All rights reserved. In this area, Savant is improving, but Control4 definitely has the upper hand. Asking which control platform is better is like asking which speakers sound better. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. We install Control4 systems like this all the time. For someone wanting to switch, that is a hefty price but you will likely not look back. This decision establishes and potentially differentiates your company in the local market, and determines to some extent the kinds of projects youll install, the sub-systems it can interface with, and the complexity and customization of the programming. For programmers that like living fully outside the sandbox and getting into full and total customization, URC also offers a version of its software called Flex. It is capable of beating every other brand standing in line to compete. Tu smo da sasluamo Vae elje i zajedno uz konsultacije odaberemo optimalnu opremu koja se uklapa u Va budet. Bottom line is URC should stick with making great remotes. Beyond hardwired Gigabit Ethernet for network control, there are eight 3.5mm IR ports with variable output, two configurable relays, two configurable 12-volt outputs, four 3.5mm RS-232 ports, and four 3.5mm sensor ports. Control4 has a built in media player but for music only. You have obviously not been into home audio or done any research into swan hivi speakers and drivers well, i know a little about it, just took this pic in. With this driver I could browse my movie collection by cover art or list, search for a specific film, see synopsis of the movies along with rating, run time, and actors, or select and jump to Kaleidescapes pre-bookmarked scenes, which was great for finding and queueing content before selecting it. Agree 100%. Control4 and Crestron offer basic integrations with Amazon Alexa, while URCs Total Control 2.0 platform can be effectively used with Alexa as well as Google Assistant. We figured wed give it another shot with the most current programming software and firmware. Now Available: Tech Talk Podcast with Scott Wilkinson, Episode 19, http://residentialsystemsinc.com/control4-vs-savant-for-todays-smart-home/. Wait, a touch screen remote is better than one with buttons for Home Theaters? So the best middle market system available today is the entry level system from Crestron, especially when scaled up to several rooms of control or more. I did like being able to add any button I'd like to any touch screen or remote screen. . At first glance, the price seems right about $800 to start for a small controller and about $300 for a 2-way zigbee remote. For example, a Control4 EA controller can also automate the entire AV setup in a room and make it easy to control all your audio equipment. I have trained and sold Crestron, RTI, Lifeware, Colorado vNet, and URC. It is worth noting that using this functionality requires connecting devices to an AVB-compliant switch, such as URCs HDASW5. I do ALL of our programming and have been a Crestron certified programmer since 2003, so we NEVER outsource any bit of our installation. Sony PlayStation 3 Advanced Control Roundup, Universal Remote Control Inc. Digital R50. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. I have lived with, in my personal home, C4, Crestron, RTI and URC. We Are A Recommend Installer For Control4. Connect RS-232 device using URC's proprietary RS-232 cables. Available in Black. First, I'll make sure it's understood that I am a big fan of C4, have been for years. 1998-2023, Daniel Tonks. For someone doing a fresh install, the price for TC vs C4 is so close that I would go C4. And URC has a very powerful MCS remote accessing tool where you can check on the status of projects, upload programming changes, check system health and history, force a reboot, and more. Paste as plain text instead, You can consent to all cookies by clicking "Accept All" or click "Cookie Preferences" to choose which Cookies to allow. These bulbs are designed to save energy and last an estimated 20 . Theres a choice of two GREAT remotes at terrific prices (actually there are about 15 different options when you combine all of Crestrons own options with URCs compatible remotes and RTIs compatible remotes). Best. Hit Watch, look at the tiny orange text on your remote, scroll down with the menu buttons 3 times until you see BluRay and hit Select. About this app. Never has been and never will be. Pasted as rich text. No one invests as much time and resources into 3rd party device support as Control4 does. Lets go through how you turn on the Bluray player. After a few months of living with the system and working with Accelerator, Im not too proud to say I needed the training. Clear editor. Your smart home could comprise a staggeringly wide range of devices and appliances - from smart alarms and security to multi-room audiovisual systems.However, what you really need - or at least could immensely benefit from - is one control system that ties all of these together. I am sure you will be happy with the system. Control4 is much more expandable, as well. Display as a link instead, Our group of technicians are experienced in troubleshooting, design, and creative automation solutions. For most users this isn't a problem, but I am hoping to find a system that can send button presses nearly as fast as a keyboard (~16ms). Right in the sweet spot. While URC offer its own Z-Wave lighting hardware, the system also integrates with a variety of other popular