Greetings from Indianapolis - CEDIA 2011

[thecodeman]

This year's CEDIA is 9/8/2011 - 9/10/2011 in Indy. Here's what we're seeing from Control4 and related manufacturers:

Control4 hardware/software:

Booth Tour Video:

New 7" touchscreen

Intercom capability. Camera on the touchpanel for video intercom to other 7" portable/tabletop touchscreens. 4 programmable buttons.

MSRP is $999 plus installation.

http://www.control4.com/about-us/press/2011/09/07/new-7-inch-portable/

Panelized lighting announced :

Ethernet connected and available with switch or dimming. Measure and report energy use for each connected load. Ideal for new construction or major remodeling.

240v wireless puck switch and dimmer

Android app starting beta

Widget support:

No controller hardware updates - hdmi or otherwise from what I can tell.

Looks like they have a video doorstation for 1Q next year as well.

ExtraVegetables

Control4 & Z-Wave integration

"We have partnered with Mi Casa Verde and their Vera Z-Wave to Ethernet gateway to provide this Control4 integration. Now it is possible to include the world of Z-Wave devices as part of a Control4 installation.

This is much more than just a lighting driver. Through the Vera gateway you can incorporate all types of Z-Wave sensors and actuators. It's also ideal if you have a customer who already has some Z-Wave devices in their home and they now want to expand into a full Control4 system."

http://extravegetables.com/drivers/zwave/index.php

http://c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=9715

Grace Digital integration

Retailing at $220, Grace Digital's Cloud player offers Pandora, SiriusXM, Internet Radio, and playback of local files on your network. There will be a 4Store app for this unit as well.

Windows Media Center Driver

This new driver allows you to select movies and music from the Control4 interface. Use Windows Media Center to play back the files and get full IP control over the Windows Media Center interface.

"Start Here" app

With 24 fully customizable buttons, 4 lines of dynamic text, and room for a logo or photo - this app is a one-stop location for easy control of commerical or residential properties. Start with the included 160 icons for custom buttons or upload 250 more for complete control.

http://extravegetables.com/apps/starthere/index.php

Arcam Drivers - Blu-ray players and receivers http://extravegetables.com/drivers/arcam/index.php

Weatherhawk Weather Station integration

Extra Vegetables' driver for the 500 series of weather stations from WeatherHawk brings real time local weather information into a Control4 system. Whilst many are simply fascinated by weather conditions in many situations being able to react to changing weather conditions is vitally important. Not only does our driver provide real time information into the Control4 system it also allows you to set 'alert' levels on the various parameters. This in turn means you can leverage the power of a Control4 system to retract awnings, lowers shutters, switch off water features, adjust heating or cooling systems and many other practical actions. Ideal for monitoring both permanent and actuation residences.

http://extravegetables.com/drivers/weatherhawk/index.php

iTunes driver updated for AirPlay support stream music to AirPort Express or other AirPlay audio device. Audio cables then not required from computer to AV system.

•Can stream movie content to Apple TV v2 - again without AV cable; just a network connection.

http://extravegetables.com/drivers/appletv/index.php

Channel Vision's on-wall iPod dock (now C4 certified)

"The dock is really simple to install as part of a Control4 installation. Your customers will be able to fully browse the content on the docked iPod. The driver also retrieves the cover art from the song playing.

The dock installs in wall in a US standard double wall box and requires just ONE Cat5 cable to be run between the dock and the receiver. This carries the power to the dock, the audio and the control signals. If you want video from the iPod you will need to run an additional coaxial cable."

http://extravegetables.com/drivers/p3036/index.php

BoraGear

The leader in quiet cooling for A/V components, racks, cabinets, and closets. BoraGear is pleased to announce the Cool Commander, an IP Control Interface for your fans allowing status, on/off control, email notifications of fan status and more. A Control4 driver and 4Store app will be available when the product launches in Q4 2011.

Just Add Power

Just Add Power / Blackwire Designs was showing the Just Add Power 2G Plus models and new firmware for the 2G transmitters/receivers. The new firmware reduced the 2G product's switching times to instantaneously as previously seen with the 1G product.

