dirtyceo

I'm looking to rework my residential home C4 camera setup and I'd love recommendations of what brand NVR/POE Cameras I should get.  I'm looking recommendations that provide for the smoothest integration with C4, cost/value, image quality/performance, and mobile app video review experience.  An 8-channel NVR is fine for my needs and I'd like brands that have a low profile dome style camera so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.  I've heard Luma systems are nice but I've also heard they are expensive for something that's just a rebranded Hikvision.  I've heard the Hikvision ColorVue is very nice.  I've heard good things about LTS too.  Just too much options out there so looking for this forums recommendations.   

I'd like to purchase a 20x14 Strong VersaBox Pro Recessed Dual Layer Flat Panel Solution.  Can someone reach out with a quote?

6 minutes ago, eggzlot said:

If the only on screen content needed is the ea1 OSD and the Apple TV you likely need:

hdmi from Apple TV to tv

hdmi from ea1 to tv

all devices connected to home network via Wi-Fi/Ethernet 

don’t think you need any IR

Awesome, thank you!  

Hi - I have an established EA5 home setup and recently bought a C4-EA1-V2-POE controller to control my office Samsung Frame TV 2020 and Apple 4K TV device.  Now that my system is established, I've been doing the hardware installs myself and using a remote programmer to get everything setup and configured.  With that, I have a really newbie question.  How do I physically wire the EA1/Samsung FrameTV/AppleTV setup so my remote programmer can do their thing?  From some initial research, it seems like everything is IP based and I just need to connect the EA1/FrameTV/AppleTV to my home network via ethernet.  Is that correct or do I need to hook up HDMI cables somewhere?  I don't think I need to use any of the IR ports since I'm not connecting anything like a receiver, Blu-ray, cable box, etc.  Two other points to make.  1.  I have a C4 Neeo remote I'm going to use which I can connect directly from the remote setup.  2. I'll be powering the C4-EA1-V2-POE via my POE network switch.  Please help me with this total noob question.

16 hours ago, WholeHomeControl said:

If your Sony has a Zone 2 line level out that is not being used, you can use something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/2GF9410-MuxLab-Stereo-Audio-Balun/dp/B001KONBH4/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&keywords=stereo+audio+balun&qid=1586465921&sr=8-14

I believe this particular unit is sold as a single item, so you would need to purchase two of them.  There are less expensive options, but the audio quality on them can be port.

Please keep the following in mind if you go this route:

1. Your cat5/cat6 would need to be terminated first for this to work

2. Your system would need to be programmed so that Zone 2 of the AVR corresponded to a new Control4 room (i.e. Family Room TV Headphones.)

3. The wireless transceiver you purchased would have  tp:

a. Fit behind the TV or otherwise have a place to be situated nearby

b. Have access to a power outlet

c. Have a set of female stereo RCA input jacks

Any recommendations on a high quality wireless transceiver?  Or do you know of some sort of wireless headphone system that has a base that also acts as a wireless transceiver that I could connect the other end of the MuxLab directly into?

Awesome, thanks everyone!  Will give it a try and report back

3 hours ago, WholeHomeControl said:

It's common practice to run spare cat5/cat6 to TV locations.  Do you happen to know if you have one in place from the rack to the family room TV?  If so, you could take audio out of the Sony receiver (either zone 2, if available, or through an HDMI audio extractor) and run it up to the behind the TV where you'd have your wireless audio transceiver.

Another option is to extract audio at the TV - just requires ensuring the Sony is passing the audio through the HDMI.

Yes, I do have a spare cat6 cable ran from the home run rack to my family room.  Can you explain specifically what I'd need to pick up to make this work?

47 minutes ago, WholeHomeControl said:

Does the TV audio currently play through a) the TV speakers, b) a pair of separate speakers connected to an amplifier, or c) a set of surround sound speakers connected to an AVR?

The TV audio comes through a Sony receiver that powers 5 in-ceiling speakers all controlled by an EA-5.  To Neo1738 post, I wonder if I can somehow run a wire from the Sony receiver at the home run to the family room where it has some sort of bluetooth connector for wireless headphones.  

I mainly watch TV in my family room and all my Control4/Audio/Video equipment is home ran to my basement so said differently, there are no components easily accessible from my family room where I watch TV.  I'd like to have some sort of wireless headphone option to watch TV in my family room at night so the bedrooms upstairs aren't bothered by the noise.  Can the community please make recommendations on how to get this done?

Thanks!

Just got a Neeo remote and generally speaking, it's pretty good but it doesn't seem like I can customize it the way I want.  I have Composure Home Edition so let me know if I need my programmer to do the customizations I'm looking for.  Specifically, here's what I'd like to do:

1. Customize the "Remote Focused Buttons" to execute some sort of sequence.  Right now in HE, I can name them but I can't assign any action to them like "Watch a Movie" turns on the AppleTV and opens up the VLC app.
2. On my FiOS Cable TV screen, I'd love to move the Guide lower on the touchscreen and move the Page Up and Page Down to the top of the screen as I don't really use them that often
3. On my FiOS Cable TV screen, I'd love to have a touch button to bring up my channel favorites
4. For my FiOS Cable TV, I can't seem to add favorite channels to the touchscreen so I can bypass the Guide

Thoughts?

On 3/24/2020 at 12:00 PM, C4N3RD said:

 

Brand new in box Neeo remote.

 

$500

 

$100 off MSRP

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'll take it.  PM me if you still have this.

2 hours ago, msgreenf said:

yes, read the documentation again. You have put the wrong information in the URI field.  

