C4 User

Control4 is not DIY, but there is a LOT you can do yourself and there are many remote dealers that can support you with the things you cannot do yourself. I would take a look at it and connect with a remote dealer on this site to learn for yourself what is possible. There are also threads on this site that explain more of what is and is not possible for a DIY. 

By far, the most common reason your equipment gets electrically damaged is multiple earth grounds.
Your home / building should have a SINGLE earth ground, located where service enters the building or the main electrical panel.  The "ground" wire in your home should be connected to actual earth ground only at that point.
Unfortunately, building often have other earth grounds.  Usually this is extra ground stakes (sat dishes, cable feeds, etc) or the ground wire physically connected to metal building frames or water piping.
If you do have the dreaded multi earth grounds, you will suffer damage from strikes anywhere near your property.  The current travels through the ground water and will take a "shortcut" through your house because of the multi ground contacts.

Absolutely!  SplashTiles can be used standalone ($25/year for 5 devices) or as part of a NetPlay video distribution system.
We view it as different tiers based on what you need.  This doc is a little outdated (things are even better & cheaper now), but shows the ideas https://video-storm.com/Downloads/why_netplay_c4.pdf

11 years with C4 in my house. Never felt ripped off. Had some frustrations initially. Found a dealer on this forum. Happy since. The dealer is key to a positive experience. 

This forum is full of helpful people. Professionals, power users, and the everyday user.  Just list out what's not working in your equipment and I'm sure somebody on here can give you a ton of advice to maximize the value you've already put in your system

95% + of all complaints like this that I've ever heard are fixed by one or more of these 3 things :
1.  Some improvements to the strength/reliability of the zigbee network.  Control4 relies on zigbee communication between devices - for example between a remote control and your processor that issues instructions to devices on the system.
2.  Some changes to your wi-fi/router setup to improve strength and reliability.  This is the other half of the system backbone that needs to be well designed to ensure that the system functions 24/7.
3. Some (usually) minor changes to programming to make sure that the system is designed to do what you want it to, when you want it to.  There are several very high quality remote programmers/dealers on this forum who can help you get the best out of your system.  They are almost certainly better than your local guy.
Can you give an example of something that 'rarely works' ?  It might help to begin to diagnose what's going on.

My EA5 became quite sluggish with around 600-700 devices / drivers. I upgraded to a CA10 which C4 claims can manage 1,000’s but I have only just surpassed the 1,000 mark recently so cannot comment beyond that.

Not many people run monitor speakers in their home, which are the ones you may be referencing as having balanced connections. Outside of a subwoofer, when was the last time you saw a home speaker with 3 wiring connectors?
Almost any home speaker, whether in a simple stereo setup or fancy theater, use unbalanced connections to an AMP. There is also Bi-Wiring for speakers, but this is not balanced either.
Another point of note, if you look at the equipment for audio, whether Denon or Mark Levenson, the amps would have a balanced connector to the pre-amp, but they only have an unbalanced connector to speakers.
 
 
 
 

There are other posts on this forum that discuss the advantages of integrating security into C4, but summary is that doing so allows you to program off of the alarm state, and individual devices in your alarm system such as motion detectors, door status, window status, leak detectors, etc. As a user, I would recommend integrating the alarm.

What exactly are the diffences between these and the pros and cons of using one vs the other?  This is my understanding, is this correct?
Custom Buttons - Installed as an agent.  You can install one per room.  These show up on the top level menu for that room (and only the top level?).  When you push the button it brings up a list of up to six actions that you can select.  The icon cannot be customized.
Scenario Experience - Installed as a driver so you need a dealer to do this for you. These can't show up on the top level menu but can show up in menus other than Lights or Shades (why not Lights or Shades?). The icons can be customized but you need to unzip the driver file, edit the image files and reconstruct the driver. You can install multiple buttons per room.
Has anyone come up with an easier way of changing the icons in the scenario experience button?
Are there any other drivers, etc that give similar functionality?
Is there any way to pull forward some devices into higher level menus?  For example to get to my Fireplace I have to go Comfort-Extras-Fireplace.  Can I move the fireplace up to the Comfort screen rather than having it buried under Extras?

Welcome to one of the coolest features of OS3!

For the most part covered by adding a user under your C4 account - either delete or change password for new renters.
Access restrictions per user would be great and is often requested (here and by dealers) - would cover everything else in there.

Access control by user would be great!

My dealer tells me that he has just updated both my houses for a minor OS update.  He says it contains updates for the T4 and various bug fixes. Does anyone have any details?

