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1.3.2.228 is FINALLY Here....Update NOW.....


Big Tex

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Call your dealers. Most can update you remotely. If you have XM you want this update. It fixes quite a few XM Tuner issues and offers some new MTS performance enhancements for some of the larger installations.

Good luck!

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The main new features include:

IP Camera support (view cameras on all graphical interfaces, on-screen, 10.5", and mini-touch)

Photo Screensaver, and other screensaver improvements

Support for the new HC-300 controller

Support for the new 10.5" v.2 wi-fi touchpanel.

Bugfixes / improvements are many, with the biggest one being a big speedup on navigator performance, especially on the 10.5" touchscreens.

RyanE

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The main new features include:

IP Camera support (view cameras on all graphical interfaces, on-screen, 10.5", and mini-touch)

Photo Screensaver, and other screensaver improvements

Support for the new HC-300 controller

Support for the new 10.5" v.2 wi-fi touchpanel.

Bugfixes / improvements are many, with the biggest one being a big speedup on navigator performance, especially on the 10.5" touchscreens.

RyanE

I have noticed a small improvement in speed on this update even on the MTS and remote it seems. Considering the huge jump in speed last time, hopefully the next incremental update will approach a speed level whereby you're not really waiting for anything. Thats probably my biggest complaint with C4, it just acts downright sluggish sometimes. For a guy who actually enjoys trying to complete an entire ATM transaction in less than 10 seconds, slow is painful

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So far I discovered the following with the upgrade:

FYI: I have a rather large system (95+ dimmers, switches and six button key pads, 3 touch screens, 50,000 MP3's, MTC, Audio Matrix, 3 Remotes, XM/FM/AM Tuner, Contact Relay Extender (maxed out), 2 Card Access contact devices, 2 Niles Amps and full security integration. My MTC gets hammered and I’ve had some significant performance issues recently. On a side note I also replaced ALL my Linksys SRX routers with Netgear Next hardware so that might have contributed to some of my performance gains. C4 just discovered that "some" Linksys SRX hardware creates lots of network overhead and trouble for the MTC... The Linksys issues and XM Tuner problems were causing my MTC CPU to max at a 100% for minutes at a time thus causing everything to slow down or die.

In the 24 hours since my 1.3.2 and Netgear upgrade I've seen GIGANTIC performance improvements across the board. I still suffer slowdowns when I browse my music library using "All Artists" but that's somewhat to be expected with the amount of music I have. I knew this going into my install.

Here's what I've noticed so far:

C4 finally solved my XM Tuner nightmare. My XM Tuner was running a Station ID check every 5 minutes and it would cripple the MTC processor thus slowing everything to a crawl. This has been resolved and now runs in the background as a low priority task and does not interfere with priority requests. Awesome!!!!! Massive improvement….

Even when the Station ID check wasn’t running I still had performance issues with the XM Tuner. Glad to report HUGE performance increases with the XM tuner. I mean massive. Everything about it is better. It’s now a great product….

Changing XM stations is now 2 to 3x faster than before. The music switches faster as does the content showing up on the Touch Screens. It's soooo much better. I love it now! Scrolling through XM content on the Touch Screen is soooo much faster.

XM Stations and content appear much quicker and we know have additional search capability in the Touch Screens (Hello Remote Please...)

Switching between rooms on the touch screen and remote are CONSIDERABLY faster...at least for me. I'd say 2x faster if not more. Another major improvement. Outside of the XM fixes this is my favorite improvement. Much faster and more fun to use.

The Volume control knob now moves in increments of 1... Thank the lord. I hated the old method where it would get either super loud or super quiet. It's so much better; you have a lot more control.

My lighting scenes appear to run faster and the devices switch off more quickly. Nice improvement.

The dimmers no longer go up or down an additional 3 to 7% when you lift your finger off the dimmer pad. They stay exactly where they are when you lift your finger. Huge improvement! You can nail down the exact setting you want on the first try. Awesome.... My wife’s favorite improvement.

Volume response on the touch screen seems to be quicker and more flexible. I feel like I have more control. Not sure what's changed but it's better.

I can join sessions quicker. Nice ancillary benefit from the performance improvements.

