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istreich

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  1. Like
    istreich got a reaction from BY96 in Transfer Control4 Account   
    Reach out to neil12011 or chopedogg88. They can help you and they have supported tons of happy members of this forum. I have had a great experience with Neil and he has done marvels for me. 
  2. Upvote
    istreich reacted to Cyknight in Integrators; Whats your go to "standard" network setup?   
    Andrew's draw-up is excellent, and more or less we follow the same lines with a few notes:
    We don't (usually) provide Ubiquiti ourselves (on full installs) due to the support chain. While our other programmers are well trained in networking, I've enough to do without being their end of line support for ubiquiti for jobs.
    Depending on system size, we may use use an Araknis 210 switch vs a fully managed switch as it still allows easy control over PoE ports.
    A lot of quotes for us these days use Araknis. Contrary to what seems popular belief on here, it has nothing to do with margins, it's about supply chain and support chain, both of which are fast, reliable and consistent.
    Add a relatively simple and consistent interface, easy central (remote) management and it's become hard to argue against using them in a huge range of setups.
    There are always exceptions of course - putting in a 3xx series router and  24 port POE managed switch is a bit silly if all you're doing is a media room setup in a home, and if you're doing a multi-building compound or a 30000sqf home you're going to do a fully customized setup that's done meticulously as a fully separate quote anyway.
  3. Like
    istreich reacted to cnicholson in Integrators; Whats your go to "standard" network setup?   
    Obviously, "managed" can mean a lot of things, but even the basic ability to view full topology and paths from WAN through switches (on port by port basis) to endpoints is super helpful in monitoring and diagnosing problems.  Manage WAP settings, VLANs, security settings, performance, etc., etc.   Since so much is POE these days, I also frequently reboot individual glitchy devices via POE power cycle.
    Once everything is stable and you stop tinkering, then you probably won't use many of these things on a daily basis.   So if you don't care about security or VLANs, you could make an argument for using unmanaged gear for the very simplest installs that never have any network issues.  In my last house, I used plug-and-play unmanaged stuff and kinda didn't know what I was missing.  I would feel blind and helpless to have to go back to that.
  4. Upvote
    istreich reacted to Cyknight in Integrators; Whats your go to "standard" network setup?   
    Heh, I'm seriously not intending to be teaching advanced networking here but I'll elaborate a bit.
    To be clear, unless the installer/programmer/dealer is able to properly manage it, a (good) unmanaged switch is the right option. Something like the Araknis 210 series I mentioned is great because it's essentially not 'managed' but allows certain port/PoE controls to exists still (and don't get stuck on me using Araknis as an example, there are others that will do this well too - this is not ment as a sales pitch for ANY brand). A poorly set managed switch is a nightmare, so in that case an unmanaged switch is better.
    Just want to insert here that if I'm talking about a managed switch, I'm talking about Layer3 managed switches, not Layer2 switches with a minor management interface or websmart style switches. I consider those 'unmanaged switches' - pure 'basic' (autonegotiate) switches (this is what a lot of consumer switches are) shouldn't be used at all really, unless perhaps it's as a local switch to connect local devices like a computer plus a network printer, connect multiple gaming consoles (that would only be used on at a time anyway) or perhaps behind a TV to connect the TV itself an a local streaming box if there's no wires available to go direct.
    Of course, I believe that at a dealer level at least someone should know how to properly use a managed switch.... (at the risk of this sounding as a pitch again for Araknis, which it isn't as such) and as Snap now provides advanced support and pre-configurations that are more geared to such setups (not just C4, it works for competing brands as well) it makes it THAT much easier for them to do so. This is why I've been saying on other threads that I can't completely disagree with the standpoint that many dealers do take that they need to provide the networking and supply their preferred gear.  I don't' AGREE with it, as I believe there should exist the ability to handle any 'good' networking gear, but I understand the reasoning - and if it gets them to use more appropriate gear (vs picking up consumer quality stuff) BECAUSE they are supported, well that's a positive development in my book.
