Digital Home for the Rest of Us

A Simpler Approach?

Just as a Macintosh looks and feels different than a Windows PC, every home automation system has a different way of giving people control over the various sensors and hardware components that make up its network. All of the systems use some form of touchpads, whether in-wall or portable, to let people view and manage their audio/video, lighting, security, and heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC). Whereas AMX and Crestron installations involve several weeks of detailed programming to create highly-customized interfaces and automation sequences -- a factor that has limited their market acceptance -- Control4 and others have taken a decidedly different tack by creating more simplified, standards-based systems that can be ready to go in a matter of days.

Using CAT5 and Ethernet, along with wireless technologies -- Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, and ZigBee -- the various components are linked together in two-way communication systems, which can also be accessed over the Internet using a Web browser. A key attribute of these systems is their open platform and flexibility, allowing buyers to choose from a wider variety of light switches, security systems, audio/video servers, and the like, and add them into the mix one piece at a time. Unlike complex and proprietary systems such as AMX and Crestron, new-generation home integration products can be configured by any competent custom installer, and sometimes by tech-savvy consumers themselves.

"We make lots of different products, but you can build a digital home in whatever way is right for you," explains Will West, the CEO and founder of Control4, based in Salt Lake City, UT. "You can start with a basic home theater control for a few hundred dollars, and later on add a light switch, audio zones, or whatever else you need," he says.

Accessing the Controls

In a typical Control4 installation, a media controller with a large hard drive stores digital MP3 versions of a CD collection, so people can see all of their music with album art, create playlists, and designate music zones throughout the house. The media controller is also integrated with the home theater system, where movies stored on a large-capacity DVD changer show up alongside TV and music on the entertainment menu. The remote control for the system can be an in-wall screen, a portable touch screen tablet, or even a Web browser on a PC. All of the other hardware hooked into the system, from lighting to thermostats to the garage door, can be controlled using the same remote.

"People like to use these (Control4) systems for lighting, music, TV, and garage doors -- they want to know the doors are closed and love to shut them from inside the house," says John Dorsey, president of Diem Digital Interiors in Dallas, a company that has specialized in Control4 installations for the last two years. "They also love to see their music collections on a TV. It's like they bought everything over again, and they now have easy access to it all." The Control4 system can employ both wired (CAT5) and wireless (ZigBee)

networking, and sometimes a mix of both. In new homes, where the whole-house CAT5 network is increasingly a standard feature, it's more practical to use CAT5 wiring throughout, because it's more reliable than wireless and has plenty of bandwidth for streaming audio and video.