RyanE

or the load (likely a motor) for that matter will get damaged.
 
While dimmers can be made to 'act' more or less like a switch in that you can set the minimum on to 100% and the ramp rates to the shortest interval (always forget it that's 100ms or 250ms) that doesn't make it an actual switch.
Those settings may work fine for certain non-dimmable lights (ie non dimmable LED bulbs - if it'll work is NOT a given though) - it's not meant to be running motors such as pumps or bathroom fans etc.
Also if the issue is that you're getting a short: it certainly wouldn't work to 'just' make it 'act' like a switch.

Not only that, but Control4 still supports the even older Contact/Relay extenders, which although they don't run a full Linux release, continue to work just fine.
They're as old as (or even older than) the Gen 1 controllers.
Control4 has a pretty good track record for not abandoning things that can continue to be supported (in-wall lighting, non-controller rack mounted gear).
RyanE

The lack of updated software on them is more a statement of how solid they are than anything else (note that there have been a few minor updates, but they're all still marked under the 2.9.1.xxxxxxx minor revisions).
The i/o extender is such a 'dumb' device that it really doesn't need to get updated to a matching version number for new features in audio streaming, zigbee, interface, streaming and so on and so forth....so they simply stopped constantly updating them as nothing oter than the software version number was getting changed. Think of it this way, if they DID update it only to match the software number every time, that would simply be a waste of time to create - and more importantly test - that software update.

I suspect that you will really enjoy the improvement!  Only thing I’d add (disagree with) is that I wouldn’t worry about your IOX they tend to last forever… I have 7 or 8 across 2 residences and nothing has died on any of them even though some are poorly located and experience extreme weather conditions.

While TVs have gotten better, long term support is generally much lower. IF the apps aren't supported anymore, it's much cheaper to get yourself a new fire stick than a new fireTV in pure hardware cost alone. in install cost more so.
Control over things like Roku Players, FireTV sticks and Android TVs is solid overall, and easy to troubleshoot both locally and remotely, TVs often are not easy to 'fix' remotely.
Universal driver support for media players is all but universal, support for TV apps is more fickle. especially Samsungs (need to manually first put them on home screen comes to mind)
 
 
Again RokuTVs are the noteable exception here.
As for Pro's to use Smart TV apps...are their really any? really minimal cost difference? Unless you have a Sony Master series TV, quality is likely better from connected device, at least not worse? Saving a single HDMI input?

Just ordered the CA-10 and a Core5. Hope to see improved user experience regarding speed and 4k. Will keep the EA-5 and EA-3 for guest room OSD’s and Zigbee.

Control4 does not EOL / discontinue support for controllers very quickly, and as others have said, it makes more sense to go to a CA-10 for the large project, and keep the EA-5 for I/O and Audio.
Sure, the Core 5 is newer and 'top of line', but you don't need the newest controller for a secondary controller, and the CA-10 is the best primary controller for large projects, much better at running the project itself than any of the Core controllers.
RyanE
 

It's not implemented in the driver, but the RokuTV *does* have the ROKUTV_POWER_MODE variable, which can be used to implement auto room on when the TV powers on with whatever remote.  I'd forgotten it didn't do it automatically in the driver, but that's how I have it setup at my house:
RyanE
 

It's not implemented in the driver, but the RokuTV *does* have the ROKUTV_POWER_MODE variable, which can be used to implement auto room on when the TV powers on with whatever remote.  I'd forgotten it didn't do it automatically in the driver, but that's how I have it setup at my house:
RyanE
 

Yes, so far media support and playback is the biggest drawback from what I can tell. It doesn't seem to have anywhere near the functionality of C4 in that area.
But it was pretty easy to get up and running quickly.  I installed Home Assistant as a docker on my unRAID server and it found a whole bunch of my smart devices, including Rokus, Plex servers, my SolarEdge solar power inverter, outlet switches, Govee and Magic Home LED light strip controllers, Harmony remotes, Unifi devices, Tasmota MQTT devices, Carrier Infinity Furnace, etc.  And they were working within 15 minutes of downloading the docker.  I then added my C4 devices and it found all my lights.  I was also able to add stuff for which there may not be a proper C4 driver, like "unoffical" APIs - such as for a Tesla.  I probably have more third party devices in HA than in C4 without actually looking too hard.
I must say that as an end user it is nice to be able to easily add a new device, like an outlet plug, or LED light strip, and use it in your HA system immediately without having to pay $75-100 for a driver and without needing a dealer to set it up for you. 
And HA works well through a web browser - I keep waiting for Composer to becoming a web application and for there to be a Web Navigator.  That is somewhat less necessary by running the Android app under Win11 in WSA.