So far that's all I've discovered. I'm sure I'll find more. The IP camera support is cool and I'm having my installer integrate some weather data into the camera selections.

For me at least this has been by FAR the most significant and most impressive code release to date. I've had my system since Nov 06 and I believe this is the 3rd code upgrade we've done. My system performs so much better now. My only remaining complaint is the music search and load performance. While I understand the “why & how”...I still don't like it. I do believe a new MTC with more memory and faster processors (a la HTC) will help. I just hope C4 gets moving on the MTC upgrade. I can’t switch to the HTC because I have some damn many IR and Contacts controls. Those are faster too now!

With that said I can finally say I love my system. It's taken a while to dial it in but I really do enjoy it. The XM improvement is what did it for me. We listen to a lot of XM and this has made life so much more enjoyable. The overall speed improvements have also been wonderful and really make this a very competitive product. It's damn fast and the interface is simple and easy to use. Plus my installer figured out how to do some very cool things with the Wireless Contacts from Card Access.

I’ve used many Crestron systems and this thing performs as good if not better for far less money. It’s a steal…assuming you have a good installer and he’ll actually return calls.

Thx

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I was installed about a year ago, including v1 of the 10.5" touch screen. What is C4's policy re:upgrading v1 of the touch screen to v2?

I don't believe there is a trade-in policy on the v.1 10.5" touch screen.

RyanE

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So I'm stuck with the $2K v1 touch screen that I've only had ~9 months?

I'm shocked and disappointed that C4 really sees this as an acceptable policy ... especially when the technology is relatively new and you have users (like me) that want to keep up with the latest and greatest given some of the issues with v1 (as documented on this forum).

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Sell the v1 on Ebay for around $1500 and then buy a new one.

I find it hard to believe that you would be "shocked" that a company wouldn't upgrade a hardware item. Do you expect Dell to give you some sort of credit when they release a new more powerful computer? How about a car company giving you a new version of a car every time a new model comes out. I don't think anyone would expect a company to upgrade you to a new version for free.

So, If you want the newer, better model, do what everyone else does when a new model comes out and sell the old one on the open market. There are people that are willing to buy the old version for a reduced price off of retail. Right now that price on Ebay is around $1,500.

That way you can get a new one for a net cost of $500 (or less if you are able to convince your dealer to discount it at all.)

I'm swapping out all of my Media Controllers and HTC's for the new HTC300's. I'll just sell the other ones. I don't think anyone from C4 owes me anything for them, even though they are olnly about 10 months old. They released a newer version, it looks better, I want it, so I will figure out a way to get it!

Stop being "shocked and dissapointed", be thankful that a newer, better version has come out, and find an alternative resolution to reduce your cost for the new version.

Joe

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So far I discovered the following with the upgrade:

The Volume control knob now moves in increments of 1... Thank the lord. I hated the old method where it would get either super loud or super quiet. It's so much better; you have a lot more control.

I just hope C4 gets moving on the MTC upgrade. I can’t switch to the HTC because I have some damn many IR and Contacts controls. Those are faster too now!

It's damn fast and the interface is simple and easy to use. Plus my installer figured out how to do some very cool things with the Wireless Contacts from Card Access.

Thx

Good post very informative. My understanding on the control knob / volume issues and perhaps the same with dimmers is there is no more change in volume or light level once the knob or actual switch is no longer moving or being pressed, which makes perfect sense. No more volume or light level "catch up" after you have already stopped your action. Good change.

Amen brother on the MTC. I have a medium sized system but with an MTC. I look forward to the day MTC-based C4 systems will have an upgrade and can also enjoy the significant processor improvements they implemented in the new HTC. I suspect the performance increase is huge. I also have tons of IR controls and I dont think i could run a HTC system.

Can you elaborate on your Card Access applications? I am going to dive into their products too and wanted to know what you are using them for.

Shane

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Upgraded to 1.3.2 and the speed on the TS is great.. I do have one question... My TS and MTS keep popping up a "Updating Digital Audio" box for a second or two and then it goes away. Never noticed that before 1.3.2.. Any thoughts...

