Control4 Unveils 7-Inch Wall Mount Touch Screen

[electron]

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – June 25, 2008 — Control4 Corporation, a leader in affordable IP-based home control and entertainment systems, today announced the release of the Control4® 7-inch POE Wall Mount Touch Screen. The new touch screen expands the product family, consisting of the Control4® 10.5-inch Wall Mount Touch Screen and the Control4® Mini Touch Screen. Combining new ergonomic styling with an easy-to-use interface, the Control4 7-inch POE Wall Mount Touch Screen offers convenient control of whole-home automation, including a home theater, multi-room music, advanced temperature control, security integration and smart lighting.


click to enlarge

“By rounding out our wall mount touch screen options with a 7-inch screen, we provide increased flexibility on price, size and functionality for additional rooms in the home,” said Will West, Chief Executive Officer at Control4. “We’re pleased to offer a new industrial design to the touch screen family with this release, adding elegance to the whole-home automation experience along with increased performance capabilities.”

Control4’s new touch screen is a 16x9 format that has three times the display area of the Control4 Mini Touch Screen and is capable of running the screen saver functionality that turns the touch panel into a picture frame. Users can now be greeted in a unique way when a touch screen is not in use. Once the photo screensaver has been enabled on a system, Control4® Composer Home Edition software can be used to add or remove pictures and configure display settings.

The Control4 7-inch POE Wall Mount Touch Screen is priced at $1,195 retail for the US Market and is expected to ship in July 2008. A Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) version will be available later this year, priced at $1,195 retail for the US Market. For a complete listing of 7-inch In-Wall Touch Screen product specifications, visit www.control4.com.

 

[LightenUP]

Sounds pretty cool. What are some known issues (if any)with Control4? I understand it's based on a mesh network, but what's the Zigbee protocal like in reliability?

Just curious.

 

[Rustytek]

I spoke with the sales rep at EHX and the price is significantly less for dealers - I think he said ~ $500.00. As for the zigbee protocol, Control4 is currently using a propietary Zigbee implementation but plans to become zigbee pro compliant by the end of the year.

As a note - sales reps usually tell people what they want to hear.

 

[LightenUP]

Any of you use this?

Can you provide your experiences?

 

[TLCNORM]

I worked for a Control 4 dealer for a few months. I needed to take a little time off from that job. I can't wait to get back into it. I am suprised control 4 isn't mentioned here more often. I was really excited about their products. Nice interfaces. Installs went very smooth with no major issues. Light switches act as repeaters for the zigbee. A couple of larger homes had some minor issues with range, but that was easily corrected with adding an additional light switch or thermostat.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

I worked for a Control 4 dealer for a few months. I needed to take a little time off from that job. I can't wait to get back into it. I am suprised control 4 isn't mentioned here more often. I was really excited about their products. Nice interfaces. Installs went very smooth with no major issues. Light switches act as repeaters for the zigbee. A couple of larger homes had some minor issues with range, but that was easily corrected with adding an additional light switch or thermostat.

Control 4 doesn't seem to be very DIY friendly. Also, you have to buy into their system lock stock and barrel and it's very expensive.

Most of us here want a'la cart selection of components which doesn't seem to fit well with Control4. Also, if you aren't a dealer, I don't think you can even purchase any of their stuff.

Might be wrong on this so someone please correct me if I am!!

I equate Control 4 to systems such as Creston.

 

[DavidL]

Similar business model to Crestron, but quite a bit different products. Control4 is locked down, allowing little customization. I am sure that strategy is to make it easier for a dealer to install and maintain. Crestron allows for significant dealer customization. Both require their complete end to end hardware / software and are not available to non dealers. Control4 is quite a bit cheaper than Crestron, but not apples to apples and fit different markets with Crestron at the high end, and Control4 at the middle. AMX and Crestron are closer competitors.

I worked for a Control 4 dealer for a few months. I needed to take a little time off from that job. I can't wait to get back into it. I am suprised control 4 isn't mentioned here more often. I was really excited about their products. Nice interfaces. Installs went very smooth with no major issues. Light switches act as repeaters for the zigbee. A couple of larger homes had some minor issues with range, but that was easily corrected with adding an additional light switch or thermostat.

Control 4 doesn't seem to be very DIY friendly. Also, you have to buy into their system lock stock and barrel and it's very expensive.

Most of us here want a'la cart selection of components which doesn't seem to fit well with Control4. Also, if you aren't a dealer, I don't think you can even purchase any of their stuff.

Might be wrong on this so someone please correct me if I am!!

I equate Control 4 to systems such as Creston.

 

[electron]

They definitely aren't DIY friendly, I e-mailed them for some info, and some of the folks over there just deleted my e-mail, while others ignored it. Even if it is locked down, it still could be a good solution for some of the Cocooners here.

 

[CalypsoCowboy]

From what I understand you can buy the software that will allow you to customize the environment. But I understand that you have to have a dealer add the device so it's available in the software to customize.

It may be DIY, but not very DIY friendly compared to the other solutions discussed here more regularly.

 

[TLCNORM]

You guys are pretty much right on the mark. I do believe you need to be a dealer to buy. There is a home version of the setup software, but I have never used it so I do not know how far they will let you go. I do know that tech support for dealers at this point is VERY good. I just really liked the look and feel of it. I'd like to start automating my home soon. I am just watching all these threads to see what works and what doesn't. Lighting control seemed to be so solid and fairly inexpensive on control 4.
I believe Control 4 wanted to be an attractive solution for those that could not afford Crestron or AMX with a real nice GUI.

 

[LightenUP]

One of our customers has a CONTROL4 system already installed and he has been able to add switches himself very easily. Once the main controller (which I have been told is around $750) he can add switches or modules as his needs grow. The switches I have been told sell for $99. I understand as integrators here, there has to be profit for business so installed I would guess has some fees attached by the hour.

As far as DIYers this customer led me to believe all was available and user friendly.

I have not seen anything but what is on their site.

Interesting video there too, one with the creator of the ethernet.

I would like to learn more.

Thanks