And, to truly get the most out of Accelerator - and therefore your Total Control projects and installations - I daresay you need the training, too. I’ll save you the time looking up the definition of the word “hubris” it means “excessive pride or self-confidence.”Īfter a few months of living with the system and working with Accelerator, I’m not too proud to say I needed the training. Also, with years of URC’s CCP programming under my belt, I was pretty confident I could figure out Total Control’s Accelerator and muddle my way through.
#URC PROGRAMMING SOFTWARE FREE#
As a reviewer, I got a bit of a free pass on URC’s training requirements.
#URC PROGRAMMING SOFTWARE SOFTWARE#
Even though there is an “Express Lite” limited version of the software and some hardware available through URC’s distribution partners for more basic installations, this still requires certification before being able to order it and access/unlock the software. URC TDC-9100 10-inch (1280×800) touchscreen Trainingįeel free to mentally insert the Lord of the Rings Boromir, “One does not simply…” meme here about ordering any gear from URC’s Total Control line.
We happened to be looking at redoing a multi-display system in a country club something URC’s flexible programming architecture handles especially well, and he suggested I bring a Total Control system in for review. This required an entirely new programming platform called Accelerator, new and more powerful MRX-series system controllers, new wand and touchscreen remotes, and a network-based infrastructure that brought it into the IP-age.Īfter a visit from my local URC rep, we started chatting about Total Control and how it might fit into our business model.
More Reviews: Sense Labs Home Energy Monitorīack in 2010, URC branched out beyond the one-room Complete Control system and into a whole-house solution called Total Control. I’ve personally programmed dozens of MX-780, -890, -980 remotes and the like, loving the flexibility of being able to place any programming on any button, with power tracking variables, push/hold programming, and more. URC’s Complete Control line of remote controls and base stations has served us very well over the years, delivering incredibly reliable performance and RF control, straight-forward programming, and with almost zero hardware-related callbacks. Along the way, we offered other single-room, remote-only solutions for customers not needing whole-house integration, and one of the brands we’ve supported for many years is Universal Remote Control, aka URC. When we started our company in 1995, we “dabbled” in Crestron for a few years, then shifted to ELAN, then moved to Control4 around 2010 (which we’re still supporting). While some large companies have the luxury of supporting multiple control brands, most of us will only be able to support one, and going in on that means going all in. Many companies now require some formal training before you are authorized to sell their product, followed by many more days/weeks/months of practical, on-the-job training as programmers learn the subtle nuances and tricks of a given programming software.įor these reasons, choosing a control system partner is almost like getting married you go in planning for the long haul, and if you decide to get out, it can be painful and expensive. This decision also comes with some costs.īeyond the monetary cost of the hardware needed to outfit a showroom with a working system capable of demonstrating different features and options, there’s the cost you’ll be selling the hardware for, and the massive time commitment in the form of training and programming. This decision establishes - and potentially differentiates - your company in the local market, and determines to some extent the kinds of projects you’ll install, the sub-systems it can interface with, and the complexity and customization of the programming. Without a doubt, one of the most important decisions a company will make is selecting the control system they will support.