You are exactly right bout the system just seeing button presses. Sky is the limit.

We sub TPS-6X's in Bedrooms for all of these reasons over the iPad. The iPad can be woken up but you basically leave them on all the time with a black screen saver (simple minded description and work around).

Crestron has a bunch of new panels launching now that have come down in price but have some programming quirks that will make his job harder but your life better. Look up Core 3UI