It is nice of get home tired from work and have the system working flawlessly. Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Just contact us by phone on 0203 865 6433, or book a free consultation where we can help you to discern which of the many home automation platforms we offer would work best for your London-based smart home. Cost? For comparison, our Crestron systems generally start at about $2000 for a control processor, remote control and iOS or Android control, plus programming, so initially we thought perhaps we may find something that would fit our clients needs. The screen is large enough to clearly show cover art of music playing, as well as live feeds from H264 IP cameras. Interface flexibility? Lets start with the most popular mid-level home automation system company, Control4. But then its not a limitation of the system. Both Control4 and URC program quickly easily, but are limited to preprogrammed interfaces, and don't give a lot of total customizing options. Kudos: Offers all of the programming flexibility URC is known for; Voice Remote is a great touch; lots of integration solutions Concerns: Like any control system, performance tied to the programming Product Specs: Total Control systems only available to authorized dealers and requires Accelerator programming software Recently URC as a company has been giving me a fit, and I am considering going back to RTI, its a shame, I'm very comfortable with their product but a few issues with my past few RMAs has me thinking I'll give RTI a chance again. VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. Control4's remote control is cheaper than Savant's, but users can have a better experience with the touch screen and voice control available in Savant's one. . So for example I could have a watch movie screen with all the transport buttons, and then have a few buttons off the side for raising the lights or changing the screen mask aspect ratio, etc., without having to change to another page. Yes, it takes a separate video input (expensive if you are using an HDMI matrix switch and need to buy a bigger model to accommodate) and yes, you need to wait for your display device to fully power up before you can do ANYTHING. Monitor the system remotely with offsite service and support. 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. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Just contact us by phone on, Robust graphic (GUI) customisation for connected mobile devices, A choice of user interfaces, including touch screens, remote controls and keypads, Personalised onscreen graphics for inclusion on the interface, Control for various protocols, such as IR, IP, 12v triggers and relays. let me be clear not hating on anything, just stating my own opinion. To help avert this kind of problem, Control4 has built the following wealth of functionality into its own platform: This would depend on what type of entertainment such as music, films or TV you intend to enjoy at your smart home. Control System Integration Our engineers have written drivers for the industry's leading control systems, including Control4, Crestron, ELAN, URC and more - so controlling the system has a familiar feel. The reason I went down the C4 route was because there are already so many third party integration drivers available for it, for products such as Sonos, Wyrestorm etc. (Image credit: Control4) It can control up to 15 devices, including both . But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. I personally think their stuff feltjust a bit stale, with not a lot of large improvements. Ive long been a fan of their wands, and the new TRC-1480 remote builds on what URC does really well. Control4 has a built in media player but for music only. There is Lutron Caseta integration but theres no Nest or Sonos integration at this time. We think its our job to provide our clients with the best available system at any given moment in time and not be slavishly devoted to our favorite control system manufacturer. Little bit of background. Press J to jump to the feed. Since I don't have extensive experience with programming a control 4 or RTI system. (Or you can go with Flex if you want total programming control.) Alternatively, a Crestron DIN-AP3 processor + RF gateway + URC MX-890 goes for $2300 with each additional remote $499. The following page was printed from RemoteCentral.com: This thread has 37 replies. Sony PlayStation 3 Advanced Control Roundup, Universal Remote Control Inc. Digital R50. You control these bulbs using a Total Control remote, keypad, or a smartphone or tablet, and you can lower the lights or brighten the room as you please. Their wifi remote is expensive, has terrible battery life and we just cant get it to connect to our wifi network reliably. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Ill save you the time looking up the definition of the word hubris; it means excessive pride or self-confidence.. Savant vs Control4: These are quality alternatives and would fall into what we call two-way solutions (see our description above). So, here we go. 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 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? 2. home.. All Rights Reserved. Lets go through how you turn on the Bluray player. Tu smo da sasluamo Vae elje i zajedno uz konsultacije odaberemo optimalnu opremu koja se uklapa u Va budet. This required an entirely new programming platform called Accelerator, new and more powerful MRX-series system controllers, new wand and touchscreen remotes, and a network-based infrastructure that brought it into the IP-age. Their system controllers are not expensive. Salesperson sold him was on a Total Control kick and we put that in, I wasn't very impressed with the TCR-1280s, latency and having to reboot them because they are connected but don't actually do anything. They have reasonably priced audio distribution systems. For any system above a single-room installation, the only remote option is an $870 two-way jobber with a color screen. This is part of the companys distributed High-Definition Audio lineup that uses AVB (Audio Video Bridging) to route digital audio signals at up to 96 kHz/24-bit resolution with zero loss or latency around a home. It really helps with pressing direction buttons rapidly, etc. Others in the same boat have said the same. I know there is a Roku driver by a 3rd party company (Extra Vegatables) that will give you full access to the Roku if you put it into a video matrix (like your Altona recommendation). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Feel free to mentally insert the Lord of the Rings Boromir, One does not simply meme here about ordering any gear from URCs Total Control line. This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies. All Rights Reserved. Weve put the remote through its paces and we like the feel of the remote, its rechargeable batteries and our ability to remotely update the system, all crucial elements of a satisfactory user experience. Every platform has them.