subsystems like Lutron and Vantage, which worked perfectly since my house is kitted out with Radio RA2 lighting and thermostats. Fortunately, on top of free online training, programming guides, and integration modules for many of their control drivers, URC offers live virtual training to ensure dealers can get the most out of systems, with the full Total Control training taking two eight-hour days. These products work together to form the technology ecosystem of your custom-programmed smart home or business. It is subjective to the people selling it, installing it, programming it, and ultimately, using it. But $599 is expensive for a remote and 2-way remotes are just a dumb idea anyway in this day and age of fabulous, readily handy smartphones and tablets. But they are not ready enough for us. Online, you'll rarely see Control4 compared with RTI, you'll see it compared with Savant and Crestron, the 3 'big boys' in Home Automation. E: sales@kinetiqsmarthome.com. Ive gotten in the habit of turning lights and fans on/off via Alexa, and the voice remote did a great job handling these requests. URC can send push notifications (using pushalot, pushbullet or pushover) You will find opinions, positive and negative, about all of them. Given that both C4 and URC TC are probably more than capable of your system size and complexity, the integrator will be the key difference. Back to the operation of the remotes: We can dismiss the cheaper remote out of hand because it ONLY operates an on-screen display. The HDA-8100 offers loads of configuration within the Accelerator software, letting you trim source input levels, create permanent zone groups, set any zone to mono, and adjust high- and low-pass filters and even a 5-band Parametric EQ setting per each zone. I wish they would bring Yeungling into Texas. Control4 has better integration when it comes to drivers and Rti is customisable. Log-In or Register to view pricing. Our latest research project was to come up with an entry level and mid level product offering to complement our anything is possible Crestron systems at the high end. You could also name the buttons however you'd like, so again it was 100% customizable. For more stories like this, and to keep up to date with all our market leading news, features and analysis, sign up to our newsletter here. macaulaymcculkin1 7 yr. ago. Having the GUI flexibility to edit is nice, but C4 has been around much longer and the amount of controllable items reflects it. If you are looking to bring in a new control system or make a change from your current provider, Total Controls feature set certainly makes it worthy of your consideration. Play your favorite music anywhere in your home or business with URC's Total Control architectural smart home speakers. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. That is why I think the 260 (or even 250) are more suitable for me than the Neeo. I agree that you should consider integrating the alarm system. Update my browser now, Home URC offers a family of premium Total Control user interfaces, advanced system controllers, multi-room audio technology and lighting control. 8. Your smart home could comprise a staggeringly wide range of devices and appliances from, Have any questions about Crestron, Control4 or URC not addressed in this article? However, it is completely reliant on WiFi to operate. The Complete Control systems are specialized for family room entertainment and Home Theater. Generally, if you strive for a multifunctional, world-class entertainment system that will make your friends envious, Control4 is likely to be the best fit. Lets start with the most popular mid-level home automation system company, Control4. I grab my SR-260 and I can navigate in the darkness with no issues and without having to look down at all,try to do that with a touch screen remote. Explore the latest products to automate, secure, and monitor your home. We need more of your input around here. are on the . After selecting their location and provider, the remote will then display a small bit of live guide information, letting you preview what is playing on a favorite channel before actually turning to it. Allows viewing of UniFi NVR Cameras on the Control4 Navigator; Control4 OS 2.5.3 and higher; UniFi NVR Firmware version 3.2 or later Their system controllers are not expensive. Redeeming the system somewhat, the TRC-1080 is a 2-way version of one of our favorite remotes, the MX-890. You are absolutely correct. Which isnt a bad thing; it just highlights that this is a new company just getting on their feet. They even have the holy grail of remotes: a cheap handheld remote with one-button operation. We use cookies to customise content and provide a better experience on our website. Rest assured, you can still customize the programming and layout, adding any button to any screen to tweak the programming and layout to perfectly fit your customers needs, as well as adding customized graphics for backgrounds and room images to further personalize the project. Few would argue that Crestron is not the most powerful system on the planet. Custom Installers' Lounge Forum - View Post. However, what you really need or at least could immensely benefit from is one control system that ties all of these together. The baby $299 TRC-780 has a horrible LCD screen. Displaying posts 31 through 38. (URC is slated to resume live training in July.). This more than wipes out the cost advantage on the controllers and makes people angry in the process. With the combination of TC hardware and DashOS.net modules and software, I can do anything that any other system can do and more. Your link has been automatically embedded. Connecting RS-232 (serial): The MRX-5 can operate equipment via RS-232 communication. Brand Name : URC Location: Oxford . With Flex you literally create every background, button, and graphic in a project, as well as manually create every bit of programming. Control4, Savant, and Crestron can each do this. 9 of 10. (Image credit: Control4) Your smart home could comprise a staggeringly wide range of devices and appliances from smart alarms and security to multi-room audiovisual systems. