Will you still use it?
Will you still be able to program it with SIMPL?
Will Prodigy XP still exist?
Wil Crestron have a new low cost solution for direct dealers?

It was already in one Disty. Not sure how current dealers are affected. Just emailed my rep.

So current guys are unaafected in any negative way. Talk to your reps.

Must have missed something. Whats this related to? When?

Sounds like they need to keep the prices lower and add profit. Cut out the reps, like so many others are doing.
I could careless about Prodigy. If they had some cool sources for music, I might use it as a DA. But a overpriced AM/FM/XM.... really? WFYIT? Yea, I get the ipod dock. Works okay some of the time. I would rather have a native Crestron source in the rack that is exactly like sonos.
Is that really too much to ask?
I guess so.
Jeez. even Nuvo is doing it.

I dont really get it unless this move is meant to keep all prodigy support directed towards distribution first and then bumped up to prodigy support techs.

If URC Total Control goes to distribution, they will eat Prodigy alive! This is of course it is reliable.

Crestron announced today its strategic decision to exclusively market and sell Prodigy through distribution channels. Launched just two years ago, Prodigy is installed in thousands of homes worldwide.
"Prodigy is one of our most successful product lines today. We want to allow the brand to continue to grow and succeed," says Crestron Executive Vice President, Randy Klein. "Distributors are very effective at reaching millions of consumers, which will enable us to put Prodigy in more homes than ever before."
Crestron, the premier brand of home automation solutions, will continue to be marketed and sold exclusively through its established global channel of value added installers. Infinitely scalable, Crestron has the most extensive line of products engineered on a single platform to support a simple, one room system all the way up to a fully customized, multi-home networked system.
"Our decision to clearly define two separate sales channels for each brand will give both Prodigy and Crestron the best roadmap for continued growth and success," says Klein. "Prodigy is very simple and ideal for distribution; Crestron is full featured, ultimately scalable and customizable, and is best served through the expertise of our value added dealers."

Met with our rep earlier. Prodigy products that exist today will be rolled into the full line with a new part number. Prodigy as a line will be distro only. I suspect that you cannot be a full line dealer and also get Prodigy through distro. The email reads to me that the distro market will actually be a retail market. I am guessing that Prodigy will be hidden in SIMPL very soon. Our rep said the XP box is going away. The "millions of customers" comment in the email doesnt sound to me like it is only in an industry-only distro. Maybe Dell will be an open market dealer now via their website or maybe they have inked a deal with Best Buy. Who knows? I was informed that the Prodigy sandbox will be very small and tight to keep it a stable product. If you are not a full line dealer now would be a good time to step up to the plate.

I am not bothered by this except for the inconvenience this will cause on jobs that are all Prodigy but not purchased through distro. If Prodigy gets locked to the land of SB programming only there wouldnt be much point in a full line dealer carrying it anyway.

Wow seriously. You must be drinking the URC koolaid a little too much. URC has to prove a lot before it can even come close to competing with RTI let alone Prodigy. This is their first foray into having a true processor. It'll be a while before we can truly pass judgement on the Total Control line.

Personally I like and don't like Prodigy being in distribution at all. It scares me that I could have some sparky trying to sell and install Prodigy. I can hear a client telling me they don't want a Crestron system because the Prodigy system never worked right. But at the same time I'm hoping that I don't have to see Prodigy dealers at Crestron trainings. Let them go to the Disty's for training.

And I vowed not to bitch about Crestron this week......Son Of A........lol

I like it. I personally don't see the point of Prodigy in our systems so keeping the sales/support at avad is fine with me.

Yeah I was wondering if this was going to happen, and I figured it was going to happen right around Cedia...

cpchillin, not drinking the cool aid. I have worked with Crestron SIMPL SIMPL+ and System Builder. System Builder sucks!!!! Prodigy programming is incomplete at best compared to Control4, Elan g! or RTI. IF URC is stable, they will have winner.

And yes, I have programmed Prodigy, it was not a pleasure.

 All I know is I'm glad the Crestron Rep stood me up at our meeting when I was supposed to give him 8k for the privilege of selling a product that I'll be able to get through a distributor in the near future.  That would have driven me over the edge, at that point I would've probably went postal on somebody.

Other than that, I've got nothing to add. :)