F0ZZ Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 First post. I’ve been researching Home Control stsytems for a while. My mind was originally set on using Simple Control as I can do all the work myself which will save me money. But a recent update for that system means all my older IPads that were going to be the controllers are now not supported. I could purchase 3 or 4 more tablets, but with roughly the same amount of money, I could get a Control4 system going ( I hope I can anyway). I’d like all my gear in one location. My question is, what do you suggest I do to get prepared for an installation? I’ve only just started meeting my local dealers here in Ontario (Cambridge). My home is from 1930. I already ran 2 runs of Cat5e to each room. My living room and theatre have 6 runs of Cat5e each. I realize I should have run Cat6 when I renovated a few years ago, but I had no idea I’d be doing anything like this. I will be adding Cat6 to each room soon to fix my error. I was debating running an HDMI cable to each room as well. My thought is that an HDMI switch is more cost effective than an HDbaseT extender. Please correct me if this is unwise. I have a real mishmash gear. Lutron Caseta light switches Nest thermostat, smoke alarms, cameras August door lock and keypad Chamberlain garage door opener Along with mixed AV electronics. As I’m getting started, any suggestions or advice is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitali Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Caseta - works, no problems, you need to have Caseta bridge pro ( regular won't work) Nest - thermostat works (I don't know about smoke detector and cameras) Chamberlain - you need to buy driver and might be gateway August - I think it doesn't work with C4 All analog stuff, if it has ir control, it should work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic30101 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Nest cameras are not ONVIF so wont work I thought @chopedogg88 had an August lock driver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopedogg88 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Thanks, yes we do indeed have an August lock driver (requires August connect)www.epic-systems.comSent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopedogg88 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 And nest smoke detectors do integrate with control4 as well. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Nest cameras are not ONVIF so wont work I thought [mention=134749]chopedogg88[/mention] had an August lock driverNest cams work if you do blues iris Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Lowe Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 3 hours ago, F0ZZ said: FI realize I should have run Cat6 when I renovated a few years ago, but I had no idea I’d be doing anything like this. I will be adding Cat6 to each room soon to fix my error. I was debating running an HDMI cable to each room as well. My thought is that an HDMI switch is more cost effective than an HDbaseT extender. Please correct me if this is unwise. If you can run hdmi, run hdmi. just be careful if you want to run 4k or be more future versatile you may want to run fiber or fiber based hdmi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekki70 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Run HDMI if you can, make sure they are not only 4k compatible. but make sure they will pass HDR, Dolby Vision as well. Ive used some of those redmeer chipped vanco HDMI, but they wouldn't pass HDR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F0ZZ Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 Thanks everyone. I visited a local dealer today. He told me the nest products, August locks and the Lurton lights will not work. Or at the very best, only work for a short period of time. He was clear that he would not connect them. Rather he suggested I purchase the Control4 switches a different lock system and said it isn’t worth connecting a thermostat to C4 as it won’t do anything for me. After some basic research I figured an EA-3 would be the best bet to get me started. My house is small and I don’t plan on adding many sources. His suggestion was an EA-5 controller with an EA-1 in every room that has a television. Suffice it to say. I can’t afford to do that. I was going to run HDR capable HDMI cables. Maybe optical? Is there an HDMI switch you can all recommend? Or would an HDbaseT switch be best? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Thanks everyone. I visited a local dealer today. He told me the nest products, August locks and the Lurton lights will not work. Or at the very best, only work for a short period of time. He was clear that he would not connect them. Rather he suggested I purchase the Control4 switches a different lock system and said it isn’t worth connecting a thermostat to C4 as it won’t do anything for me. After some basic research I figured an EA-3 would be the best bet to get me started. My house is small and I don’t plan on adding many sources. His suggestion was an EA-5 controller with an EA-1 in every room that has a television. Suffice it to say. I can’t afford to do that. I was going to run HDR capable HDMI cables. Maybe optical? Is there an HDMI switch you can all recommend? Or would an HDbaseT switch be best?Find another dealer. You won't be happy w himSent from my BBB100-1 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F0ZZ Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 I will try a few more dealers. I understand that My goals and budget may not be realistic for the product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Lowe Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 No you need to find a fitting dealer that will match your budget. C4 minimally cost about a 1000 installed then you can add from there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F0ZZ Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 Not to give away the farm, but I would say $4K is the absolute most I would spend. That’s in Canadian dollars. i was quoted $15k to $20k as a rough ball park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Lowe Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Could get a lot done imo especially if you install yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F0ZZ Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 I didn’t think I was permitted to instal my own gear. i’m certinally willing to if that’s an option. Would still need a programmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Lowe Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 4 minutes ago, F0ZZ said: I didn’t think I was permitted to instal my own gear. i’m certinally willing to if that’s an option. Would still need a programmer. You can't do everything by yourself but with home edition once all of your products are installed you can program customize and automate to your heart s content Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 1 hour ago, F0ZZ said: Not to give away the farm, but I would say $4K is the absolute most I would spend. That’s in Canadian dollars. i was quoted $15k to $20k as a rough ball park. There are a few Canadian dealers on here who will work with you remotely. What part of the country are you in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F0ZZ Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 Cambridge Ontario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Talk to @dcovach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 agreed get a new dealer. your dealer is not on the same wavelength as you. He is trying for a big money sale - no way you need an EA5 plus multiple EA 1s. That would be a requirement for such a large house that you wouldn't be eyeing your budget and paying attention to every line item :-) And he is also flat out wrong about some of those devices not working. He is either stubborn or wrong, either attribute not good in my book! Plenty of people here can get you started via remote support for a reasonable fee to suit your needs, not some big sale someone wants to make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 3 hours ago, F0ZZ said: Thanks everyone. I visited a local dealer today. He told me the nest products, August locks and the Lurton lights will not work. Or at the very best, only work for a short period of time. He was clear that he would not connect them. Rather he suggested I purchase the Control4 switches a different lock system and said it isn’t worth connecting a thermostat to C4 as it won’t do anything for me. After some basic research I figured an EA-3 would be the best bet to get me started. My house is small and I don’t plan on adding many sources. His suggestion was an EA-5 controller with an EA-1 in every room that has a television. Suffice it to say. I can’t afford to do that. Lutron and Nest are 2 of the best integrations that Control4 has. I use Lutron Caseta and it flawless. Control4 should have people occasionally pose as potential customers for dealers and audit their quotes and system suggestions and start culling some of these guys. A dealer always pushing an EA-5 and an EA-1 at every TV location is ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownbatsbreath Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 To be fair, Control4 does, or at least did, recommend as a best practice a 1:1 controller to on-screen ratio. I do agree however that it sounds like the OP would get a better experience with a different local dealer or one of the fine online integrators recommended here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anzir Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Echoing the other sentiment here, I would find another dealer. You are not asking for much, and most dealers shouldn't have trouble with third party drivers that will integrate your hardware.Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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