Hi,

I come from a Crestron background and have recently started using some other automation control systems to widen my knowledge of other products in the market. URC's Total Control product is obviously still new to the industry, but would anybody care to comment on things like:
1) Software (I believe it's called Accelerator??) - easy of use/flexibility
2) Hardware - stability and reliability
3) Experiences from completed projects
4) Comparison to other Automation systems

I believe the basic question is always...does it work as advertised?

Hi Etienne Terblanche,
I have just purchased a bunch of the product and started to implement it into my showroom. I replaced an Integra DTR50.2 for URC's DSM-AV (Also know as DSM-1200) it does not sound quite as nice as the Integra but it's ok for the money. I have installed the THZ-100 thermostat and placed the MRZ-10 in my equipment rack. This allows me to at least start programming it and work with Accelerator.

Programming:
If you have used URC's CCP then your off to an easy start, if not there is a lot of online courses that certainly help. It is a very nice peace of software and makes for a quick deployment of a programmed system. The concern I have at the moment is that there is no way to adjust the look of the remotes/keypads button layout. What you see is what you get, you can move buttons on source pages but not on the main page. There's a few features that have been locked out for now such as "Off site Programming and viewing" it was sold to me that you can do this.... but URC has not opened that up yet.

The Look:
Looks can be such a personal thing, I think URC has done a great job in the appearance of the UI, but like I mentioned earlier you can't adjust any of those buttons on the main page. i.e. when you have added rooms to your project they all show up on the main page, if you have added 12 rooms then you will have to scroll through all of them first before you find the room you want to control. If you want see a front door cam, you have to first select the room, then the cam button, then the camera. What if you just want to add a security button and then see all the cams there, well you can do this but it takes some working around and the whole point to Accelerator is that it generates all the layout for you (too save programming time) All that said, I am new to Accelerator and am on the phone with tech support (great support by the way) every other dat to find out how to do something. So there might be ways of doing more advanced set ups on this system but I have yet to indulge my self.

Security Cameras:

This is my biggest concern right now. There waaaay too expensive for what you get. If you live in a cold climate be aware they are only rated to zero degrees Celsius. Other system's cams come with built in heaters and are 1080p instaed of 480p, Also they are very proprietary and at the moment do not have any way to be recorded onto a DVR, NVR or customers PC..... then whats the point of having cameras I ask.

Other Concerns:

SNP-1 music streamer only has one output, most other manufacturers have three or more.

No way of viewing cameras outside of your LAN

The remotes are strictly IP and do not offer infrared for line of site TV's. You have to send IR to the TV via the MRX-10 or a second black box (more install costs)

I have been told by URC that it will not work with any other IP cameras....yet.

The POE for the cams is also proprietary.

There's a few other small details I noticed while programming but they elude me now.

I am at the moment talking with my rep as well as URC's head trainer to see if there's any thing I can do to remedy these short comings.

I'm sure URC will address all this in future updates, but it is a bit frustrating to deal with when you see other systems at similar price points doing a whole lot more integration, like Clare Controls, iRule, Control4,

Total Control seems to me to be a more entry level to mid level way of getting into Home Automation, and lends itself to the integrator who just wants to get in and out and bill the client fast. If the client wants a bit more customization, I feel you might have to wait to get that from this system. Again, I'm new to this system and might not have found out all that it's potential is and as soon as I find out more I will let you know. In the mean time I will preserver with it a bit longer, but I do have a meeting with one of the head developers of Clare Controls this Monday.

A lot of great information from DobyxDog. Another consideration is the network you need to re-structure for the Total Control System to work properly. That in itself can be a lot of work at a client's house.

Yes. A lot of people you will see complain about certain things not working with Total Control... I for one have had NO ISSUES with it recently other than a few small bugs with the Pandora etc that was a Pandora update issue.Bottom line people who don't know networking are trying to sell a network-based product then try blaming the product when it doesn't work right... Sell a proper network and watch every issue go away...