March 2023 – Smart Home Pro

Hey, Smart Home Pros!

Is it just me, or are we all counting down to the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere? One of the best lessons spring teaches us is to take a moment to stretch our limbs, reset, and stop to smell the roses. Lettuce all take thyme to evaluate how the year has gone thus far, and assess our next steps for the coming months. Whether that means plotting the best ways to enjoy the warming weather, or cultivating your skills for the job site and beyond, nothing beets the results of proactive planning. We can’t tell you how to enjoy springtime in your area, but we can sow these totally radish new product features, Smart Skills, KB articles, tips, tricks and more!

Happy March!
Holly Bechtler
Technical Writing Operations Specialist

The 8×8 Binary Matrix is Reality While we are taking a moment to stop and smell the roses, can we appreciate that the B-660-MTRX-8×8 is here!? As a big brother of the B-660-MTRX-4×4, it contains many of the same features you know and love, but two times over! Key features include: Audio & Video

Control

Learn More

Halo! How Are You?

Have you checked out the Halo Resources Page in the Tech Community? To save time in the field, we planted everything you need to install and troubleshoot a Halo remote in one place! Highlights include Halo Voice installation, Halo Troubleshooting Guide, and a detailed guide of the firmware update process.

I tried to take a high-res photo of our farm’s crops, but it turned out grainy.

How to Configure Luma X20 from OvrC

One of the best features of the Luma X20 surveillance line is that in most cases, you can configure the entire system from OvrC! You are no longer required to connect to the NVR and cameras’ individual web GUI just for setup. That means port forwarding is no longer a necessity for reliable remote access! You can check out the entire OvrC X20 Manual here to see all supported features. We also created this Smart Skill that explains how to configure intrusion with human and vehicle detection, all from OvrC of course.

Brief overview:

Step 1: Create Intrusion Areas
Step 2: Set Detection Controls
Step 3: Tie Intrusion Settings to the SD Card
Step 4: Enable Intrusion Zone Detection

Why couldn’t the flower ride a bike? It lost its petals.

Meet Your Technical Support Agent!

You may have spoken to Ben Allen if you’ve contacted Control4 Technical Support. Ben is a Level 5 Escalation Tech Support agent based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ben has been a pillar of Control4 Technical Support for 16 years.
In that impressive span, he has risen through every level in the department, from Level 1 to the newly created Level 5 position, where he serves as Senior Escalations Support Specialist. Ben has a vast array of technical knowledge, spanning C4 OS build 1.2 all the way to OS 3.3.2. He is a valuable resource on many fronts and has assisted thousands of techs during his tenure! As a Senior Escalations Specialist, he works behind the scenes of tech support, troubleshooting advanced software defects, and working with our engineers on fixes. It’s no surprise that Ben recently won the TRUE GRIT award for Snap One Technical Support, which recognizes our Tech Support agents for offering top-notch support to our Partners! When he isn’t offering top-notch support, he enjoys working on cars, weightlifting, playing Warhammer, skateboarding, riding bikes, and listening to hip-hop.

Did you hear about the farmer who won an award for his dedication to his crops? He was out standing in his field.

Workaround to Claim X20 Luma Cameras in OvrC

At the moment, OvrC cannot see X20 Luma cameras behind a Luma NVR’s built-in PoE switch. An OvrC update to resolve this is in progress. In the meantime, here are the workarounds.

Option 1: Networks with an OvrC Pro Device (Araknis or Pakedge router, Control4 EA or CORE controller, or OvrC Pro Hub)

Use an alternate PoE switch on the network to claim each camera in OvrC:

1. Connect each camera to an alternate PoE switch on the network—not the NVR. In OvrC, run a network Scan. OvrC will locate and claim the cameras automatically.
2. After OvrC claims each camera, disconnect it from the alternate PoE switch and connect it to the NVR’s built-in PoE switch.

Option 2: Networks without an OvrC Pro device

Use the MAC Address and Service Tag information to claim each camera manually (this information is located on a label on the camera’s box):

1. Connect each camera to the NVR.
2. In OvrC, click ADD DEVICE at the top of the customer’s device list and manually enter the MAC Address and Service Tag for each camera.

Thank you for your patience as we work to make your future installs even easier. We will notify you on the Tech Community home page when this issue is resolved.

Hoe Hoe Hoe! Celery-brate This Sony TV Fix!

For the past few years, there has been an issue with Sony TVs falling offline or creating a network storm with Control4. After years of joint collaboration, there is now a fix! Start by updating the firmware of the Sony TV to version PKG6.5942.0698NAA, then follow up by adjusting settings in the Control4 driver.
Read more in the Tech Community.

I should be preparing my garden for spring, but I haven’t botany plants yet.

Knowledgebase New or updated articles:

Snap One Local Store Trainings and Webinars We have new webinars coming your way! See the full training calendar here, or check out the links below.

I hate spring cleaning. Darn things bounce all over the place.

Smart Skills Check out these new or updated Smart Skills that are now in our Tech Community:

Tips and Tricks

Why Do My Luma Cameras Not Show on My Control4 Navigators?

If you have job sites that are still equipped with the legacy Luma 310 surveillance line and you want to use Control4, read this article to understand more about limitations and solutions for streaming.

Linked Resources in OvrC

We’re pretty passionate about organizational tricks around here. You just can’t beat the time it saves when you need important information in a flash! Luckily, OvrC offers an easy method to link resources to a customer project. Watch this Smart Skill in The Tech Community for more details.

I’m trying my hand at gardening this year. So far, it’s really grown on me.

Last Bud Not Least: We Value Your Feedback in the Tech Community!

The best part about a community is that it holds space for us to share knowledge and to work toward common goals. If you read a KB article or watched a Smart Skill, let us know if and how it helped, and/or how we can improve!

1. In the upper-right corner of the article page, click the thumbs up or thumbs down icon to let us know if you recommend the article.
2. Select an option from the Choose a general reason list to let us know how the resource could have been more helpful.
3. Enter additional feedback in the Description field.
4. Click Submit.

We Care About Your Discussions!

Every time you engage in the Discussions page in the Tech Community, you improve our search engine. More participation = better answers! Discussions contain helpful tips that are just as searchable as Knowledgebase articles. Every piece of information builds the Tech Community into the central location for technical information.

A peony for your thoughts.

Time to Share Your Tips and Tricks!

We want to hear more from you (yes, you!). We’d love to keep this section going, so if you have a cool idea, whether it’s easy or advanced, send it our way! We’d love to highlight you and share your ideas with our awesome community of technicians!

Sharing Is Caring: Submit Your Tip Here

Month: March 2023

Issue 46 – Spring into March!