The new 2G+ models are able to be mix and matched with the 2G where needed. They introduce an HDMI loop out for sending HDMI to a receiver for audio processing in addition to the HDMI being sent to your TV for video, a stereo audio breakout (for distributed audio with the Control4 audio matrix / amps for example), a "locking" HDMI connector, and support for surround sound formats. More information should be available in October.

*More info*

* CEC over IP (using an IP session to send CEC commands to target devices)

* HDMI Terminal Screw for locking down "professional" HDMI cables

* HDMI passthrough port on Transmitters to attach a local preview monitor

* Audio output ports on the Transmitters and Receivers (3.5mm stereo)

* Move the console port to the bottom of the PCB and have a hole there for easy access without opening case (2G standards will start being built this way also)

The 2G+ models will be compatible with the standard 2G models, so you can mix/match them in an installation as needed. The other big news is that the instant switching firmware for 2G, with support for multi-channel audio distribution, is about to be released for public consumption. All existing 2G owners can be upgraded to the new firmware and realize these features.

Honeywell

"Honeywell today announced that its widely used portfolio of VISTA Series residential and commercial security systems have been certified by home automation provider Control4.

The certification assures seamless interoperability between Honeywell’s range of VISTA security systems and the Control4® ecosystem of devices. More specifically, Honeywell VISTA is the only security system able to exchange zone descriptors with the Control4 home automation system, significantly improving the efficiency of the installation process."

Uses the 4232 Connected Building Module and works with the following panels:

Vista 15P/FA148CP,Vista 20P/ FA168CPS,Vista 21-ip

Vista 128BPT/FA 1660CT, Vista 128BPTSIA

https://www.honeywellintegrated.com/news/press_releases/312567.html

Zektor

Diamond Home Design

http://c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=9756

*post will be edited as more details become available as the show progresses*

[Gene]

Thanks Codeman for the post...let us know of any updates. Enjoy CEDIA!

[thecodeman]

Updated control4 information.

[thecodeman]

Updated with booth tour video as well as a screenshot of the Android app showing widget support.

[mcC4]

Great post about CEDIA. Thanks for putting that together.

[chesterwilson]

^Very much appreciated, thanks!

[therodog]

The Weatherhawk integration looks so cool, I wanted one. Then I looked and saw how expensive those things are. D*mn!

Any idea about the timeframe for availability of the portable touch screen?

[thecodeman]

I don't think there's been a books open soon but I would expect before end of year. It looked complete.

[earo]

Can anyone clarify if the Just Add Power 2G+ devices require new hardware or if it's just a firmware upgrade from 2G? It appears as if it's a hardware upgrade. If so, I'm going to be royally PO-ed here, having spent thousands recently on 2G devices for my system. I recognize the pain that you sometimes get by being an early adopter, but the JAP solution installed in my system (4 sources, 4 TVs) has been much more trouble than it's worth. Hopefully this will just require a firmware upgrade, but the last time my dealer did this, the poor guy was on-site til 1030pm getting the 8 devices up to the latest firmware. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

[thecodeman]

Just Add Power 2G+ models are new hardware, but can be used in an existing 2G system where needed. So you don't have to replace every 2G box if you want the benefits of the 2G+ in just one location.

[turls]

Maybe for a new thread--Love what Extra Vegitables is doing--I went to their booth but I missed some of this--What's so special about the WeatherHawk integration as far as scheduling? I want some of that functionality for energy management, but I don't want to pay 6 grand for a WeatherHawk. Why can't I pull the local data from internet data and trigger functionality from that? Or for that matter, a Davis weatherstation or similar that would be a fraction of the price. I hope the C4 infrastructure isn't targeting energy management based on weather as a high end feature. . .

[thecodeman]

I'm not sure, but it may be that weather hawk was the first that had the equipment with the data they could pull already available that agreed to let EV develop a driver for it. I'm sure once the competition notices they will want on board.

As for why you cant pull that data from the internet, I'm not sure.