Don Cohen

I automated something very basic but a little different today...
We have had Hadedas (a fairly large annoying bird in the Ibis family) start visiting our garden regularly (15 or 20 times a day) to look at our fish (probably with nefarious thoughts in mind... ) They are an annoying noisy bird (although I can live with the noise but not with the mess they make as they eat a lot and what goes in must come out) and considered a pest (by many people) in South Africa.
I have been looking everywhere for a solution (tried plastic snakes around the fishpond and not prepared to try any of the options that would harm the birds).  
 
On Friday my gardener said that what we need to do is attract a bird of prey into the garden.  This got me thinking and I have created an announcement which plays falcon bird sounds for 10 seconds on all our outdoor speakers (3 zones)  I have linked this to a double tap on our garden lights button.  The first time I tried it, the Hadedas took flight within seconds. 
 
I have also added a repeating timer which will play these sounds every 15 minutes during daylight hours unless an override experience button has been selected.  It will not play in any of the outside zones which are currently active on the assumption that music playing means people around and no birds...
I must say that from within the house when the announcement plays it sounds like a very pleasant bird sound and not recorded at all!
I am very keen to see whether the Hadedas disappear over the next few days or whether they get used to my fake Falcon...

Finally figured out the issue (but not the fix): the Shield App switcher is triggering the Denon to turn off. Whenever I select it as the video source it's sending a signal to turn the Denon off. Going to have to reach out Nvidia to see what gives. 

Ordered WiFi, dealer sent me PoE on accident. I can deal with it. 
 
Sure, but as a heavy HE user with a remote dealer, requiring this is backwards. 

I wrote it, it works famously
 

I have Roku Ultras in my Theater and Family Room.  I have added Miniapps for all the common ones we use, and configured them for Voice control with Alexa.  I have to use both the Alexa app to 'Discover' devices, as well as enable and configure them in the Control4 Customer Portal.  I've configured it such that the 'default' is for my Family Room, so:
"Alexa turn on (Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max, Disney+)" will turn on the Family Room, and go directly to the App I have invoked.
"Alexa turn on Theater Room (Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max, Disney+)" will turn on the Theater, and go directly to the App I have invoked.
I'm not sure if this is exactly what is being discussed, but this works perfectly for me, and I use it all the time, much preferring this to opening the App on my phone, using one of the SR260's, T3, etc.

you can hide it go to settings --> Home screen and hide it there....that is what I am trying to say

Agreed, it's this kind of thinking/capability that really pushes C4 further and sets it apart from a lot of the other systems. These things give people lots of ideas how to make their system even better.

Very interesting, and creative!!

Excellent!!  Ironically, "Who Can it Be Now" is the phone ringtone I use for my wife!  Great choice for your washing machine as well. Mine is a "dumb" dishwasher so can't do anything there.😕

Not to one-up @Don Cohen's beautiful work, but today I automated my speakers to play the refrain from "Who Can it Be Now" when someone pushes the doorbell and also programed my washing machine to play the opening riff from "The End of the Line" when the cycle is finished.  Go me.

Did you reboot after adding the driver and adding the account? I've seen that clear a sporadic issue with SXM on occasion

Nothing wireless (without a security system) that I'm aware of. You COULD use a security one if you have a wire there to connect it (probably needs to be a 4-wire version), though I'm not sure I'd recommend it for a life-saving device.
Standard 2-wire connection on older panels if memory serves (PGM1 being able to be set to use for 2-wire smoke) - assuming the alarm system is integrated, should be possible to send whatever you want on a fire alarm situation, or at least in any alarm situation with a read-out of the type of alarm.

I've adopted a 3-step approach here:
1.  Create a Voice Scene in Composer (I'm using Pro, hopefully this can be done with HE), and then program it how I want.
2.  Go into my.control4.com as recommended above, and give this Scene the name you want to use (e.g. "dim the Kitchen Lights")
3.  Go into the Alexa App, and create a new Activity, giving it the name you want ("dim the Kitchen Lights"), and then under its programming, select the Voice Scene you just named in Step 2.
Now, you can say "Alexa, dim the Kitchen Lights" and it will work as you wish.
Maybe there's an easier way, but this is the only way I could figure out to be able to use 'normal' language.

