greenhut Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Apologies for what must be a common question, but couldn't find an FAQ or intro content. Any links to good content? We are moving into a house that has a Control4 system. It is used mostly for whole house audio, but also some light control. The house has an alarm, but I dont think it is integrated. Do I need any account info from the current homeowner in order to establish my own login/account and to use the existing config? I am a very technical user - currently running Home Assistant at current home. Will I be able to do things like OS upgrades and adding devices myself? thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 9 minutes ago, greenhut said: Apologies for what must be a common question, but couldn't find an FAQ or intro content. Any links to good content? We are moving into a house that has a Control4 system. It is used mostly for whole house audio, but also some light control. The house has an alarm, but I dont think it is integrated. Do I need any account info from the current homeowner in order to establish my own login/account and to use the existing config? I am a very technical user - currently running Home Assistant at current home. Will I be able to do things like OS upgrades and adding devices myself? thanks! you cannot add devices on your own. You can buy software called Composer Home Edition (HE) that will let you do 95% of the programming a dealer can do but to add hardware and make bindings, you need a dealer. Dealers are required for upgrades too. Others can chime in on how to move the account over from the old homeowner to you. Do you know what hardware is being left behind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenhut Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 Thanks eggz - unfortunately do not know in any reasonable detail what is there. Also don't know versions, OS,etc. There is a multichannel amp for whole house, two small "Control4 boxes" in the house, and a wall mounted touchscreen. We move in a week, so will have more detail then. So even adding something like a new light switch requires a dealer and cant be done with HE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo1738 Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 8 minutes ago, greenhut said: Thanks eggz - unfortunately do not know in any reasonable detail what is there. Also don't know versions, OS,etc. There is a multichannel amp for whole house, two small "Control4 boxes" in the house, and a wall mounted touchscreen. We move in a week, so will have more detail then. So even adding something like a new light switch requires a dealer and cant be done with HE? Correct. New light, dealer, new tv, dealer, new shade, dealer. Add a driver (other than a few basic ones) dealer. Add a roku want to use C4 remote, dealer. This is a dealer centric system that requires ALL device additions and drivers to be added by a dealer. End users can than program those devices themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenhut Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 9 minutes ago, Neo1738 said: Correct. New light, dealer, new tv, dealer, new shade, dealer. Add a driver (other than a few basic ones) dealer. Add a roku want to use C4 remote, dealer. This is a dealer centric system that requires ALL device additions and drivers to be added by a dealer. End users can than program those devices themselves. Aack. Wrong system for me I guess Hopefully can salvage the whole house audio, and will stick with Home Assistant for general automation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 About the only thing you could keep would be the speakers, if changing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardwareguy2068 Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Don't write off the whole system just yet......I use @msgreenf for all my programming and new equipment installs. He remotes into my system and makes the changes all for a very reasonable fee. He makes it far more convenient that trying to get on a dealer schedule. Just my .02......but he does fantastic work as do many others that are on this forum. msgreenf, South Africa C4 user, C4 User and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnpublic Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 4 hours ago, greenhut said: Apologies for what must be a common question, but couldn't find an FAQ or intro content. Any links to good content? We are moving into a house that has a Control4 system. It is used mostly for whole house audio, but also some light control. The house has an alarm, but I dont think it is integrated. Do I need any account info from the current homeowner in order to establish my own login/account and to use the existing config? I am a very technical user - currently running Home Assistant at current home. Will I be able to do things like OS upgrades and adding devices myself? thanks! I have C4 in current home with a Home Assistant overlay (see below), I moved to Home Assistant only for my new construction home. So i have a good deal of experience with both. As others have said, Control4 is not going to be a fit for you, for at least two reasons: 1) dealer requirement for new hardware, drivers, bindings, etc. 2) The automation and scene programming is going to feel pretty kludgy to you. It's a Windows 2000-looking client application that works well enough, but really will feel like a step backwards to you coming from HA scripting/automations. The good news - as long as your new house is Control4 OS 3.0 or higher, there is a very functional two-way integration with HA for control of lights within HA. So you shouldn't have to rip and replace all the C4 switches. Just go with HA as the interface to it. https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/control4/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 On 5/3/2021 at 3:08 PM, wnpublic said: I have C4 in current home with a Home Assistant overlay (see below), I moved to Home Assistant only for my new construction home. So i have a good deal of experience with both. As others have said, Control4 is not going to be a fit for you, for at least two reasons: 1) dealer requirement for new hardware, drivers, bindings, etc. 2) The automation and scene programming is going to feel pretty kludgy to you. It's a Windows 2000-looking client application that works well enough, but really will feel like a step backwards to you coming from HA scripting/automations. The good news - as long as your new house is Control4 OS 3.0 or higher, there is a very functional two-way integration with HA for control of lights within HA. So you shouldn't have to rip and replace all the C4 switches. Just go with HA as the interface to it. https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/control4/ I’d love to connect and learn what the Home Assistant Overlay (as you put it) is providing. There’s a few things I’d like to do around occupancy and automation that I don’t want to buy expensive 3rd party drivers for and wondering if Home Assistant might help. If you’re up for a conversation, please shoot me a PM. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenhut Posted May 17, 2021 Author Share Posted May 17, 2021 On 5/3/2021 at 2:16 PM, hardwareguy2068 said: Don't write off the whole system just yet......I use @msgreenf for all my programming and new equipment installs. He remotes into my system and makes the changes all for a very reasonable fee. He makes it far more convenient that trying to get on a dealer schedule. Just my .02......but he does fantastic work as do many others that are on this forum. Thanks for the referral! Been working with Mitch and he is great! Have HA controlling c4 lights and more automation on the way. Neo1738, eggzlot, hardwareguy2068 and 2 others 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardwareguy2068 Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 On 5/16/2021 at 11:02 PM, greenhut said: Thanks for the referral! Been working with Mitch and he is great! Have HA controlling c4 lights and more automation on the way. Great to hear @greenhut! Mitch is so efficient and knowledgeable about C4!! msgreenf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeHappy Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 On 5/5/2021 at 8:03 PM, ILoveC4 said: I’d love to connect and learn what the Home Assistant Overlay (as you put it) is providing. There’s a few things I’d like to do around occupancy and automation that I don’t want to buy expensive 3rd party drivers for and wondering if Home Assistant might help. If you’re up for a conversation, please shoot me a PM. Thanks! Been doing this myself. Had C4 installed when the house was built but have installed Home Assistant. C4 only shows the lights to HA but HA directly integrates everything else I have in C4 apart from my alarm system. HA also integrates with a whole bunch of stuff that C4 won't talk to (e.g. the cheap Tuya devices). I've used HA to do a couple of automations based on occupancy (when all the mobile devices have left the home) and it works great. The main thing I want to figure out is how to fade the lights in and out on HA like they do with C4. wnpublic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 @BeHappy you can integrate Tuya devices into c4 now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amr Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 HA is an overkill for me, I love tinkering but I really had no time left for this, the amount of customization is enormous, you can do literally anything! I just need my house to work with the least changes/surprises, etc. I have my environment stable for a couple of years now, it’s a joy when you have no complaints from wife/kids … RyanE, tmj4 and msgreenf 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 3 hours ago, Amr said: HA is an overkill for me, I love tinkering but I really had no time left for this, the amount of customization is enormous, you can do literally anything! I just need my house to work with the least changes/surprises, etc. I have my environment stable for a couple of years now, it’s a joy when you have no complaints from wife/kids … That was somewhat the opinion Charlie Kindel posted before he worked for Control4: https://ceklog.kindel.com/2018/05/24/concierge-home-technology/ RyanE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnpublic Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 1 hour ago, RyanE said: That was somewhat the opinion Charlie Kindel posted before he worked for Control4: https://ceklog.kindel.com/2018/05/24/concierge-home-technology/ RyanE And yet he yeeted right out of there.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amr Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Larry Ellison once said "Its easier to write a check than a line of code" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dueport Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 6 hours ago, Amr said: HA is an overkill for me, I love tinkering but I really had no time left for this, the amount of customization is enormous, you can do literally anything! I just need my house to work with the least changes/surprises, etc. I have my environment stable for a couple of years now, it’s a joy when you have no complaints from wife/kids … That’s the huge advantage to a pro level system I’ve found - there’s always your dealer or remote programmer to make it work at the outset or if you get stuck. I love tinkering and wiring etc (and HE and self install of equipment is great outlet for that) but sometimes you run out of time or patience or both and you can call your dealer or remote programmer - kind of like phoning a friend. msgreenf and South Africa C4 user 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 3 hours ago, wnpublic said: And yet he yeeted right out of there.... I don't think that is really how it went down...I think it had more to do w the company being sold to SnapAV but yes he is no longer there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnpublic Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 1 hour ago, msgreenf said: I don't think that is really how it went down...I think it had more to do w the company being sold to SnapAV but yes he is no longer there. Ok...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeHappy Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 On 5/30/2021 at 9:52 PM, msgreenf said: @BeHappy you can integrate Tuya devices into c4 now! @msgreenf Really? Tell me more! Which devices? Are there drivers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 https://drivercentral.io/platforms/control4-drivers/climate-fan-fireplace/tuya/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeHappy Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Thanks. I did a search and found it just after I posted. Costs more than most of the actual devices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 16 hours ago, wnpublic said: And yet he yeeted right out of there.... He was with the company for a year or so, and left once SnapAV acquired. Not an unusual employment track in tech. RyanE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnpublic Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 17 minutes ago, RyanE said: He was with the company for a year or so, and left once SnapAV acquired. Not an unusual employment track in tech. RyanE Yes, nothing was wrong! Foolish of anyone to think otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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