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. This driver allows you to integrate UniFi's NVR into the Control4 Navigators. OK, fair enough. More Reviews: Sense Labs Home Energy Monitor. The next generation of smart device control, URC Lighting creates the perfect atmosphere for entertaining or quiet family events with a line of smart dimmers, switches and networking devices. Very low battery consumption and it does what it is supposed to do. C4 apologists will say, but you can assign your favorite source to the Watch or Listen buttons. Beyond a variety of handheld remotes, URC also offers both tabletop and in-wall touchscreens, as well as keypads, giving homeowners a variety of control options. Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here! For this, I find the combination touchscreen and hard button remote like Neeo is better, although Neeo needs backlit buttons badly. E: sales@kinetiqsmarthome.com, Home Automation vs Integrated Home Automation, Home Automation Bill of Rights: Automated Remote Controls, KINETIQ awarded Lutrons coveted Black Diamond status. Prior to the Triad acquisition, Control4 only offered a 1616 audio matrix. Control4 is much more expandable, as well. Sony, Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Nest, etc. URC boasts a dizzying array of integration partnerships and in-home device compatibility, including Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control of anything you can operate at the push of a button on . CONTROL4 - THE ULTIMATE SMART HOME CONTROL . And, to truly get the most out of Accelerator and therefore your Total Control projects and installations I daresay you need the training, too. What defines your levels? Both Control4 and URC program quickly easily, but are limited to preprogrammed interfaces, and don't give a lot of total customizing options. Have any questions about Crestron, Control4 or URC not addressed in this article? Also, Accelerator does a really handy job auto-creating many of the macros and power management commands for you, keeping you from having to do some of the menial programming. Account Required. Thats 5 button presses navigating via a tiny screen that will confuse the old and young alike just to turn on the tv to BluRay and we havent even begun to navigate the BluRay interface itself on the TV (counter intuitively using the same buttons that operate the text menu on the remote itself. For these reasons, choosing a control system partner is almost like getting married; you go in planning for the long haul, and if you decide to get out, it can be painful and expensive. The Total Audio/Video Package . I didnt say that. Again both systems have their purpose and at the end of the day sometimes its down to the clients preference and budget. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Get Social with us. Finally, the programming software is ancient and it feels like it. Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Control4 has since added the AMS-8 audio matrix switch and AMP-8 8-zone power amplifier to its line, which are reviewed here. (URC actually showed this in action at CEDIA 2019 when the remote was launched.) Programming complexity? I liked that when you finish programming or making any changes, you can download to any or all URC devices simultaneously, meaning if you just made a minor change, just update that single device. When you get into shade control, integrated door locks, & lighting, it's probably time to step up to Control4. This is what matters to me nowadays. URC suggested some of these issues might have been due to my homes Luxul Epic Mesh network, which they recommend against using (and dont officially support), but that was the network environment I had to work with. I did experience a couple of times where I had to reboot the HDA-8100 amplifier, needed to delete and reinstall the mobile app to get it to connect, or where the voice remote said, Not connected to the AI Voice Daemon when trying to use Alexa. It can control up to 15 devices, including both . Current passions are IT and video security/access control. Programming tends to be more straightforward which can result in a lower cost to install than a truly bespoke Crestron system. sofakngJune 1, 2017 in General Control4 Discussion. The two issues that stood out as deal-breakers are their mobile app policy and the programming software. Other than that they are pretty much the same. Which brings us to Elan. Hence, you cant afford to overlook the user interfaces importance. Honestly I prefer that way then having to do every little change or customization for them. 2021 Versed Automation Ltd. Company Reg No: 12555314. Where does it stand these days (I'm getting back into the business after a year's vacation, so forgive me for being a little out of touch)?