That said, the touchpanel is the major difference between
Control4 and its higher-end automation competition. AMX and Crestron control
systems are great because their touchpanels can be custom tailored for your
system. Your dealer can program the buttons you need for each component to
appear on the touchpanel screen, but you’ll only see them when you need them.
Everything from the size of the buttons to their location on the screen—even the
quality of the graphics themselves—can (and must) be created to suit your system
and usage patterns. This adds to the system’s programming cost, but also adds to
its visual simplicity and elegance.
The Control4 touchpanel interface, on
the other hand, is predominantly prebuilt and includes only basic functions—such
as transport controls for a DVD player. The installer doesn’t draw the buttons
at all, which definitely saves on programming costs, but limits his options,
somewhat. He can add custom buttons that don’t appear on the default screen, but
all the additional controls you might need for a DVD player, for example, could
add a dozen or so buttons, which will certainly clutter the existing design. In
that sense, it is not unlike using a universal remote, where common controls are
available, but lesser used functions are buried in submenus. That said, I know
plenty of high-end automation dealers that don’t ever take advantage of the
graphical capabilities of the systems they sell, either due to basic neglect or
poor design sense.
I’m a huge believer in control systems. No matter what
your system costs, if you can’t use it, you’ve wasted every penny you’ve spent.
Now Control4 offers an excellent home automation option for those who previously
couldn’t afford it. I expect the Home Theater Controller, in particular, to be
an incredibly good value. If you’re willing to turn on the TV to see the
on-screen menu, you won’t even need a touchpanel.
All in all, Control4
delivers what it promised: an easy-to-use system that nearly any dealer can
install, bringing complete home automation control to people who previously
couldn’t afford it.
RATING ELVATED:Description: Control4 home automation system
High Points: Simple to
install; extremely low cost for whole-house automation; wired and wireless
network means it works in new and retrofit construction projects.
Low Points:
Default on-screen interface offers limited functions; Media Controller only
accesses MP3 files from its own hard drive.
Contact:
Control4,
801.523.3100
www.control4.com Price: Media
Controller: $1,495; Wireless TouchScreen 10.5: $1,995; WiFi Mini TouchScreen:
$799; Wired Mini TouchScreen: $699; WiFi Speaker Point: $449 Wired
SpeakerPoint: $399
