Rexabyte

Update pushed out with the changes. Direct download here: https://control4drivers.s3.amazonaws.com/2.9.206/oppo_udp203_bluray_annex4.c4z

@turls '6' seems to be working, no error. I'll create a new HDMI connection for you and add it as a command as well.

They added support for launching apps through the API recently. We'll be tying them into the universal mini drivers.

Update pushed out with the changes. Direct download here: https://control4drivers.s3.amazonaws.com/2.9.206/oppo_udp203_bluray_annex4.c4z

I've tossed the feature request into the backlog, next time I have a small time window available I'll slot it in.

I've tossed the feature request into the backlog, next time I have a small time window available I'll slot it in.

@Waring192 If you'd like to beta test PM me, I'll be handing out drivers and beta licenses on Wednesday.

Pictures of Webview below. Clicking any device, client, or guest brings up a modal dialog to block, reconnect, authorize, etc.


Programming Events and Actions

The notion that a controls system engineer is not qualified for C4 programming is laughable to me.

Drag and drop isn’t that hard guys..

I disagree that its a slap in the face... Most dealers in my area don't give a rats a$$ about the client once the initial install is done, UNLESS they are doing a large upgrade. 
This attitude could change if the housing market takes a dump, my closest dealers whom I'm friends with are so busy on new home construction installs they want nothing to do maintenance or small adds like single dimmers, adding a Roku, etc. 
I've long thought Control4 should offer another dealer/partner level, lets call it Programming and Tech Support.  Your not a dealer but your an independent programmer and can offer maintenance contracts, etc. You are still licensed through Control4, still have to attend/pass training, etc.  Maybe this costs $5000 or some other number... 
I know this is different that what was originally discussed/asked for, sorry. 
 

It already has

Hey @knowitall! Just wanted to update you. 
 
I am officially a Control4 dealer 😛 
Thanks for the push I needed to dive in. 

As it turns out, they dont. 

Driver was encrypted but the protocol is available. The commands are sent with Basic authentication so it shouldn't be a session issue. It does mention nothing is returned with the HTTP response though.

The formatting of the commands also looks to spec. 

I agree. The DIY market will continue to grow, but the way I see it, the actual controller or 'intelligence' will be some sort of cloud service, so a SAAS type approach to avoid the cost of hardware, but will have a recurring cost. Essentially what a NEST CAM is in comparison to a self-managed NVR; both have pros and cons, and I think common sense dictates which platform works best for which customer. Obviously SAAS approaches have implications relating to recurring costs  that are not fixed, security and ownership of the system.
In my opinion few dealers actually 'do' automation or fully integrated control. Control4 and other systems are deployed in a manner that is akin to what Harmony and a voice could achieve for a little less money on the 'single room' basis.
The typical 'resi' installation is all about zoned AV control, maybe lights, maybe climate controls. There is little in the way of actual real automation programming being done by the large majority of installers, regardless of the control platform. Ultimately this erodes the value of the industry as a whole, or at least the perceived value of it.
Comparatively speaking Control4 is NOT expensive: ELAN, Savant and Crestron are all more expensive. As nice as Savant is, it uses fairly agressive tactics to encourage dealers to use their products, or rather, to punish them if they don't - as an added bonus, vendor support is nowhere near as big as C4; NEST being one of many examples one could cite.
I can also reveal that 50% of the people who are becoming Savant dealers are electricians and similar, thus this will erode things further - because AV installers used to have a genuine passion for all things AV, including audio quality.
We all know where Crestron falls in this - go an buy a $50 Roku device for your Crestron managed system, and you'll get a $800 bill to have it installed.
ELAN is nice, but just not as well supported by vendors for drivers, and the hardware costs are well above C4, and further the product range is not as complete, and therefore relies on relatuvely pricey 3rd party products such as those by Global Cache.
I have used RTI and URC too, and cost wise, Control4 certainly isn't more expensive on modestly sized projects.
Without doubt the DIY market will continue to grow, and within that Control4 has a place in it - and it is something that will work within that market rather than being a purely binary option option.
The best way to look at this is not for it to be reduced to a simple 'either or' approach, it can be more of case of 'this AND that' if there is a genuine value proposition for the end user to use a combination of technologies.
Arguing which is better, DIY or Control4, is akin to the facile debate of whether HDBT is better or worse than AVoIP - both technologies have their place, both have their strengths and weaknesses, but there are cases where the best design solution is to use a combination of the two, rather than one or the other.
Ultimately the lower to middle income Generation X'ers and Millenials are tech savvy, and most will shop around and most will try and do it themselves, no matter how attractive the hardware cost of any of the big automation brands - because ultimately, and I am one of them, we believe it is something we are capable of doing on our own.
The actual value behind custom install is not solely the technical specifications of a product, or its brand perception, but the abilities of the installer; the real question is whether the the end-user believes there is any value in paying for these skills.
I can tell you that in the main that the average user does not appreciate the value of a custom installer, and thus will either go the DIY route, or will select a dealer who can do it at the cheapest price - a bit like getting that new bathroom fitted. Ergo the DIY market grows.
There is a place for the automation/integrated controls installer, but I think it is isn't wise to focus your attention on that end of the market too much, it is a battle you ultimately won't win unless you can commodotise it; the value a dealer is meant to offers is a service in the form of design, consultation and programming, rather than a product bundle - and in the main, the average consumer doesn't actually get that, we are too used going onto Amazon, buying a piece of tech, and installing it DIY, be it a printer, or a TV, or Hue light bulb.
 
