Don Cohen

In a post-retirement career, I am actually working for a dealer (mainly in non-Control4 areas, like the madVR Envy video processor), and have explored this extensively with Snap. They were very responsive, resulting in their replacing the HD and the unit itself. I've basically just accepted this as something I have to put up with, and only posted now when seeing someone else with what sounds to be a similar problem. Because the NVR reboots successfully on its own, it's not a major problem. I'm only aware of it because I'm at my PC quite a lot of the day, and both see and hear when the NVR reboots. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't even know about it 99.9% of the time. I'd love to resolve this, but suspect that's not going to happen.

I have had the same thing occur sporadically since I got the Luma 510 4-CH NVR 4 years ago. I run IE on my 2nd monitor, with my 4 cameras showing in real-time. Randomly I hear the 'beep' that indicates the Luma is rebooting, the camera feed is lost, and I have to then log back in to display the feeds once again. Initially I had them replace the Hard Drive. No change in this behavior. I later had them replace the entire unit. No change in this behavior. I can go a week or two without any reboot, or it can happen several times in a day. I've learned to just live with it, 'first world problems.' If there is any known cause and fix, that would be great.

The Info on the driver does say Jesse Smith. Not sure what "Alternate driver" is referring to. This is my first experience with any Apple hardware, so not yet familiar with the benefits of the Apple remote. AppleTV v4 EA[IR] Device File:Apple_TV_V4_EA.c4z Version 3 3/20/2018 Thanks!

Just to wrap this up, I went ahead and used the IR Driver, and everything seems fine. I haven't used it a lot, but it seems fine. Appreciate the help here.

I hadn't included that in my post, but you are absolutely correct about this. The driver issue was frustrating, but this was completely ridiculous. I then googled using a keyboard with the ATV. Fortunately, the Logitech MX Keys keyboard I use with my PC has a Bluetooth mode as well. I was able to connect that with the Apple TV, and went through all of that setup yesterday morning. That worked extremely well, so that part is all done. If not for the keyboard option, I think I would have returned the darn thing, gift or not! Regarding the IP or IR driver: are there any differences in functionality or overall capability and sophistication between them? As I said, I like the 'cleaner' physical install of an IP driver, and the 2-way communication it provides can potentially be preferable. But for those familiar with both, do they work exactly the same, equally reliable, with the only difference being the one physical cable?

Thanks - something to consider if I strike out elsewhere. I do prefer IP in general, but IR is a viable option.

Thanks. Not an issue for me, but good to know. I mainly want to use the ATV for testing and comparisons, especially relative to any potential issues when used with the madVR Envy video processor. As long as the Intrinsic driver gives me basic access and connectivity with Control4, that will work for me. I'm happy with the SR260 and some Alexa in my theater, so don't need additional voice control.

I appreciate the replies, while certainly disappointed with my first venture into the world of Apple. And I'm guessing that even though the ATV is using ethernet, rather than WiFi, having someone use a suitable iOS device remotely, where I've given temporary access to my Control4 Project using 4Sight, wouldn't work either, correct? I contacted Intrinsic about theirs, and they said I wouldn't need an iOS device to use their Driver to get the ATV into my project. I don't know yet what the cost is, or if there are limitations relative to using the official Control4 driver, but that might be an option.

Thanks. Yes I saw that in the documentation. I was just hoping for a work-around since I don't have an iOS device.

A friend gifted me an AppleTV 4k today, and I'm working on getting it added to Control4 (I work for a Dealer, so have access to Composer Pro). I'm using the Control4 supplied drivers, with both Bridge and the AppleTV drivers added. Going through the setup, it seems to require opening the Control4 app on an iOS device in order to activate 'Apple TV Control.' I have an Android Phone, and the app there doesn't have this option (no big surprise). And when I log into my account on Control4's page, Windows PC, no such option is there either. Is there any way to 'emulate' this, or otherwise activate Apple TV Control without physically having an iOS device? Thanks.

You posted this a few seconds before I could do it. I've had this occur a couple of times in the last few years, and this is precisely what I had to do to get them functioning again. So a vote for this being the solution.

None at all. I've got both, and the combination is quite powerful - you can automate pretty much anything!

Fantastic! Glad it wasn't anything major.

