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-defunct-

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Posts posted by -defunct-

  1. 6 minutes ago, blub said:

    OK, sorry but here I disagree and I call that straight : BS

    Anyone who can build a PC and router with VPN can setup a basic, midsized Control4 system as 90% is drag and drop and based on simple logic. If systems gets larger things get different, especially with many ZigBee devices (we had issues once and it was a PITA).
    All it would need are a couple of tech videos, let's say 25 to 50 a 5 minutes and that's about it for the basics - it would attract a significant amount of new customers to the ecosystem and if I am wrong dealers would get piad to fix it anyway, so from my point of view DIY would be a win win for both sides.

    PS:
    The most important thing for a smooth running systems is a good network setup and that is not dependent on Composer Pro and I have seen good dealers struggling with troubleshooting here as well..

    Now you're talking about a great example. How many people can legitimately build a PC? 1% of the population? 2%?

    Also how many can set up their own VPN? Maybe 5%?

    So DIY would sell to the 1-5%?

    Building a decent sized project would require much more than 50 minutes of videos. Maybe 8+ hours or more worth of training videos. Maybe shorter for those maybe 5% of people.

     

    I definitely agree with the network being important, but even those who know networking can still struggle with HA networks. Mainly because HA networks and Corporate Networks are different worlds.

  2. 6 minutes ago, blub said:

    I know what Pro can do and how it works because I have worked with it guided over the phone by my dealer about 20 years when we had no internet. Controller registration was once a Hye feature.
    - I much rather ment what feature it is that wouldn't belong in a DIY pro version if it existet

    Everything that is currently missing/not available in HE wouldn't belong. 😉 I think even HE is a bit much.

    When>>Then is more appropriate and significantly easier to use/understand.

  3. 16 minutes ago, blub said:

    If C4 is the best HA system available they wouldn't have had such a hard time to sell the company - so for anyone of those alleged 70 interested parties it obviously wasn't the best choice...

    Since I don't have Pro what are the features within Pro which can be hazardous in customer hand?

    No idea about selling the company part, but the HA system wouldn't be sellable if it didn't work. No homeowner would want it if it didn't provide something over Crestron, Vantage, URC, or Elan. It's easy to install and configure once learned.

     

    Pro allows creation of drivers, registering systems with C4, and gives access to a few wizards and diagnostic tools. It also allows adding devices and making the connections between devices. Basically they could break their whole system and might need training to be able to fix it.

  4. I'll give it a go.

    1. Nope, new to this forum, and I couldn't care less.

    2. This is obviously True for good reason.

    3. It won't kill the product, so no. It may be exclusive, which gives more value, but it won't die because it is still the best home automation platform available.

    4. Sure, I'll agree to that, but as the answer above, it's exclusive and for good reason. Sales might go up, but there will be a huge amount of people that wouldn't know how to configure it. Composer HE exists and is the solution for the homeowner. Same with When/Then.

    5.No, lol, and that is silly to think. Composer HE is fine, but there are things in Composer Pro I would not want any customer using and opening it up would make the dealer certification pointless.

    Could HE have more features? Sure, that can be debated. Probably the more appropriate way to ask about more access.

  5. I get what @C4junkie is attempting to point out, but it's foolish to think that way. If Amazon, Apple, or Google bought Control4, then I could see DIY being a role and that would have been a sell out to everyone aside from homeowners. Snap AV is the opposite and the few announcements have reinforced the dealer model is staying.

    Why would dealers want to change a model that ensures them exclusivity on configuring the product? That's the essence of the CI market.

    I get that homeowners would like to be able to do it, but it's way more complicated than most, if not all, homeowners would know how to do. It's not like replacing a light bulb or plugging in a device to go to a web page with options that are easy to find and understand.

    With DIY cluttering the marketplace, it's only a matter of time before end users find themselves spending too much time on automating their houses to get a lackluster experience compared to their neighbor's professionally installed system. That's already the case if the system is done right.

     

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