@@SmartHomeBrothers Haha I noticed this too when I had an email come in and scare the crap out of me because my volume was so high. Great video! Ketra bulbs in the background?
To say that I am disappointed with Savant is an understatement. I bought 2 years ago an IP125 with savant smart host for about 6k. I used it mainly to control music in my 8 zones (with my two extra 2 zone av receivers). I loved it for that but do not use/need any of the extra savant features. Now I am told that I needed to upgrade to 10.0 even though things were still running smoothly and I will now need to pay about 400-500 yearly to maintain access?!? WTF?! It would be like buying a computer for 3k and after a year of usage, you were told that if you wanted to keep using it you needed to pay 300 yearly?! How is this even legal? I understand that some software companies moved to charging a yearly fee instead of an upfront cost, but in this case I started with an upfront cost and then moved to a yearly fee without that being the initial agreement. Seeing this exorbitant cost just to maintain service, I want out... the problem is who the hell will buy my savant ip125 distribution amp when they are stuck paying a yearly fee? Unless this situation gets rectified, I would say to avoid Savant at all costs. If anyone out there is a lawyer can you please tell me whether this is legal? To me this is worse than planned obsolescence... its not that the product will no longer work well. It's even though it was already working well and that you paid for everything, you will now need to pay a yearly fee to keep enjoying the service.
I just hate the professional install requirements. Totally get it from a business standpoint, I'm just talking purely from a selfish standpoint as a Software engineer who's super passionate about smart home stuff. I just want an "exception" to order my own stuff and set it up myself, just for the learning and experience and fun. Power user DIY types like me don't have a lot of options. It seems like we either need to go consumer grade DIY "use 30 different apps for your house" route or we need to pay someone to do the integration.
C4 probably has the most freedom for the home owner, but you still have to work with a dealer. Beyond that, yeah you'd have to look at things like Openhab, or Raspberry Pi and build it out your own.
Also a software guy. I think Home assistant is a good middle ground but you are right. There are no options for people like us that provide great hardware for us to setup and integrate into our smart homes. I wish the big players were more open about allowing developer licenses but obviously integrators get paid doing that so they have no incentive to promote such a thing. I'll be using Tym when the time comes because they are the most open about what to expect in this process but still finishing up my basement now that I finished the prewiring.
@@Justeric78 did you watch the end of the video? It never has to be one or the other. If you're bullish on Home Assistant, go that route. If you're bullish on Savant, go Savant. People want different things. Our Design Clients go both directions. We're not saying you have to use Savant. We're saying for people who want Savant, here's important things to know. If you want HomeKit, Alexa or Assistant. Awesome, there's things to know about those solutions too.
Awesome video as always! Just a question around the smart host with a premium license as this wasn't clear to me how this works. Does the premium license integrate with Savants hardware too? So you can mix and match gear? I'm thinking for example I want to integrate Savants audio gear for my 8 locations of ceiling speakers but use my own amp and processor for the home theater areas in front of the main tvs.
yeah it will let you work with both Savant and non Savant equipment, although this is mainly for '3rd party switching' so think Video Distribution, and Audio Switches. If you had a Savant Audio switch, you really could use any Audio Amplifier, but anymore we don't sell Smart Host without the premium license. There's just too many occasions where we end up wishing after the fact we had it, so easier to just start out that way, makes the design a lot simpler to manage
Hello! We are building a new home in Santa Fe, NM and using the Savant Dealer there. How do I get access to the Savant course you keep describing in this video. I do not want a recurring billing issue. I would prefer one payment for the course even if it was for a limited time. Just need to wrap around the design and cost. We have a 3000 sq foot home with an outside portale, as they call a back porch in Santa Fe. Lots if new lingo! 😂
A great way to figure out a cost of any system is to have someone come out and talk to you about what it is you want to control and have installed. Then they can give you a proposal and you will have a cost :)
Hey tym a follow up question I have is can you start the rack (brains of the home and add to it as you go) if so what would you recommend as the must have to start? I have my new construction being wired for tv and speaker wire. The low voltage wiring company does not offer 14/4 and 14/2 wire so I will be running smurf tubes on the first floor so they and pull those wires after I close and also fiber to all the tv locations. Also do you service the Dallas/fort worth area?
Will they not let you run it prior to drywall? I'm planning my build also in DFW soon and I am going to be running all my ethernet/audio wires myself. But the smurf tube is smart for future proofing.
@@tonypulliam2 If they won't warranty the pull on the wires, then that's fine, I would try to push if you can, I had a friend do a production build and he was able to pull his own ethernet/audio talking to his builder on the project (no warranty) on the wire pull since it wasn't his pull.
I know it is not apples to apples, but man it just seems like the time invested in Home Assistant would be so much better than spending 10's of thousands on these systems. I guess the average person especially someone with the money to buy these systems do not want to mess around with all of that research and work. I get literally the same functionality in my dedicated theater space that I would from one of these systems though. Lights go down when I hit play, come up a little when I pause, and turn on slowly once I turn it off. I could not ask for more, it is similar all over the hours for a fraction of the cost with a lot of research on what I purchased for the automation.
I've always wondered about the cost of professional systems like Savant and Control4 - I figured that they could easily become six-figure installations with all of the hardware, professional design and installation, licensing, etc. This seems better targeted toward those with more disposal income and larger homes. I have roughly 4,500 sq ft spread across three floors and went the DIY/IoT route (Hubitat, Sonos, GE z-wave switch, z-wave motion/illumination sensors, etc.) and access via Siri and Alexa. I'm a tech geek, so it was a feasible route for me to go and it gives me pretty powerful automation control for all lights in the home, all door locks, all thermostats, garage door, geofencing triggers, etc. I just struggle to see the ROI for switching to a professional solution like Savant or Control4, but I get where there is a viable market for these products with others that don't want the hassle of DIY or are not as technically inclined.
As the basic systems i.e. Google home get smarter and more features in the future, I think I will stick with that and if combined with Hubitat and a VSSL system as that would get me everything I need. In terms of tv distribution, really happy with Chromecast and youtube tv. With all the streaming services available, it works great for my environment. Please keep up all the info and podcast. Still learning and continue to re-read the home design manual you released a couple of years ago. Great info!
Hoping to soon, we don't carry Crestron, so we're working on interviewing a Crestron Dealer friend in the space and will add some of this for Crestron fans
