Thank you for the suggestions. I don't really care if the control is wired, I just don't want to be replacing / charging batteries all the time for the "fixed" window blinds. The door one I get, but maybe I could power them off the electric door lock. However even if that one is battery powered, it's one battery versus a bunch.
Yes my dealer has offered to do this when I have them come back out, and said it should be easy after looking at the fireplace, without replacing the switch.
The dealer concurs and has said this should be easy to automate since the openers are just low enough they don't have the "smart" features built-in already. A tilt sensor and they can program the devices to automatically close at a certain time if they are open as well.
For most people, yes. I just finished an HQ building project and made friends with an electrician who will install the lock/power. He's going to give me a list of powered locks/strikes he's installed and found reliable. After I get that from him, I'll post the list (if necessary) and see if any are compatible. I do have to admit, I have a near pathological hatred of batteries if I can find something wired to do the job. I hate, hate, swapping batteries.
The dedicated NVR is plausible, especially if I can rackmount the unit. I'll see if the dealer has any recommendations here when they are contracted to install the cameras. After talking to the installer, during the HT install, the PakEdge cameras appear to have worked reliably in our local weather. I'm going to have to think over the storage, because I already have the Synology NAS and installing Surveillance Station isn't an issue. However a valid point is made that a dedicated NVR would likely be a simpler solution overall. Plus I could leave that on the IoT VRF and simplify the networking.
Alternatively, my brother-in-law has a Vivint system which apparently can be integrated into C4. My wife thought it was pretty nice, however I don't want wireless cameras, or cameras that I need to run separate power cable to connect. Add in they appear to do the whole cloud storage thing, and I'm just not sure I want the data stored out of my control.
My network now consists of a 2960S in the rack and a pair of 2960L units by the TV's, with one being by the C4-EA3. I have my IoT (including C4) devices on the dedicated IoT VRF. The (likely) PakEdge cameras will also be placed into the IoT VRF. This is (logically) separated from the PC/Storage LAN, with exemptions made by ACL as necessary. There is a hole punched to allow communication to a PC for video files stored on the NAS. Those two VRF's are both completely isolated from the Guest VRF, where all cross-traffic is denied by ACL. Ironically my dealer didn't care so much about my network, but then again I do network engineering for a living and told them I'd take care of the networking. No issues thus far, but everything is internal.
Depending on the lighting, I'll probably use wireless since I don't know if I'm comfortable with the cost of installing a dedicated control panel in this house. Were I to build a house, I'd probably have it built-in as part of the process. I'll probably just end up installing another AP in the mesh and turning down the power on both. More due to the way CSMA works and having a few dozen wireless devices asking for permission to talk can lead to interesting experiences, rather than actual bandwidth use.
Yeah, the router is where I'm kind of pooched. The only choice I have is from AT&T (I have AT&T Fiber 1000) and it's a crappy Pace router. I do have an ISR2851 behind it for a couple PC's I use for work, to allow remote access to the corporate network but the rest only use the Pace. I'd really love to ditch that idiotic Pace router (I don't use AT&T video/phone services, just data) and have an Accedian NID installed, or even just a TA/router from them that could do a real bridge mode, and install a Cisco ISR4451. Unfortunately they have thus far been resistant to my request since it is a home circuit, and not a business circuit. I understand the logic, I don't have a business account at home so I can't expect to be treated like a business account. I just wish the Pace did a real bridge mode so I could lobotomize it and use a real router.
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I have had one issue since the HT install, but it's unrelated (from what I can tell) to C4 or the network. The Roku Ultra (2019) does not appear to like the Integra DRX 3.3 receiver. This is the only device that has a problem, the 4K Blu-ray player does not have this issue at all. When you put the Roku into 4K HDR mode (either 4K HDR mode) it has an issue where it won't display video on a regular basis, just a "black" (in my case blue) screen. Rarely you'll see an HDCP error pop up on-screen and almost immediately disappear, but most of the time just no video. Back out of the video and try again, or turn off the receiver and turn it back on, and find out the video is there and has been advancing in real-time. You just couldn't see or hear the video running due to the error/compatibility issue. I ruled out the Roku or Balun having an issue by pulling the Roku from the receiver and plugging it directly into the Balun. Hundreds of videos (4k HDR 60 display setting) without issue. Tried swapping HDMI cables from the 4k BD player to replace the Roku HDMI cable, no resolution. Plug it back into the receiver and the problem appears again shortly. Replace the receiver to balun HDMI, same issue.
Now this is manageable. Set the Roku Ultra (2019) to 4K 60, and you can play it all day bouncing in and out of videos, without an issue. This is not ideal, of course. I'm probably going to have to watch Integra/Onkyo fight it out with Roku and pray one of them releases an update that fixes the (apparent) compatibility issue.
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Other than that C4 has been operating well thus far. Used it to stream music at Thanksgiving during dinner. Can't wait for the spring install of the outdoor speakers on the patio so we can have music / news outside while I'm grilling/smoking or we're eating. We'll see as time goes on how things integrate, particularly the security items.