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Hey C4Forums Community. I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Jonathan Brown, I work for Control4(SnapAV) Customer Interface group. I am a Senior Software Engineer on the iOS team. I plan on spending time in the forums off and on to check in to see if I can help troubleshoot and resolve posts where I can and or direct your issues that might need additional help to others in our organization who might have more of an impact on issues I see being posted. I am looking to be a resource to help solve as many community issues as I can. - Jonathan Brown Senior Software Engineer Control4/SnapAV

Heavy question really. This could contain page upon page of use options etc. I'll try and give a bit of an overview. First, always remember that experience buttons can be displayed in many menus by choice, so you have more freedom in where they show up. Let's start breaking them out first into a few 'types' if you will: *"Basic" built for purpose options. These are really basic options, generally they fall under the UI buttons catagory. No real programming function, but added to enhance visual options and diversity. Examples are PS4, HDMI, Component, Cassette, Chromecast and so on. *"Standard" built for one purpose ones. Often these are 'enhanced' re-builds of drivers that already existed for simple function, with added option, though sometimes they add enhancements to the overall system or are used to 'display' a function in an alternate (or more advanced) way to using the more basic screen custom buttons. A lot of these allow using switches as 'relays' directly, removing the need for funky programming, and add timer features Examples are Fireplace, Fountain, (Garage) Door, (Ceiling/Extract) Fan, Pump, Door Auto Lock...you get the idea *"Advanced" built for purpose options. These are more work to setup, as they offer more options/settings or in some cases you need multiple to cover a whole project. They generally exist to make advanced programming easier to do, keep it more contained and/or to give an interface to some advanced programming options. Examples are RGB Light (select and display color of an RGB light), Announcement On/Off (per room ability to 'block' announcements), Mockupancy Driver, Security (would have preferred the term Courtesy) Light, Snapshot, etc *"Special" built for purpose options are drivers that are very purpose specific. These genreally ONLY work on T3 screens (and in Composer) at this point. Examples are Calendar, Notepad, To Do *"Fun" drivers. More built to test the limits than anything. Ask your dealer to add Clumsy Bird or 2048 - just don't hold me or him/her responsible. *"3rd Party device" drivers. More and more advanced drivers (or suites) are starting to use experience buttons. Examples are Ecobee and Powerview drivers *"Generic" buttons. There are a few very generic buttons, that you can use freely for anything you want, which is I'm guessing largely what you're asking about. Examples are Countdown, Status UI, Scenario (RGB sort of falls in this category too I suppose) These last ones are primarily used to give the end user better insight and/or control over often asked functions. Some programming examples I've done for clients or myself: *Count Down: -Instead of All Off on button press, touchscreen has the option of displaying this (and you can tie it to buttons as well) where there's a countdown to all the lights turning off. So when I'm leaving the house, I press it from my T3 and I have several minutes to actually get out the door, the garage, close everything off and so on. -Activate it at bed time. Once it's up, all TVs shut off. Again, nothing that couldn't be done in programming already on a button press, but now you have visual feedback. *Status UI -As it gives feedback by way of a color 'led' on it, I've used these often to indicate whether multiple optional override programming is on or off and to control it at the same time), ie Exterior lighting schedule is running regular on green, vacation mode on yellow, party mode on blue, off on red. -Indication of certain events having occured. Used it in one place to indicate which motions were triggered during a day, if doors were unlocked during the day or night when they normally wouldn't be, etc. Similar to what some do using button LED colors, but now on touchscreens. *Scenario is a basic on/off only version of the Status UI, though it has one significant twist - it was designed to make it easy for dealers to create alternate versions using custom items for the on/off state. There's a few of these around for sale with huge packs of them (Blackwire has one, think Chowmain did one too). These are often liked becasue it will also give a direct status feedback using the different icons, so you can see when a source device is in use. Think, if someone is using the Switch, you see that under the screens in other rooms without having to check the zones page.

First, don’t use the Xfinity modem as your homes router. Put it in bridge mode and use a good router to run the show. All your problems point to network problems. Most likely DNS is configured wrong either on the devices themselves or the network. DNS should point to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 Cant speak for your installer, couldn’t tell you how knowledgeable they are. Wish I could get $200 a hr for mediocre work though. Crikey!!

I personally hate the subscription model as a customer because it seems like everyone is going that way and I am always paying bills every month for every service under the sun. In fact, in the last 1-2 months I’ve started to track said subscriptions and cancelled a bunch. I will admit you bring up valid points about on going service and you can turn off the driver if you do not need it/support goes south/it breaks. For now I tend to buy drivers from 1-2 outfits that have been in business for a while, ones I can reach out to directly and who have answered questions quickly on this forum and offer good support. It is all a mental state - if a driver were $2/month vs $150 sure it may be cheaper to do $2/month but I think I’d get annoyed getting another bill every month. It is just easier to write a check, install it, and move on. If I know I have to keep paying (Even if cheaper) mentally it becomes “a thing”.

