Brilliant Control - Review 2022

The Brilliant Control ($299) is a unique wall switch that uses Wi-Fi to connect to and control various smart devices in your domicile. It has a 5-inch color touch on screen with user-friendly button controls that allow you play music, control lighting, gear up thermostat temperatures, and see who is at your door, amongst other things. It works with many popular smart home platforms including Ecobee, Nest, Philips Hue, Ring, and Sonos, and it has built-in Amazon Alexa voice support that allows information technology to do almost everything an Echo device tin can practice. It's fairly pricey and requires wiring cognition to install, but it'due south a smart addition to a high-tech home.

Blueprint and Features

The Brilliant Control panel replaces a wall light switch and uses the aforementioned wiring (load, neutral, ground) every bit well-nigh switches. We reviewed the single switch model, which controls one light (directly), but Bright offers ii-switch ($349), iii-switch ($399), and 4-switch models ($449). It'south very like shooting fish in a barrel to install, but it requires turning off power to the circuit, removing the erstwhile switch, and wiring the Bright switch, so if yous're not comfy with electrical wiring, you lot should hire a professional to do the job.

The single switch has a v-inch color touch display with a 1,280 by 720 resolution that serves every bit an icon-based command panel for devices that are paired with the system. When not in utilize, you can have information technology go dark or act as a photo frame. Above the screen are a movement sensor, an ambience lite sensor, and a 720p camera. The move sensor can be used to automatically turn on the light that the panel is wired to, and the light sensor is at that place for future use. The camera is used for video intercom chats with other installed Bright panels, and has a shutter that you lot can shut for privacy.

The Vivid panel uses 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to connect to smart habitation devices and has built-in Amazon Alexa circuitry that lets it do almost everything an Amazon Echo can do. You can enquire Alexa about news, weather, and sports scores, and have her turn things on and off or set up a timer. When you enquire Alexa most the weather, the screen displays a seven-day forecast to go along with the voice response. Additionally, when you ask near the score of a sporting event, the screen displays the team'south logo along with the text version of what Alexa is saying. However, as nosotros saw with the Honeywell Smart Domicile Security hub (which also has built-in Alexa), it won't play Amazon Music, or any music for that matter. The panel has a built-in microphone and a speaker that is fine for video chatting and listening to Alexa responses, but is much also underpowered for listening to music.

You can use the Brilliant panel to control whatsoever light fixture it is directly wired to, too as Philips Hue and Belkin Wemo lights, but control is express to dimming and turning lights on and off. To plow lights on, swipe up on the panel until y'all've reached the desired effulgence, and swipe downward to dim them and plow them off. Y'all can't change colors or create scenes—for that you have to use the Hue or Wemo app. The same goes for playing music on a Sonos speaker: Y'all can use the panel to play favorites that you've created in the Sonos app using My Sonos, but you can't directly access music services such as Amazon Music, Spotify, or Apple tree Music.

As you lot pair the Brilliant panel with various devices, you tin add their icons to the master brandish or take them appear inside of a room. Along the bottom of the screen are buttons for Scenes, Alexa, Home, Intercom, Alarm, and Settings. When you pair the console with a compatible thermostat, a Climate button is added. The Scenes button is used to create one-touch on automation where you tin turn something on or off or have it turn on or off at a specific fourth dimension of twenty-four hours. The Alexa button mutes the Alexa service, and the Home button takes you to a screen with buttons for each room y'all've created. Tap on any room to control devices assigned to that room. This is where you can also add new devices to the Brilliant organisation. Merely tap Add New Device, select the device from the list of compatible devices, and link it to the Bright console by entering the device account information. You'll be asked to assign the device to a room or create a new room that will announced in your Dwelling house. The Climate push takes y'all to a screen where you tin see the current temperature of your thermostat, fix temperature targets, and switch modes.

If you have two or more than Brilliant panels installed, tapping the Intercom button initiates a video chat session with the other panels. In social club to connect, somebody has to take the call on some other panel. One time the phone call is accepted, printing the Concord To Talk button to speak with the person on the other finish. The Alarm button tin can be used to set schedules for audible alarms. For example, yous can ready an alarm to go off at the aforementioned time on specific days or every day of the calendar week. The Alert is actually a pleasant-sounding chime and has its own volume slider. To silence the alarm, tap the Dismiss button.