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Shane,

I purchased the Card Access contact devices to notify me when my backyard gates are open. I have a rather large house and it's a huge pain the check both gates (opposites ends of the house) every time I let the dogs into the yard (usually in the morning half dressed). Since my home is new there seems to be a repairman a day at the house and those idiots never close the gates. The City also goes back there to check my meters. So my gates are opened all the time. My main issue is when the dogs get out they run far, it's a disaster so I had to find a solution.

Initial Solution: Card Access devices with contact sensors for the gates. Any time a gate is open (contact open) the card access device sends a signal to the MTC. The MTC in turn is supposed to make me aware that the gate is breached. At first we had a hell of a time figuring out how to reasonably notify/update me when the gate is open. We couldn't decide if we should make the garage door open, turn on XM in the master bedroom, dim my study lights, play “who let the dogs out” in the kitchen, etc... Nothing seemed logical or reasonable. We didn't want a bunch of audible and noticeable alerts (interruptions) every time the gate was opened; yet at the same time I needed some form of gate status update.

Final Solution: My installer recently returned from some C4 training and they now incorporate the Card Access product portfolio into the training and into 1.3.2. He devised a simple and ingenious way to notify me. It's so simple. I have a 6 button key pad in the same room I keep the dogs. It’s 2 feet from their kennels. Every time the gate is open, one side of the 6 button key pad (ALL 3 vertical buttons) turn red. When it's closed they're all blue like normal. Regardless of the color (or gate) the buttons still function as normal whether they’re blue or red. The colors are for reporting only. In summary the left side of the 6 button key pad represents the left side gate and the right side buttons the right gate. So every time I wake up to take the dogs out I check the 6 button for an update. All blue, I'm golden. One side is red I go outside and shut the gate before I let them out. It's great!!!!!!!!!

The Card Access products are very good. I would recommend the contact device with the extended antenna just to be sure you have enough range. I’m going to be purchasing the wireless motion sensor soon. My plan is anytime after 1 AM if there is motion I’ll have the MTC execute an exterior lighting scene for that part of the yard. So if someone walks by the back yard sensor at 1:30 AM all the rear lights will turn on for 10 minutes and then automatically shut off. I can even have the system email me about the event. Furthermore I can then check my video camera DVR (I know the specific time of the event from the email) to see who the perpetrator was.

All very cool! I’m glad C4 is finally certifying and educating the installers on all the cool things one can do with the Card Access devices. One other thing. If you have a pool or heated exterior floors you can use the temp sensor in the CA device to run a script that turns on those devices when the temp reaches a certain threshold like 30 degrees. The temp sensor is now available in the 1.3.2 upgrade.

On a final note. One other very important C4 offering is custom button labels (Home, Away, Exterior, Party, Great Room, Romance, Volume Up, Volume Down, ALL OFF, XM, Play list, Etc...). You can get custom button labels made for all your 3 and 6 button key pads. It's a god send. My wife went from hating the C4 lighting system to really enjoying it. All she needed was some button labels; otherwise all the buttons looked the same and she didn't know what they did. To be honest I had the same issue. We have (15) 6 button key pads so it was impossible to remember what each button did and I was always carrying around a piece of paper to remember. The only issue is the lettering (label) isn't back lit; it's just engraved into the button. The buttons are still lit at the top like any normal button; the lettering just isn't back lit. If they had back lit buttons it would be perfect.

Thx

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Why would you want to upgrade to the 10.5 v2 mini touch screen? What is the upgrade ?

Thanks!

10.5" Wireless Touchscreen V2

-includes docking station

-adds 4 programmable buttons

-improved WiFi range

-2x batterly life (better sleep modes)

-faster operation overall

-requires 1.3.2 software

MSRP: $2495

MSRP: $124.95 (additional battery)

MSRP: $299 (addditional cradle/dock)

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Upgraded to 1.3.2 and the speed on the TS is great.. I do have one question... My TS and MTS keep popping up a "Updating Digital Audio" box for a second or two and then it goes away. Never noticed that before 1.3.2.. Any thoughts...

That has something to do with your audio share having an issue. I don't remember the exact issue, but your dealer should call tech support about it.

If you don't hear anything more about it, PM me, and I'll ask what the details were with it.