Travis Leo
Denver, CO
Residential Systems, Inc.
. They even have the holy grail of remotes: a cheap handheld remote with one-button operation. Cant argue with that. And let me add this: i also find the remote update and management functionality of C4 superior to both Crestron and RTI. Not bad if you are using an LED TV, but think about those of us with video projectors that take a minute or more to start up. Both companies swear by those systems. Many companies now require some formal training before you are authorized to sell their product, followed by many more days/weeks/months of practical, on-the-job training as programmers learn the subtle nuances and tricks of a given programming software. I used to have an RTI system in my house, and I have to agree it was much more customizable, but that also complicated the design of the user interface. Post 1 made on Tuesday August 16, 2011 at 21:51: Elite AV. URC and BluOS Collaborate for BluOS Two-Way Module. Programming complexity? The Total Control 2.0 suite includes wall-mounted touch-screens, tabletop tablets, remotes and iOS/Android apps for control from anywhere. 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. <---Thanks Ernie ;). Siri Voice Assistant is available on iPhone, iPad, Home Pod & apple watch. URC vs. RTI vs. Control4 vs. AMX vs. Savant. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. This thread has 27 replies. Just wondering if there is any RTI dealers here and what they think about the system compared to Control4. One of the most popular capabilities in smart home systems is Whole House Music -- the ability to play different streams of music throughout a house in any particular grouping. Savant have a polished eco system which relies heavily on Apple devices - the user experience is tight and fluid. I ripped out a russound CAV6.6 and mx850 system for a custome that lightning killed and insurance cut him a check for. I'm quite biased, as I'm sure you would guess. You can also store up to 10 .WAV files in the amp to create custom doorbell ring chimes. Here are just a few features you can expect from a Crestron smart home system set up in your London abode. 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. Harmony Companion Universal Remote. It's also Control4's greatest strength for whole home automation setups. Personally I hate urc. Read more about Versed incredible partnership with Control4 Smart Home Control. Best. URCs flagship home automation system, Total Control 2.0, is a whole-home solution for controlling compatible third-party smart products. Now I use alot of basic URC remotes as well for basic systems, My list is far longer with URC(non warrantied, and wasn't really worth my time for the price of the remotes, and my aggravation with tech support (pretty much useless) I will keep using them on basic system, but thats it. Nice! Displaying posts 1 through 15. Thats why you should start thinking carefully about what smart home control system to implement even if your London home is already kitted out with an array of smart tech. Maybe they're just already really good at what they do and they don't need improvements, but IMHO, they needed something new and big and exciting to drive trafficat the show. If your wifi goes out, so does it. Who says you can't put 61" plasmas up on cantilever mounts using toggle bolts? However, it is completely reliant on WiFi to operate. Its also possible to control any of these smart home systems by voice alone. The remote is well-balanced, feels good in the hand, has a great combination of hard buttons and 2.4-inch color touchscreen for customization and display, and has enough battery to last a couple days off the cradle. Instead of reaching for one remote to turn on your TV . Voila! Take control of the URC Total Control 2.0 home automation and control system and go mobile anytime, anywhere. Three of the home automation brands with which our installers are thoroughly experienced are Control4, Crestron and URC. I agree that you should consider integrating the alarm system. First, a homeowner can easily add and edit a list of favorite channels. View our amplifiers, adapters, and more. Controls audio and video equipment, as well as lights and scenes, media browsing, voice control, and more. - Ron Swanson. https://www.urc-automation.com; 800-901-0800, Kudos: Offers all of the programming flexibility URC is known for; Voice Remote is a great touch; lots of integration solutions, Concerns: Like any control system, performance tied to the programming. For someone doing a fresh install, the price for TC vs C4 is so close that I would go C4. 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. For my system Marantz pre-pro, Sony and LG TVs, Dish Hopper, Apple TV, Samsung 4K Blu-ray, HEOS Link, Lutron lighting and HVAC, and Hunter Douglas shades all of the drivers were available. We were wrong. We can remotely update nearly every part of the system without a truck roll. I used to hate the remote control, but I got used to it. Honestly I prefer that way then having to do every little change or customization for them. But I've heard little or no mention of Elan g! Programming for the remotes is done half in Clares tool and half in URCs own tool. RTI has a really nice setup of remotes. If you ask nearly any 3rd party who was first to integrate with them via IP drivers, it's invariably Control4. The Halo, the Halo Touch, and the Control4 SR-260 remotes are the perfect hand-held interfaces to the whole home. 2571 Piedmont Rd NE Suite 110
