With Control 4, say you want to add a button to a page and wanted a macro on it, is this possible? Can you make it jump to a page you've created? If you can't add buttons or remove buttons created automatically then that's a pretty significant problem.

This is part of my issue with C4. Due to the lack of easy macro button commands it can take a bit of time to devise a workaround on some issues. So can you do the above statement with Savant? Here is an example of an issue that seemed like it should easily be fixed. With operating system 2.0. A client wants to choose a specific room from a touch panel. When you go to the selection page the rooms show up but the rooms the client uses the most is at the bottom. Not a big deal but he has to scroll through 20 zones each time. Called tech support and reordering the rooms is not an option. They were not even sure what order the showed up in.These are the kind of simple things that seem like they should be easy to accomplish but are not. I have run into a few of these with C4.

|These are the kind of simple things that seem like they should be easy to accomplish but are not. I have run into a few of these with C4.

I'm sorry but to me the idea of a good control system is full customisation. if one can't do that then they won't get my vote. I did look into C4 for an entry solution but I think i will go with prodigy and have 2 series for mid-high end. with the faster 3 series processors i think prodigy will do well. Also is still early days, so its product portofolio could get bigger with time.

Control 4, Savant, and Prodigy are all nice systems, provided you "toe the line." The minute you need to get creative or want to do something out of the ordinary, is the minute you're going to run into problems. Several of these companies want to do your thinking for you, in other words, they want you to use their logic. I guess that's fine for some, but not me. If I can't program the control system that I sell, then I probably shouldn't be selling it.

For those of you looking for a some open architecture (or total control) in a control system, look at Vantage Controls. I use their Infusion controller on a lot of a/v systems that don't include Vantage Lighting. If you really want to get custom and do it your way, Vantage gives you the tools to do it. BTW, their lighting system, albeit expensive, kicks ass!

If your not already a Crestron or Savant dealer and do not plan or have the resources to do large scale high-end jobs, I would go for Control4. They are built their company to serve mid market dealers. Crestron and Savant created low cost solutions to keep from losing market share on the low end to Control4. Their low end solutions are not complete enough to compete with Control4. Control4 has already gone through their growing pains and have a mature system.

The Pad 8 keeps going out. The p-vid is out about every six months. It just hasn't been a great project with crestron. Not sure if the crestron is going to go back in or not.

Ryan, have you guys looked at your cresnet wiring/power? Its possible that something isn't wired properly or that their isn't enough wiggle room with the power supplies.

Make sure everything is grounded all the way back to the processor but dont connect it at the device ends (shield aka drain wire). And try to make sure your only using 85% of each power supply. These two things are usually the difference between rock solid forever and frequent failures.

The shield is easy to screw up especially if your using 1 cresnet cable homerun to connect 2 devices. People will take the shield into the first device when they should be bypassing it. See this document :[Link: support.crestron.com]

Another common mistake is running 1 power supply into another. So if your connecting your processor to a cresnet block you dont want to also connect a power supply to the block unless you disconnect the red wire at the processor end.

We are already a Crestron dealer but we don't do the programming in house. It is farmed out. I was just looking to recommend another control system that we could fully handle in house. I looked at the Prodigy but it seemed you were a bit limited in the components and there is no possibility to cross over between the Crestron lines without having two different systems. Also if you started to go beyond the basic programming you would have to start getting into the more complex Crestron programming. While I would love to do this my employer has been soured with a previous Crestron programmer that worked here. They would rather keep the more complex programming to the sub.

Better than homeworks? IMO HW It's by far the most reliable, robust..

Didn't mention HW because I have zero experience w/ HW. Obviously you have an opinion, why is HW better than Vantage?

Really you can't figure that out? It's the order the rooms are in within the tree, always has been. From top to bottom, will show up on remotes and screens top to bottom.

Pretty freaking amazing huh?

You can even break rooms up by floor or whatever you want to name the "floor"

Name some more. Ask some questions before guessing it doesn't work. That's the great power of the internet, there are answers for anything, and if you can't find your answer there's a specialized place to ask for help from others who use the product or service and might have an answer.

*****

Sorry for the rant, not personal. the convergence of the industries and all of the resources available now I'm amazed at the "issues" people find with all kinds of things in the world, products, services, etc. that really aren't issues, they just haven't learned the answer yet.

No offense meant, and this isn't product line specific. I'm just surprised by things like this. We're all the "answer" guys/gals. No?

Really

You want to start with Prodigy??? You must be a newbe!