Definitely weird. I just sold my NX7 and am waiting for my NZ9 to be shipped, so this is of great interest to me. I imagine you've already tried this, but powering down the NZ9, disconnecting its power cable for a minute or so, and then rebooting it can sometimes be helpful. JVC's AutoCal software uses an IP connection from PC to the Projector, and this is notoriously finicky. Sometimes a reboot like this can allow a connection to be established.

There have been a few reports of apparent problems with HDMI handshakes after the firmware update over at the AVS forum. If it occurs (and it is not yet proven or documented), those experiencing the problem report having left active HDMI cables plugged into the Projector, sometimes with the AVR/Pre-Pro turned on, when they did the update. Others have done their update with the same conditions and had no problems, so it isn't clear what is or isn't going on. I think it would be prudent to simply disconnect any HDMI cables when doing the update (which takes about an hour) to play it safe, even if it isn't absolutely necessary. One of the new features is a 3rd Laser Dimming Mode, meant to correct some of the shortcomings of the other 2. There is also an enhancement of its Frame Adapt DTM, with the addition of a "Wide" option, which apparently bumps the brightness up, in response to people reporting the image to be too dark. I haven't seen anything about breaking Control4 connectivity, so am very curious about this. What troubleshooting have you done so far to try and isolate the cause?

Not exactly sure what you're suggesting here - can you elaborate? Thanks!

Thanks. I'll look into it. I do like TP-Link in general, but after the BrosTrend experience, I wonder if consumer level devices like this are sufficiently robust and reliable, have similar IP or MAC address issues, etc. Cheap enough to try anyway.

I have used this on occasion, but mainly in the context of needing WiFi. For example, I have a Moen Flo valve under my house, which needs WiFi rather than Ethernet, and used a Netgear Powerlink there. And you're right on both counts - they are 'picky' in terms of where they'll work, depending on the electrical layout of the house, but it has been quite stable. So this would potentially be an option. But I'd rather have a more 'universal' solution to recommend to others for use in this context. I found another device that seems more robust, the Silex BR-500AC Ethernet to WiFi Bridge. It's around $190, and seems more business oriented. I contacted their support describing the failings of the BrosTrend device, and they replied fairly quickly, indicating that this should behave as a 'normal' device in terms of MAC address, stable IP, etc. In fact, there are 2 modes, single or multi client, and in single mode, it uses the MAC address of the Ethernet connected device, which seems ideal, and nothing should change with a power cycle. It is a bit more money, but could be cheaper and 'cleaner' in a retro-fit situation to get a stable ethernet connection to the projector. Thanks for the suggestion.

Well, it's going back to Amazon. I found that after a power loss, it came back with a slightly different MAC address, as was suggested above. And one time it came back with an unreachable IP address. Great concept, but the execution is lacking. I looked at the reviews of a similar device made by Iogear, and one guy said he spoke with their engineers and determined that it would work well with a typical 'home' Router, which handles both DHCP and WiFi. But if one is using a dedicated Router, with separate Access Points for the WiFi, as I am, problems will follow. If anyone is aware of a more 'robust' device that would allow a stable ethernet connection by WiFi, please let me know. Thanks for the help here.

Many thanks for the reply. I had wondered if I had mis-typed the MAC address - I'll re-try this, and monitor it to see if it changes. But actually now that I think of it, after a power cycle yesterday, Fing showed it having 2 IP addresses, which seemed strange. I then remembered I had the original MAC address in an IP reservation in my router. Once I removed that, it only showed the 1 (new) IP address, I was able to get a fresh DHCP assigned IP for the JVC, and was able to connect. That would seem to prove that I hadn't mis-typed it. And yes, the JVC can be set to a static IP in its network interface. I had tried that yesterday and it wouldn't connect. But that was before I discovered the above issue with the BrosTrend device. But you may be right - if I set the currently assigned IP to static with everything working, then hopefully it will 'survive' a power cycle on the BrosTrend device, even if this device itself emerges with a different IP.