I think my installer is an idiot.  Do you provide remote programming?  Would love to pay you directly to get this to work.  Figured best to just go right to the source as I've been waiting so long for a driver like this to come out.

Hi msgreef - had my C4 integrator install the Unifi Video driver and the snapshots work great but the live video doesn't work.  Only shows static images.  We are using the Low RTSP stream. I even did a video quality override and dropped the settings all the down.  Both the snapshot and H.254 test worked fine in C4.  See attachments.  Any idea why the live video doesn't work?

Ah, I see.  So if I have this NVR, the driver will do both snapshots and live video right?  https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-Video-Recorder-Drive/dp/B075XJN37G/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Ubiquiti+Networks+UniFi+UVC-NVR&qid=1584571524&sr=8-3

Thanks!  Sweet!  I'll definitely go the Unifi Video NVR path so I can get both snapshot and video. 

Got it, thanks!  But just confirming, there's no functional difference in either driver right?  I have both the NVR and the cameras.  So it doesn't matter which driver I use?  Both have the same exact functionality?  Thanks again for developing this!  Been waiting sooo long for this!

Thanks for developing this driver!!!  Quick question.  On the Blackwire site, I see two different drivers.  One that connects the NVR to video viewing in C4 navigators and the other that connects Unifi cameras directly to video viewing in C4 navigators.  Is there a benefit of one over the other?

12 hours ago, dcovach said:

I spoke with Tech support and passed along this discussion.  Hopefully someone at C4 can look into this with some success or provide more info on how to make the integration work properly.

dcovach - I saw and replied to your other post about Security Spy for Mac.  Considering all the issues with getting BI to work in C4, do you think SecuritySpy integration with C4 is the best route for what we're trying to do?  Simply put, I want to get my Unifi Protect cameras into C4 to show the thumbnail view and then live video for the camera I select.  

6 hours ago, dcovach said:

In case you decide to add more ip cameras later, you can integrate those with your C4 system.  The driver is free.   There are a lot of ip cameras on the market and unfortunately there isn't a driver for all of them.  This is where DIY nvr systems like Security Spy and Blue Iris solve that problem.

I just installed Security Spy and like it a lot.  Need to do more testing but first impressions are pretty good.  I may be interested in getting your help to do a remote install.  Before we do though, a few questions.  

1. Does still thumbnail view work in C4 when I want to see all my cameras at once?
2. I assume the live video feeds show in T3 touch screens and TV Navigators, right?
3. I assume the thumbnails and live video show up on the C4 mobile app for Apple iOS, right?

Besides the controller bug, which you seem to have a fix for, are there any know limitations?

3 hours ago, JEC said:

I have the exact same problem - static images on T3.  I switched to the generic camera driver and still only get a still image.  I even lowered resolution to 480.  I attached an image of my URLs and settings.  I did edit the driver so that H264 goes over HTTP vs RTSP (it was just a setting in the XML file).

Hi JEC - so did you get it to work after you edited the driver so that H264 goes over HTTP vs RTSP or do you still have the issue?

3 hours ago, ILoveControl said:

Ok to get around the GStreamer issue (I had the same issue and posted the issue and fix two day ago) go to BI settings for BI not for a camera. Then go to users tab and enable the anonymous account. While I hate doing this with a passion it worked. Looks like it needs it and all the tests pass:) I still get static full pics on Android. Going to poke around now

I'm in BI Users tab and I don't see an anonymous account.  Do I have to add this account?  The only account I see in BI Users is 'local_console" and the "control4" account I created to get the driver to work.

I was able to successfully load the live feed in VLC.  It's the same URL that C4 is doing via the "Get H.264 URL".  Is there a way to force C4 to use the MPEG stream and not the H264 stream?  After reading your stream writeup, I'm still not able to get the live video to work on the the navigator and T3 devices.

ILoveControl - thanks so much for your insights. I'll look into these further today.  To your question, I get the thumbnails working just fine.  When I click into the thumbnail, I get a static picture, not live video of the actual camera.  I'm able to get the thumbnails to refresh.  I have the "Snapshot Refresh Rate" set to 1 second; however, it looks like the thumbnail actually refreshes every 10 seconds despite the 1 second setting.  

I can't seem to find anywhere on the Blue Iris web interface the H264 URL stream details.  It's not showing up at the bottom of the video feed as an overlay.  It's nowhere in any of the menus - I've checked every one multiple times.  Where can I find this?  Here's what I do know:

• The Blue Iris web interface is defaulting to the 720p profile
• It's using the H264 codec
• Stream resolution is 1280x760
• Frame rate is 30fpm

I'm using the official drivers from C4.  I have one camera using the "Blue Iris PTZ IP Camera" and another using the "Blue iris Static IP Camera DAD" as a test to see if it's driver issue.  Neither is letting me see live video on C4 navigators.  

Here are some screenshots of what might be useful.

Appreciate the help!  But, I'd rather stay away from any Remote Desktop sessions.  Just too close to home.  With that said, here's what I've found out.  I was reading the Help docs for the C4 Blue Iris driver and under "RTSP (H.264) Port" it says the following in RED font: "Important: H.264 is currently available for viewing only on mobile devices and within Composer."  Well, I guess that sums it all up.  Is that really possible?  That C4 devices can't display live video feeds via RTSP using H.264?  I can't imagine Unifi G3 cameras are the only cameras that leverage RTSP and H.264.  Is there a different Blue Iris driver out that that resolves this?