cnicholson

Thanks! Do you know roughly what kind of delay are we talking about? Distance between my actual speakers will be 200-400 feet so a modest delay would be lost in the speed-of-sound lag time. Weirdly might be MORE "in sync" ;-). But if we're talking seconds, then that could be an issue.

Hi everyone. I have a large property with two building sites about 200 feet away from each other. I will have one "system" and one IP network (have wired backbone link between sites). I will have audio matrices at each location. I will have a Core 5 Controller at each location. My request is to be able to have a single audio stream play on zones connected to a matrix/amp at location 1 AND zones connected to a matrix/amp at location 2. I had assumed I would need a way to transport audio streams back and forth. My installer thinks that (at least with respect to audio sources originating from a Control4 Controller (perhaps not external sources)) one Core 5 can "automagically" pass a digital stream over IP to the other (distant) Core 5 and sort out the matrix routing such that I can play any (internal) source form either Core 5 on any zone project wide. I guess, in light of Audio inputs on controllers, this might also work with external audio sources (A CD player lets say) by plugging a line-out zone from Matrix back into the audio input on the Core 5. This seems plausible, but would exceed my expectations for cleverness and coolness. But does anyone know if this is actually true? Thanks!

Makes sense. I assumed your main controller software runs on only one designated box and, therefore, that box needs the compute power for all your processing (your boxes don't team up and run as a compute cluster). I guess maybe media processing might be offloaded such that one Core 5 could be wired for media and one could be left unburdened to just run the logic. IDK. Also don't know if there are other chips inside that offload media processing from CPU in any case (as would be the case for a general purpose computer). My main concern is: high-availability issues aside, am I dumb for deploying a CA-10 (in addition to the Core 5 that I am getting in any case) in search of max performance if the Core 5 would actually perform *better* (either by itself while also doing media or by using *two* Core 5's together).

I assume not *really* a hard cap, right? I think spinning it as 200 for Core 5 and 200+ for CA10 is just marketing. I still think Core 5 might be faster.

I'm surprised no one has done a Lua benchmark suite. Unless the OS does per-thread throttling or something that prevents you from saturating CPU cores, I would think that would be helpful data versus trying to evaluate "snappiness." I would not be surprised if the Core 5 has more compute power / system performance than CA-10.

The spec sheet strongly *suggests* that GUI will be 4K, although I guess it isn't explicit: "...CORE 1 delivers an upgraded 4K HDMI output that provides a beautiful, intuitive, and responsive on-screen user interface..." https://www.control4.com/docs/product/core-1/data-sheet/english/latest//core-1-data-sheet-rev-a.pdf

I guess I was assuming that guests, even if they download C4 app and join my WiFi would not be able to control my system with their phones. I assumed they would need accounts set up. Maybe I could set up an account for each guest area so the app would (implicitly) know where they are? I guess I need to think about this some more. Imagine you're staying in a room with sheers, blinds, fans, several lighting loads, HVAC, heated bathroom floors, speakers, TV, fireplace, outside water features and lights, etc. I thought the most approachable thing would be to say: Hit "C4" on remote and control everything from TV screen. Maybe leaving an iPad in each area would be better. IDK. I'll probably start with a couple Core 1's in primary guest areas and see how it goes.

I'll have a Sonos Port on the matrix, so I'll have that flexibility. I'm trying to make the system guest friendly. My plan for Shairbridge is to set it up so I can tell guests who want to play their iPhone music on the system to (after joining my WiFi) "Just airplay your music to 'SB XYZ'" and music will magically start playing in the target zone (or group of zones). That's the idea, anyway. From a "full off" state, I don't think there's an easy way for a guest to AirPlay to Sonos Port and have things "just work." If there is, I'd love to know how. If sure it is *possible*, but I don't know how. The "Core 1's behind guest TVs" plan is kinda the same (maybe bad) logic: make it brain dead for guests, even ones who don't have the C4 app on their phones.