RyanE

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With regard to joemci's response to my earlier post ...

My post made no reference to wanting anything for free ... I was simply asking about an upgrade path. For example, I give C4 something less than the $2,500 sticker price and give them my old v1 ... or, as an existing user, they give me a break on a v2 and I keep my v1 in another room.

Using your new car analogy, I can certainly take my 1 year old car and trade it in with some cash for a newer version. I can also do this with my cell phone. Or my operating system. Lots of things. I was hopeful that C4 was one of them.

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Not to take this thread way off topic, but going back to the car example:

When you trade in your car, it is the dealer, not the manufacturer that buys back your car. They then re-sell it, genreally for a profit. They are providing you with a service of buying back your car so that you don't have to re-sell it yourself. They are in the business of selling cars, not manufacturing them. The car manufacturer generally has no use for their old cars.

As for a cell phone, they are not giving you a trade in value for your old phone, but are generally just giving you a subsidized price on the new phone in return for locking you into a one or two year agreement. Again, this is not from the manufacturer of the phone, but the seller, (service provider). They are generally not in the business to make their money on the phones, but on your monthly subscriptions.

As for giving you a break on purchasing another one and keeping the old one, again, this would be on your dealer. Maybe your dealer will provide this as a service to you by giving you a discount on the new one. Or maybe they will buy back your old one and sell you the new one. I can't see a huge incentive to do this, but I do not know your dealer's economic business model.

In the ever changing electronic and computer industries, I would think that a manufacturer buying back old versions of a product would be a money losing proposition unless they had some means to re-sell them for more than they re-purchase them.

Either way, I think your dissapointment and anger is misdirected at C4. I understand the frustration of buying something and then having a newer version come out, however, since manufacturers are continually improving electronic and computer products, we purchase them anyways knowing that shortly afterwards a better (and often cheaper) version will come along. It's always the delema of purchasing these types of products!

Joe

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On a final note. One other very important C4 offering is custom button labels (Home, Away, Exterior, Party, Great Room, Romance, Volume Up, Volume Down, ALL OFF, XM, Play list, Etc...). You can get custom button labels made for all your 3 and 6 button key pads. It's a god send. My wife went from hating the C4 lighting system to really enjoying it. All she needed was some button labels; otherwise all the buttons looked the same and she didn't know what they did. To be honest I had the same issue. We have (15) 6 button key pads so it was impossible to remember what each button did and I was always carrying around a piece of paper to remember. The only issue is the lettering (label) isn't back lit; it's just engraved into the button. The buttons are still lit at the top like any normal button; the lettering just isn't back lit. If they had back lit buttons it would be perfect.

Thx

BigT

Thanks again - very informative - i will be going for some inhome products here shortly; thanks for the insight into your uses, seems like you have a definite application and c4 provides a good solution with some inventive programming. On the custom labels. I too was finding that the 3 button and the 6 button keypads in particular were "for me," because no one else intuitively would know the applications for them. I did the DIY approach and labeled them with a Brother PTouch using small fonts, works pretty well.

My 6 button is in the Media/Multi purpose room. B1 does lights in three different scenes, alternating colors as appropriate. B4 is ALL OFF and self-explanatory. B2 alternates changing the video/audio source from SAT, DVD, XM, then AM/FM Ztuner, with the B3 and B6 go channel up/channel down on all sources except DVD, which does pause and play respectively. The labels help a lot, but the colors of the buttons also change together, meaning if its on SAT on B2 goes blue, the channel up/down on B3 and B6 also go blue to help a new user. Orange for XM, etc. Pretty neat. I think the Sony Disc changer will also make the system more complete.

Thanks

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Shane,

That's my next venture...soft buttons. I think that's was you're describing. Button 1 acts as a toggle. Hit it once and you have XM control, hit it again and you have DVD control, hit it again and you have television control and so on. Buttons 2 through 6 are then programmed for each device (XM, DVD, TV, etc..). So when you toggle to XM, buttons 2 - 6 can be favorites, mute, station up, station down; when you toggle to DVD you can have chapter up, chapter down, play, pause and mute....and so on. Is this what you're referencing to? I assume so.