Employ the Settings button to configure Light settings where you can assign lights to various rooms and enable motion detection to turn lights on and off. Display settings offer a brightness slider, a timer to turn the display off when not in use, and time zone settings. Hither you can also select which photos to display on the photograph frame. Interaction settings allow y'all suit organization book, enable gestures, and enable Amazon Alexa and Google Banana vocalisation commands. Connectivity settings allow y'all to configure Wi-Fi settings and update firmware.

The Brilliant switch uses a companion app (for Android and iOS) that lets you command devices and trigger Scenes from your telephone, merely it lacks the ability to create Scenes, add devices, and suit settings. Withal, it does let y'all upload photos for employ in the photo frame feature.

Installation and Operation

I've installed endless light switches, so installing the Brilliant Command was piece of cake for me. I shut off the billow to the circuit that powers my existing low-cal switch, removed the switch cover, and took a motion-picture show of the wiring for future reference. I removed the one-time switch and wired the Bright switch by connecting the white wire to the neutral last, black to the load terminal, and green to the footing last, and secured them with the included wire nuts. I attached the switch to the gang box using the included screws, attached the faceplate, and restored ability to the excursion. The console powered up immediately and inside 30 seconds a screen appeared with a list of available Wi-Fi SSIDs. I selected my home Wi-Fi, entered my countersign, and was connected within seconds. Next, I entered my electronic mail address, created an business relationship, and verified it using the code sent to my electronic mail address. I gave the organisation a name, selected my time zone, gave the switch a room location and name, and configured information technology to turn the light that it was connected to on and off and act as a dimmer. Next, I entered my Alexa account information and was prepare to go.

The folks at Brilliant sent me a secondary unit to test the video intercom feature, and installing it was virtually exactly the same equally above, except this time the verification code was displayed on the get-go Brilliant screen.

The Brilliant controller worked well in testing, but some of its functionality is limited. I connected it to a Philips Hue lighting system, a Sonos Play:1, a Belkin Wemo Insight Plug, a Ring Pro Video Doorbell, and a Nest Thermostat. I had no trouble raising and lowering the temperature and switching modes on the thermostat, and was able to turn the Wemo switch on and off without issue, simply I couldn't access the other Wemo features such as power usage reports and scheduling features. For that y'all have to utilise the original Wemo app.

The panel had no trouble playing music on the Sonos speaker, just it was express to selections in the My Sonos playlists from the Sonos app. I found myself wishing that I had more access to my music so I could add songs on the wing instead of having to catch my phone, open the Sonos app, and add together them to a playlist. Similarly, the Brilliant panel responded quickly to my commands to dim the Hue lights and turn them on and off, but information technology would exist nice to be able to change colors and Hue scenes without having to use the Hue app.

The Ring Pro doorbell connection was my favorite feature. When the doorbell was pressed, live video was streamed to the Brilliant panel with buttons to accept or dismiss the phone call. If you accept, you can have a two-way conversation with the person at the door. When the Brilliant panel is paired with a SmartThings Hub, you can even unlock the door if yous take a smart lock continued to the hub. It besides works directly with August locks, similar the Smart Lock Pro.

I was able to conduct a video conversation using the second Brilliant unit, but sound quality was spotty. There was sporadic feedback even though the two units were rooms apart, and the speaker's output sounded tinny.

Conclusions

If you're searching for a switch that will control almost of your smart devices, the Brilliant Control is certainly worth a expect. Its color touch display provides plenty of room for swiping to control lights, and it works with many of the most popular smart dwelling house devices from companies such as Nest, Philips, Ring, and Sonos. Adding new devices is relatively easy, but the console is unable to access certain features and settings for some devices. A more powerful speaker with the ability to play music would be a overnice addition, as would the power to access an entire music library instead of only playlists. That said, the Brilliant Command worked well in our testing, and volition assist make your smart dwelling even smarter.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/brilliant-control/30131/brilliant-control

Posted by: fordeliablive80.blogspot.com

Share this post