Got it. Makes sense. I think I will have to consider this as I decide which TVs to put Core 1's behind. I guess it will be a combo of where I think it would be useful to have them AND where I need them for a solid ZigBee mesh. I'm not sure how often I would use the OSD, but I think it would be handy to have in guest areas, since I think OSD might be more approachable for people (maybe even including my wife).

I plan to use C4 to control audio matrix and for Shairbridge and some C4 native sources. Installer has quoted EA-1 for every TV (I'll have a bunch), but still debating that. I'm obviously trying to get Core 1's instead where I do use them. The 4K interface is a selling point and I assume they'll also support H.265 and 4K video streaming, although maybe that is bad assumption--- but I'm sure the hardware will support that.

Thanks. It's a new build. I have around 200 dimmable lighting loads and couple hundred other switched circuits (shades, fans, etc.). But most of that is on Lutron. I still plan on controlling everything via C4 (from a UI/controller perspective, with a mix of Lutron and C4 keypads). It did not occur to me that Lutron Panelized lighting would be less of a strain on C4 controller than C4 panelized lighting (if that's what you're saying). I guess that makes some sense. My installer is asking the C4 rep for advice. If it's a judgment call, I think I will start with Core 5 and see how snappy things feel, and add CA10 later (if needed). I for sure need the Core 5 for media and I/O so no harm in starting with that (I don't think). I imagine the "load" on controller has more to do with how computationally "fancy" the device/driver is versus just node count, but I am new to all of this.

Thanks guys. Exactly the input I was seeking. Since the original plan was to get an EA5 and a CA10, I might try to go with just the Core 5 at first, assuming it's reasonably straightforward to add a CA10 later and make it the main controller. Is there such a thing as a benchmark score / process to objectively measure how fast/responsive a system is at common tasks?

Hello. I was advised to get a CA-10 for my project. Do we know anything about the relative CPU performance improvement of the Core 5 versus EA-5? The CA-10 is advertised as 4X faster than (outgoing) EA-5. Core 5 has a new CPU. I'm wondering if I can get away with Core 5 now, instead. I know the CA-10 lacks media, but does have a lot of redundancy--- so other factors are at play. Just wondering strictly about CPU performance (and maybe RAM if that is a bottleneck).

Sounds like exactly what I want. What DMX controller / C4 driver are you using? Is this something PAL recommends/supports?

Thanks. Sorry, I am a newbie-- can you use Control4 App to bring up color wheel and change colors of groups of lights? Or is more like you set up configurations / scripts on the DMX side and then invoke them from C4?

Hello all. I just had a water feature put in using all Pentair equipment (including color-changing underwater lights). Control4 driver works pretty well at replicating the native app (Intellicenter 2) functions, including changing light colors. I was a bit disappointed that I can't pick an arbitrary color, but have to pick from a list of presets. I believe this may be a hardware limitation of the Pentair lights/controller. We're about to start on our main pool, which will have many more lights. Not a big deal, but I'm wondering if anyone knows of an in-pool lighting system that will allow for arbitrary color selection AND works well with Control4 (ideally picking / saving colors from color wheel). The reason why I care is that I'll also have some interior RGBW lighting (visible from outside) and landscape RGBW lighting, and I'd like to (roughly) coordinate/callibrate colors on all the lights that are visible in back yard. Thanks!

Thank you for this clarification. Trying to share an EA-1 to multiple rooms would be counter-productive otherwise (from an intuition / ease of use perspective).

Got it. Thanks. If "context" (which room's controls are shown on OSD based on room) then I think it would be more confusing than helpful. Maybe room mode can be switched programatically. Maybe the most "idiot proof" solution for guests would be a tabletop T4 or Tablet with a printed label "Use me to control everything" stuck on the back. I hear the feedback on OSD being rarely used. I will do some "which is more intuitive to figure out?" testing with Wifey as test subject before committing to overall solution. I consider myself to be above-average on nerd/gadget spectrum, and the SR-260 was not at all intuitive to me at first for anything beyond Watch and Listen selection / control.