In this scenario backlit LCD labeled buttons that change description as you toggle between devices would be A-W-E-S-O-M-E. In an effort to keep my system simple for the wife I haven't used soft buttons. Once the wife is comfortable with the regular 6 button functions I think I'll use some “soft” buttons in the home theater room, master bath and master bedroom. Assuming button one can have 5 soft keys or toggle 5 times that essentially turns your 6 button keypad into a 30 button key pad. That's so cool.... I only learned about that recently. I wish more people would share these tips on the forum. I guarantee you most don't know these awesome hidden features.

Thankfully tiesh (sp?) adds a lot of great info on his webpage….

My wish list right now is:

6" or 7" wireless touch screen. 10.5 is too big. This is a must….

Add Internet access to the 10.5 touch (I'd consider it if I could access the net and I could see my analog cameras along with future IP cameras)

Backlit 6 button LCD keypad – Each button customizable – both function and label

Faster dual processors for the MTC – a must!

Larger hard drive for the MTC, hate having to use an external USB drive

12 Button keypad

Ability to listen to more than 1 XM station at a time

XM details (metadata) on my V2 remote (this is HUGE!!!! and probably my #1 wish!!!!) Hello C4…Ryan…

Waterproof handheld remote (Another huge one)

Intercom capability with my mini touch screens or any intercom capability for that matter…

Local Weather and Traffic Updates integrated into C4. Mini touch screens, V2 remote, future wireless touch screens, etc...

Sirius option along with XM (low priority)

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That's my next venture...soft buttons. I think that's was you're describing. Button 1 acts as a toggle. Hit it once and you have XM control, hit it again and you have DVD control, hit it again and you have television control and so on. Buttons 2 through 6 are then programmed for each device (XM, DVD, TV, etc..). So when you toggle to XM, buttons 2 - 6 can be favorites, mute, station up, station down; when you toggle to DVD you can have chapter up, chapter down, play, pause and mute....and so on. Is this what you're referencing to? I assume so.

Yes, in my convoluted way, thats exactly what i meant! It works very well in my opinion and makes the 6 button truly functional!

In this scenario backlit LCD labeled buttons that change description as you toggle between devices would be A-W-E-S-O-M-E. In an effort to keep my system simple for the wife I haven't used soft buttons. Once the wife is comfortable with the regular 6 button functions I think I'll use some “soft” buttons in the home theater room, master bath and master bedroom. Assuming button one can have 5 soft keys or toggle 5 times that essentially turns your 6 button keypad into a 30 button key pad. That's so cool.... I only learned about that recently. I wish more people would share these tips on the forum. I guarantee you most don't know these awesome hidden features.

Does C4 offer those backlit LCD buttons or is that just a wish list item for you? I'd never thought of that possibility before, sounds neat. I have my source button run through a total of 4 total possibilities (SAT/DVD/XM/TUNER) and the lights 3 (lights 100%, a TV watching scene and ALL OFF). These features boil down to programming expertise basically; C4's model is dealer-based, and i'm sure all of these kind of things are shared on the dealer forum they have, just not here as prolifically. I would be careful of having 6 different buttons each having 4-6 different actions though, would get a little annoying cycling through all the time.

6" or 7" wireless touch screen. 10.5 is too big. This is a must….

Add Internet access to the 10.5 touch (I'd consider it if I could access the net and I could see my analog cameras along with future IP cameras)

Backlit 6 button LCD keypad – Each button customizable – both function and label

Faster dual processors for the MTC – a must!

Larger hard drive for the MTC, hate having to use an external USB drive

12 Button keypad

Ability to listen to more than 1 XM station at a time

XM details (metadata) on my V2 remote (this is HUGE!!!! and probably my #1 wish!!!!) Hello C4…Ryan…

Waterproof handheld remote (Another huge one)

Intercom capability with my mini touch screens or any intercom capability for that matter…

Local Weather and Traffic Updates integrated into C4. Mini touch screens, V2 remote, future wireless touch screens, etc...

Sirius option along with XM (low priority)

On your wishlist, the MTC upgrade is key for me too; i dont want a larger hard drive though, in fact, id rather have the MTC be just a monster processor with tons of connections, i never rip any CDs off of it and would rather store things externally and have the cost come down.