Working with a good installer is the only way to go if you have the budget.
Wiring - A good installer has the right tools and the experience to get wires into places that will amaze you with minimal to no damage. I did an existing home with 3 levels and about 7000ft with 21 audio zones, multiple wired touchscreens, IP cameras, over 200 network devices, wireless access points (4), etc. that needed either wired in or considered as to where they should be placed (light switches and C4 controllers). My installer only ended up having to cut 1 hole in a ceiling of the entire house and they were able to provide a "chase" for me to get wires from the lower level all the way up to my attic and left me a pull wire to pull additional wires if needed. They were even able to get speaker wires out to two porches somehow using a 20' long drill bit with no damage to the ceilings.
Networking Access Points - Unless you have experience doing them it's worth hiring someone that is experienced. 6 access points doesn't seem right. You will probably have to turn down the power on those quite a bit. I highly recommend 4x4 MIMO access points with today's devices. Again, I have 4 wireless access points and one is an outdoor device for the backyard pool deck so I really only have 3 in the house and my wireless network is rock solid.
That's my 2-cents

Thought I would share a few pics of a new install I did changing out my Truck Radio and Controls with a 12.1 touchscreen.   The screen uses an Android based operating system and you can download most apps available for android to the device.   Downloading the C4 app was seamless and allows for full control while on wifi or wifi hotspot.   Also, does Carplay and has an HDMI input for use with a streaming device like Apple TV (shouldn't do while driving of course).   All of the trucks AC controls move to touchscreen as well.

Is that power enough?
I think your usage of mesh confused the other person.  Mesh products are big box store networking appliances like eero or nest 

I had SONOS, now i have distributed audio and would never go back. There is no comparison if your goal is distributed audio. Now if your goal is localized audio, SONOS can be a good solution.
I never had distributed video. About 4 years ago I looked into adding a video matrix system. In the end I did not, and I have no regrets since Roku and AppleTV give me all the distributed video I need - personalized by tv location.
I do not have HVAC integrated into C4 yet for the reasons above. I have two systems in my house, both with variable fan and heat and 5 stage heat pumps running 8 zones. I use the manufacturers thermostats - in this case Carrier Infinity. I would love a good solution that would allow me to change the programming schedules by zone via C4 (only because different guest have different preferences) - but none exist yet.
My alarm is integrated into C4 giving me access to program off of door status, motion status, alarm status.
My cameras are integrated into C4 giving me ability to view all cameras from any touch screen.
My shades are integrated into C4 giving me ability to program all shade control.
So in reality, no one needs home automation. We have it for convenience. And single app integration far exceeds multi app integration.
Have fun.

I had SONOS, now i have distributed audio and would never go back. There is no comparison if your goal is distributed audio. Now if your goal is localized audio, SONOS can be a good solution.
I never had distributed video. About 4 years ago I looked into adding a video matrix system. In the end I did not, and I have no regrets since Roku and AppleTV give me all the distributed video I need - personalized by tv location.
I do not have HVAC integrated into C4 yet for the reasons above. I have two systems in my house, both with variable fan and heat and 5 stage heat pumps running 8 zones. I use the manufacturers thermostats - in this case Carrier Infinity. I would love a good solution that would allow me to change the programming schedules by zone via C4 (only because different guest have different preferences) - but none exist yet.
My alarm is integrated into C4 giving me access to program off of door status, motion status, alarm status.
My cameras are integrated into C4 giving me ability to view all cameras from any touch screen.
My shades are integrated into C4 giving me ability to program all shade control.
So in reality, no one needs home automation. We have it for convenience. And single app integration far exceeds multi app integration.
Have fun.

With that set of needs, I would also consider not using C4 and just living with a few separate apps.  You’re not doing matrixed video; for audio, Sonos on its own is just fine, and there are a lot better options than LUMA for security cameras. I mean, a  LOT. You will save a big chunk of change to boot. 

What remote control or automation system would you suggest he look at for a single app/remote control solution to control everything?
He wants multi room audio , hvac control , multiple TVs with different sources , lighting control, alarm system , security cameras , multiple touchscreens , and on screen tv navigation. 
 
It’s these exact type of systems that control 4 was developed 
This dude would need about 3 remote controls and 7 different apps on his phone to control everything. Then of course nothing would be integrated  

Do yourself a big favor and find one of the remote dealers on this forum to help you get started remotely. If you are a DIYer than you will want to purchaser composer home edition from the same dealer and have them get you started with that. You will find you can do most things yourself, but you do need dealer support for some critical tasks. Again, dealer support is available remote. Have fun!

Do yourself a big favor and find one of the remote dealers on this forum to help you get started remotely. If you are a DIYer than you will want to purchaser composer home edition from the same dealer and have them get you started with that. You will find you can do most things yourself, but you do need dealer support for some critical tasks. Again, dealer support is available remote. Have fun!

@booch  Cyknight is one of the top experts on this forum. You should not be losing commands and your system should be responsive and not hang up commands. I strongly suggest you engage your dealer or one of the remote dealers on this forum to look at and confirm your C4 setup. They have tools in Composer Pro to analyze your devices and zigbee and should be able to tell if you have a bad device or a setup issue. They might also be able to take a look at your network setup and offer some recommendations. But do not accept command hang ups in your system. Good luck.

Those distances are nothing. If you're under 300f, there's little reason in going below 16, especially on 'regular' speakers in stnadard configuration -  though we usually just run 14 (cost vs just carrying one product vs multiple).
Surround vs Stereo doesn't matter.
If you think they do, you're on the wrong forum to be asking about this.
Some exceptions apply for specific amplifiers/speakers and different ohm ratings, but if you have that sort of equipment, I would expect you to be asking more specific questions already.