Thanks for the responses. If I do just a few EA-1s on the matrix, will Control4 "magic" make the user experience the same as if really behind each TV? In other words: If I press the C4 Logo button on an SR-260 that is set to "Bedroom4," will the OSD pop up on the Bedroom4 TV in Bedroom4 "mode"? In previous DIY home automation projects, I have been accused of setting things up so only I can understand it / use it. So, for this project (our "forever home"), I'm trying to make things as easy as possible, without assuming that guests will have the C4 app on their phones, etc. I think the OSD interface is more approachable/intuitive for first-time users than the SR-260 (or even the Neeo). Thanks again.

Hello. If I understand correctly, C4 recommends an EA-1 at each TV location. I will have lots of TVs (~20). I would like the option of having OSD at each TV, but that's a lot of EA-1s. If I have video distribution, can I stack up 3-4 EA-1s centrally and have the user experience be seamless? In other words three separate users in separate room can press the button and get the OSD display (in the correct room mode)? I know the EA-1 also helps with zigbee mesh and have extra I/O, but I'm ignoring that for the moment. Thanks!

Sounds cool. My dealer is recommending an EA-1 for every TV (we'll have about 20). If the primary benefit is to allow OSD, could this driver allow me to create pool of EA-1s (say three of them) rather than ~20 of them? This assumes we have video distribution (which is still TBD)? I suppose the EA-1s would need to be forced into the right "Room" mode when they are allocated out of the pool for use on a specific TV (in the appropriate room). Would this be straightforward? Thanks

Ugh. I'm in the same boat. Three new Sonys as of October. Turned on Simple IP control and that seemed to help. But still not 100% reliable. I need to pull trigger on another dozen or so TVs real soon now and would like to stick with Sony, but not if these gremlins will persist. One of the tie-breakers for me for Sony v. Samsung is that (as I understand it), the Videostorm/NetPlay endpoint for IP distribution can be a native app on the Sony ($70 license fee), which will save a few bucks and keep things cleaner. (Sony also works better for the tiles / overlay solution, apparently). It would make me feel a lot better if we had confirmation that Sony is aware of the issue and is committed to a fix.

How is the responsiveness / latency of Nano (with voice feedback coming from speakers connected to your matrix) versus Micro's internal speaker--- especially when speakers near Nano are off when you make your first request? It sounded like Nano/Core were designed to use Sonos speakers for voice output (digitally) and I worry that analog-out ports might not be as fast/responsive (again, especially on first request). Also, how does it work when you already have audio from Watch/Listen session coming out of speakers near Nano? Does it do audio "ducking" (reduce volume when you say trigger phrase)? Does it pause/resume or mute/unmute smoothly? Ideally (IMHO) it would reduce volume but keep other content playing throughout you "conversation" with Nano/Core and then ramp to prior volume (leaving other zones at their prior volumes without interruption). But this implies mixing of Nano output with another source, which I assume it can't do (or can it?). As of now, I plan to go ahead with Josh.ai as soon as my Control4 system is deployed-- but I do worry a bit that Alexa/Google/Apple might catch up in a few years and render my investment in Josh.ai seem silly in retrospect. We shall see. Always a risk with this sort of thing, I guess.

The Josh.ai demos (direct media selection, even within apps) are impressive, and imply deep linking (and probably access to metadata for searching). And, from within the Apple TV environment, Apple can "deep link" to media in other apps via their "TV" app. Seems to be a good trend.

I had similar issue with some new Sony TVs. What seemed to work is to turn on Simple IP control in TV settings, but ALSO leave on the regular control option and don't mess with Control4 settings. Seems to prevent TV from going into deep sleep and going offline with Control4 (at least that's my best guess). Everything still seems to work (including Mini Apps on TV). I no longer get the "refuses to turn on" problem.