My personal experience here:
I have a Sony 900E series TV, which has the built-in apps.  For the last year and a half that I've had Control4, I've used it with the built-in apps, and it works reasonably well.  I had the TV before adding Control4, and everything was working, so I figured why make things more complicated, more hardware, etc.
While it was reasonable stable and reliable, I did find there were times when it would glitch.  For example, sometimes with the AcornTV app, the TV would become unresponsive, I couldn't change to another App or Source, etc.  I had to shut down the room, and re-open it.  With many more commonly used Apps (Amazon, Netflix), I would often have to hit a given command button twice before it responded, which sometimes resulted in selecting the wrong thing, since sometimes there was a log responding to the first one.  These weren't deal killers, but were annoying.
And there were times when a given App wasn't available for, or compatible with, my Sony TV.  Not often, but it did happen sometimes, limiting my choices.
I recently did some upgrades to this room, replacing a very old AVR with a newer Sony one, and decided to go ahead and add a Roku Ultra as well.  I have used Roku in my Theater Room, which is much more complex, and had found it to be completely reliable.  So I did that upgrade earlier this week, and so far the Roku has been completely reliable.
So yes, you can use the built-in Apps, but in the long run, the experience might be more stable, reliable, and expandable by going with a Roku Ultra.
My $.02 worth.

I find ring on poe or 5ghz wifi to be fast w the rapid ring app

Good Morning, I just found a good solution to enable AirPlay on Android!  Thought I would share as some Android users may want to be able to use Shairbridge.
Trial app link - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.airmusic.trial
Then you can upgrade to pro
App is $4.95 and doesn't require root!
 

If you're talking about using the Sony TV's built-in Apps, this is already possible.  I have a 900E Series Sony, installed the HBO Max app on it, and using the Bravia App Selector Driver, was able to add this to Control4, same as I have done for other Apps I use on this TV (Netflix, Amaxon, Acorn TV, Peacock, Hulu, etc.).

I have a Home Theater, using a 'scope' (2.35:1 aspect ratio) screen.  It is ideal for watching most movies, which usually have that same aspect ratio.  But some movies, and a lot of regular TV and streaming content have 'narrower' aspect ratios: 1.78:1, 1.85:1, 2.00:1, 2.20:1 and so forth.  When viewing this type of content on a scope screen, of necessity, there are black 'pillarbox' bars on each side.  Even with a good screen and projector, these areas will appear grayish rather than black, which has a negative impact on the perceived picture quality.  So many of us utilize 'masking' solutions of one type or another, to blacken those areas.
When I initially set up the Theater, I installed 2 curtain rods, one on each side, hanging black velvet curtains from them.  I could then draw them in to cover those pillarbox bars, which enhances the picture quality significantly.  But I tired of having to go up there to draw them in, open them up, etc.  First world problems, for sure!
So I ended up installing a motorized curtain track, hanging the black velvet curtains from them.  This comes with an RF remote to open, close, and stop the curtain movement.  I then obtained a Bond Bridge to replicate the RF commands, integrating this into Control4 with the Chowmain Bond Bridge Driver.  I was then able to create "presets" for each aspect ratio, by issuing a 'Close' command, followed by a Delay of the appropriate number of milliseconds, and then a Stop command.  I use an SR260 in this room, and assigned these presets to numeric buttons on the remote, since they aren't used for anything else in that room.  I can then close to the appropriate position for whatever I'm watching with the push of a button.
I am also using the madVR Envy, an external Video Processor, which among its other functions, will recognize the content's aspect ratio, and automatically scales the video output to maximally fill the screen.  They will eventually have a Control4 Driver, and I'm hoping that I can program it using this Driver such that the appropriate curtain preset will be triggered based on the content's aspect ratio, making the process completely automatic.
Here's a simple YouTube Video showing it in action:
 