     
    Back on track, even an average home of about 3k sqf (that's a common enough single detached house size here -perhaps more sqf/person than the overall average in the region, but wouldn't stand out at all in most neighbourhoods- where I live now, but I'm well aware that in many places a 3000sqf/280sqm home would be considered huge and would stick out like a sore thumb in most places) these days ,with a family of 5, has a LOT of devices running on a network. Regardless of if it's integrated to the system or not, there are likely (doorbell) cameras, gaming devices, laptops/computers, phones and tablets, media streaming devices, more and more 'cable' providers use networking vs traditional coax etc, smart thermostats, smart security/alarm systems, hubs for lighting systems or wifi bulbs/outlets, internet connected appliances, wifi connected speakers - you name it.
    A managed switch in such a scenario allows advanced and faster vlan management, segregated traffic management, specific settings to set and/or filter things like multi-cast, spanning tree and more.
    Understand that Control4 AS SUCH usually doesn't require this even in larger setups - but a house filled with a lot of different devices certainly benefits from such a setup.
    The most common (or perhaps vocal) complaint on cost is about 'over priced' networking setups. Yet the most common complaint I see on system function end up going back to poor/inappropriate network setups. I'm well aware of the cliche of claiming a network is at fault for all problems, but while generally inaccurate, cliches generally exists because they are rooted in truth, though overstated.
     
    I would RECOMMEND a dealer (as a business, not the individual, or every individual or even every installer/programmer) knows their networking well, and knows how to use a managed switch and thus incorporates it: that doesn't mean it's a hard requirement as such.
    The OP question is what other's go-to gear/setup is (I personally care less about the gear as such, but that much more about the setup/layout/topology) - so that's what Andrew answered and I tagged on to.
     
  5. Upvote
    istreich reacted to terminaldisclaimer in Alexa Room Awareness Driver   
    Hi all,
    So for years it has really annoyed me that C4 chose not to expose devices properly to Alexa such that you can take full advantage of Alexa's built in room context awareness. 
    What do I mean by this? Imagine you want to say "Alexa, turn off the tv." Wouldn't it be cool if it knew which room you were in and turned off the correct TV? Well you can't currently because C4 has chosen to show devices like TVs to Alexa as light switches instead of TVs. Not sure why, but I guess it doesn't matter. Amazon also limits room room awareness to certain devices.
    My driver solves this problem and removes any restrictions. It allows you to know for any Alexa routine which Alexa device triggered it. And it puts it in a variable you can use in C4 programming
    So I have the driver working, but I need some beta testers to test it. And here is the catch: it requires a nodejs component to be hosted somewhere. Theoretically this could be a C4 controller, but I wouldn't recommend it.  I've created some docker containers to make it easy. I'm looking for some volunteers to help me test it. Ideally, it would be someone with some nodejs experience. But the ability to host docker images is a requirement. Obviously, being able to add drivers to C4 and program it is a requirement too. Any takers?
    Thanks,
    TD
  6. Upvote
    istreich reacted to Jack_Ckun in GE ZWave Light Switches   
    They work native with the Core i have. No issues.
  7. Upvote
    istreich reacted to msgreenf in Intrinsic AppleTV Driver NOT compatible with TVOS 15   
    If you plan to use a halo voice remote you have to use the c4 driver 
  8. Like
    istreich reacted to MK1 in Remote Integration services offered   
    Neil, thanks for your help, job well done!  For anyone with remote Control4 needs, look no further.  Neil was great to work with.  He’s highly responsive, thorough and delivers in a timely fashion.  Great experience all around!  
  9. Like
    istreich got a reaction from neil12011 in Remote Dealer - Self Install   
    I highly recommend Neil. He is fantastic and has helped many of us on this site. Really glad he is back and able to help us again.
  10. Like
    istreich got a reaction from msgreenf in HC800 vs Core 3   
    I updated my HC800 to Core 5. Biggest changes are speed of loading of iPhone app (almost instantly - huge improvement) and slightly improved Zigbee range (although it may be linked to other factors). No issues so far. 
