Need some advice on a system!

[maniac36]

I'm looking at a C4 system for a new house I'm building. I keep reading in some of these posts to use this/don't use this, any help in the matter would be great. My dealer has recommended the following for my 4200 sq/ft house.

1 - Media Controller

1 - C4 16 channel amp

2 - LCD touch screens Ethernet

1 - LCD touch screen Wi-Fi

dimmers for lighting

I already have:

Marantz 8500 receiver

Sony 777

27" Sony in master bedroom

60" Sony XBR2 in Family room

HD Receiver box

I want to put in 6, maybe 8 zones for audio. Run video and be able to access the 777 in both the m/b and family room (not at the same time). Be able to control lighting and integrate the system to my security system.

I've read many posts saying not to get the M/C, instead get the HTC??? Would this work for my application, what are the advantage/disadvantages? I've also read that the touch screen Wi-Fi's are prone to problems. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[slemay]

MC gives more ports for control (IR, Serial, Contact, Relay) - plus it has a hard drive in it to rip your music to (I prefer this then have to have a customer keep a computer on and stream from). So for you - looks like the dealer gave you a good proposal... I'd put HTC's on all the other TV's and leave the MC on the main TV... but that's me (I like the GUI on all TVs). Plus you still have to look at how your going to move the 777 signal around. You can use a switch ($$$ - but will allow it to stay in component) or you can modulate it and send it over a TV channel throughout the house (which we do more often).

[RyanE]

I would also suggest sticking with the MC for the 3 audio outputs, and 4 serial ports, especially since you know off the bat that you're going to be using one for the 777.

I have it hooked up like Shawn says. An HTC on my living room TV, and an MC that's controlling most of the other things in the house.

RyanE

[maniac36]

So, just to confirm, if I want the GUI (GIU = on screen C4 menu, correct?) on any/all TVs I'll need to have a HTC on each one? Also, with regards to XM, can I hook up a XM component radio through the MC (already have a Marantz tuner) and have access to it on the GUI? If that's possible, does the compenent radio need to be XM or can it be Sirius? I like the idea of having the 777 broadcast over a single channel, is there any disadvantage to this solution (ie. picture quality & sound) and could the sound be sent through the master bedroom speakers? Thanks for your help guys.

[slemay]

GUI on all TV's - yes the "BEST" way is to have an HTC on each TV (there are other ways, but it's no where near as reliable and can get complex in other hardware / programming).

XM - Yes / no - yes it'll work and change channels, but there is no 2-way communication there in the sense that you will not know what song / artist is on (for that, I "BELIEVE" you'll need the Control4 Tuner with XM built in (not shipping yet - due in the next month or two)). As for Sirius - same thing... it'll work just fine, but no 2-way communication (and no plans for that yet either).

As for modulation - depending on the modulation some will argue yes / no to quality. Technically, since DVD's are only encoded at 480 lines of resolution you won't lose any quality if you go with a decent modulator (say an SVideo modulator)... some will argue you will as the 777 has the upscaling to component... well - that's an argument all in itself on that technology... I really don't see too much of a quality loss. As for sound - best you're going to get with modulation is stereo, and yes, you could break that out into speakers in another room (we do all the time). If you want surround sound to every room - then you're looking at a different technology. Typcially we modulate a 777, but the family room / home theater rooms still get the component and digital audio off of that - then the rest of the house gets / receives the modulated signal.

Shawn