I have a Home Theater, using a 'scope' (2.35:1 aspect ratio) screen.  It is ideal for watching most movies, which usually have that same aspect ratio.  But some movies, and a lot of regular TV and streaming content have 'narrower' aspect ratios: 1.78:1, 1.85:1, 2.00:1, 2.20:1 and so forth.  When viewing this type of content on a scope screen, of necessity, there are black 'pillarbox' bars on each side.  Even with a good screen and projector, these areas will appear grayish rather than black, which has a negative impact on the perceived picture quality.  So many of us utilize 'masking' solutions of one type or another, to blacken those areas.
When I initially set up the Theater, I installed 2 curtain rods, one on each side, hanging black velvet curtains from them.  I could then draw them in to cover those pillarbox bars, which enhances the picture quality significantly.  But I tired of having to go up there to draw them in, open them up, etc.  First world problems, for sure!
So I ended up installing a motorized curtain track, hanging the black velvet curtains from them.  This comes with an RF remote to open, close, and stop the curtain movement.  I then obtained a Bond Bridge to replicate the RF commands, integrating this into Control4 with the Chowmain Bond Bridge Driver.  I was then able to create "presets" for each aspect ratio, by issuing a 'Close' command, followed by a Delay of the appropriate number of milliseconds, and then a Stop command.  I use an SR260 in this room, and assigned these presets to numeric buttons on the remote, since they aren't used for anything else in that room.  I can then close to the appropriate position for whatever I'm watching with the push of a button.
I am also using the madVR Envy, an external Video Processor, which among its other functions, will recognize the content's aspect ratio, and automatically scales the video output to maximally fill the screen.  They will eventually have a Control4 Driver, and I'm hoping that I can program it using this Driver such that the appropriate curtain preset will be triggered based on the content's aspect ratio, making the process completely automatic.
Here's a simple YouTube Video showing it in action:
 

That is awesome! Great work on that screen.

I have a Home Theater, using a 'scope' (2.35:1 aspect ratio) screen.  It is ideal for watching most movies, which usually have that same aspect ratio.  But some movies, and a lot of regular TV and streaming content have 'narrower' aspect ratios: 1.78:1, 1.85:1, 2.00:1, 2.20:1 and so forth.  When viewing this type of content on a scope screen, of necessity, there are black 'pillarbox' bars on each side.  Even with a good screen and projector, these areas will appear grayish rather than black, which has a negative impact on the perceived picture quality.  So many of us utilize 'masking' solutions of one type or another, to blacken those areas.
When I initially set up the Theater, I installed 2 curtain rods, one on each side, hanging black velvet curtains from them.  I could then draw them in to cover those pillarbox bars, which enhances the picture quality significantly.  But I tired of having to go up there to draw them in, open them up, etc.  First world problems, for sure!
So I ended up installing a motorized curtain track, hanging the black velvet curtains from them.  This comes with an RF remote to open, close, and stop the curtain movement.  I then obtained a Bond Bridge to replicate the RF commands, integrating this into Control4 with the Chowmain Bond Bridge Driver.  I was then able to create "presets" for each aspect ratio, by issuing a 'Close' command, followed by a Delay of the appropriate number of milliseconds, and then a Stop command.  I use an SR260 in this room, and assigned these presets to numeric buttons on the remote, since they aren't used for anything else in that room.  I can then close to the appropriate position for whatever I'm watching with the push of a button.
I am also using the madVR Envy, an external Video Processor, which among its other functions, will recognize the content's aspect ratio, and automatically scales the video output to maximally fill the screen.  They will eventually have a Control4 Driver, and I'm hoping that I can program it using this Driver such that the appropriate curtain preset will be triggered based on the content's aspect ratio, making the process completely automatic.
Here's a simple YouTube Video showing it in action:
 

