Is Control 4 a viable option for me?

[Gizmo]

Let me start by saying I will not be installing anything myself. I respect and admire those of you who do this, but I simply do not have the time or the knowledge to do this myself. I will be hiring a professional installer.

I am looking for a control system that will allow me to control lighting, HVAC, Monitor Cameras from multiple tv's in the house and on the web. I will have 4 separate surround sound systems and would like to be able to pull up a control interface on all 4 Monitors. I will have 12 separate audio zones and will have control keypads in 14 locations. I would like to be able to dock an ipod in at least 5 zones. I would like to be able to access my cd collection from a server and be able to send it to any zone, through any keypad. I am considering a Kaleidescape for movie storage and distribution, any alternative suggestions would be appreciated.

I don't know if this can all be done through one controller, or if multiple items might somehow be able to be connected together. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

David

[danlevine]

This can definitely be built with Control4. We build systems like this all the time. I would find a really good dealer in your area that can assist you with this.

Where do you live?

Dan

[shaneoneill]

Your preference is just that and no one can change that, but i personally felt the ipod hookup to c4 was a big priority for me initially, i found that it simply became redundant and actually a little cumbersome. The ipod is central to a lot of people's music, but not mine. I use my mp3 player (dont like ipod's exclusivity anymore, esp since i use c4 which only supports mp3s) for the gym pretty much is all.

Anyhow, my point is if you use your ipod a lot, connecting and disconnecting all the time is not really as convenient as simply having a MC or third party storage connected full time to the system for use. Plus, why would you connect four different ipods, just curious?

Just a thought.

[Gizmo]

Dan,

I live in Sarasota,Fl. We are building a house and the Sub the buillder uses for low voltage items is a brand new Control 4 dealer. He has never done an install like this before. I feel like I need to know what all equipment I need to buy to make sure everything gets accomplished. For example, if I want to be able to pull up the control 4 interface on multiple tv's throughout the house, say 6, can I do this with 1 MC, or do I need multiple MC's or HTC's?

Shane,

Thanks for the input. The 4 members of my family are all ipod users. I would like for the kids to be able to dock their ipod's in their rooms and listen through the ceiling mounted speakers. Or for anyone to be able to use one in the workout room. I understand what you are saying though. If everyone has their music on one server, with individual keypads, you could access you music that way.

[danlevine]

You can do this with as few as 1 MC (Although I would recommend some additional HTCs) You can either module the feed as an alternative source on the tv or put all the outputs into a Video Matrix switch. The Controller (Navigator) will actually switch rooms automatically when the OSD is requested. What's nice about putting it into a video matrix is you could change via programming which screens get which OSD, this way depending on your usage you can have it changed very easily.

The new version 1.3.1 being released soon supports the Sonance Iport which for Ipod integration is a must. We don't use the Media as much on the C4 system we use Control4 Primarily as a control system. For media we use it's Digital Audio Distribution system over IP. The media management is not there yet, but I presume will get tremendously better in the future.

For now, the control aspect of it as well as the Lighting Control is amazing.

Dan

[read99]

Dan,

I live in Sarasota,Fl. We are building a house and the Sub the buillder uses for low voltage items is a brand new Control 4 dealer. He has never done an install like this before. I feel like I need to know what all equipment I need to buy to make sure everything gets accomplished. For example, if I want to be able to pull up the control 4 interface on multiple tv's throughout the house, say 6, can I do this with 1 MC, or do I need multiple MC's or HTC's?

Shane,

Thanks for the input. The 4 members of my family are all ipod users. I would like for the kids to be able to dock their ipod's in their rooms and listen through the ceiling mounted speakers. Or for anyone to be able to use one in the workout room. I understand what you are saying though. If everyone has their music on one server, with individual keypads, you could access you music that way.

Your posts raise several issues. One that has not been addressed is what format your music is going to be in. Currently, Apple does not license its Digital Rights Management to any third party such as Crestron, AMX, Control4, Sonos or any other system.

Once you have a whole house automation and sound system, you will probably want your music on a server which will then lead to several issues. Use your ipod as the server and base your sysetm around the ipod and the previously purchased itunes music or instead get a real music server and switch over to a different file format such as mp3 or some other non-DRM based format. With MP3, you can still download your songs to your ipods but you will need to cut the cord to Apple itunes for purchasing. After trying the former, most people end up doing the later.

Jim

[Gizmo]

"For media we use it's Digital Audio Distribution system over IP. The media management is not there yet, but I presume will get tremendously better in the future."

Dan,

Do you mean you use an external Hard drive or some other source to distribute music?

Thanks,

David