Can someone explain Zigbee 3 and Control4

[eggzlot]

31 minutes ago, zaphod said:

Agreed, but it is (I think) US$75 for the driver.  I am not begrudging the fact that the developer gets paid as they have to spend time writing the driver.  But it would be nice to not have to pay that overhead.  And if I decide to buy a Sonoff plug or power switch for some reason then that is another $75.  Or if I want to try a Govee LED strip there is another $75.  And I have to have a dealer installer the driver.

yep that is the business model - if you want to tinker you have HA and other DIY platforms.  Its a circular conversation on here all the time as you know.  C4 has gotten a little bit better but its core business model is having a dealer design a system, install it, and do some periodic adds along with maintenance, etc.  And given the drivers now can let you add your own devices, pick 1 platform, buy 1 driver and stick with it?

Maybe I am different, but in a given year, I am maybe adding 3-5 things to C4, and I'd say half of those are likely sold by the dealer anyways (another light, an OVRC surge protector, etc).  Maybe a new TV, but how often are you buying new TVs?

I also look at C4 like I do my other "utilities" in the house.  I want a speaker added to the guest bathroom, my wife fought me during renovation, we didnt put it in, now she regrets it, ok...We also want a new foyer chandelier.  So we will find the chandelier first, then pick up a speaker and call my electrician and have him install both.  I could call him out just for the speaker, but I usually bundle 2-3 items together.  I see C4 the same way, get a few things you want done, call your dealer, poof they are done.  Very rarely is something an "emergency" that needs to be installed and having to go thru the dealer is a major hang up.  My speaker and chandelier are not emergencies....

[msgreenf]

2 hours ago, zaphod said:

Agreed, but it is (I think) US$75 for the driver.  I am not begrudging the fact that the developer gets paid as they have to spend time writing the driver.  But it would be nice to not have to pay that overhead.  And if I decide to buy a Sonoff plug or power switch for some reason then that is another $75.  Or if I want to try a Govee LED strip there is another $75.  And I have to have a dealer installer the driver.

Stick with one brand.  Don't mix and match everything...no real reason to...adds complexity with little value

[therockhr]

1 hour ago, msgreenf said:

Stick with one brand.  Don't mix and match everything...no real reason to...adds complexity with little value

Yeah I went with tp-link for all my led strips and all bulbs for lamps. Works well. I much prefer using switches like Lutron instead of smart bulbs for most lighting but for something like a lamp I think the tp-link smart bulbs work well. Especially paired with a pico remote (if I can figure out how to dim it with the pico)

[ChzBurger]

5 hours ago, msgreenf said:

Stick with one brand.  Don't mix and match everything...no real reason to...adds complexity with little value

OK in theory. But different vendors have different strengths, especially with sensors. The nice thing about Zigbee sensors is that a lot of them can potentially use common drivers. Motion sensor examples: Lutron (not Zigbee) big and ugly but very sensitive. NYCE great form factors especially curtain sensor, Hue larger but good for measuring illuminance, Third Reality works well enough and cheap, etc.

3 hours ago, therockhr said:

I much prefer using switches like Lutron instead of smart bulbs for most lighting but for something like a lamp I think the tp-link smart bulbs work well.

If you just want dimming the Caséta lamp dimmers work great and are a lot cheaper than the RadioRA 2/3 lamp dimmer. 

[Control4Savant]

22 hours ago, LollerAgent said:

How has your experience with SofaBaton been thus far?

 

22 hours ago, therockhr said:

wow i havent seen this. the remotes look just like Harmony (i happen to think they made great looking remotes).

What do you think about them? I never went with Harmony because it was so IR centric and didnt have the home automation features I wanted. Also, the EA-1 and the SR-260 are priced so well its hard to go with something else.

 

So far iv enjoyed them. I have tried a few different trying to notice any non obvious differences. Very much Harmony Lite. I need to order one for home myself and see what can be done about larger HA type integration

[therockhr]

13 hours ago, ChzBurger said:

If you just want dimming the Caséta lamp dimmers work great and are a lot cheaper than the RadioRA 2/3 lamp dimmer. 

I have a few of the Lutron lamp dimmers and they work great but I’ve started moving towards smart bulbs for lamps. I like having all the different whites.

[therockhr]

On 10/25/2023 at 1:43 PM, therockhr said:

Also I am going to guess any new C4 devices built on the 3.0 standard will not work on other generic zigbee hubs even though they use the same zigbee standard. You wouldnt be able to use a zigbee 3.0 Control4 keypad on a Hue hub. You also probably wouldnt be able to use a Hue light strip on a c4 controller but you probably be able to use some of those Sengled bulbs though.

 

On 10/25/2023 at 12:11 PM, zaphod said:

I will do wild ass speculation on three outcomes:

1. Status quo - proprietary Zigbee.
2. Ability for C4 to support third party Zigbee, but C4 devices are not supported by "Open Zigbee" or whatever it is called.
3. C4 Zigbee devices can now be controlled by third party systems
4. Fully open which is 2+3

 

The more I have looked about Hue I am guessing they would probably want their stuff to work with the control4 controller. They don’t seem to care if you use their hub or not. 

[zaphod]

I am thinking more other Zigbee devices, like sensors, relays, etc.  Sonoff has a bunch of Zigbee stuff as well.  It would be nice to use that directly in C4.