At that point in time, *all* drivers were written only in C++ (the part on the controller, C# for ComposerPro, but wouldn't affect controller performance).
If you have a lot of drivers these days, many of them are using more CPU due to them being interpreted Lua, which, although it is very efficient, it's not C++, and 3rd-party devices may not have as efficient APIs as Zigbee (may require polling or responding to frequent async messages, etc.).
I personally think what affects CPU needs are: 1) Number of 3rd-party DriverWorks device drivers (written by Control4 or 3rd parties), 2) Number of touchpanels or other UI devices (which also require a lot of data and CPU).
Guidelines are of course not hard and fast, but I think *neighborhood-wise*, the recommendations are not unrealistic, but I think size of controller is even more driven by the number of IOs needed than the CPU of the controller.  Bigger projects need more audio outputs, IR / Serial, and Contact/Relays.  *Really* big projects need both.  I've got a CA10 + 3 EA5s (and several I/O extenders).
RyanE

Probably not without modifying the driver.
I don't know much about the TiVo driver, I didn't write it, although I may have modified it at some point in the past.
It's possible that it's not encrypted, if so, you could probably make the changes yourself, or hire someone to do it.
The one thing I'm sure of is that I don't have the time anytime soon.
Sorry.
RyanE

And it's not unique to c4. Every dealer centric retailers have requirements and can cut you for not meeting them... 

smartKEY have nothing to do with ANY control (or "smart") system at all. Smartkey is just a way of keying physical keys more easily, be it for a new key or to key different locks to the same key without needing matched cylinders.
No more or less. Basically stop using 'smartkey' as a type of lock to integrate. Even smartCODE locks aren't really 'smart' in that those are the ones without a wireless communcation and just have on device set codes and time based autolock options.
Kwikset's line of 'app/control system controlled' locks is called HOMECONNECT. C4 has their 'own' line they sell, though the cards from those can be used in many other kwikset HOMECONNECT locks as well. As mentioned above, Zwave is an option as well. 'just' bluetooth varieties are not.
 

This is true for the main box. It is a 4K, IP addressable DVR. For a secondary box you would want the Xi6, also 4K and IP addressable. The local stores may or may not carry them (they don't in my city). But the local store is still the best place to oder. Xfinity's online support is the absolute worst for anything that doesn't have a script. It took me 4 contacts, including the last at the store, to get the equipment I needed properly ordered.
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/x1-hub-vs-companion-box

That box doesn’t get voice or IP control.
I have multiple IP drivers, using voice, with no problem.  They are the XG1V4 4K DVR boxes. 

To be even more specific, they will upgrade to Zigbee3 - that doesn't mean that they'll support any and all ZigBee 3 devices (ie it could still be their own stack)

For clarity, competitors are the likes of Crestron, Savant and Elan.
In my view, Control4 is better than all of them.  Many on this forum would agree. But please note that this forum is a Control4 forum so many of the views will be biased.
The reality is that each of the above plus Control4 have their strengths and weaknesses.  Control4 is definitely the best for what I want from a Home Automation system.

If it’s just a single task of unlocking the door remotely, the Yale app is a lot quicker than doing it via the C4 app in terms of the number of taps and load time. With Wi-Fi connectivity, I can also get access to the Door Sense status in C4. 
Nope, I have 4Sight

That's an interesting question - I didn't know about the Yale wifi bridge product. I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that. Bluetooth is built into every lock and normally to add wifi you'd use the wifi module but that would preclude using the C4 zigbee module. But I see what you're saying about whether the wifi bridge paired to the lock's bluetooth would work, then maybe if that works you could plug in the zigbee module and have that work too. If the Yale wifi bridge is compatible with the Assure 2 locks then maybe this would work but I don't think we'll know unless somebody tests it. Sorry I can't be more helpful. 

why would you need Yale app connectivity when not in bluetooth range?  wouldn't you just use the Control4 app?

That is literally the reason I initially created the driver.  That and because different manufacturers have different auto lock maximum times, and most of them are too short for me (60 seconds, usually).
I want the lock to re-lock after 5 or 10 minutes of inactivity, and this driver resets the activity timer when the door is closed as well as not locking while open, so it's reliably '5 minutes after the door is last closed', or 5 minutes after the lock is unlocked (if the door was not opened).
RyanE

It is not the door relay driver, it's the door autolock driver.
Door Auto-Lock (OS2.9+)
It requires not only a lock, but also a door contact sensor.  With those two things, it shows door and lock status on a single experience button, and allows you to lock/unlock the door with the experience button.
It's main functionality is to implement longer auto locking, and only auto lock the deadbolt when the door is closed.  You turn off the deadbolt's auto lock functionality, and use this driver instead.
It's one of my favorites.
RyanE
 
Edited to add: It also has a command which enables/disables the auto locking, so you can turn it off for parties or repair people, etc.  It's pretty handy.

That is literally the reason I initially created the driver.  That and because different manufacturers have different auto lock maximum times, and most of them are too short for me (60 seconds, usually).
I want the lock to re-lock after 5 or 10 minutes of inactivity, and this driver resets the activity timer when the door is closed as well as not locking while open, so it's reliably '5 minutes after the door is last closed', or 5 minutes after the lock is unlocked (if the door was not opened).
RyanE

Much appreciated sir!