogers and US cable companies, but that was back in the old days of Scientific Atlanta boxes around functionality like Firewire ports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 32 minutes ago, zaphod said: Thanks - in the past there have been substantial differences between Rogers and US cable companies, but that was back in the old days of Scientific Atlanta boxes around functionality like Firewire ports. Yes, but the very fact that there is voice remotes now is forcing them to keep up much more, which i something of a positive zaphod 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 We have asked our contacts at Comcast / Xfinity, and the answer at this point is still "it depends on the partner", and there's not a lot of clarification after that... I would assume that at least initially, there will not be Voice API support in the firmware of non-Comcast Xfinity STBs. Our goal, of course, will be to have as many cable service partners support voice as possible, and to have parity of features on the same sets of STBs. RyanE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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