Control4 adds remote video calls to its smart home suite
Looking to strengthen its presence in the smart home space, Control4 is now granting users have more remote access inside their living space. The new Intercom Anywhere system lets people video chat with people at their door, even if they're on vacation or just at the office. There's also the ability to turn on lights, open a gate, unlock a door and sound an alarm — all when people are nowhere near their home.
Controlling devices inside a house is the hallmark of the smart home movement. Users are able to streamline tasks by just speaking out loud or using an app. In the case of Control4, the new Intercom Anywhere system is connected through an app that works with both iOS and Android mobile devices.
The app then connects to the Control4 system — although users also have to have a 4Sight subscription through Control4 as well, which is an additional $100 a year. From there, users can use the Control4 system to access the features.
The Intercom Anywhere feature is also usable inside the house, turning the Touch Screens into two-way communicators, letting you initiate video calls while at home, or away as well. Come home and your child is in another room logging time on YouTube and not responding? You can have the Touch Screens turn on, calling through the house. Or perhaps the babysitter isn't picking up their mobile phone. One tap and you're reaching them in the house.
Phone calls to people are also possible through the new feature — both from inside the house to a mobile phone, and from a mobile phone to the Touch Screen. During the call, users can also turn on lights, unlock doors, open a gate, raise a garage door — and also trigger or more key, disarm an alarm.
"Intercom Anywhere adds compelling everyday utility and capability to Control4 smart homes — elevating the "smart doorbell" through a comprehensive in-the-home/away-from-the-home peace-of-mind solution that unifies access control, video surveillance, security, and interactive communication," said Control4 Chairman and CEO Martin Plaehn.