Here's a pic of movie listing using the Full Kodi driver.

I get paid?

I've made a couple of videos showcasing the text to speech parts of the driver: There is also the functionality to record voice messages (up to 30 seconds) so be sure to take a look at the driver demo to get a feel of it! 20% off the driver and all our other drivers until 9th December so hurry! https://www.blackwiredesigns.com/store/control4-text-to-speech/

Not sure by the UK needs the back button more either...because they want to go back to colonial times? 😋

What sort of issues ? I'd let someone take a good look at your setup first, and see if they can't resolve them for you. Especially if it involves an Apple TV 😂 Did you lose any functionality in the move to OS3 ? Anything that wasn't explained properly by your dealer before the upgrade ? Touchscreens, perhaps ?

Well - I’m at 1d 18h and a solid connection thus far. I’m going to chalk it up to the fact that it was indeed a junk modem. Thanks everyone for your advice. That was the last thing I would have thought as it was the one thing that remained the same from the old setup that worked flawlessly!

I have the devices in the watch at the top and the apps towards the bottom of the page but the universal app drivers favorited to the room to the top

Thanks! It's part of a broader initiative we have to make the best experience possible for Control4 users. Other developers will start becoming more active on this forum as time goes on as well.

I'll take it a step further, depending on the wiring available in each box, any possible combination of dimmer and keypad may be possible, or impossible. The basic, easiest way to explain it to not confuse a DIYer who sghouldn't be playing with electricity is saying that electricity can kill you or burn your house down and you need to get someone in that does know how to work with it on site, as per the first reply.

So...I am not sure if you win this bet or I do... I have refrained from buying one so far... but, I just heard today that someone is gifting me one for Christmas (don’t ask... it does probably mean that I spend too much money somewhere!) and I am now as excited as a kid in a candy store because it is going to be an early Christmas gift and I should have it in the next week or so 😁

Actually I got scared by this thread and changed it to 10 and now I'm sold out and they are backordered. Thanks guys! Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

I'd probably just do OTA/DVR if there weren't a stinking honkin' huge mountain in between me and Farnsworth Peak (where the 'big 5' stations transmit from here in Utah). But since I have cable, I do like getting college sports. RyanE

You missed the whole rdp part

Video of the new features / UI: The Outlook version will be released tomorrow. The Google one will be updated as soon as Google complete the verification required for the addition of creating events.

YES! ISP routers are just not built to handle smart home systems. This is not a Control4 system, or even an 'pro' system thing - this is a general rule. With the amount of wireless devices people tend to have these days, this is even starting to show up without smart home setups. While they can have decent or even good WiFi coverage and/or speed, and good through-put overall, the issue happens in the concurrent connections which ISP routers, and for that matter many if no most (though not all) consumer off the shelf routers just aren't able to handle. What you see is devices falling off line, even if only briefly in the best of cases, potentially causing all sorts of 'odd' behaviours.

It really depends what you have... I’ve done all sorts from lights, fireplaces, hot water, heating. Even done music on motion [emoji23] did it to my brother when it was his birthday everytime he went to the bathroom lights would flash and happy birthday would come on [emoji23] so yeah pretty much anything can be done! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

if one can read between the lines.....oh the suspense.

I have always thought that Control4's products were priced pretty fair except for the touchscreens and now this remote. This remote should have been under 400 dollars. The original remote, with the "brain", cost $369. This was purely a markup based on what market Control4 is in.

Yes our driver will work with this as long as the instructions are followed

Actually I see that. I will get that fixed. I updated the website URL with some information https://www.blackwiredesigns.com/store/c4-remote-finder-pro/#tab_driver-setup

The remote driver has its own auto update. Control4 recommends docking remote overnight to ensure updates apply and don't kill battery

Everyone with composer pro has access to the dealer forum. How did you get the software ?

I found out who he was just yesterday. He's certainly an asset to C4Forums and will have much greater knowledge when it comes to drivers and such. Funny thing is he sits like 2 rows over from me I just didn't connect his display name with his actual name.

DatBear - welcome. The more C4/SnapAV ears and eyes (and brains) on this forum the better. How about bringing back the Apple Watch app please. Convenience factor 100 when out at the grill or in the pool and want to quickly skip a song or adjust volume levels. Also another vote for getting the Apple HomeKit integration done as was announced by C4 some time ago. C4 will win when it *easily* integrates with all of the majors including Apple HomeKit and Google Home.

4k atv requires an ea controller

The controller is still good. Do you use the on screen display? If you don't you can upgrade to os3 If you do adding an ea1 or ea3 from your dealer or eBay and using that for the OSD will be the hardware add you need. Some of these drivers have been broken by device firmware upgrades. Upgrade your controller and upgrade the drivers and you will have a good as 2015 system for little money. If you can plug the EA1 in to your network and the right HDMI - Hint it's the one going into the HC800 right now. The you should be able to get this done for a very reasonable investment. Sent from my E6603 using Tapatalk

No, OSD is disabled on HC800 when updated to 3.0

The switch should be in the box where the load wire is located. The keypad in the other box. If you're asking questions about standard electrical wiring I highly suggest you hire an electrician.

they have good support, I've called before and the owner/engineer answered my questions.