Do you use the C4 multi-tuner? I currently use the Ztuner for AM/FM and just built a driver for the XM through my regular receiver; Do you like the multi-tuner for XM? Doesnt that allow multiple streams of XM?

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I agree with that wish list . I'd also add:

Multi-button keypads that can directly control a load . This would allow you to replace an existing switch rather than having to add another and thereby cut down on the wall clutter.

An additional more upscale hand held remote (a la Nevo, RTI T3, MX950) to use in the theater . I think the existing remotes are great at their price point and would only wish they made the LCD screen a little larger for us aging techno-geeks. :-)

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This work very well, I have a3 button that normaly (when the led's are blue) thetop two buttons turn on/off lights but if you hit the bottom one twice, it changes the top two to green and red, one turns on the theater projector and sets up the system to watch a movie and the red button is a go to bed button and turns offany lights in the garage, theater, game room and work shop

In the theater/game room there is a six button that when blue will execute a games on and a games off function, 3 others turn on lights but if you hit button sixtwich quickly it changes the leds to green then red, those buttons turn on and off the games one at a time (golden tee, millidede, galaga, Ms Pacman, zaxxon, a couple of pin balls)

Shane,

That's my next venture...soft buttons. I think that's was you're describing. Button 1 acts as a toggle. Hit it once and you have XM control, hit it again and you have DVD control, hit it again and you have television control and so on. Buttons 2 through 6 are then programmed for each device (XM, DVD, TV, etc..). So when you toggle to XM, buttons 2 - 6 can be favorites, mute, station up, station down; when you toggle to DVD you can have chapter up, chapter down, play, pause and mute....and so on. Is this what you're referencing to? I assume so.

In this scenario backlit LCD labeled buttons that change description as you toggle between devices would be A-W-E-S-O-M-E. In an effort to keep my system simple for the wife I haven't used soft buttons. Once the wife is comfortable with the regular 6 button functions I think I'll use some “soft” buttons in the home theater room, master bath and master bedroom. Assuming button one can have 5 soft keys or toggle 5 times that essentially turns your 6 button keypad into a 30 button key pad. That's so cool.... I only learned about that recently. I wish more people would share these tips on the forum. I guarantee you most don't know these awesome hidden features.

Thankfully tiesh (sp?) adds a lot of great info on his webpage….

My wish list right now is:

6" or 7" wireless touch screen. 10.5 is too big. This is a must….

Add Internet access to the 10.5 touch (I'd consider it if I could access the net and I could see my analog cameras along with future IP cameras)

Backlit 6 button LCD keypad – Each button customizable – both function and label

Faster dual processors for the MTC – a must!

Larger hard drive for the MTC, hate having to use an external USB drive

12 Button keypad

Ability to listen to more than 1 XM station at a time

XM details (metadata) on my V2 remote (this is HUGE!!!! and probably my #1 wish!!!!) Hello C4…Ryan…

Waterproof handheld remote (Another huge one)

Intercom capability with my mini touch screens or any intercom capability for that matter…

Local Weather and Traffic Updates integrated into C4. Mini touch screens, V2 remote, future wireless touch screens, etc...

Sirius option along with XM (low priority)

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Shane,

C4 does not offer the back lit LCD buttons. That's a dream of mine. Hopefully some day they will....

As usual the moment I write all these wonderful comments about my system my MTC takes a dive again. For some unknown reason my MTC will delete everything in the digital audio now playing list/que. I'll select Black Crowes, que all songs, and watch the MTC delete every song from the que one at a time over 10 seconds. Nothing every plays so I’m dead in the water with my MP3’s. It's bizarre. The installer is coming over today to check it out. Damn shame really, the system is working great with the exception of this major problem....

I use the C4 Multi Tuner. At first it was a POS. It works great now. Unfortunately there is only one XM stream. You can get two simultaneous FM streams and one XM stream but not two XM streams. They need to add an additional XM tuner or use a new chip that allows for more streams. The other issue is you don't get any XM info (metadata) on the handheld remotes. You have a ton of control with the touch screens but the remotes need more control. Other than those two issues it works great.

Ryan, can you please comment on our wish lists?

Thanks!

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