I have a Crestron representative coming to give us the shpeal on why we need their product. This is not a Crestron VS. _______ thread, but i want honest opinions based on our needs.

What we use now:
Small jobs - URC IR/RF/IP up to MX5000
All other jobs - RTI IR/RF entire line
Large scale jobs - RTI/XP8 with Autopatch matrix switchers

I am looking for a company with products that can be one-stop solution based (lighting, HVAC, Audio, Video, resi, commericial, etc.) RTI seems to "kind-of" be that company, but it seems to me Crestron fits that entire bill.
We are not that interested in C4 due to all the dealers nearby ( we have been offered the line, already ) AMX would be a nice fit considering we already do a bunch of autopatch gear, but the programming seems more difficult and the tech support isn't free for all dealers.

We also used to do a bunch of HAI but felt that the keypads were clunky and not very customizable.

Our client ratio is: 60% residential, 30% commercial, 10% Government

Thanks for any opinions you may have for a small to semi-medium company such as us. I am going to listen to their pitch no matter what, but just wanted to hear from other dealers.

Crestron by far. You'll be amazed at what the system can do compared to RTI. I used to be a AMX dealer but I had alot of problems with hardware failure. RTI is a good system but for total home control Crestron wins by far. There lighting control products are great. For smaller systems there is the Prodigy line. Much better than anything RTI has to offer.

Crestron still needs a lot of pragramming and setup, but I am still doing Crestron and Elan g!. Elan g! will be my middle solution, while Prodigy will be my templated solution to combat Control4 at the low end. Crestron will also deliver for HDMI solutions and large custom jobs and wireless lighting solutions. Elan g! makes for very efficient mid range solutions with an on screen UI and 2-way remote, with very little programming. For Crestron Prodigy, templated SIMPL programming. Don't even bother with Composer or Sys Builder and make sure you have your receiver and HDTV RS232 drivers worked out before selling any system with Crestron. With Elan you just send in the control functions or the device.

Very cool - these are the responses i was hoping for. The only thing I noticed that seemed limiting on the small scale was the Prodigy system going up and beyond 6 sources to compete with C4. Even in our small setups, we typically find client needing 6-12 sources (local TV's, childrens multiple iPods, dual tuners, etc.) Do you know if the Prodigy will allow for this or will we need to step up to the next level in order to offer this? Thanks!

Prodigy is only 6 sources, but for most projects that are getting more than 6 sources that need to be shared for DA, you can step up to a full-line crestron solution.

Crestron also gives you the QM and Imedia line for your commercial applications, great stuff. I'm still getting familiar with System builder, but I put in my first demo system, a Pamp, 12 zones of lighting, two controllers, Tstat, ipod dock and it went in very smoothly. I'm having trouble with the IR for the cable box, but I just need to find the right codes.

Only thing that sucked was my Fios router just got replaced and the new router they sent is a piece so I had a fit downloading to the system.

At this point I'm offering URC and Crestron and don't feel the need for anything else. If you want more sources than Prodigy offers step into full line.

Dave - what cable box is it? 

Xpanel and the iphone app are two features that really help PRodigy shine. I like providing xpanel as a simple backup in case of remote failure, but many clients use it regularly. Both these control options really bump up the wow factor on smaller systems.

Systembuilder has its place. It doesn't quite fit what I'd like it to do. it works well if you use what Crestron provides for it. That said, its not hard to customize or figure out how to tailor systems to your preference.

As the other guys said, Crestron is by far the best solution because with the Prodigy product the line is scalable. If you need more than 6 sources, you can jump up to the Adagio line and beyond.

Be prepared for a huge learning curve though. It takes time to get your head around the programming and now Crestron requires that you take some mandatory courses now. This is a good thing . Good luck

For me, Crestron has been a way for me to compete with jobs in the 5-7K range where the client thinks he is getting a lot for his money with Control 4. It has a little bit of everything and can appeal to a vast audience. Great for "green" installs as well. It can be expanded to compete with a large system and is really ultra reliable and full of great features. But again, mostly its given me a way to compete with two way systems like C4.

Thanks so much guys for all of the comments. I can certainly see the broad spectrum that Crestron has to offer with the main line. I have signed up for a two day training next week in Indy with Crestron and am looking forward to it. Its ashame that i cant go ahead and spec it - haha! I have several projects right now that I have sold other equipment for. Oh well :)

Prodigy is only 6 sources if you use the wizard/SB. The true limiting factor on Prodigy is that it only has 5 IR ports. But soon that factor will be eliminated when the Prodigys can talk to each other natively(as opposed to currently where they can but its a 'hack')

Crestron has a wide enough product line that you can mix and match from for projects ranging in size from your Living room, to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Now there WILL be lots of learning involved, from learning the core products youll use all the time, to learning the rest of the line, to how to program it all.

HAVE FUN!

With a distributing block (or several), the 5 IR ports aren't really limiting, unless you have more than 5 of something. For example, I did a house with 4 TV rooms, with 4 DTV receivers, and 4 bluray players (among other items) all on one prodigy processor. Was it simple? No, but definitely doable. It is solid and have only been called back out to fix a remote that died.

should have been clearer as this is what I meant

In the rare instance you have more then five of something a xantech ir router should work.