The Control4 4store has been a yawn for quite a while now. We have seen a few useful apps but since it’s conception the 4store has been full of novelties and application one liners. Then came along the first of 2 very exciting apps that actually leverage some of the power that control apps can bring to Control4 systems.
The first of these is the Quick Control app from Blackwire Designs. Kevin at Blackwire has been teasing me with this app for months. Finally I got my hands on it and have had sometime to break the app down. While this app was originally propositioned for sports bars and business establishments “supporting more displays than are usually found in a residential install” I find it a perfect replacement for the video wall and awesome in combating the multiple display in 1 room config that many of us have had issues with. I will note here that this app does require dealer installation as it requires an app that is available to your dealer from Blackwire designs. In short explanation for those of you that don’t know, apps that interface with the control side of your system will require a custom driver for the control features.
Once your app and driver is installed you will notice something that is pretty cool on the opening page. Often times clients need to call their dealer for something. After fumbling through files and getting on the internet they finally find the number. The option of having a custom page for dealer information in navigation has been requested for a long time. Well I think Kevin heard the call and brought an answer in this app. On the opening page you will be able to see your primary support contact’s name and phone number. I know it’s kinda humdrum for an app, but it is a useful extra in an already exciting application.
So now that you are on the main page simply click the “main” button. Here you will see a list of all the rooms in your system along with buttons for lighting scenes, lights, blinds, and thermostats. The guys at Blackwire “thinking ahead about the old everyday easy moniker” place easy to understand instructions in a font size that even my mother could read in the right pane. Right away I was impressed as this was not only a video wall replacement it actually gave me quick access to most devices in my system!
So what is on the room control option? Well this looks like what happens when I press watch. From here I can select any video device available to the room I selected. It is a much faster way to deal with multiple rooms not having do time consuming room changes for selections. But is that where the room/video control ends? Keep reading and I’ll show you Kevin’s magical bonus!
In the picture above you see the normal controls you would usually see on the bottom of your touchscreen with 2 noticeable differences. The first is that Blackwire has put a nice distance between the volume up and power off buttons. While this cosmetic change has been addressed by Control4 has been addressed in a non-cosmetic form by adding the popup asking if you really want to turn the room off, the accidental press has always been an annoyance.
The next difference is a true navigational bonus. In the picture above you see a little arrow button in the control bar. Hit this button and you get the full device control popup that you see below.
This quick popup for control is something I always wanted. I am assuming Kevin sat for hours with a remote in hand to pick the most commonly used buttons to add this functionality. After playing with this for hours I found the control potential and usability of the app to actually be more comfortable than through the full scale Control4 navigator. When I first was told about the app I thought that the 2 vital pieces of the app that would be required to make it successful would be speed and functionality. Well it has both in ways most of us that have used C4 for years could only dream of.
The last portion of the app seen below is an added feature that the app could have functioned without but makes it just that much greater. Blackwire has added the ability to this app to also control lighting scenes, lights, blinds, and thermostats on a more global system fashion. Instead of having to click a couple extra buttons just to get a whole home grid view and then more to control, you simply choose the type of device “or scene” you want to control and your off to the races.
I honestly think that this app is a must have for anyone with a Control4 system and video distribution. Just to be fair I ran a test with 3 people. There was myself with Blackwires app, a second contestant with standard Control4 Navigation, and a judge who would call out different rooms and devices. In this insane test we found this app 75% fast in choosing different devices in different rooms and mixing them up on the fly.
Having said all this I feel apps like this can dramatically change some of the realities of automation and control we see today. While this app is a must have for anyone with video distribution those consumers with “i” devices will be sorely disappointed. Since all “i” devices do not support flash they will have to either use dedicated Control4 touchscreens or modified versions of the MyHomePC app. This move does make dedicated touchpanels a little more attractive for consumers again. For more info on Control4 touchscreens with 2.0 see my article in next months Electronic House Magazine.
The other change apps like this could cause is even more beneficial. Consumers and Dealers alike have over the years asked for many additions to control and navigation in the Control4 environment. The 4store has given programmers the ability to directly bypass Control4 in addressing these issues and request by creating an application. This may “by proof of app sales” cause Control4 to directly address the issues or request and add/fix them natively in the Control4 platform.
So if you guys want faster, more responsive, direct control with out page changes go to the 4store and get this app. You will thank me later.
Keep your eye out for the review of the second awesome app I have been playing with!
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May 6, 2011