    Still experimenting with Zwave support. 
    Happy with the upgrade. Vital for your system if working well - no… At least not yet. But no reason not to do it if you can/want. 
  11. Like
    istreich got a reaction from neil12011 in Remote Integration services offered   
    Welcome back Neil. Terrific news for the Control4 community!
  12. Upvote
    istreich reacted to neil12011 in Remote Integration services offered   
    Hey Everyone,
     
    I'm considering getting back to remote assistance, albeit on a much more limited basis.  PM me or comment on the thread if you need anything, and I'll take on what my schedule allows.
     
    I appreciate it!
    Neil
  13. Like
    istreich got a reaction from Carter Hobson in Lutron Keypads & Scenes With Control4   
    Carter, I would recommend you program the lighting scenes in Lutron and then use of the phantom (I think this is what they are called in Lutron) buttons to activate them in Control4. The reason is "popcorn" effect if you control more than a few lights. Basically, each light will turn on (or off) one or a few seconds after each other. Not a great user experience. Creating the scene in Lutron then mapping it to a Control4 scene allows the light command to be run from the Lutron processor and be instantaneous. In Control4, you can easily create a "combined" command that would then run a number of actions from a button press. For example, when pressing keypad button, turn down lights, turn on projector, amplifier, pull screen down and start a movie. If you use Lutron keypads, you can actually do the same thing. The only thing you lose (vs a Control4 keypad) is the multipress as these are not recognized in Composer for a Lutron keypad. 
    Integration between Lutron RA2 (and de facto RA3 or Homeworks) works very well and is very stable. Reach out directly or on the forum if you have specific question on it or need help. And programming in Lutron is quite easy and software is/can be (depending on version) accessible to anyone. Hope it helps.
  14. Like
    istreich got a reaction from AP-123 in HC800 replacement decision criteria   
    Thank you. Now we have a pretty complete picture of HC-800 -> EA series -> Core series and decision making process for upgrade (or not). Thank you everyone for these great contributions. 
    Curious to hear from anyone who has replaced a HC-800 by a Core 3 or Core 5, or replaced a EA-5 by a Core 3 or Core 5. Or even better, those of you who have gone HC-800 -> EA-5 -> Core 3 (or 5). I am really curious about performance improvements (such as response speeds, latency,...). Obviously when they are used as Director... (not with a CA-10 for ex)
    Info on paper are great - real life experiences even better!
  15. Like
    istreich got a reaction from neil12011 in HC800 replacement decision criteria   
    So great to read you Neil and see you are still active. Thanks again for all your help. Missing you! 
    And counting on you to share your experience going from HC800 to Core 5 of course! 😉
  16. Upvote
    istreich reacted to Alt in HC800 replacement decision criteria   
    I would not upgrade my HC800 to an EA series controller at this point. I still have a HC800 running 3.2.4 and it's great. The processor in the HC800 is a work horse.  I would be tempted to upgrade to a Core 3/5 in the future though, once new remotes drop and new features are added. jm2c! 
  17. Like
    istreich got a reaction from c44me in HC800 replacement decision criteria   
    With the release of 3.3.1, the question of replacing an older HC800 is becoming more timely. 
    Can someone simply articulate what both an EA5 and a Core 5 would add (or lose) vs current HC800 (beyond of course the ability to upgrade SW to 3.3.1 and later). 
    In this specific case, I also have an IO extender and a Control4 audio matrix switch. 
    I understand that Core is more recent and will give you more years… and let’s not reopen the can of worms on EOL or Control4 business model…
    Just trying to make an educated and pragmatic decision on the need to replace working HC800 and options to do so (with ideally some indications of price range). 
    Thanks in advance!
  18. Upvote
    istreich got a reaction from ashwinmj in Dam-it, Moen Flo, other?   
