elodesigns

I have installed Holovision Model100 viking phone only doorstations before with Control4 but never the full intercom models since the C4 door stations were great. Once C4 switched to those HUGE and ugly, only 1 finish with large black pointless square in the middle units, we decided to switch to the Holovision. Installed the first one yesterday and here are the PRO's and CON's based on my experience. Model installed was the MODEL120-Viking-SIP-IP Camera
PRO - looks gorgeous and tons of finishes available.
PRO - Faceplate build quality and size are awesome
PRO - Feature rich if you can get it to work and configured within the Control4 environment.
CON - Expensive!
CON - Even though we were told single CAT capable, the unit actually requires 2 CAT's. One for the cam and one for the viking card. We ended up splitting the only CAT into 2 four conductor cables for pins 1,2,3,6. We ended up having problems getting POE over both cables for some unknown reason. Both tested fine but could only get POE to one device or the other using any outputs on the switch.
CON - Units can be tricky to get into back box based on tracer board layouts behind the unit. All the contacts on the tracer board are exposed and its tricky to maneuver around the back box screw terminals to get the unit into the back box. I worry I'm going to short something out on the metal box. The boards really aren't in the best location behind the unit and tend to be on a flimsy metal arm.
CON - Unit is NOT plug and play like the Control4. This for me was the toughest part. I don't do SIP and related every day like the engineers who built this thing, so although it is likely easy for them, it really wasn't for me. What should have been a 1 to 2 hour install dragged on all day and ended with the unit going back to the office.
CON - Too many people involved in making this work. First, you need to buy the Holovision unit from Holovision. Then, viking driver and IP camera driver from Houselogix. Then, you need to run NetCam installer to find the camera. This isn't on the Holovision site anywhere and the only way to get as far as I can tell, is Holovision has to email to you. Then, you need to configure the SIP card with Viking IP software. Again, not on the website anywhere so yet another call to Holovision. Another issue is the Viking with IP instructions aren't on Holovisions site either. The unit shipped with a small piece of paper but not clearly written. There was also a 2" CD but those only work in pop out disc trays. I'm not sure who still uses those! I couldn't load it so I have no idea what was on it. If you're not familiar with all these areas, one you get in there and start having problems, you end up bouncing from company to company looking for support and they all point at each other.
CON - Third party SIP and Communication agent are buggy with Control4! As they state, its not supported. I added the Holovision to the intercom group 3 times with no luck. Fourth time I removed the driver and re added with another power cycle and it worked. Definitely not confidence inspiring.
At the end of the day, I was expecting plug in and connect via SDDP or similar and be off and running. Although I was able to get the touch panel to ring once and the camera on the network, I was never able to get it all going at the same time. The programming drop down and events were confusing to figure out for the holovision unit. There was no "when the only button on the unit is pressed" event, instead there was a drop down list of about 10 things. Most of them made no sense. I'm sure I could have figured it out eventually, but 6 hours into a 1 hour install and many hours of hold music later, I finally gave up and requested an RA to send the unit back.
I think if companies like Holovision are going to offer a compatible product to Control4 dealers, or Crestron or Savant or whomever, its not just the actual product that needs to be engineered for us, so does the installation and support. That all needs to be factored into the design, cost and delivery. Pointing fingers to the driver manufacturer or company who made the camera etc isn't going to work, especially when there are a bunch of options out there and more coming daily. If third party software is involved, then have it right on your site under the product downloads section with instructions. I'm sure your company doesn't want to get tech support calls all day on this stuff, so make sure the tools we need are right there.
I'm not sure I would consider trying one of these again in the future. Perhaps in a more controlled environment at some point at the office. They really are nice looking and feature packed. But, it definitely was a much different experience than installing the Control4 DSC exterior door stations.

Make sure the Control4 app is the latest version. Delete your system out of the app by selecting the edit option and go the bottom for delete. Make sure the ipad is on the correct WiFi network. Start by adding a new system and make sure the email address and password used match your account settings. Go to my.control.com and select owners and try signing in to verify your account information. The web log in and app log in will match.

In terms of quality and cost of ownership, I would do Lutron all day long. Most Lutron dealers go beyond the standard warranty and offer a lifetime warranty on the motors for all wired shades. Super quiet, hem bar alignment and overbuilt. Easy to set up, especially when you're using Millson brackets. Full integration with Control4, Josh ai etc. When you decide to add lighting, you simply expand the system and add Lutron wireless devices. Very wide roller tubes for large windows and very small foot print for inside mount. If you do Lutron Triathlon battery shades, same build quality plus long battery life. Buy once and forget about it. No brainer if you ask me.

Make sure the Control4 app is the latest version. Delete your system out of the app by selecting the edit option and go the bottom for delete. Make sure the ipad is on the correct WiFi network. Start by adding a new system and make sure the email address and password used match your account settings. Go to my.control.com and select owners and try signing in to verify your account information. The web log in and app log in will match.