Control4 OS 2.6 features elegant user interface enhancements, provides instant integration with hundreds of additional devices, and deliv...
Control4 OS 2.6 features elegant user interface enhancements, provides instant integration with hundreds of additional devices, and delivers compelling Control4 experiences throughout smart and connected homes.
Control4 (NASDAQ: CTRL), a leader in residential and commercial automation systems, today launched its OS 2.6 software to enrich the customer experience in the ever-growing smart home market. Control4® OS 2.6 brings an enhanced music experience, intuitive pool and spa control, and extensive integration with A/V equipment, comfort solutions, IP cameras, blinds, irrigation systems, and more.
“We are singularly focused on delivering exceptional solutions and user experiences to our customers. With OS 2.6, we continue our journey of enriching peoples’ lives through insightfully simple smart-home solutions that our customers use and enjoy every day,†said Control4 Chairman and CEO Martin Plaehn. “In addition, for Control4 Dealers worldwide, our new software delivers improved performance and system resilience, unmatched driver availability for third-party interoperability, and enhanced tools to simplify installation, improve programming efficiency, and strengthen remote management and customer services.â€
Music throughout the Home
Control4 now delivers a reimagined whole-home music experience that allows customers to integrate over 45 streaming music services, regardless of whether those services originate through Control4 or through products from third parties such as Autonomic, Fusion Research, Sonos, or Video Storm. With OS 2.6, homeowners, their families and guests can now listen to their favorite artists as well as discover new music through popular music services such as Beats, Pandora, Rhapsody, SiriusXM, Slacker, Songza and Spotify. The integrated visual music interface also features big, bold cover art accompanied by artist, track, and song information so listeners can enjoy virtually any popular music source with high-quality audio and visual experiences.
An Enhanced Comfort Experience Featuring New Pool and Spa Control
In addition, Control4 delivers an interactive pool and spa control experience that makes it easy to turn the pool heater on or off, adjust the spa temperature, or crank the jets from iOS and Android smart devices, as well as from Control4 touch panels and onscreen TV interfaces. The new user interface shows a recognizable water-in-motion animation when pool or spa pumps are on and when the heaters are running. For Dealers, Control4 is also introducing new drivers for pool and spa control, including drivers for products from Jandy, Zodiak iAqualink and Hayward Goldline.
Control4’s easy-to-use comfort interface allows customers to easily connect, control, and orchestrate the everyday devices that make life more comfortable, such as thermostats, fireplace sensors and motorized shades. Homeowners can easily access a snapshot view of all the sensors throughout their home, checking on status of activity via intuitive icons throughout the enhanced Control4 user interface. Additionally, with OS 2.6, Dealers can now integrate the Nest Learning Thermostatâ„¢ and Nest Protect: Smoke + Carbon Monoxideâ„¢ detector into homeowners’ automation systems.
Peace of Mind at Home and Away: A New Security Experience
Whether inside or outside the home, the new Control4 interface makes it easy to instantly gauge the status and security of a customer’s home from any iOS or Android smart device. OS 2.6 seamlessly integrates a broad range of sensors that can detect water leaks, identify when doors or windows are open, and monitor a host of other safety devices and systems. The new time-stamped activity tracking capability also provides homeowners with instant information about the status and security of their home, whether they are relaxing in their living room or working in another country.
Additionally, Control4 integrates with hundreds of surveillance cameras, alarm panels and network video recorders (NVRs). Using the same Control4 interface used to monitor the security of their home or business, homeowners can easily lock or unlock doors, open or close gates, control lights, and more – providing them not only with convenient control but also with additional peace of mind.
Instant Integration with Hundreds of Devices
Control4 is also making it easier for Control4 Dealers to integrate hundreds of third-party products – A/V gear, climate control, IP cameras, blinds, irrigation systems, and more – into Control4 automation systems by making over 100 drivers developed by Extra Vegetables, a leading developer for the custom install channel, available with OS 2.6 installations at no extra charge. Dealers will now be able to more easily integrate popular products that customers already have or want to have, such as media players, video matrix switches, receivers, satellite boxes, tuners, TVs, IP cameras, security systems, lighting and HVAC systems, and motorized shades.
New Tools for Control4 Dealers
Control4 Dealers will now enjoy superior programming efficiency through an improved Driver Manager. With OS 2.6, Dealers will be able to automatically discover updated drivers and effortlessly replace out-of-date drivers on the customers’ systems. Powerful new search and filtering functionality also makes it easier to find specific devices and drivers with a few keystrokes. Control4 also announced today Composer Express, a new mobile companion app for Control4 Dealers designed to help streamline installation efficiency for very large systems and even simpler single-room A/V installations.
The Control4 OS 2.6, Composer Pro, and Composer Express software are available for download today by authorized Control4 Dealers only.
www.control4.com