    Similar feed-back for me. Very happy with the Moen Flo. I bought the Flo sensors as well as they were not overly expensive but they are not necessary. They give you an additional piece of mind for areas that could be higher risk (water heater catastrophic leak, washing machine overflowing...) but abnormal patterns will be picked by the valve/flow monitoring device. Like you, I have started adding a few Resideo/Honeywell Flood sensors connected to my alarm system. I did it before buying the Flo system. Check with your insurance but you may qualify for some rebates with Flo installed. 
    I have not integrated with Control4 yet as I am not sure it is worth the cost (driver). But your call. The Flo app is really well done and as Don explained, works well and gives you immediate feed-back before taking action. And if you have a family, there is a good chance that in the first few weeks, someone will complain that the water got shut off... after a 25' minute shower! 
    You can request professional install but I did it myself. Not difficult to do if you have a reasonably easy access to main water line and manual shut-off valve. Highly recommend - every house should have something like this, whether it is the Flo by Moen or another one. Water damages are very expensive, painful and one of the easiest things to prevent... Feel free to reach via DM if you need more details.
  19. Like
    istreich got a reaction from Charlie Mackenzie in C4 lighting or Lutron RA3 - request for views?   
    Can't comment on Ra3 obviously but I have been very happy with my Lutron Ra2/Control4 mixed set-up. Lutron lighting control is bulletproof and very reliable. Integration between both systems is seamless (there are a few best practices to be aware such as the use of phantom buttons to avoid popcorn effect for ex) and you can easily mix and match keypads and other controlling devices depending on what you are looking for. 
    With online (free and premium) training (depending on the version of the software, at least for Ra2), homeowners can program their system themselves and have full control. 
    If I had to do it again, I would not hesitate! The quality and flexibility of Lutron for lighting control combined with Control4 broad capability is a perfect fit. 
    I have nothing against Control4 lighting capability (except personal preference for Lutron dimmers design) and I can see both options being acceptable. One advantage though going Lutron is that you can have consistent dimmers look across the house even if you don't automate every single one on day one. You can buy "basic" maestro dimmers for $15 for areas that don't necessarily need to be controlled as often. They will look identical to your Ra2 ones. And you can pick any color you want! Big budget impact...
    By the way, any company can go under... but I think the odds of either Lutron or Control4 doing so are slim. Lutron is pretty established and has a solid business in traditional lighting control. Control4 is now part of SnapOne which went public last summer and was owned by a top Private Equity firm that diversified and grew its business.
    Don't hesitate to ask for help or experience sharing as you move forward. Enjoy!
  20. Like
    istreich reacted to Andrew luecke in System Design for highest customer stability   
    Huge list of recommendations (for eg, use an CA-10, etc), but at least for networking, most of the risk can easily be managed with the following:
    1. DHCP guarding the network switch. I've come across way too many customers who add a rogue DHCP server causing issues. DHCP guards (various systems have various names) blocks all other devices from providing DHCP leases (they might even do it in the wrong subnet, which causes huge nightmares)
    2. Static IP's for devices instead of DHCP , and unless its Control4 Manufactured, don't use SSDP (SSDP in my experience works awesome on most devices, but it doesn't hurt to remove 1 link of the chain to allow less to fail). 
    3.  Use Shielded cable/fibre  where possible/logical to eliminate the risk of interference. I've come across cases where a HDBaseT device had issues for instance, and we eventually realised it was because of the piezo in the fireplace. We were fortunate that some cable happened to be a different way in the wall. 
    4. Don't underestimate the benefits of full network visibility. At a commercial site on a friday evening I got an email saying half the cardreaders at a commercial site went offline. I called them, and there were installers there, who shouted at me that I was "trying to steal their job", and that they didn't touch anything. 15mins later, the building manager checked the rack, and it turned out they had unplugged a cable. What followed was a sincere apology and how they wanted to work together with us later. 
    5. Use POE power for everything you can. Power supplies are always the first thing to blow. Less high-voltage is good. It also lets you reboot devices from the rack.  
