MASTER YOUR DOMAIN

The Control4 Wireless Touchpanel is one of several ways to control the system. The touchpanel uses the same interface as the on-screen display that comes up when you’re using the handheld remote

The control ports help communicate with other devices in your home, and the Media Controller has plenty. This includes everything from basic IR and RS-232 inputs and outputs for sending and receiving signals—to and from most audio, video, and computer-related equipment—to video sensors, relay switches, and contact closures. These sense the state (power, temperature, lighting, motion) of some devices, provide feedback from other components to the controller, or activate even more features (drapes, projector lifts, screens) based on the user commands and system conditions. There are far more control capabilities here than I have space to explain.
 

The Media Controller (above) is the brains of the operation, accepting all signals from devices and then outputting commands on the home network to control the system. An 80GB hard drive even stores MP3 music files. The wired or wireless Speaker Point (left) links to the network and can access any source connected to the Media Controller or any music stored on it. Connect speakers to the internal 50-watt amplifier and you have an instant zone of music.

Basic audio outputs are available, as well. Four audio outputs on the Media Controller (three analog and one digital) allow you to send sound into a wired, multiroom audio system so that you can play music from the hard drive, or one of four inputs (again, three analog and one digital) to four different rooms or groups of rooms, called zones, throughout the house. The network aspect of the unit allows you to send audio to numerous other zones. 

The network function allows the Media Controller to communicate to other Control4 devices through the company’s standards-based wired or wireless IP protocol. Wireless lighting dimmers, for example, can replace your existing light switches so that you can control your lighting from the Media Controller remote. And you don’t even need to rewire your home.
Other cool devices include the Speaker Point, which can either be wired ($400) via a typical Ethernet network cable, or wireless ($450). The Speaker Point taps into the network and accesses the audio files from the Media Controller. Connect speakers to the built-in 50-watt amplifier and you have an instant zone of music. You can also output the signal through analog or digital audio connections. You can even use the Speaker Point to input a source local to that zone back onto the network so that other zones, including the Media Controller, can have access to it.

Unlike more-advanced computer-type control systems, configuring the Media Controller to operate all of your equipment is incredibly easy. It is not currently set up as a do-it-yourself project—Control4 sent one of its technicians to install my system, much like you would have your installer set up yours—but it could be.
 
Having worked with dealers, and written Crestron programming code for my own system, I know that it can be difficult. Using an interview wizard-type series of questions, the Control4 system helps the installer set up a complex, whole-home system in a matter of hours.

In addition, the installation software, based on the answers to its questions, automatically sets up certain macro commands to perform numerous functions at once. For example, when you press the button to play a DVD, the system will switch every component it needs to for that function to activate. The installer can set up other tasks, called scripts, as well. Use a motion sensor to kick on the music system when your car pulls into the driveway. You no longer have to remember any of it. I’m confident that all but the most dim-witted of dealers could install this home automation system.

The in-wall wireless or wired mini touchpanel is extremely handy if you don’t have a TV to see the on-screen interface. From the panel, you can control music, video, lights, temperature and more.

Control4 left me with three different means of controlling the system: a handheld remote, a wireless touchpanel, and a wired in-wall mini touchpanel (a wireless in-wall mini touchpanel is also available for retrofit applications.) The handheld remote comes with the Media Controller and uses wireless technology (not IR or RF) to communicate with the system. This means it will work as far as your wireless network will reach, which is cool. Get a bunch and just leave them around the house.

The remote is handy and well laid out, but otherwise isn’t much different than a typical universal remote. The small LCD panel that displays music server information is a nice touch. The remote is particularly simple to use with the system’s on-screen interface, less so without it. In fact, if you commit yourself to use the on-screen interface, I’m not really sure you need a wireless touchpanel at all.

Both the large, wireless touchpanel and the wired or wireless in-wall mini touchpanel use the same graphics as the handheld remote’s on-screen interface. This makes the system control consistent from one interface to the next. The larger panel could replace the handheld remote in the theater, while the in-wall version is intended as an upgrade from a three or six button keypad in a more distant location. The latter can also output any audio signal on the network to an external amp or powered speakers, which is a really neat feature, and the panel is handy when a TV is not around.

Touchpanels are inherently more intuitive than handheld remotes—you can just press the function you want, instead of moving a cursor and selecting it—and these are no exception.

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.