Control4 OS 2.0 Is Here! New Flash User Interface Overview.

[blainewiak123]

this video inspires me! thanks for the awesome videos. I really appreciate it :) 

[jcbnetron]

How about using a guy that really knows about the product? That guy at the start is just reading prewritten text on a screen... Look cheap and uninspiring?

[scottwasson]

There is some good UI work here. But.

Why are the icons on the homepage circled around the Control 4 logo? Is the logo the most used button or access point in the UI? If not, then why is it so prominent. Generally this is something mktg wanted to do but has no actual value. And why is there a giant "Living" button persistent on the top menu bar? It's very confusing.

I like Control 4 a lot but I would say to take a step back from the UI and do usefulness testing as well as usability testing.

[Control4Fans]

@scottwasson Thanks for the feedback. One comment to your question, the Living button is an indication of which room is being controlled. You can select the "living" button to see what other rooms in the home you can control from any given interface.

As to the logo size and placement....you're probably right....branding :)

[scottwasson]

@Control4Fans

The Living btn isnt intuitive. Make it a Drop Down with the words "Room: Living" with "living" in an off shade of the same color. Or keep the btn but title it "Select a Room" or similar then have the current room as a header on the screen.

Mktg often needs to be educated on "Branding". It is the impression you associate w/ a company, not a logo. You've already bought the product so there's no need to push the logo so hard. It's not an Advert.

Just 2 cents. Maybe 3 :)

[Control4Fans]

@scottwasson Thanks for the feedback. We'll be sure to share it with our product management team.

[xc420]

How do customers get a PC app to control the system like what's used in this demonstration? This looks like just a demo on a PC and not an actual system being controlled. Let's see the real deal - control from an actual touchscreen or onscreen navigator. It's much sloooooooooooooower than that. Control4 skimps out on processors and memory . That's the reason why some of their existing stuff can't even run 2.0 and why the stuff that does can barely run it.

[Control4Fans]

@xc420 We used a PC to demo the touch screen because it makes it easy for you to see what we are doing without having to see around our hands. We've got several more videos to put out about 2.0, but I'll add one to the list using a real touch screen. That way you can see the real product demo'd. We do have a computer interface using our 4sight service that you are able to access at my.control4.com if you have a 4sight subscription.

[Control4Fans]

@xc420 As for the old hardware not supporting the new OS, it is typical for hardware to become outdated. Think about the PC you were using 5 years ago...it probably doesn't run Windows 7 very well if at all. Very few products will not work in OS 2.0. These include products like the V1 and V2 Remotes that are not able to support ZigBee Pro, which is a new technology since those products were originally developed.

[Control4Fans]

@xc420 While some products, such as the Mini Touch Screens, can not run the new User Interface, they continue to function with the legacy interface in 2.0.

[anunstercom]

the new UI is Uuuuugly :(

[Control4Fans]

@anunstercom The good news about our new UI is that you can customize it to make it look the way you want it to look! Change the background and select which icons you want to have appear on your pages. This UI is exactly what you need...you just need to customize it!