Brilliant controller


Userlevel 6
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Has anyone in the US got one of these yet? They replace light switches and can control Sonos amongst other things. UK release is hoped for 2018.

https://www.brilliant.tech


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25 replies

Userlevel 6
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Strange that no-one om the forum seems to have bought one.

Its expensive though, why not just get a cheap iPad and wall mount it? Then you have every feature, plus you avoid the Savaan problem of relying on poor support from a third party.


These just seem much easier to work with. I'm using a Vizio tablet at the moment, if I could wall mount that it would be ideal but wouldn't know where to start. Does anyone make a Qi wall bracket/holder?
Userlevel 6
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Still no UK release planned, they're missing out
Userlevel 2
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I’ve got one in the mail.

Will get it installed and setup next week.

Will give some input then.
We are a smart home integrator in Miami Florida and we recently started installing these in our customers' homes. The product is good but needs some software and hardware refinements. It is a little pricey but not outrageous. I am a dealer, so aside from installing them for customers I have three of them in my home and they work pretty well. The sonos integration is pretty good but their is no grouping feature. In fact if you have a group already existing and then you start playing in one room using a brilliant control touch screen, it breaks the group automatically and starts playing in one room only. So to regroup you will have to open your sonos app. If you just tell alexa to play something but dont specify a room it will play over the existing group. So you can work with it. it needs some software help though.
Userlevel 7
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Strange that no-one om the forum seems to have bought one.

Its expensive though, why not just get a cheap iPad and wall mount it? Then you have every feature, plus you avoid the Savaan problem of relying on poor support from a third party.
Userlevel 6
Badge +11
Has anyone else got one of these yet? Still no news on a UK release ☹️
The Brilliant devices don't run third-party apps like an Android phone or iPhone. There is no app store to go search for apps you want. But I am interested to learn what Brilliant's capabilities are with respect to controlling Sonos stuff. Can you group and ungroup speakers with it, and can you control volume for individual devices within a group like you can with the iPhone Sonos controller app?
Userlevel 5
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I just installed mine in the master bathroom (Sonos amp in the bedroom connected to Rogers LS 3/5A studio monitors, Niles switch to also play bathroom in-ceiling speakers). Install is easy (like replacing a light switch), but you MUST have a neutral wire. I mainly got it for Sonos so I don't have to have a controller in the bathroom (I do have a Lutron Pico remote to control it, but it's a bit wonky). I added some SiriusXM channels that my wife likes to "Favorites" and they are all there on the display. Works like a charm. The Alexa integration is nice as well for lowering/raising volume. I've only had it running for a few hours, but I like the look and operation. My light switch is high enough that I can see the controls without an issue. Im 5'9"...those 6' plus may find it too low. Here's a shot playing a playlist I created in Apple music, accessible by Sonos.

Do you have the ability to run the Sonos App? So you can do grouping, picking of all music sources? Or is just work with Favorites and certain speaker?
Userlevel 2
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I just installed mine in the master bathroom (Sonos amp in the bedroom connected to Rogers LS 3/5A studio monitors, Niles switch to also play bathroom in-ceiling speakers). Install is easy (like replacing a light switch), but you MUST have a neutral wire. I mainly got it for Sonos so I don't have to have a controller in the bathroom (I do have a Lutron Pico remote to control it, but it's a bit wonky). I added some SiriusXM channels that my wife likes to "Favorites" and they are all there on the display. Works like a charm. The Alexa integration is nice as well for lowering/raising volume. I've only had it running for a few hours, but I like the look and operation. My light switch is high enough that I can see the controls without an issue. Im 5'9"...those 6' plus may find it too low. Here's a shot playing a playlist I created in Apple music, accessible by Sonos.
Userlevel 6
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Maybe external controllers can improve with the new 'works with sonos' initiative
Userlevel 1
FWIW, external controllers like this are generally for controlling a single room/device only. That may be ok if you just want to start music/radio in your current room, but there are serious caveats:

1) Sonos doesn't allow you to save a group as a preset. So if you start music in the room with the device, it will not be in sync with your other rooms. IMHO, this makes all external controllers pretty useless, as I don't want unsynced music playing in different rooms.
2) I would like such devices to be able to switch between TV audio and music/radio, but Sonos doesn't provide commands that allow an external device to start/stop TV audio on a Playbar.