You can use Remote-Focused buttons to program shades to do whatever you want, although they're limited to 5 buttons per remote. RyanE

Yep to what Alan said. Their CEO has a lot of history in the movie industry with a lot of ties and they have a few big contracts with a few major studios already signed so it actually may work. I read about this and though it seems totally off the wall; I personally know someone of extreme wealth and they would not bat an eyelash to have some friends over to have a new release play in their house. they have spent millions on the house, home theater to rival a movie theater, so dropping $1500 for a night to see a movie isn’t a big deal. It’s for the people who order a $3,000 bottle of wine and think nothing of it. 5 cups of liquid and it is gone but its on the menu at high end restaurants - there is a very small market for it. Nothing against Alan/C4, I just assumed most of those integrations at that level use Crestron or other highly customized platforms for automation. I’d be curious how many C4 installs use this platform. More power to you and hope you move a bunch of them because it is a unique idea. Remember when the first plasma TVs were $10,000+ (the ones we could get at retail, not odd prototypes). Now they are $500 (well LCD/LED). Maybe one day its $15 to watch a movie at home, not $1500 - so good luck to the trailblazers!

If HD Homerun is installed as a PVR Backend in Kodi then it will work through our Kodi Live TV mini driver including live tv and recordings like screenshots below

Unless your upgrading your system that costs seems crazy high. I do yearly tune-ups that can cost less than $200 CAD + a 4sight license. My yearly tuneup includes making sure all drivers are up to date, C4 OS is up to date, and making sure everything is working and up to date. That includes updating networking devices and anything else. It really only takes about 2 hours or less and we are done. Now if you get a new Door Station, or add lights, or happen to have a product failure that cost is going to be much higher. But for the yearly cost of Control4, even if you factor in the cost of 4 sight should be no more than maybe $300-$350 - unless something breaks or you add to the system or upgrade certain components.

But this a bad product per this thread.... Tickle Me Elmo sold out - but that wasn't a good product said 99% of the world :-) But that 1% sure loved that furry monster! So maybe the Neeo remote is a furry monster?

I know someone that hogged them all up and ordered 20!!

But this a bad product per this thread....

sounds like a crock - lol. Sounds like a bad update and they are working on a newer one

Ignore all those telling you it's hard to do. It's relatively easy even without people to help you. I imagine the people who find it hard to do don't have much background in programming (not talking about using composer to do "programming"). I started to document my learning experience of writing drivers to do stuff a couple of years ago, maybe it will give you the basics of what you need to do: https://c4drivers.wordpress.com I gave up writing it because I found it easier to do the things I wanted to do using the SOAP Api on my external devices. But it all depends on what you want to do.

I am no expert and I am certainly not trying to offend anyone’s business model, but I couldn’t agree more that we (the customer) need an improved driver model and that the entire C4 echo system (C4, Dealers, Developers) could benefit from the same. I am no expert on how it works, but I would personally like the Apple model. All developers pay C4 a fee to review and certify their drivers and then make them available to all dealers and us customers at whatever fee the developer sets - which will also need to include C4’s fee. The dealer would get their fee from the install and any subsequent programming services. All drivers would then be controlled and verified by C4 and all would be downloaded from the C4 controlled database and all billing (whether free, monthly, or one-time fee) would be automatic through C4 similar to how it is with Apple. Developers could then offer a basic driver for free, and charge for upgrade features. C4, dealers and developers should love this model as it could improve distribution and recurring revenue. It may even encourage more advance driver development.

This thread has been exhausted with nowhere else to go, Please STOP!!!

Round and round. Round and round. The wheels on the bus go round and round, all day long. Until you can understand how a driver works (bindings, proxies, protocols, connections, actions, commands etc.) there isn’t much you would be able to do. You could look at some open source drivers that are probably floating around on github. You could also look at the C4 driver database online, download a few and dig into them - if they aren’t encrypted that is. If at some point you felt like you understood it all I reckon you could email C4 about becoming a partner and getting access to the DriverWorks SDK and development tools. From there, your first driver is a print(“hello world”) away.

And not watching security cameras at 1080p is a must? I've upgraded mine to 8K so I can do a daily mosquito census to know when to respray my property. Maybe they have a fly problem?

if anyone wants to buy my drivers on an annual subscription I am happy to work with you! Contact me. I will be 1/2 the price of a perpetual license per year.

Channel surfing is pretty easy on the Neeo remote. Here is what our Sky driver looks like on the remote. Look at that sexyness

Pressure sensor under the mattress so when I’m out of town if a certain weight is exceeded I get a notification and recording history 😉