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Topic:
amazon just bought ring for a billion
This thread has 55 replies. Displaying posts 46 through 56.
Post 46 made on Monday March 12, 2018 at 18:43
Brett Bjorkquist
Long Time Member
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On March 11, 2018 at 09:32, mrtristan said...
harmony is starting to sound better. Is there the ability to rearrange buttons and add new ones? Who distributes Harmony pro in canada?

Sure, MrTristan, I'm assuming you are talking about the soft buttons on the touchscreen remote, or are we talking about the app, or what specifically? I'll try to cover all the scenarios. Currently you can switch the order of activities, and add specific learned or mapped commands, to any of the active screens. (Punch through volume to a hard key, use the home controls hard buttons to control lighting, plugs, shades, or any other command, or place a device command button onto the activity page of the touchscreen.

We are a bit limited at the moment in terms of totally customizing the app, or designing the touchscreen, the idea of course is that we simplify the programming experience to make it more efficient, but still robust. So you can usually create the commands, you just can't lay them out "wherever" you want. (Think of it as a bit more templatized at the moment)

Hope that helps, let me know if there is a follow up.

Brett
Brett Bjorkquist
Logitech - CI/Pro Channel
[email protected]
Post 47 made on Monday March 12, 2018 at 18:44
Brett Bjorkquist
Long Time Member
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19
Sorry, forgot to answer the distribution question. For Canada you can reach out to Progressive Sales, or ADI Canada.

Let me know if you need a contact or introduction.

Brett
Brett Bjorkquist
Logitech - CI/Pro Channel
[email protected]
Post 48 made on Monday March 12, 2018 at 20:41
Fins
Elite Member
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Brett, how do we get more info on your pro channel? I’m still reluctant to go with Logitech, but you guys do have some things that no one else offers for the same price points
Civil War reenactment is LARPing for people with no imagination.

Post 49 made on Monday March 12, 2018 at 22:32
Brett Bjorkquist
Long Time Member
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On March 12, 2018 at 20:41, Fins said...
Brett, how do we get more info on your pro channel? I’m still reluctant to go with Logitech, but you guys do have some things that no one else offers for the same price points

Not a problem, and giving it a shot is all we ask. I have a discount promo program I can offer dealers, so they can try it out at a lower cost. Send me an email at [email protected] and we can chat about what you need so I can get you squared away.

We have many dealers who we are their only line of product, and others that carry another line like C4 or Crestron, but realize there is a growing market in the $5k-$15k range that Harmony is well positioned for.

Here's an article that got published a bit ago on a dealer in Texas that switched over last year. They've done about 300 Harmony remotes in just the past year, so the opportunity is there for those willing to take a look. [Link: cepro.com]

Appreciate the opportunity. Look forward to your email.

Brett
Brett Bjorkquist
Logitech - CI/Pro Channel
[email protected]
Post 50 made on Tuesday March 13, 2018 at 13:22
Mac Burks (39)
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On March 11, 2018 at 09:32, mrtristan said...
harmony is starting to sound better. Is there the ability to rearrange buttons and add new ones? Who distributes Harmony pro in canada?

Brett already answered this. Just adding to it.

It is not possible to tailor the UI like you can with URC/RTI/C4/Crestron etc. You pretty much get what you get.

The good news is that what you get is pretty good. Modern looking sleek UI that does macros and navigates like a typical home page based UI. You build the remote and the mobile app is built automagically.
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Post 51 made on Tuesday March 13, 2018 at 14:48
Brett Bjorkquist
Long Time Member
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Thanks Mac,

The PR team tries to keep me from mentioning competitive products, but having programmed a few of those brands, you are right. The discussion I often have with dealers, many of which agree, is does the total open UI create super custom ability, or does it just end up complicating things and taking more time in many cases? (Granted some clients specifically want or need something custom) While on the Pro side we are looking at possibly adding a few different templates for dealers to choose from in the future, the reality is having a clean template that has a standardized layout just makes things easier for the client and faster for the dealer when they need to make updates. Images for favorite TV channels, Sonos/Heos artwork, and Roku apps are all automatically downloaded for you in a few clicks. And of course that layout is based on feedback from our millions of hub based users.