 

Just looked at source it's using the AVTransport service. I'm not sure which of the UPnP services are still supported, but at first glance it looks like it's still a MediaRenderer.
https://github.com/duncan3dc/sonos/blob/master/src/Queue.php

Also, the SMAPI isn't really locked down to Sonos, at least it wasn't last I checked. They made a general interface that Music Services were to adhere to. It's how I made the Songza driver back in the day integrated into Control4. I would imagine it's still possible to integrate some music services directly into Control4 using the SMAPI even now.

https://musicpartners.sonos.com/node/71#toc0
 

Just looked at source it's using the AVTransport service. I'm not sure which of the UPnP services are still supported, but at first glance it looks like it's still a MediaRenderer.
https://github.com/duncan3dc/sonos/blob/master/src/Queue.php

Also, the SMAPI isn't really locked down to Sonos, at least it wasn't last I checked. They made a general interface that Music Services were to adhere to. It's how I made the Songza driver back in the day integrated into Control4. I would imagine it's still possible to integrate some music services directly into Control4 using the SMAPI even now.

https://musicpartners.sonos.com/node/71#toc0
 

I have a full MQTT driver that supports SSL. I use the driver to control Sonoff kit but also it can send and receive any MQTT messages which can be used for programming. 
If you would like to help me beta test then give me your email address and I will send you the drivers.
Thank you
David

1.7.167 is from the old and now obsolete version of the driver. We phased it out and implemented a new proxy to fix some usability issues. Due to the proxy change we couldn't auto-update the driver as it may have caused project issues.

You'll need to get 2.9.195. https://annex4.link/drivers/udp-203?changelog=latest

Are you writing drivers for yourself or to create solutions for other dealers? Is your goal to sell the drivers?

Learning Lua won't be an issue, it's an easy move from any language. Gaining the knowledge of the underlying protocols being used to talk between devices (Websockets, HTTP, etc) will be the more difficult part unless you are already familiar. It will also take a bit of time to get used to the Control4 environment from a Driverworks perspective.

Webviews seem to be the cool new thing so it likely won't just be Lua you'd be writing drivers in. It will be other common web languages and markups, HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.

Parsing in Lua is *much* easier than that.
You can often just use Lua pattern matching.
 
-- For example, lets say the protocol gives us this: local inputstring = "The Temperature is 100F and the humidity is 90%" -- One line, and you have parsed out the decimal value strings: local _, _, temp, humidity = inputstring:find("The Temperature is (%d+)F and the humidity is (%d+)%%") -- Convert them to numbers: temp, humidity = tonumber(temp), tonumber(humidity) -- Print them out: print("Temp: " .. temp .. " Humid: " .. humidity) -- prints out: Temp: 100 Humid: 90 RyanE
 

No ETA at the moment, but there are some things in the works. I'll provide more information when things get closer to release.

I think something like this could be useful too:
function OnDriverLateInit()     OnPropertyChanged("Webview URL") end (Otherwise it doesn’t seem to work after director reboot.)

Even if you wanted to have it so you could update the URL through a property:
<property> <name>Webview URL</name> <type>STRING</type> <readonly>false</readonly> <default/> </property> -- Define the property name local URL = "Webview URL" -- Update the URL when the property changes function OnPropertyChanged(strProperty) if (strProperty == URL) then -- In thise case the 'uibutton' proxy is defined as 5001 C4:SendToProxy(5001, "URL_CHANGED", {url=Properties[URL]}) end end  

Even if you wanted to have it so you could update the URL through a property:
<property> <name>Webview URL</name> <type>STRING</type> <readonly>false</readonly> <default/> </property> -- Define the property name local URL = "Webview URL" -- Update the URL when the property changes function OnPropertyChanged(strProperty) if (strProperty == URL) then -- In thise case the 'uibutton' proxy is defined as 5001 C4:SendToProxy(5001, "URL_CHANGED", {url=Properties[URL]}) end end  

@turls The driver has been updated with two new commands to achieve what you need (version 2.9.190): https://annex4.link/drivers/udp-203?changelog=latest