First, for a simple single room solution, the $349 Harmony Ultimate Home remote system does a nice job of controlling simple home theater, lighting, shading, and climate. Remote Control), Elan etc. Wait, a touch screen remote is better than one with buttons for Home Theaters? Ive added them to our portfolio, since were mainly doing home cinema setups, and people prefer to have a (touch)remote controlling them. In summary, we found out that a system that is fully featured, intuitive to operate AND less expensive than Crestron is a unicorn. Vie od 20 godina emociju i pozitivnu energiju koju donosi muzika unosimo u Vae domove i poslovne prostore. For this, I find the combination touchscreen and hard button remote like Neeo is better, although Neeo needs backlit buttons badly. Want to change one button on an Rti screen = Truck roll out. It's pretty nice. This driver allows you to integrate UniFi's NVR into the Control4 Navigators. SR-260 might not be pretty, but it's great for Home Theater applications. I've written some software that tests the button latency on the URC Total Control remotes and controllers and it's fairly high (~120ms). Most of my TV watching is sports and I watch it delayed to be able to skip through timeouts and commercials so I am continuously using the transport buttons. Of course, the system also supports control via iOS or Android devices, and even includes a simple way to offer guests a customized stripped down version of the interface to keep them from getting too deep in the weeds, as well as the ability to password-protect the app login. These would be comparable with URC's Total Control line which is their step-up product from their one-way models in their Complete Control line-up. Bad experience - dont trust it anymore. All Control4 systems also include native support for various music services, including Spotify, Pandora, Deezer and Tidal. October 29, 2020 . 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. Thanks to our development partnerships, you can now access the legendary performance of Russound's high performance audio products through industry-leading control systems such as Control4, URC, RTI and more. Also handy is that any macro created by Accelerator can be converted to an Alexa skill, quickly cutting down on some further programming. Bottom line is URC should stick with making great remotes. 1. This isn't an overnight decision as you'll have to invest plenty of money and time so do your research. Its dim, low res and tiny. URC can save data about the events in your home to IFTTT's daily or weekly email digest. 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. Home / Blog / Smart Control / We Offer Control4 Offsite Programming. The Savant range of products is good - providing whole home audio video, lighting control and . During my time living with the Total Control System (about three months), performance and operation was pretty reliable. Without a doubt, one of the most important decisions a company will make is selecting the control system they will support. I will chime in on Elan G! What I don't like about C4 is the lack of *free* 2 way drivers. It also offers voice control via both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Technically, some home automation systems can control practically anything; however, actually trying to use one of these systems for this purpose could be an exercise in frustration. URC's Total Control user interfaces and remotes offer attractive GUIs, easy operation, and full control of your home or business. On to the next system. 1 comment. 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. This decision also comes with some costs. Total Control ups this ante by adding a significant RS232 and IP database to Accelerator, along with additional drivers you can download from the companys portal. Wow I should have proof read that, Had a few(or many) "Fat Tire" beers tonight (we can't get it here) and I LOVE the stuff! Sony, Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Nest, etc. Get personalized smart home and business solutions. Upload or insert images from URL. I really think you will be better off with Control4 than URC. For other products like your Home Audio, your TVs, your Lighting Control, etc, both Savant and Control4 integrate well. With this you can easily do about anything that you can with a normal Alexa device, including setting timers and playing music from the remotes built-in speaker. 