    6. Never use the Wifi on your router.. 
    7. Use a good router, and something with central management system (Aruba, Unifi, OvrC, etc).
    8. In residential, preferably you want more than enough wifi so if one drops offline, its not a huge disaster imho (don't worry too much about the AP's interfering with each other).
    9. in some scenarios, it might be good to consider static ARP
    10. DO NOT use Open Wifi Networks in ANY circumstances (even if they're hidden). 
    11. Ping Watchdogs and rebooting PSU's can further manage risk. 
    12. You're better off running fibre with CAT6 (for power) than CAT7/CAT8 for future expansion imho. The cable is cheaper, there's more bandwidth, it's immune against interference and it's easy to pull through the walls. You can leave it behind the wall until you need it. Or at least have conduit to make it easy to add cables in the future     
  21. Like
    istreich reacted to didiasku in Nvidia Shield Android 11 issue/fix - Kodi too   
    Just upgraded my shield to the latest release, Android 11.  Upon doing so, the SDDP connection said "online" but nothing was responsive.  After trials and tribulations, the fix was to disable the ethernet connection on the shield (through the menu) and then simply re-enabling cured the problem.
    Additionally, when running Kodi now, I was getting a pop-up about a "new controller detected" upon pressing any button on the c4 remote.  The fix for this is to use your phone app or native shield remote, go into the kodi settings-->add-ons-->peripheral libraries-->joystick support-->disable.  Click ok/apply.  Force close kodi and re-open it, problem should be fixed as well.
  22. Like
    istreich got a reaction from jimbones in Intrinsic AppleTV Driver NOT compatible with TVOS 15   
    I don't know what is going on at the Intrinsic Group and I agree that it would be great to hear from them. But let's not discourage developers and entrepreneurs to build cool, useful and reasonably priced drivers by bashing them when something goes wrong, especially when it is most likely outside of their control (thank you Apple...). As a happy user of this driver, I hope they are doing ok and we hear from them soon with some encouraging news. But there is a good chance that their problems are bigger than the ones we are facing.
    If these guys read us, I hope they take a minute to give us an update on what is going on and what we can expect, even if no definitive answer. I know they have a lot of fans on this forum who want to see them succeed, if only because they have enjoyed using their drivers 😉 
  23. Like
    istreich got a reaction from neil12011 in Remote Integration services offered   
    Very excited for you Neil. But a big loss for many of us and the broader Control4 community. Your talent and attitude will be missed by all of us who have interacted with you over the years. All the best for your new role and I have no doubt you will do incredibly well. 
  24. Like
    istreich got a reaction from msgreenf in just bought a home with c4   
    Ankuse, this is a common problem and has been covered a few times on the forum. Best is to find a good friendly remote dealer/programmer who will help you transfer the system and make it yours. 
    I suggest you do a quick search on the forum. A few options will be available to you and several of them will come highly recommended by other folks like you (and me...). There are some great installers on this forum and they will help you in no time. A good practice is always to contact 2-3 and share your situation/need with them. You can decide from there the best fit for you. 99% of the work does not require a local programmer and usually you will find much better service at better cost on this forum than via a local company... At least, it has been my personal experience. 
    Good luck and don't shy away from asking the most basic questions on the site as you start "playing" with your system (once you have access to it of course...). It can do pretty much anything you want!
  25. Upvote
    istreich reacted to HomeAutomationNerd in adding HC800 for additional audio streams   
    I believe the two would be very similar, with the HC800 probably having better DACs. Either way, I don't believe you can specify which stream is used when - I think C4 figures that out.
    Amusingly, I also went down this route. I ended getting an EA5 instead. The DACs and Amps on the EA5 are quite good, and for processing thigs like Tidal MQA streams seemed the best overall choice. 
    If you're "desperate" for 1 more stream, you can also use the HDMI output on the EA3 for an output stream. Just buy a $20 HDMI audio extractor of Amazon, and then you're good to go. 
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