BraydonH

I also have a 501 and I am pretty sure they won't update the firmware for those devices. I have put in atleast 5 reqests with support and mention it every time I need to call snap. I have had some people tell me no its never coming, others say yes that it will get worked on in the future. My gut feeling tells me we will never see a firmware update for the 501 which is a real shame. If I ever replace my luma system it definitely won't be with another Luma system.

Long story short. They had an awesome driver for like 2 days then Amazon made them pull it for who knows what reason, then the driver has been MIA for months no and its still not (re)released. They have a crappy driver that delays commands by 1-2 seconds per button press. Its terrible. Use the amazon remote until the driver is rereleased.

Both good systems. Paradox Evo192 is all hardwired and is super reliable. The touchscreens (TM70) are super cheap compared to to others. The cinegration driver is fantastic. Its super easy to add / remove / change user codes right from the TM70 touch screen. You need a Paradox PRT3 module and a serial cable to connect it all up. Cons are that Paradox equipment can be harder to source out. They are a french canadian company which is fine for me as I'm in Canada, but might be harder to get yours hands on it elsewhere.

Qolsys for wireless system with free driver. Paradox Evo 192 with Cinegration driver on Drivercentral.io if you want the best

By all means get rid of Control4 if you want. Really just sounds like you need to update to OS3, and (sounds like you really want to tinker with things yourself) maybe get Composer Home Edition and you would probably be set. When / Then is alright but Home Edition is better. The C4 interface for locks is awesome, the interface for lighting is decent too. If those are your two main things then C4 on OS3 should work great.

Thats why its even more confusing. Alarm.com, Claire, Google, Amazon, Vivint are all partners. Why not C4 too? Makes you wonder if there is more to this than meets the eye.

I mean personally I don't care that Ring or Nest Cameras don't work. They suck at the best of times to begin with. And like mentioned before their native apps will always work better than the C4 app. The MyQ thing is a bit harder to understand. There's no good reason C4 doesn't natively integrate with MyQ. This one hurts way more. So only Chamberlain on the evil list in my books.

Oh I don't argue that. C4 camera interface/proxy is abysmal. Its got to be among the worst in the industry. Live viewing only? Only lower res supported? Yea C4 cameras and integration are a joke. We use Unifi Protect and tell customers to pass and not even get the cinegration driver to tie them in with C4 because there is no point with a camera proxy that bad. The unifi cameras don't even pull a proper preview image because the C4 proxy is limited. They basically need to redo cameras from the ground up. Yes, it would be nice if a wider range of Z-wave devices were supported. I have used the Z-Wave dongle a few times with supported devices and it absolutely sucks. The range and reliability of the Z-Wave gear is terrible. I now think ZigBee is much better and more reliable than Z-Wave and even if more Z-wave devices were supported I would probably still push the Control4 Zigbee stuff because it is just that much better. The ZigBee kwikset locks compared to the same lock but z-wave are a night and day difference in reliability. MyQ is definitely a sore subject. This one baffles me, but I agree its crazy we don't have an official solution. (with a free driver). Really surprises me that they aren't official partners and don't work together. Seems like a no brainer for both parties. And once again throwing in my vote for a color wheel. This is way over due. C4 needs to keep hearing this request. But yea my biggest C4 hopes/requests are for an amazing camera proxy that supports everything (like ring/nest cameras) as well as rewind/playback, and a color wheel. Hard pass on the crappy Z-wave stuff and if you want MyQ integration it can be done (after jumping through a few hoops).

That may not be the "core" of their business but let me tell you C4 does a great job of integrating with most off the shelf consumer toys on the market. It certainly seems to have more drivers and compatibility than other systems. Does the home depot gear works as well at the C4 counterpart? No, not even close. But can control4 tie all that stuff together and make it work fairly good, absolutely. I think its awesome that I can bring in C4 and tie in someone's Nest Thermostat, Caseta Lighting, Google Home ect... That's a huge selling point for me.

Just seen they are "discontinued" on the website. I got one from Casio in January this year so they should be be kicking around. I seen the Casio at a trade show few years back next to a Digital Projection (DP) projector and the DP costed double and didn't compare to this Casio. I was sold ever since I seen that.

