Home theater automation

[HomeTheaterGuy]

Do you use any automation for your theater or do you use multiple remotes? If you use a universal remote, how easy is it to operate your system?

[Paul Heroy]

I'm hanging on to my Harmony Elite as long as I can. I have 2, one for my HT and one for my 2 channel setup. When Logitech announced no more Harmony I grabbed a couple of Elites for insurance, and I just replaced an older 900 for the 2 channel system that couldn't be updated any more. Eventually those servers will die, and as of now the Sofa Baton X2 looks like a pretty similar and solid replacement.

The only other thing I have is some Hue smart lighting that I can use with Alexa, so my wife can tell it commands.

[SRW1000]

I'm one of the lucky people that purchased a URC Remote (MX-780) back when they still allowed dealers to distribute the software.  We were grandfathered in when they eliminated that policy, but it's not an option for new customers anymore, so you'd have to go through an authorized dealer to get your remote programmed for your equipment.

It's too bad because the remotes are solid and the software wasn't hard to use.  It'll be a sad day when the remotes are dead or if the product is ever abandoned.  The only thing I can't operate is my adjustable masking (it only runs off of RF) so there's one other remote that has to be kept around.  It's not a big deal since it only needs to be set once for any given movie.

[bmoney]

Still using the harmony one. Although if I ever make changes to my system I’ll have to buy a new remote since my account is no longer accessible 

[AVSJason]

I used Control4 for a few years and really liked it. It is overkill for several people, especially the DIY enthusiast. I really liked the ability to control my whole home from a single remote or single free app. Also with third party drivers you can basically get native control over any device, as always, at a premium cost. 

[David Vaughn]

I'm one of the lucky people that purchased a URC Remote (MX-780) back when they still allowed dealers to distribute the software.  We were grandfathered in when they eliminated that policy, but it's not an option for new customers anymore, so you'd have to go through an authorized dealer to get your remote programmed for your equipment.

It's too bad because the remotes are solid and the software wasn't hard to use.  It'll be a sad day when the remotes are dead or if the product is ever abandoned.  The only thing I can't operate is my adjustable masking (it only runs off of RF) so there's one other remote that has to be kept around.  It's not a big deal since it only needs to be set once for any given movie.

I have a couple of URC remotes, but thankfully, I'm set up as a "dealer" on their website, so I get access to all of their training materials. I use a MX-990 in both my theater and den and the secondary market is loaded with them as well, so getting another one at this point isn't too hard. Being able to add new components without going through a dealer is awesome, plus I have a bunch of URC-enabled light switches in my home that I can control from the remote. Sure, I would love something IP based, but for what I'm using it for, it works pretty well. 

[DLCPhoto]

Another Control4 user here (although I also see why it's not high on the list of DIY people because of price and control).

I absolutely love how I can integrate almost anything. When I press the button to turn on my theater:

• 3 motorized shades are closed
• lights are dimmed
• projector, Envy and Audio Processor turn on
• all the amps are triggered
• Audio Processor source is selected, volume set to my desired level, and then muted
• thermostat is adjusted a couple of degrees
• if a blu-ray player is being used, the tray opens
• between Envy and Control4, motorized masking on my screen is positioned as needed once play starts

I had a nice Harmony setup before this, which generally worked well. But this is so much more versatile and powerful (which it should be, given its cost!).

[AVSJason]

Another Control4 user here (although I also see why it's not high on the list of DIY people because of price and control).

I absolutely love how I can integrate almost anything. When I press the button to turn on my theater:

• 3 motorized shades are closed
• lights are dimmed
• projector, Envy and Audio Processor turn on
• all the amps are triggered
• Audio Processor source is selected, volume set to my desired level, and then muted
• thermostat is adjusted a couple of degrees
• if a blu-ray player is being used, the tray opens
• between Envy and Control4, motorized masking on my screen is positioned as needed once play starts

I had a nice Harmony setup before this, which generally worked well. But this is so much more versatile and powerful (which it should be, given its cost!).

Totally agree, I used to have a custom scene I created when I got home, it would unlock my front door, turn on my projector, AVR, thermostat would adjust, lights would come one, exterior lights were set to latitude and longitude to account for daylight savings. However, if you don't have access to programming it limits your ability to make changes. 


I found a cool device called Bond Hub, this allowed me to bring in RF devices off a wifi hub, I did have to get a third party driver but I thought it was a reasonable price for the application. 

[DLCPhoto]

Totally agree, I used to have a custom scene I created when I got home, it would unlock my front door, turn on my projector, AVR, thermostat would adjust, lights would come one, exterior lights were set to latitude and longitude to account for daylight savings. However, if you don't have access to programming it limits your ability to make changes.


I found a cool device called Bond Hub, this allowed me to bring in RF devices off a wifi hub, I did have to get a third party driver but I thought it was a reasonable price for the application.

Very cool! And agreed - being a dealer, with full control/access makes a huge difference.

That said, there is Composer Home Edition, available to end-users, which does provide quite a lot of programming ability. You can't add/connect devices, which requires a dealer. But once they're added, the homeowner can then customize the programming to their hearts content. 

And I'm very familiar with the Bond Bridge - I'm actually using it to control a couple of ceiling fans in a sunroom we just added, as well as the motorized shades I installed a couple of months ago.