Control4 is rolling out the new HC-250 Controller (MSRP $599), a one-room home automation and home theater solution, at 280 Magnolia Home Theater stores inside Best Buy locations. The launch comes with a special $50 off promotion on all its controllers with purchase of a wireless thermostat, switch or dimmer.
You don’t need to go to a Magnolia location to get the system though. The HC-250 is also available through Control4’s 2,000 dealers worldwide.
Control4 CEO Martin Plaehn says Control4 worked closely with Magnolia’s IT and infrastructure departments for the rollout. The company has been selling other products through Magnolia since October 2010.
The HC-250 Controller is designed to work as a single-room control solution that has the power and flexibility to extend automation beyond media entertainment devices. The unit uses Control4’s operating system to deliver intuitive control of lighting, climate, security and appliances, while providing access to video and music collections, gaming systems, streaming content and more.
Users can intuitively interact with their Control4 systems using on-screen navigation on a TV, through dedicated in-wall and tabletop Control4 touchscreens, and via their tablet and smartphone with the Control4 MyHome application.
With a sleek design and compact form-factor, the HC-250 fits easily behind a TV, on a shelf or in a rack. With a 1GHz processor, the HC-250 delivers speed and power so users can quickly activate lighting, control the entire home, or browse large media libraries and select a movie, song, or playlist quickly.
The controller features new built-in Power over Ethernet (PoE) capability enabled by the single Cat 5/Cat 6 cable. Additionally, the HC-250 supports both digital audio and video over HDMI (2 audio outputs – 1 analog and 1 HDMI, plus 1 analog audio input), and offers integrated Wireless-N WiFi and ZigBee for wireless networking. The HC-250 Controller also includes support for up to 4 IR (or 2 IR and 2 Serial ) devices as well as a USB port for outboard connection to external storage of music, pictures and more.
It can be used as a standalone one-room solution or integrated into a whole-house control system with Control4’s new HC-800 hub.