A smart video door entry system puts a camera, speaker and call button at your front door or gate and sends the call to touchscreens and phones around the home. With Control4, answering can also trigger a scene, such as turning on lights or opening a gate, so the door becomes part of the whole house.
What is video door entry in a smart home?
Video door entry is an outdoor station with a camera, microphone and speaker, linked to indoor screens. Visitors press a button, you see and speak to them, and you decide whether to let them in. In a connected home, that same call can reach several places at once rather than a single handset by the front door.
Control4 offers video door stations that let you see and speak to visitors at the front door, a gate or another entryway, using indoor touchscreens or the Control4 app, including when you are away from home. If you are new to the platform, our guide to what Control4 is and how it works explains the wider system.
How is it different from a smart video doorbell?
A video doorbell replaces your existing bell, mounts on the door frame and talks to your phone. A video door entry system is a fuller arrangement: an outdoor panel at the door or gate, one or more indoor monitors, and a way to release the lock or gate. ENS Security’s guide draws the same distinction.
The practical difference in a larger home is reach. A doorbell is usually a single device with its own app. A door station that belongs to your home control system can appear on the same screens you already use for lighting, audio and heating.
What can a Control4 door station do beyond answering the door?
According to CEPRO’s report on Intercom Anywhere, the app works with a Control4 door station to give two-way audio, high-definition video and motion sensor snapshots. Control4 describes letting you see who is at the door before you answer, and activate a home scene at the same time.
Examples of scenes that suit the front door:
- Switch on the entrance and driveway lighting when someone arrives after dark.
- Open the gate or release the door for a family member or a trusted visitor.
- Ring every touchscreen in the house, so whoever is nearest can answer.
The scenes are only as good as the programming behind them, which is why door entry sits best alongside well-planned Control4 smart home installation rather than as an afterthought.
Where does the call ring in the house?
The intercom approach is that family members can answer from indoor touchscreens or from a phone, and can dial between them too. That matters in a big house, where nobody should have to run to a hallway panel. Which screens ring is worth deciding at design stage, because a kitchen touchscreen and a home office screen suit different behaviour.
Lighting is the obvious partner for a door station. If your lighting already runs on Lutron lighting control, an arrival scene can bring up the hall and exterior lights as you answer.
What should you plan before the building work starts?
Door entry is much easier to do well when it is planned with the cabling, not added after decorating. Points to settle early:
- Position. Where the door station sits, and what the camera will see, including any side gate.
- Cabling. A wired run to the door and gate keeps the connection reliable. A solid data and Wi-Fi network matters for the phone and app side; see also why a Control4 smart home depends on its network.
- Locks and gates. Confirm the lock or gate motor can be released electrically and that the manufacturer supports it.
- Screens. Choose which rooms get a touchscreen, and which family members get the app.
- Security. Decide how door entry works with cameras and alarms; see our smart security systems page.
On our projects, whole-house control is designed as one system. Our full home automation and multi-room AV project in Cobham shows what that looks like in a large property.
Can you add door entry to an existing system?
Often, yes, but it depends on what is installed and what the door and gate allow. We are a Platinum Control4 dealer, and our in-house maintenance team looks after systems after handover. If you already have a system installed by someone else, our takeover and maintenance service is the place to start.
Frequently asked questions
Is a video intercom the same as a video doorbell?
No. A doorbell replaces your bell and talks to a phone. A video intercom is an outdoor panel plus indoor monitors, usually with a lock or gate release. Integrated systems can offer both ideas through one app.
Can I answer the door when I am away?
Control4 says its door stations let you monitor and speak to visitors from anywhere using the app.
Can the door station open my gate?
Control4 describes opening a gate or unlocking a door as part of a scene triggered from the intercom. Whether it works on your property depends on the gate or lock hardware, which we check on survey.
Does it need to be planned at build stage?
It is far easier if cabling is run before plastering and landscaping, but retrofit is sometimes possible. Ask us before you commit to anything on site.
Talk to us about door entry
Come and see our demonstration cinema and showroom at Unit 101, Image Court, 326 Molesey Road, Walton-on-Thames, KT12 3PD. Visit our home cinema showroom, or contact us on 020 3397 9888.