The BossTrend device doesn't seem to have the ability to set itself a static IP as far as I can see. I had configured it initially, plugged into a wall socket, and it acquired an IP within the Router's range. I manually created an IP Reservation in the Router for that IP. But when I unplugged it, and moved it to its final location, up near the projector, the next day, it no longer had that same IP. I run a short ethernet cable from the BossTrend device to my JVC, where as you say, there are network settings. I set it to DHCP to acquire an IP from the Router, and it connected fine. But the next day, after both devices had been unplugged from the wall socket, both of their IP's had changed, and I lost network connection to the JVC. This does work fine if I can just figure out a way to prevent the IP's from changing after a power cycle. And interestingly, even when it did connect, the JVC also did not show up in the Router's Client Table, while it did in Fing. Somehow this fact may be the key to understanding what's going on, and therefore potentially how to fix it. What would account for Fing showing these devices while the Router doesn't?

I appreciate the reply and thought. In that situation, would the device assign itself a different IP after a power cycle? That's what seems to be happening. Also, when I run Fing, it shows the device's IP address just fine, which seems weird considering the Araknis router itself doesn't list it. What may make this whole thing not work is if the JVC's IP address also changes with a power cycle. That would make it problematic for the Envy to communicate with it. Thanks. Also: I've written to the makers of the device, but so far just getting the basic 'canned' answers which don't actually address my problem. But I'll keep after them. And if this proves to be unreliable because of IP address changes that can't be eliminated, is anyone aware of a reliable similar device that would allow an ethernet connection to the JVC via WiFi?

Regarding my Araknis Router (AN-310-RT-4L2W): this is a minor issue, but one which has perplexed me. I know some here don't care for Araknis, but it's what my company uses, and it has generally performed well for me. It is configured as the DHCP Server for my network, is the only Router present, everything is pretty straightforward. Anyway, I've noticed that occasionally a given device doesn't show up in the Client Table of IP addresses, even though they have acquired an IP address in the usual assignable range. The most recent example: I bought a BossTrend WiFi to Ethernet Adapter, to see if or how it would work connecting my JVC NX7 Projector to the network. Mine is now controlled with the IR Driver, which works fine. But I'm also troubleshooting some things with madVR Labs, which makes the Envy video processor, and IP control may come in handy. Not all Envy customers have their projectors connected with ethernet, and in many cases, including mine, running another cable to it would be difficult. So the idea was to be able to send the projector IP commands, and so I was testing this out with Control4, with the JVC IP Driver. It actually works fine, which is the main thing I was testing for. But for some reason, this Adapter's IP address doesn't show in the Client Table. I normally use IP Reservation in that table to prevent changes, and since it doesn't show up there, that option isn't available. I can then manually add it, using its MAC Address and the current IP Address, in the Settings section, but this doesn't "stick." If I unplug the device, when it powers back up, it acquires a different IP address. To access its user interface, I then have to find its IP address using Fing or other tool, and I can then get in. Networking is definitely a weak area for me, but I would like to understand what's going on here, and what, if anything, can be done to address it. There is nothing in this device's UI where I can assign an IP, or basically any other IP related settings. It connects to my Araknis WiFi access point, just like my phones or any other WiFi device, so it isn't clear to me why it doesn't show up like the others. Thanks.

Just to close this up: While waiting for my webhost to get back to me, I did change my password to be compatible with the Chowmain SMTP Driver, and so got that working. My webhost did then get back to me, and using a different Port setting than what they originally recommended, it is now up and running again. I asked if Gmail was being used, but they said no. Interestingly, I couldn't get Gmail credentials to work on the DS2, using a new App-generated Password. This does work with the Chowmain Driver, so I'm not sure why it won't with the DS2. But regardless, I now have 2 options to use here, and my problems did not originate with anything Control4-related. Purely my webhost.

I'm waiting to hear back from my Webhost's Advanced Tech Support to see if the problem is on their end. I tried to reconfigure using Gmail - one can create an "App Generated Password" within your Google account for email, and I think, but am not sure, that this still works. This is how I have the Chowmain SMTP Driver configured with my Chime Doorbell, and this is still working fine, so it would seem so. This makes me start to wonder if the problem is on the Control4 side of things. @Darin, C4 PM UI - are there any reports of problems with the DS2's built-in Email/Snapshot function? My previous configuration, which has worked without incident for 3 years, has stopped working, and I can't yet get it working again with either Gmail, using the App Generated Password, or with my POP3/SMTP server for my photography website. Details above. I can probably get this going using the Chowmain SMTP Driver, but since my current DS2 password has an "@" in it, it will need to be changed since it messes things up with Chowmain's driver. Plus I'd just like to get this figured out and working as it's supposed to, if possible.