Winning Home WH100027, WH100028, WH100033, WH100034, WH100036 Installation Guide

Control4 EA-1 Controller

Installation Guide

Supported models

• C4-EA1 Entertainment and Automation Controller, 1 Zone

• C4-EA1-V2 Entertainment and Automation Controller, 1 Zone, V2

• C4-EA1-1-V2 Entertainment and Automation Controller, 1 Zone, V2, Intl

• C4-EA1-POE-V2

Box contents

The following items are included in the EA-1 controller box:

• EA-1 controller

• AC power cord (all versions except C4-EA1-POE-V2)

• IR emitters (4)

• External antennas (2) (C4-EA1-POE-V2, 1 external antenna)

• EA-1 Wall-Mount Bracket (C4-WMEA1), in PoE version only

Accessories available for purchase

• EA-1 Wall-Mount Bracket (C4-WMEA1)

• Rack Mount Kit (C4-EA1RMK1-BL or C4-EA1RMK2-BL)

• Control4 3.5 mm to DB9 Serial Cable (C4-CBL3.5-DB9B)

Requirements and specifications

Note: We recommend using Ethernet instead of WiFi for the best
network connectivity.

Note: The Ethernet or WiFi network should be installed before starting
the EA-1 controller installation.

Note: The EA-1 V2 and EA-1 V2 PoE require OS 2.10.2 or higher.

Composer Pro software is required to configure this device. See the Composer Pro
User Guide (ctrl4.co/cpro-ug) for details.

Additional resources

The following resources are available for more support.

• Control4 Knowledgebase: kb.control4.com and Dealer Forums:

forums.control4.com

• Control4 Technical Support

• Control4 website: www.control4.com

Composer Pro documentation in online help or PDF format available on the Dealer
Portal: ctrl4.co/docs

Entertainment and Automation Controller, 1 Zone, V2 PoE

Warnings

Caution! To reduce the risk of electrical shock, do not expose this
apparatus to rain or moisture.

AVERTISSEMENT ! Pour réduire le risque de choc électrique, n’exposez
pas cet appareil à la pluie ou à l’humidité.

Caution! In an over-current condition on USB, the software disables
the output. If the attached USB device does not appear to power on,
remove the USB device from the controller.

AVERTISSEMENT ! Dans une condition de surintensité sur USB ou
sortie de contact le logiciel désactive sortie. Si le périphérique USB
ou le capteur de contact connecté ne semble pas s’allumer, retirez le
périphérique du contrôleur.

Specifications

Video out

Video

Audio out

Audio playback formats

High-resolution audio playback

Ethernet

Power over Ethernet

WiFI

WiFi security

WiFi antenna

ZigBee Pro

ZigBee antenna

USB port

IR out

IR capture

Serial out

Power requirements

Power consumption

Operating temperature

Storage temperature

Fan dB level

Dimensions (H × W × D)

Weight

Shipping weight

Inputs / Outputs

1 video out—1 HDMI

HDMI 1.4 output; HD 1080p, 50-60 Hz

1 audio out—1 HDMI

AAC, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, M4A, MP2, MP3, MP4/M4A,
Ogg Vorbis, PCM, WAV, WMA

Up to 192 kHz / 24 bit

Network

10/100/1000BaseT compatible (required for
controller setup)

802.3at-2009 (PoE+) / 25.5W (V2 PoE model only)

Internal Wireless-N (2.4 GHz, 802.11n/g/b) (V1, V2,
and V2 Intl)
No WiFi (V2 PoE)

WPA/WPA2 (applicable models)

External reverse SMA connector (applicable models)

802.15.4

External reverse SMA connector

1 USB 2.0 port—500mA

Control

4 IR out—5V 27mA max output
1 IR blaster—front

1 IR receiver—front, 20-60 KHz

2 serial out (shared with IR out 1 and 2)

Power

100-240 VAC, 60/50Hz (V1, V2, and V2 Intl)
PoE+ (V2 PoE)

Max: 18W, 61 BTUs/hour
Idle: 9W, 30 BTUs/hour

Other

32˚F ~ 104˚F (0˚C ~ 40˚C)

4˚F ~ 158˚F (-20˚C ~ 70˚C)

Max: 35 dB

1.13 × 7.5 × 5.0" (29 × 191 × 127 mm)

1.2 lb (0.54 kg)

2.2 lb (1.0 kg)

Front view

A

A Data LED—The Data LED shows solid red when the controller is streaming

audio.