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. The 9100 was especially great for using the third-party Kaleidescape driver I installed from Chowmain (chowmainsoft.com). It's just a different class of product. In doing so, we came up with some interesting conclusions. I personally loved the graphics, the mobile app, the way the amps share sources via the network without worrying about audio delay, the equipment looks beautiful in the rack and IMHO URC makes the best remote controls (TRC-1080 is the best ever), but you need an extremely solid network for all to work well. Display as a link instead, Search the forum for more info. And Savant wants to play in Crestrons playground, so it is priced accordingly. 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. In my opinion URC has the largest set of IR codes for TVs and etc. Anyway.. Control4 has been a really good systemand very stable. While Sonos is purely an audio system, Control4 can do more than multiroom audio with their system. 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. And of course im totally fine with that. This is not least because Control4 offers a wide selection of compatible smart products for the likes of home cinemas and media rooms. Ability for complete customization has always been Control4's weakest point, and that definitely remains the case. E: sales@kinetiqsmarthome.com. Control4, Savant, and Crestron can each do this. This wasnt life-changing, but it was a very welcome bit of added cool that took zero programming or effort on my part to implement. The driver allows viewing of video only. Right in the sweet spot. Huh?). Also, because you are talking directly into the mic, it does a good job of hearing your request if loud music is playing. The RTI and URC product lines include a several remote controls that combine all the functionality of each separate remote control, but don't add anything else to the picture. This more advanced control thing is not for them. Total Control from URC sounds good but the MX5000 and MX6000 have been buggy so I'm not sure how about the new line at all. It also directly integrates with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant for voice control (Apple HomeKit integration is on the way; please stay tuned). 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. Along the way, we offered other single-room, remote-only solutions for customers not needing whole-house integration, and one of the brands weve supported for many years is Universal Remote Control, aka URC. I was tired of the endless tweaking on programming and the time it took to program the whole thing and then to download to almost all devices once the programming was changed. Logitech. To get a good idea of a representative whole-house control and audio system, URC sent me a variety of hardware including the MRX-15 advanced processor, TRC-1480 handheld remote with voice control, TDC-9100 10-inch tabletop touchscreen controller, HDA-8100 multi-zone amplifier, and MRX-4IR auxiliary base stations. While the system doesnt have any built-in streaming services, it works with a variety of popular hardware solutions such as Fusion, HEOS, Sonos, and Autonomic, allowing you (the integrator) to use your preferred solution. We found lots of sub $1200 systems comprised of a central processor and remote control. Yet. Total Control was released a few years ago pretty much in beta. Aquatel D110 Wireless Tank Fluid Monitor Driver for Control4. These include but are not limited to: Our own London-based team includes URC systems integration professionals authorised to install and program Total Control 2.0 on behalf of clients who reside in the UK. Connecting RS-232 (serial): The MRX-5 can operate equipment via RS-232 communication. The most important part of the user experience is the remote. Somfy shades usually work well with C4. Now, RadioRA 3 takes integration to another level. The smart-home manufacturer overtook longtime leader Crestron for the first time in 2015 and continues gaining market share (or at least mind share) among this group of highest-revenue specialists. Swipe, tap and rotate your way to securely control your equipment! 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. Ive even ripped outold rti projects and replaced with control4. This is what matters to me nowadays. The amp also features two 12-volt triggers and two sets of assignable RCA pre-outs that are great for feeding a local home theater zone or driving a powered subwoofer in a zone. We Are A Recommend Installer For Control4. The layout of the latter will actually be decided by the integrator and we would be happy to show you, on request, our own take on the Crestron interface. If you already have Control4 and are running the latest version of Smart Home OS 3, Neeo can be added to your system easily. Neither remote has any facility for one-touch operation (in fairness, a newly announced version has 3 one-touch keys, but they are stupidly labeled <.> <..