Thanks for adding to the thread Mac.
Brett Bjorkquist
Logitech - CI/Pro Channel
[email protected]
Post 52 made on Tuesday March 13, 2018 at 15:27
Fins
Elite Member
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11,627
The big reason for wanting to be able to customize buttons is to keep the client from having too much control. On all of my remotes I give the client only the buttons they need to use the system, and I try to limit those to one page on the remote and hide all the other pages. Keeping them out of the menus and setup screens on equipment prevents service calls.
Civil War reenactment is LARPing for people with no imagination.

Post 53 made on Tuesday March 13, 2018 at 16:32
Brett Bjorkquist
Long Time Member
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Sure,

It can typically be done on the remote. We populate all the controls by default, but you can remove device control buttons, or move higher used buttons to the top of the display.

Typically, the top used device buttons are punched through on the activity page, so the end user typically doesn't need to use the device control side which would show every command unless you remove them. Only time they might want to use the device mode would be if they wanted on-the-fly control over a thermostat or a particular light in a larger installation. I try to keep those programmed into activities/scenes though: Good Morning/Good night, or something around TV or an activity. Watch Netflix dims the lights to 20%, Dinner Time, adjusts the dining rooms lights to 30%, and triggers the Audio to a specific favorite channel and volume. You get the idea.

Again this is something we are exploring for the Pro line though, as we know some installers want their clients to have lots of control, others want to protect them from button overload (as well as reduce truck rolls)... ; )
Brett Bjorkquist
Logitech - CI/Pro Channel
[email protected]
Post 54 made on Wednesday March 14, 2018 at 11:11
GotGame
Super Member
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4,022
I would look more closely at the Pro remotes if there were a few templates available.
As for Ring, Not sure yet if I will continue.
I may be schizophrenic, but at least I have each other.
Post 55 made on Wednesday March 14, 2018 at 13:19
Brett Bjorkquist
Long Time Member
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Thanks for the feedback GotGame.

Even without the various templates, the other tools we are building are pretty supportive of the channel. Being able to edit remotes off-site from your mobile device to save truck rolls, having an interactive eLearning site and webinars where we do live programming based on what dealers are asking during the webinar, 7 day a week dedicated dealer service line, plus more IP integrations coming are all designed specifically to support the channel.

For most clients, the existing template works fine, and means you can program a fairly complex system from scratch in about 30 minutes: entertainment, lighting, audio distribution and thermostat. (Remote and App) Totally get that some jobs require more, I had a dealer ask me about a specific job yesterday that from experience I said might be better done on a different platform (never want to sell a remote if the experience isn't going to be stellar for both dealer and client), but most of the time, installers end up happier because less customizing typically means fewer support trips after the fact... ; )

Email me if you want to try my 50% dealer promo. At that price it's relatively inexpensive to test out the platform. Or feel free to ask me any questions, always love to talk shop.

Brett
Brett Bjorkquist
Logitech - CI/Pro Channel
[email protected]
Post 56 made on Tuesday April 24, 2018 at 13:06
Ernie Gilman
Yes, That Ernie!
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30,104
This is all really interesting! It sure bears some investigation. I never would have thought so.

On March 13, 2018 at 16:32, Brett Bjorkquist said...
It can typically be done on the remote. We populate all the controls by default, but you can remove device control buttons, or move higher used buttons to the top of the display.

It's really important not to have all the buttons on the remote. Zone 2 volume, for instance, can be a killer. If someone has access to Zone 2 volume and turns it up when they don't mean to, it can mean a receiver shuts off.

As for the buttons, since I noticed that clients slide the remote up to get to those top buttons, I put the more important buttons on the bottom of the display, to make them just that little bit easier to reach. Also, if there are only a few buttons, they go on the right. I'm assuming that right-handers will find this easier. (I'm left-handed so I'm not sure about that detail.)
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
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