This 4K Casio Laser Projector with 5000 Lumens kicks ass. https://www.casio.com/products/archive/projectors/4k-hd-projectors/xj-l8300hn We've used it a couple times. Its Native 4K, Bight as Hell, and way less maintenance because its lasers. Pretty quite and boots up and shuts off faster than other projectors. Bit more than 5000 in canada, but in the US im sure you could prob find a good deal for around that price point. You said there are a few windows in the room so the more lumens the better in my opinion. Full flex if you pair that with a screen innovations Slate

Please tell me what professionally installed automation system has more end user control than control4 between the OS3 app, Composer Home Edition and When / Then? Not Savant, Crestron, AMX, Elan, RTI..... Please tell me what I'm missing here?

I'm a huge fan of remote controls. The SR-260 is an awesome unit. I rarely use my phone app to control the TVs and such. Basically I use the app to control music, and remotes to control the video

I mean control4 is a pretty awesome system. I would still get in contact with a dealer to really know what you have. If you have the latest gear then absolutely keep it and get it working again. If your system is ancient then perhaps rip it out and come up with another solution. But the C4 multi channel amps are awesome and aren't cheap. It would probably cost less to keep it and get it working again than to start fresh. And you can do some programming and such yourself using when / then or you can get Composer Home Edition and do even more tinkering. No the system will never be completely "dealer free" but it allows the end user more freedom than most of the other professionally installed automation systems.

Here is the link to the Janus Color Wheel. https://drivercentral.io/platforms/control4-drivers/lighting/colour-wheel/ But still nothing official or from Control4.

You mean like with another automation system? IFTTT?

you can use system manger if you have it.

I always just use the official Control4 hue driver from the online database. It has feedback. Still no color wheel though. That's not a driver issue more of a C4 issue.

You can get a whole home surge (lighting) protector installed at your main electrical panel. And if you want to protect the equipment you can always get a UPS, Power Conditioner, or Surge Suppressor. Price can vary hugely on those types of products so really you need to decide how much protection you want. This is probably overkill but it would indeed protect your gear. https://www.panamax.com/product/1500va-rack-mount-ups/ If your looking for something cheap that has a clean finish this will do https://www.snapav.com/shop/en/snapav/outlets-receptacles/wattbox-reg%3B-in-wall-power-conditioner---2-outlets-wb-200-iw-1g-2-wht This thing will not protect to the same level as the UPS above but its great for TV and components and such.

Denon, Marantz, Onkyo or Integra.

If you have already replaced the entire network as well as RMAed an EA with C4 tech support then your pretty committed to getting airplay working perfectly. Here's the trick... ditch shairbridge and find a used Apple Airport Express online somewhere and put it to bed. The labour and hardware involved in the troubleshooting you have already done would have bought 10 airport expresses by now. Shairbridge is a bit better these days but still no where near as reliable as an airport express hardwired with ethernet. Both the first and second gen airports have audio outputs. Or you can get an apple tv and convert the signal but that will cost quite a bit more than an old airport.

If you have 4sight you can use when/then to change programming fairly easily https://www.control4.com/o/4sight-services/when-then/ And while your getting 4sight you may as well just get Composer HE which comes with a 1 year 4 sight included. Composer HE is windows based software to do some minor programming tweaks to the system.

I might be wrong about this because I never ever use my music but im pretty sure you can download Composer ME (Media Edition) for free to do the scan yourself. No dealer involved.

Triad ones can stay perfectly in sync with each other and a EA3 at the same time without issue. This works just fine using "dumb" amps. I do think its the yamahas causing the issue. Pure Direct setting should fix that.

Call me crazy but the nicest keypad (aesthetically) of the 3 pictures you posted is without a doubt the black C4 Keypad at the bottom. The white Control4 keypad with the god awful glass plate looks terrible. Hate the way those engravings look too. The C4 faceplates really make the keypad look great. Don't use other brands of face plates. And dont get me wrong I understand that glass is a premium product and plastic is a cheap product but that palladium keypad is a total gimmick. The glass wall plate looks so small and crappy. The engravings aren't centered. That thing will look super outdated fast. I dunno, I'm not a fan at all. I certainly wouldn't pay extra for that finish. The pricing is out to lunch on Palladium. The only room where that would even make make sense is in a bathroom... but even then. To each their own though. Depending on the finish of the house go with Snow white (WAY better than regular white) and if you can go with Midnight black (way better than regular black) with a stainless C4 plate.