B IR window—IR blaster and IR receiver for learning IR codes.
C Caution LED—This LED shows solid red, then blinks blue during the boot

process.

Note: The Caution LED blinks orange during the factory restore process.
See “Reset to factory settings” in this document.

D Link LED—The LED indicates that the controller has been identified in a

Control4 Composer project and is communicating with Director.

E Power LED—The blue LED indicates that AC power is present. The controller

turns on immediately after power is applied to it.

B C D

E

Back view

EA-1, EA-1 V2, and EA-1 V2 Intl

A B DC

A Power port—AC power connector for an IEC 60320-C5 power cord.
B SERIAL and IR OUT—3.5 mm jacks for up to four IR emitters or for

acombination of IR emitters and serial devices. Ports 1 and 2 can be configured
independently for serial control (for controlling receivers or disc changers) or
for IR control. See “Connecting the IR ports/serial ports” in this document for
more information.

C USB—One port for an external USB drive (such as a USB stick formatted

FAT32). See “Setting up external storage devices” in this document.

D HDMI OUT—An HDMI port to display navigation menus on a monitor or TV.

Also an audio out over HDMI.

E WIFI—The antenna for the WiFi radio.
F ID button—Easily pressed button to identify the device in Composer Pro. The

ID button on the EA-1 V2 is also an LED that displays feedback useful in a
factory restore.

G FACTORY RESTORE—Restores the controller to its factory defaults.
H ETHERNET—RJ-45 jack for a 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet connection.
I ZIGBEE—The antenna for the ZigBee radio.

EA-1 V2 PoE

A CB

A SERIAL and IR OUT—3.5 mm jacks for up to four IR emitters or for a

combination of IR emitters and serial devices. Ports 1 and 2 can be configured
independently for serial control (for controlling receivers or disc changers) or
for IR control. See “Connecting the IR ports/serial ports” in this document for
more information.

B USB—One port for an external USB drive (such as a USB stick formatted

FAT32). See “Setting up external storage devices” in this document.

C HDMI OUT—An HDMI port to display navigation menus on a monitor or TV.

Also an audio out over HDMI.

D ID button—Easily pressed button to identify the device in Composer Pro. The

ID button on the EA-1 V2 is also an LED that displays feedback useful in a
factory restore.

E FACTORY RESTORE—Restores the controller to its factory defaults.
F ETHERNET OUT—RJ-45 jack for a passthrough 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet

connection.

G ETHERNET/POE+ IN—RJ-45 jack for 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet in and PoE+

power. The EA-1 V2 PoE does not have a line power option.

H ZIGBEE—The antenna for the ZigBee radio.

E

D

H IF

G

FE

H

G

Installation instructions

To install the controller:

1 Ensure that the home network is in place before starting system setup. An

Ethernet connection to the local network is required for setup. The controller
requires a network connection to use all of the features as designed. After
initial configuration, Ethernet (recommended) or WiFi (no WiFi on the EA-1
PoE) can be used to connect the controller to web-based media databases,
communicate with other IP devices in the home, and access Control4 system
updates.

2 Mount the controller near the local devices you need to control. The

controller can be hidden behind a TV, mounted on a wall, placed in a rack,
or stacked on a shelf. The EA-1 Wall-Mount Bracket is sold separately and
designed for easy installation of the EA-1 controller behind a TV or on the
wall. See the EA-1/EA-3 Wall-Mount Bracket Installation Guide (ctrl4.co/ea-

wmb) for more details.

3 Attach antennas to the WIFI and ZIGBEE antenna connectors.

4 Connect the controller to the network.

• Ethernet—To connect using an Ethernet connection, connect the network
cable into the controller’s RJ-45 port (labeled “Ethernet” or “Ethernet/
PoE+ In”) and into the network port on the wall or at the network switch.
On the EA-1 V2 PoE, connect the controller to a PoE+-enabled network
switch or to a PoE+ power injector. An additional Ethernet-connected
device can be connected to the Ethernet Out RJ-45 port.

• WiFi—To connect using WiFi, first connect the unit to Ethernet, and then
use Composer Pro System Manager to reconfigure the unit for WiFi. The
EA-1 V2 PoE does not support WiFi.

Important: Do not install your EA controller on a 172.18.xxx.xxx
subnet.

5 Connect system devices. Attach IR and serial devices as described in

“Connecting the IR ports/serial ports” and “Setting up IR emitters.”

