Köhler Medientechnik

For best quality, i´d also vote for the Zappiti plus Alan´s C4-driver looks really good. However, Infuse looks good as well, but i´m using ATVs just for streaming.

Please do not remove ground from electrical connections (and advice others to do so) - it´s there for a reason.

I would leave that to your integrator.

No. (assuming you want to control the Denon via IP)

Hi, ATV, HTPC, BR-Player, EA-3 to HDMI inputs of Denon Denon output to HDMI input of TV The Denon is your hdmi switch

A "crackling noise" sounds more like a cabling issue to me - i´d check the speaker cabling if there´s a loose (=not 100% firm) connection somewhere. Interference usually creates more subtle noise during playback. but no crackling.

Yep, it´s no issue with the settings, the ATV just can´t do 24Hz. You always get 23,976Hz regardless if you play 23,976Hz or 24Hz content which gives a noticeable stutter every 41 seconds. The issue is known for almost two years now but Apple is not willing (or able) to fix it.

True.

Ah, exactly the controller i just found myself So i guess this is the interesting part: "it is based to some degree on a Logicmachine product". Without that piece of information, your link was actually "just a link to another control system called logicmachine...." like @alanchow stated.

Well, but this has nothing to do with Cbus. It looks to me that Logicmachine is just a control system sitting on top of different sub systems (like CBus, KNX, Loxone, 1-Wire, BACnet, etc.). Similar to Control4, Crestron, RTI, etc. So the functionality to control e.g. a Sony TV lies in the Logicmachine system, not in CBus. I think this is probably where the confusion comes from. EDIT: Oh, i´ve just found a (the) "native" C-Bus automation controller. So no need to link to Logicmachine. => https://www.clipsal.com/products/detail?CatNo=5500NAC&tab-document-1=0

Mmh, seems to be driver specific. Works with a Marantz AV8802 (just for testing), but not with a Trinnov Prepro...

Very interesting. I´ll give that a try with my test installation. To come back to the original question "What modes do you normally change to/from?": i think that depends on the capabilities of the receiver/prepro. We´re installing mainly Trinnov Altitudes, we´ve got also one in our showroom. You can define up to 30 presets with different speaker layouts, different DSP/filter settings, etc. Yes, you can assign these to different sources/inputs for autoselection in the Trinnov, but once in a while, you want to be able to select them manually. For instance we often use different presets with different speaker counts so the customer can hear the difference and chose the setup with the best into his taste and budget. Then customers would like to select upmixer modes manually. Then the Trinnov has different remapping modes for distributing the sound among the speaker layout. Then our customers are interested in feedback from the device. Which remapper mode is set, which upmixer, which preset is selected (Text String), audio information (sample rate, etc.). I think a lot of this is very specific to the type/model, so i´m wondering how you would write a generic "receiver driver".

I had continues issues with waking up my Shield from standby (not C4-related and it´s a 2017 model though) so i decided to hard power it.

OK, thanks for the feedback. I usually do a hart shutdown of media players using a PDU. That means it will come back on the main screen every time i power up. Not so nice...

Hi, i´d like to use the IRUSB together with my Shield 2017. However, when i boot up the Shield with the IRUSB app on autostart, it starts with the IRUSB app in front. Is it possible to start it in the background? I´m pretty sure when i tried it with a Fire-TV, it worked. Regards, Thorsten

In my opinion, the only flaw of the current ATV 4K is that it doesn´t do the auto framerate switching correctly. It´s playing both 23,976 und 24Hz content with 23,976Hz. This creates stutter on 24Hz content (which Netflix is using for their newer productions). So i´m hoping for the next gen ATV to fix this (they most likely won´t fix it for the current gen).

That´s my advice as well. Most of our clients have a dedicated home cinema room and a media room with 4K displays. We always suggest to install local sources in these rooms. Multi-room 4K@60HDR is still not trivial to implement in it´s highest quality. For the rest of the house (sleeping room, bath room, kitchen, etc.) 1080p is totally sufficient and that can be easily distributed via video matrix. EDIT: Oh, and the specs for the C4 AV matrices clearly state that HDR is only supported up to 4k@30

I know how to use experience buttons - and as said before, to me that´s more of a workaround than an elegant solution.

As i said, if you´re happy with full automation, then it might be ok. But if you want at least a bit of manual control, you´re quickly running out of options with C4. Not everything can be forced into a fixed scheme, some customers prefer to remain some level of personal choice. For instance some customers want to select an upmixer based on the actual content they are hearing not based based on source selection or audio track. The decision is just based on personal taste in that given moment. Some things can´t be automated.

I don´t think it´s appropriate to do a judgement having seen just one (potentially poorly design and/or implemented) other system. As other´s have stated before, it´s pretty easy to implement a terrible user experience with Crestron if done wrong. But i really don´t want this thread to become a system´s war. Each system has it´s pros and cons and there are use cases for both of them.

Thanks a lot, guys. Really helpful, the picture is getting clearer.

So let me ask a specific question: I´ve got system with an AVR. I can control audio volume, select different inputs by selecting the according source player. But just as an example, is it possible to display the selected surround mode on the remote? As an example, i´ve seen in the driver for a Trinnov audio processor that the driver provides feedback for that and i can react upon it with programming. But is it possible to display the status on the remote / touchpanel?

Thanks for your valuable input, Jakelay. That´s exactly what i´m trying to figure out at the moment. Where are the pros and cons of Control4 compared to other systems. Where doing home cinemas starting at 50KEU to 500KEU+ so an extra 2-5KEU is not that big of a concern. However, for a 50KEU home cinema, we would suggest to better spend that in the AV-system or room acoustics and not into the remote control. We also work with templates (themes) to ensure a good user experience throughout the different panel, remotes and apps. I think if a user is comfortable with C4 or not depends on how much automation he (or she) wants. If you automatize everything, then you don´t need additional functionality at your fingertips. But a lot of our customers are pretty tech-savvy and control freaks, so they want to be in control of all aspects of their system and are willing to spend the extra Euro. Many of them already have a Crestron system in their home, so that´s a no-brainer anyway. But as i said in my initial post, there are others who only want a cinema room and only want to control that one. A full blown Crestron-system often is just too much. That´s the reason why we´re looking for alternatives. The fact that i spent 4 days in the certification training tells you that i´m really interested. From what i´ve seen, you can rollout a single-room system with Control4 in hours, not days - so that´s definitely a plus. After all, i´m happy we´re now in a position to cater for all needs.

I know. That´s something i would call a "workaround" but not an elegant solution for my requirements.

OK, thanks for confirmation, then i got it right. Switching back and forth just to be able to control different devices in the same room doesn´t seem to be so intuitive for me. But C4 definitely has it´s target market. As i said, just wanted to find out for which use cases it fits or not.