So, I'm about to step into a new home that is already outfitted with a Crestron system (MC3, DM8x8, etc) installed within the last 18 months or so. I will be using the same installer as the one who did the original job (already have a good working relationship with them) to expand on the system. I'm a very, very technical guy so in advance of planning the upgrades with the installer, I am doing lots of homework about what’s possible, how, what the options are, etc. In doing that, I have come across something that is more of a best practices question on a few areas of expansion, and I thought I would throw it out to the community here and see how others feel.
Basically, the main control panels in the home currently are iDevices along with some hard button remotes and my inclination is to keep it that way. I'll check out options for dedicated Crestron touch panels, especially for reliability, but I can't see them being my primary UI (certainly, I welcome feedback on this as well from experienced professionals). One of the benefits of the iOS hardware solution is the ability to switch control mechanisms from the Crestron Mobile App to the device specific iOS app. Given the meteoric rise of these kind of apps, in some cases, the available Crestron module may fall well short of what's available in the native app. Sonos comes first to mind here. The downside is that you have to leave the Crestron interface (even if it's only with a simple 4-figer swipe on the iPad) and move over to that interface and then switch back when you’re done. It's not a big deal, but it's definitely a break in the user experience and while you're in the native app, you don't have any access to other system controls via Crestron. The issue as I see it is that replication of the native app may incur significant programming fees for an experience that might be hard to match with the native app - not to mention ongoing functionality updates to the device that might necessitate further programming.
For reference, I've been thinking this as a result of looking into control options for Sonos (killer iPad app), Sooloos (iPad app pretty much replaces the Control15), Nest (currently loving their thermostats), Pool Control (house already has an Aqualink PDA - think I can go either Crestron or iOS on this one), Security Cameras (looking into Watchdog DVR solutions). For some of those I know I can implement a solution that is Crestron friendly, but I don't know that it's as good as the native solution. Maybe it's just a case of having to decide between full functional native but isolated and integrated but functionally more limited? The former seems great to me, but I wonder if the rest of my far-less tech savvy family will prefer the latter.
So my general question is, what do professionals think about this question? Do you use or even encourage native app control for certain devices in an iOS friendly system? If not, why not? I'd love to hear some thoughts on both sides.
Thanks in advance and I appreciate all the feedback!