6 Set up any external storage devices as described in “Setting up external

storage devices” in this document.

7 Connect the power cord to the controller’s power port and then into an

electrical outlet, or for the EA-1 PoE, power on the PoE-enabled network
switch or PoE injector.

Connecting the IR ports/serial ports (optional)

The controller provides four IR ports, and ports 1 and 2 can be reconfigured
independently for serial communication. If not used for serial, they can be used
for IR. Connect a serial device to the controller using the Control4 3.5 mm-to-DB9
Serial Cable (C4-CBL3.5-DB9B, sold separately).

1 The serial ports support baud rates between 1200 to 115200 baud for odd

and even parity. The serial ports do not support hardware flow control.

2 See Knowledgebase article #268 (dealer.control4.com/dealer/

knowledgebase/article/268) for pinout diagrams.

3 To configure a port for serial or IR, make the appropriate connections in your

project using Composer Pro. See the Composer Pro User Guide for details.

Note: The serial ports can be configured as straight-through or null with
Composer Pro. Serial ports by default are configured straight-through
and can be changed in Composer by selecting Enable Null-Modem
Serial Port (1 or 2).

Setting up IR emitters

Your system may contain third-party products that are controlled through IR
commands.

1 Connect one of the included IR emitters to an IR OUT port on the controller.

2 Place the stick-on emitter end onto the IR receiver on the Blu-ray player, TV,

or other target device to drive IR signals from the controller to the targets.

Setting up external storage devices (optional)

You can store and access media from an external storage device, for example, a
network hard drive or USB memory device, by connecting the USB drive to the
USB port and configuring or scanning the media in Composer Pro.

Note: We support only externally powered USB drives or solid state
USB sticks. Self-powered USB drives are not supported.

Note: When using USB storage devices on an EA-1 controller, you can
use only one partition with a 2 TB maximum size. This limitation also
applies to the USB storage on other controllers.

Composer Pro driver information

Use Auto Discovery and SDDP to add the driver to the Composer project. See the
Composer Pro User Guide for details.

Troubleshooting

Reset to factory settings

Caution! The factory restore process will remove the Composer project.

To restore the controller to the factory default image:

1 Insert one end of a paper clip into the small hole on the back of the

controller labeled FACTORY RESTORE.

2 Press and hold the FACTORY RESTORE button. The controller resets and the

Caution LED changes to solid red.

3 Hold the button until the Caution LED flashes double orange. This should

take five to seven seconds. The Caution LED flashes orange while the factory
restore is running. When complete, the Caution LED turns o and the device
power cycles one more time to complete the factory restore process.

Note: On an EA-1 V2 controller, the ID button is also an LED that
provides the same feedback as the Caution LED on the front of the
controller.

Power cycle the controller

1 Press and hold the ID button for five seconds. The controller turns o and

back on.

Reset the network settings

To reset the controller network settings to the default:

1 Disconnect power to the controller.

2 While pressing and holding the ID button on the back of the controller,

power on the controller.

3 Hold the ID button until the Caution LED (rear ID LED) appears solid orange

and the Link and Power LEDs are solid blue, and then immediately release
the button.

Note: In OS 2.10.1 and lower, the Caution LED appears solid blue during
the network reset check. After updating to OS 2.10.2 and higher, the
Caution LED appears orange during the network reset check.

More help

For the latest version of this document and to view additional materials, open the
URL below or scan the QR code on a device that can view PDFs.

MOST RECENT VERSION

ctrl4.co/ea1-ig

MORE INFO ON EA CONTROLLERS

ctrl4.co/ea

Regulatory/Safety information

To review regulatory information for your particular Control4 products, see the
information located on the Control4 website at ctrl4.co/reg.

Warranty

Visit ctrl4.co/warranty for details.

LED status information

Data Caution Link Power

on EA-1 V2 models, the rear ID LED mirrors the front Caution LED.

—Flashing LED —Solid LED

Just powered on

Bootloader loaded

Kernel loaded

Network reset check

Factory restore underway

Factory restore fail

Connected to Director

Playing audio

control4.com | 888.400.4070

Copyright ©2018, Control4 Corporation. All rights reserved. Control4, the Control4 logo,
the 4-ball logo, 4Sight, Control My Home, and Mockupancy are registered trademarks
or trademarks of Control4 Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All
other names and brands may be claimed as the property of their respective owners. All
specifications subject to change without notice.

200-00378-B

2018-08-13 DH

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