A Big Thank You !!! (and particularly the Soho Shop)

(Sorry for the double post, actually posted in For Sale by accident)

I just wanted to take the time to thank you all for all your help. I had a large C4 install in Michigan and my dealer went out of business. Anyway after much inquiry, I was able to hook up with a dealer from this site (Bryan Jefferson from www.thesohoshop.com). Bryan actually road tripped to my house (all the way from St. Louis, MO) this past Friday and cleaned up so many things that you had all recommended. As a result my system is now very robust and performing at a higher level than ever before. I can now call myself completely satisfied with C4 and look forward to many years of enjoyment. Some highlights of the items you all contributed that may help others with install problems:

1) We initiated 2 zigbee servers, one for each level of my home (one HC500 and one HC300) the 300 now services one entire level and the remotes rock

2) Redid the entire network, upgraded to Cisco 4400n routers and access points much more stable

3) Put in a gigabit switch vs. standard, I was skeptical of this but it really makes a difference, it is amazing how important the network infrastructure is to C4

All in all I now have the following, 1-HC1000, 1-HC500, 2-HC300's, 6 HTC's (for kids rooms etc), 10 thermos, 3 touchscreens (got rid of 2 as the HTC's work better for the rooms in question), lots of switches etc.

The coolest thing is my kids tv's now serve as music server, speaker, weatherstation etc.

I cannot thank you all enough for all the advice!:D:D

Glad to hear it!!! Goes to, once again, show that NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE IS KEY to a good install!!! Not to mention a knowledgeable installer!!! Glad to hear Brian did a great job!

glad it worked out

I didn't realize you could add additional zigbee servers. I'd understood you could only run Zigbee on one controller at a time. Would that be another (albeit more expensive) solution for those of us having zigbee connectivity issues? The CardAccess device has been somewhat effective for me, but would having a controller plugged into Ethernet somewhere else in the house allow me to create another Zigbee base?

You may have one Zserver *per channel* talking to the same master controller.

I have 3 zservers running in my house, one per floor. Main floor, on the default Channel 14, upstairs, Channel 13, basement, Channel 7.

The difficulty is that your dealer would have to change all the devices close to the new zserver to the channel the zserver is on. It's not extremely difficult, but for anything other than the system remote controls, you can't do it on the device itself, you have to change them manually.

It definitely speeds up the system and makes remotes especially more responsive.

It's one of the better arguments for one controller per TV, as well.

RyanE

3) Put in a gigabit switch vs. standard, I was skeptical of this but it really makes a difference, it is amazing how important the network infrastructure is to C4

What brand of gigabit switch did you use? I'm looking at the D-Link DGS-1016D with auto sensing ports, anyone have any thoughts? Thanks

1) dell. 2) netgear.

I did the Linksys around $225 on Amazon.