Books Open: Control4 OS 2.0 Software Release!!!!!!!!

[wappinghigh]

Too bad.

+1 Too bad. Too BAD!!!! If this is true, this is insane. What the!. I can't believe this. I thought I read an article months back: when the ipad release was eminent, by someone high up in C4 saying how great the ipad was going to be for the industry and C4...it's imbedded in this thread http://www.c4dealers.com/viewtopic.php?pid=39850 Urbanmark has the link....

This approach to apps just wouldn't fit with this at all. In any case they've already missed the boat on this one. Sailed ages ago. As my teenage daughter would say....yeh..."hello"...that's SOOOO "yesterday"

..how many million iphones/ipdas are out there now....? What percentage of C4 installations now have an iphone/ipad in the house??

[wappinghigh]

On the bright side, does that mean there's now a market for my barely-used 7" wireless touch pad?

Somebody make me offer!

$1.00 AUD....(that equals around 79 cents)

[EagleMoon]

defeat the purpose of using Flash in the first place.

That sounds like good plan.

Seriously though, I understand the idea of tapping into the base of experienced Flash developers. But I stand by my "who's going to continue paying the cost for a Control4 touch panel over an iPad with ControlUI app". So I can run some kind of unrelated app on the touch panel and display video from my cameras?

And I say "unrelated" because if the app does something specific with the Control4 system, then I think the base of experienced Flash developers who also understand Control4 is nearly zero. So there's a learning curve for anything but a generic web-type application.

I used to work in product development so I know generally how these things come about: seemingly endless discussions and tradeoffs between the marketing, technical and operations/cost sides. Still.....

Oh well, maybe the hardware and pricing gaps I see will be filled in the coming months.

[wappinghigh]

All comes down to the approach taken by the company....

CIS here in Aus (Owned by Schnider Electric) has both intefaces into their cbus system. Flash on their own touchscreens, and Flash for browser interaction. And an iphone/ipad app that is not dependant on Flash. For apps specific to C4 or home automation, couldn't developers release them for BOTH platforms?

[rayk32]

Cisco has introduced an Android based tablet. Hopefully it is autonomous and doesn't rely on any Cisco network or server infrastructure. This can potentially be a replacement for the iPad because Android based devices run Flash.

[wappinghigh]

Cisco has introduced an Android based tablet. Hopefully it is autonomous and doesn't rely on any Cisco network or server infrastructure. This can potentially be a replacement for the iPad because Android based devices run Flash.

You want to sail on the Titanic?....or Stay with the Queen Mary

[EagleMoon]

Hopefully it is autonomous and doesn't rely on any Cisco network or server infrastructure.

And hopes are dashed. Initially depends on Cisco infrastructure and collaboration tools. Supposedly it will support any Android app, so maybe there are some possibilities. But I suspect it will come at a premium "enterprise-class" price. Which takes me back to my complaint about Control4's touch panels:

I ain't payin' a $2000 premium for a Control4 user interface device just so I can see the weather forecast or my Netflix queue integrated in it. I wish I'd never bought that clunky 7" -- I could have had several more thermostats instead.

[smccray]

Which of the apps do you really wish you could use on an ipad? The $8 app that allows you to browse your netflix queue which is free if you switch over to a native iPad app?

I agree that the potential is there for some really unique and special apps, but I'll reserve my disappointment for the lack of support until there's an app that's unavailable on the ipad. With the cost diference between the iPad and a C4 touchscreen I can buy duplicates of a lot of apps for the iPad. Different interface, yes, but it also doesn't use the processing power of the controller which in my mind is a benefit of going outside of the C4 ecosystem.

[dgbrown]

Flash? Apps are only FLASH? Surely the apps themselves are not written with Flash' date=' but interface with an abstraction layer so that they can run on other, functionally similar technology.[/quote']

...or possibly even the flash enabled web interface of my.control4.com.

Hey cool! :cool: Bring it on. There is the first useful app right there. A "Flash" version of navigator that can be run straight from a web browser..I've been wanting web browser control of my system ever since I got it

As far as I know, even though it's flash itself, it does not run 4store apps.

[rayk32]

Cisco has introduced an Android based tablet. Hopefully it is autonomous and doesn't rely on any Cisco network or server infrastructure. This can potentially be a replacement for the iPad because Android based devices run Flash.

You want to sail on the Titanic?....or Stay with the Queen Mary

@wappinghigh - I love Apple just as much as you do, but if the iPad doesn't work with Control4 because of the "Flash" issue, then it is of no use. Cisco is also developing a way to funnel Flash video, specifically for iPad users, through something like a proxy server. Maybe they will come up with a way to do that with Flash based applications too. On a side note - Savant just abandoned its entire touch screen line and will now rely on iPads only.