> and <>). Beyond the monetary cost of the hardware needed to outfit a showroom with a working system capable of demonstrating different features and options, theres the cost youll be selling the hardware for, and the massive time commitment in the form of training and programming. We Offer Control4 Offsite Programming Jan 20, 2020 . This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. "When I eat, it is the food that is scared." URC Launches Certified Voice Control Integration with Comcast Xfinity. URC's Total Control smart home base stations & processors make interfaces, controllers, & automation devices work together. RTI wants to charge you for EACH one of these devices. The baby $299 TRC-780 has a horrible LCD screen. iOS or Android apps are $99 from the app stores and run on as many devices in your household as you have with ONE app purchase. URCs Complete Control line of remote controls and base stations has served us very well over the years, delivering incredibly reliable performance and RF control, straight-forward programming, and with almost zero hardware-related callbacks. Control4 has Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Napster, Deezer, Spotify, Qobuz and Tidal all native to every Control4 system. Again both systems have their purpose and at the end of the day sometimes its down to the clients preference and budget. If youve ever poked around URCs database, youll know it is packed with thousands of IR drivers supporting a huge array of equipment going back many years. I do not have experience with URC but I just got Control4 a few weeks ago. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. While some large companies have the luxury of supporting multiple control brands, most of us will only be able to support one, and going in on that means going all in. 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. Your mileage may vary I guess. My option are RTI, ISY, and Control4. C4 has been great for me. View our dimmers, switches, modules, and more. This app allows you to control all your homes from one convenient location, whether they have HomeWorks, Caseta or RA2 Select. You could also name the buttons however you'd like, so again it was 100% customizable. It takes very little time to program and the whole thing just works. I have been an integrator for over 10 years. 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. You cant really ask for a better try it, youll like it! offer. It also gave me the opportunity to work with Chowmains tech support and developers, specifically Richard Mullins, who was absolutely fantastic working with my feedback on the driver and developing multiple versions for me to test. EDIT: This is the Crestron and these are the RTI remotes. However, what you really need or at least could immensely benefit from is one control system that ties all of these together. Personally I hate urc. URC can send push notifications (using pushalot, pushbullet or pushover) https://www.urc-automation.com; 800-901-0800. Distribute high fidelity audio throughout a home or commercial facility with URC's new High-Definition Audio (HDA) products. In my opinion, I think they probably have some nice touchpanels, decentremotes, and you can probably do fine small systems with it, but it has nowhere near the device support or native streaming services or intercom/doorstationsupport or lighting options as Control4. Back to the operation of the remotes: We can dismiss the cheaper remote out of hand because it ONLY operates an on-screen display. RA3 comes with Lutron's LEAP API which embeds system programming directly in the top control brands' design software, saving hours of programming time. Connect RS-232 device using URC's proprietary RS-232 cables. I install both URC & C4 by the way. As a reviewer, I got a bit of a free pass on URCs training requirements. Further, if your preferred driver isnt available, you can create an IR, RS-232, or IP driver to fit your needs. Depending on which features you choose, pricing can be anywhere from $1,000 to more than $50,000. Its a real pet peeve of mine when a remotes display is too dim to read in a darkened environment (sadly, a problem thats only getting worse as I get older), and the TRC-1480 totally aces this test, with a nice tilt sensor that wakes the screen and backlit buttons when you grab it. Communication is handled with a Gigabit Ethernet connection. Another cool URC touch is the way the company integrates favorite and programming information. If there's one thing I've learned after talking to countless installers from every part of the country using every control system under the sun, it's that there is no perfect solution. 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. A forum community dedicated to home theater owners and enthusiasts. C4 has some well-priced options and they have an extensive list of compatible 3rd party devices. It is worth noting that using this functionality requires connecting devices to an AVB-compliant switch, such as URCs HDASW5. Each system has at least one critical flaw and some have more than one. By That may be Crestron, Savant, C4, or AMX.