Wow, it looks like the writer of this article time warped from 2006 to 2009 and failed to check in with Crestron on what's new in their home automation product assortment or the writer is a stockholder for a modestly priced home automation manufacturer. Crestron, since 2007 has manufactured the Adagio line of product and this year released the Prodigy product, both low-cost full functioning home automation controllers with a full compliment of low cost interfaces. I normally don't respond to these articles, but I couldn't let someone who speaks to the general public create a misconception that Crestron products are only for the filthy rich. What is important is that you purchase products from a manufacturer that is financially stable to ensure they will be here tomorrow and the product they offer is relevant for real world integration scenarios, with a forty year operating history, record sales gains in a down economy and the largest third party partnership pool in the industry Crestron meets those qualifications.

With all due respect Ken - I OWN a house full of Crestron.

They don't return our calls, offer accomodation or any information whatsoever. The best I got was seeing their $20,000,000 Citation X in front of my lowly VLJ when flying to CES last year. And "jet envy" isn't a pretty feeling - let me tell you! :)

Crestron is still the king but there are new players out there who are priced more for the new economy where homes are worth a lot less than they used to be. That may not matter in Palm Beach, New Canan or Pacific Palisades but for upmarket mainstreet - its important.

Echoing what Ken said above, if there is one thing Crestron is great at it is developing new products to fill needs in the marketplace. The new Prodigy system can be programmed by anyone who can program a Universal or Nevo remote, and the prices are much more attractive as well. How about a full featured remote control, including 2-way feedback for metadata and status display that retails for only $170 (processor and programming also required), lighting dimmers with a 2-way RF link for about $130/ea, a bundle with the remote above, power supply, 5 IR emitters, and an automation processor (that includes Ethernet and 2ea RS-232 serial control ports) for $700 retail.

They also have a 6 source, 4 zone matrix preamp / amp combo that sells for only $900. The Ethernet enabled, wall-mounted color touch screen controls that go with this system sell for $670, a far cry from the thousands such controls cost in the past.

On the upper end of the spectrum they recently released their digital media distribution system that allows complete distribution of HDMI media signals, including 1080p with deep color. Unlike other systems this one pre-authorizes the HDCP keys to prevent lengthy source switching delays that occur otherwise.

They also recently released a remote with a color touch screen that will display full motion video from security cameras or other video sources in addition to functioning as a touch screen. That one runs about $1,500+.

So, suffice it to say, home automation is not dead, and in fact it has never been healthier. You can still take it to the (higher than ever) limit, but never has such tremendous power been more affordable, from Crestron or numerous other vendors.

Ken, your missing that people are looking for a inexpensive solution with service provided. Crestron products are great,, but the fact that the user can't reprogram a thing on it makes it worthless in my eyes. Great solution if the idea is to suck the life out of the consumers wallet. And my understanding is the Adagio line is still dealer installed and serviced which follows the rob the customer blind line of thinking.

Great product that's way over priced.. I wish I did more research before I got ours.. It works fine enough but so overpriced.

The Crestron resale model means that a dealer is involved. Like any relationship you must choose it wisely. On the high end systems, it's all about the programming and how well it's executed. Now for the lower cost products that Crestron is now offering in Prodigy, anyone that can use a computer can program the system, it's very, very simple. Your relationship with your dealer may afford you the ability to make your own adjustments to the system after the initial installation, that's up to the dealer. Crestron has positioned the affordable Prodigy products, once they are properly installed to program easily and operate flawlessly. Your dealer should need to only spend a few hours programming the processor and that's if he has one hand pinned behind his back, it's that simple. When choosing a home automation system, pick a solid manufacturer that is established, interview the dealer and ask for references, it's no different than hiring any other contractor.

Am I to understand that your editorial content is directly affected by who will speak to you and accommodate you? I guess I'm naive, I thought journalists write articles based on what is in the best interest of their readership. If the article was written in such a way where you alluded to Crestron, but didn't mention them by name I would have not responded, but you saw some value in incorporating them into the article to make it more successful and it read like an attack piece.

Jerry,

You clearly you have not done the research to know that Crestron offers remotes from $700 that can be easily programmed by a professionsal installer in a matter of minutes. They also offer the $900 distributed audio system and $130 wireless dimmers. I would say that that is affordable in any market in any home. You are clearly biased and misinformed about Crestron and the level of support they offer. As a dealer that has been in the CI business since 1984 I can truly say that they have some of the best customer support I have every experienced.

Also, enough insinuations in your reviews about your wealth. We don't care if you have learjet or are looking at buying homes in Rancho Santa Fe or how much you sold your .com names for. Just give us UNBIASED reviews.

Respectfully, the Crestron model makes the client a slave to the dealer. Dealers LOVE it because they have a reliable, close ended system that ONLY THEY can work on. I say this as a client of Crestron.

In a new real estate market, Crestron needs to keep making real world products for people with less than strong 8-figure net worth. Some people have posted such items which is good. Other players are now in the market too. Nuvo, Control4, Russound, Niles and others. Competition is good for the consumer, I think.

Jerry is an opinion writer at best. He is not a journalist.

The dealer is what makes the system work. The whole premise of this article is based on the assumption that it's merely product with a little programming.That could not be further from the truth. Nor is Crestron based on 'wow factor' and C4 more user friendly, nor is our industry in foreclosure, or only catering to the ultra wealthy. 'Non user friendly' programming and great profits and everything was good? What planet are you from? We work our asses off trying to make large amounts of electronics work together with the simplest of operation but we get looked upon as equipment salesmen. The ultimate insult is when others write about our industry as if they know about it, which they don't.

If somebody asked me what my favorite product to sell was, I'd have to think about an answer because honestly I don't know. Reliability, consistency, performance, good manufacturer support... Crestron is good at that, but so is many other companies. Margin helps too, but that's down the list.

While I agree with the end conclusion this article is terrible. Maybe next you could write an article comparing a Ferrari to this years hottest selling Bigwheel tricycle.

Unfortunately the real fleecing in the custom AV and automation business has come from many of the low end manufacturers poorly researched articles, BS product reviews and hack integrators. People are being convinced by the media that you can get the same for less.

The thing that made this article worse is reading some of the customer commentary supporting it.

Don't go to Burger King and expect a waiter to wipe the crumbs from your table prior to the intermezzo. Likewise Don't buy a ferrari and expect it to be delivered with a Chiltons repair manual and direct access to wholesale parts. The dealer / integrator should be a value added to the purchase, many manufacturers require the products to be sold and installed by dealers because it reduces the amount of people returning product due to improper installation or misunderstanding of product applications or limititations.

Durable, upgradeable, flexible VS. disposable & affordable

Life is full of choices. One of them is to decide how much of a snob factor you want in a system. There will always be people who want what they precieve to be the best with out any actual knowledge of the product. This is the niche that ALL high end products and their resellers occupy. There is nothing inherently wrong with selling products that takes a specialist to sell and service. I think the intent of the article is fine. The execution of said article could have been better.