[xc420]

Where are the links on what is required re programming skills and training/sdk's/what's involved/costs/the "deal" etc etc to to this? All I can find is how to get a developer login...

All the information I found was available at 4store.com but it's really lacking some kind of FAQ. It's initially $299 for the first year and $99 for each additional year after. The skills needed are Actionscript 2.0 and PHP. You are limited to developing apps for touchscreens and onscreen navigators only. The initial cost is high IMHO for individuals that want to participate. If it included the Director SDK , it would be worth it.

edited to add:

Control4 keeps 40% of the sales from 4store.

[derickson1472]

For those that upgraded to 2.0, does your Web Navigator off the Control4 site look different when you log in, or is it still the exact same? I guess I'm seeing if you can do anything more now from the web, or if it is the same as before?

Thanks

Dave

[neildilgee]

On 2.0 are there any improvements on divx/avi playing, Cover Art, movie classification?

[xc420]

On 2.0 are there any improvements on divx/avi playing, Cover Art, movie classification?

No changes in video codecs as far as I know. Non DRM AAC files are now supported though.

[jwhitaker@revit]

deleted other post. it's silly that apple doesn't support flash. c4 is right on with flash. apple's loss.

[dogdvr]

For those that upgraded to 2.0, does your Web Navigator off the Control4 site look different when you log in, or is it still the exact same? I guess I'm seeing if you can do anything more now from the web, or if it is the same as before?

Thanks

Dave

Dave, you can use the new Flash navigator from your desktop even if you did not upgrade to 2.0

go to lighting and in the very bottom you will see flash

Click on that and your good to go

Brent

[dogdvr]

XC

while it is true that aac is supported, it can not be apple losless.

Also it is not supported on speaker points or mini touch screens.

Brent

[jwhitaker@revit]

besides, part of the iphone os dev kit states that any app developed on flash first will not be allowed by apple. "note the agreement says rejected" this is not cool since you can take any flash app and put in a converter to change it to objective c, apples preferred language.

[akg4y]

Cisco has introduced an Android based tablet. Hopefully it is autonomous and doesn't rely on any Cisco network or server infrastructure. This can potentially be a replacement for the iPad because Android based devices run Flash.

You want to sail on the Titanic?....or Stay with the Queen Mary

@wappinghigh - I love Apple just as much as you do' date=' but if the iPad doesn't work with Control4 because of the "Flash" issue, then it is of no use. Cisco is also developing a way to funnel Flash video, specifically for iPad users, through something like a proxy server. Maybe they will come up with a way to do that with Flash based applications too. On a side note - Savant just abandoned its entire touch screen line and will now rely on iPads only.[/quote']

Two things I can think of:

1) On the iPad you could have a VNC app to VNC into a desktop computer and run the apps. Full screen as long as there wasnt a huge delay from the VNC it would be essentially like running the flash on the ipad itself.

2) If JAP can sent 1080p video over ethernet, why cant that be sent (albeit maybe at a slightly lower resolution for the sake of speed) wirelessly to an iPad if an appropriate iPad app was developed to decode the signal back to 'video'? Then just access your C4 controller navigator directly on the iPad.

Anyway in 1 year there will be numerous competing tablets that run Android, have more features, and cost less. They may be slightly less "pretty" just as the iPhone still remains design king, but all in all the Flash navigator will be coming soon to a tablet near you.

[ILoveC4]

Yeah...I say screw the iPad/Apple. Android will be king...give it time.

[mercedes]

For those that upgraded to 2.0' date=' does your Web Navigator off the Control4 site look different when you log in, or is it still the exact same? I guess I'm seeing if you can do anything more now from the web, or if it is the same as before?

Thanks

Dave[/quote']

Dave, you can use the new Flash navigator from your desktop even if you did not upgrade to 2.0

go to lighting and in the very bottom you will see flash

Click on that and your good to go

Brent

New flash navigator on your desktop? Did I miss something?

[Matt]

The 4sight interface now has a flash navigator option. This is only available if you are on 2.0.

[mercedes]

The 4sight interface now has a flash navigator option. This is only available if you are on 2.0.

Sweet.

[ILoveC4]

The 4sight interface now has a flash navigator option. This is only available if you are on 2.0.

Sweet.

In theory....give it a whirl and tell me what you think. It's better than what we had, but not by much.

On a side note, I'm having a hard time finding Composer HE 2.0....can someone post a link or email it to me?

Thanks!

[takitezsdc]

The 4sight interface now has a flash navigator option. This is only available if you are on 2.0.

You dont have to have 2.0 to use the new 4sight interface.......flash.