I have a Home Theater, using a 'scope' (2.35:1 aspect ratio) screen.  It is ideal for watching most movies, which usually have that same aspect ratio.  But some movies, and a lot of regular TV and streaming content have 'narrower' aspect ratios: 1.78:1, 1.85:1, 2.00:1, 2.20:1 and so forth.  When viewing this type of content on a scope screen, of necessity, there are black 'pillarbox' bars on each side.  Even with a good screen and projector, these areas will appear grayish rather than black, which has a negative impact on the perceived picture quality.  So many of us utilize 'masking' solutions of one type or another, to blacken those areas.
When I initially set up the Theater, I installed 2 curtain rods, one on each side, hanging black velvet curtains from them.  I could then draw them in to cover those pillarbox bars, which enhances the picture quality significantly.  But I tired of having to go up there to draw them in, open them up, etc.  First world problems, for sure!
So I ended up installing a motorized curtain track, hanging the black velvet curtains from them.  This comes with an RF remote to open, close, and stop the curtain movement.  I then obtained a Bond Bridge to replicate the RF commands, integrating this into Control4 with the Chowmain Bond Bridge Driver.  I was then able to create "presets" for each aspect ratio, by issuing a 'Close' command, followed by a Delay of the appropriate number of milliseconds, and then a Stop command.  I use an SR260 in this room, and assigned these presets to numeric buttons on the remote, since they aren't used for anything else in that room.  I can then close to the appropriate position for whatever I'm watching with the push of a button.
I am also using the madVR Envy, an external Video Processor, which among its other functions, will recognize the content's aspect ratio, and automatically scales the video output to maximally fill the screen.  They will eventually have a Control4 Driver, and I'm hoping that I can program it using this Driver such that the appropriate curtain preset will be triggered based on the content's aspect ratio, making the process completely automatic.
Here's a simple YouTube Video showing it in action:
 

I have a Home Theater, using a 'scope' (2.35:1 aspect ratio) screen.  It is ideal for watching most movies, which usually have that same aspect ratio.  But some movies, and a lot of regular TV and streaming content have 'narrower' aspect ratios: 1.78:1, 1.85:1, 2.00:1, 2.20:1 and so forth.  When viewing this type of content on a scope screen, of necessity, there are black 'pillarbox' bars on each side.  Even with a good screen and projector, these areas will appear grayish rather than black, which has a negative impact on the perceived picture quality.  So many of us utilize 'masking' solutions of one type or another, to blacken those areas.
When I initially set up the Theater, I installed 2 curtain rods, one on each side, hanging black velvet curtains from them.  I could then draw them in to cover those pillarbox bars, which enhances the picture quality significantly.  But I tired of having to go up there to draw them in, open them up, etc.  First world problems, for sure!
So I ended up installing a motorized curtain track, hanging the black velvet curtains from them.  This comes with an RF remote to open, close, and stop the curtain movement.  I then obtained a Bond Bridge to replicate the RF commands, integrating this into Control4 with the Chowmain Bond Bridge Driver.  I was then able to create "presets" for each aspect ratio, by issuing a 'Close' command, followed by a Delay of the appropriate number of milliseconds, and then a Stop command.  I use an SR260 in this room, and assigned these presets to numeric buttons on the remote, since they aren't used for anything else in that room.  I can then close to the appropriate position for whatever I'm watching with the push of a button.
I am also using the madVR Envy, an external Video Processor, which among its other functions, will recognize the content's aspect ratio, and automatically scales the video output to maximally fill the screen.  They will eventually have a Control4 Driver, and I'm hoping that I can program it using this Driver such that the appropriate curtain preset will be triggered based on the content's aspect ratio, making the process completely automatic.
Here's a simple YouTube Video showing it in action:
 

Dan - I see something similar with my announcements. I had my dealer go back in and program my audio files (since I can't do it through HE), and even though they are there they only fire 20% of the time - including my doorbell, which is really annoying. Other processes fire reliably - put DS2 camera on touchscreens, turn foyer light on, etc. - just not the audio file. 
Our home/system is new (approx 6 months) and had been rock solid on these items until the 3.2 upgrade - so I'm comfortable pointing the finger solidly at that. The silence is deafening on the C4 side, but I'm hoping they are (quietly) at work on a resolution. 

Glad that it seems to have cured the issue!