I've been trying to figure out a solution to these issues for two years.
Userlevel 5
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Its kind of hard to tell from there site, but thats what it sounds like. Here a quote from there June 17 Update

"You can choose from your stored playlists, or Sonos favorites such as stations from Pandora, Spotify, and Tune.fm. The album art appears once you play, and you can adjust the volume, skip to the next track, play/pause, or even select a different Sonos player or "group" to control those remotely without leaving the room. All at your fingertips, without the need for a mobile device!" It seems to be telling me i can select from Playlists or Favorites. And says i can select a group but not whether i can actually do grouping and what exactly i can do with the volume, i think probably just change the overall volume fo the group. Basically you can see its not the standard app which i was hoping for. Looks like they are building the interface app themselves. Guess we will have to see what it actually does when released.
Userlevel 6
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Ah, have you read that this will be a limited control of Sonos? Ie no grouping etc
Userlevel 5
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I am with you dav77! No desire to use voice. Just wish the controls for this allowed more advanced actions like grouping, music selection, and group volume controls. If so I will have 3or4 around the house. Hopefully the interface will improve and not just stay as a single speaker interface like it looks like now. Looking forward to seeing it out in the public. Really wish it could just run Android and I could run the Sonos App.
Userlevel 6
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I must be in a minority here but i thought a product like this would have a massive market.

Not everyone has a phone on hand to control all your devices, nor shouting at the useless Alexa is not appropriate at all times.
Indeed. I'm not bothered about voice control. So will continue to use my dirt cheap Amazon Fire tablet as a dedicated, fully featured Sonos controller.
Userlevel 6
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Once Alexa integration with Sonos is rolled out, these will be pretty much obsolete, I should think.

Dont be silly ? Not everyone wants voice control
Once Alexa integration with Sonos is rolled out, these will be pretty much obsolete, I should think.
Userlevel 5
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I'm been watching the news on this. I also like the fact that it uses the existing wall power. What I don't like is not having full functionality, or at least close to that. It looks like I can pick Favorites or Playlist. I have no playlist. I would love to pick from my many services, not just the ones in my favorites. Also would like to do some grouping, pick music form all my sources, and control volume of the group and/or a single speaker from a group. I generally have 2-3 or more speakers grouped and would love to have an interface like this ready on the wall so I don't have to go find a device. I hope they continue to add functionality to this. I don't really have many places where I just control one rooms speakers.
Good point. Would also be a problem with the video intercom feature. It would be much better if the screen could swivel up or down as needed.

I like the fact that you don't have to worry about providing power or recharging batteries though, since it's powered off the lighting wiring.

Probably the biggest selling point to me is that it's dedicated for smart home functionality. Part of the downside of using a phone or tablet is that it must be unlocked, open and close apps, and regularly charged. This resolves those issues.
Doesn't have very good ergonomics, does it? If placed at wall switch level, you'd need to bend over to read the screen. Good for young kids, i suppose.
The website says it's not shipping till September at the earliest.

It's a very interesting product. I don't know how much of a market there will be for it though. From a sonos perspective, I don't know if I would want to use it that much for control, particularly after the Alexa voice integration. Then again, it's got Alexa built in, so it's particular useful if it can provide visual feedback from a sonos voice command.

That said though, I very much like that it centers the sonos features on the room you are in.

I like the features that it has with other smart home products, like Ring, but it doesn't look like it's nearly complete. The price seems reasonable for what you get, yet I couldn't justify that for every room in the house that I want smart control. I see that they work with smartthings and wink, so perhaps you can integrate this control with other lighting controls seamlessly.

Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Userlevel 6
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No, i'm in the UK so have to wait until next year at least:(

So I take it Sonos were not involved with this?
Userlevel 6
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I haven't seen this myself. But looks really cool. Have you tried it yourself?
Userlevel 6
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nobody then :?