Am I crazy to switch from Crestron to Control4?

Background, our Pro2 processor has failed. Wont power up and I believe one of the COM ports is out. Also, our touch panels are old LC1000s and really need replaced. My concern is the repair of the processor and updating panels plus programming would likely be more than starting over with Control4. We also have Crestron panelized lighting in the theater and the original installer did not include a keypad to turn on the lights which is annoying. So for 10-12k, I could switch to Control4 panelized lighting, add a keypad, new touch panels, remotes, control the theater, pool and existing audio zones. I would also get iPhone app which I do not have in existing Crestron program. Further, there is the potential to integrate our home RadioRa2 lighting and possibly Vista alarm panel (doable in Crestron but again more programing charges). Add also native Pandora, Sonos and Airplay. A lot for your money!

I do much prefer Crestron as a company and Control4's future seems a little shaky. Open to suggestions and love to hear opinions!

Where are you getting the idea that you can get all of that done for 10-12k? This is sounding more like 50k minimum to me. If someone is quoting you that low IMO be prepared for a bunch of change orders...or shoddy work; or shoddy work and change orders. Anyway, both will accomplish the same thing...you need to decide who you trust more: the Crestron shop or the Control4 shop. Or are they the same shop?

p.s. What prior post?

Well there is ALOT of savings in that it is a retrofit. For instance, CAT5 runs to all panels, alarm, etc already in place. Rack done and organized. Network done. Crestron light panel, terminals etc are interchangeable with Control4. No new source equipment or AV hardware.

Equipment: Roughly 8k, even at msrp. 1500 for HC800, 2500 for matrix amp, 1200 for lighting dimmer module, couple remotes, 2k for a couple touch panels, few hundred for 1-2 keypads. Ballpark.

Programming and installation: 2-3k each.

Based on my research, the cost of Crestron and Control4 are not even in the same ballpark.

Don't forget the 30% rule. Take your estimate and add 30% because something always comes up.

Well, Crestron and C4 indeed are not the same product. I like C4, it is very capable, and a lot easier than crestron to do correctly. Where crestron is just about limitless, C4 can go pretty far, and future upgrades are much easier.

Your system doesn't sound that big, C4 would fit just fine as long as all of your sub systems are C4 friendly.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said, "to do correctly". I know quite a few people that have spent big bucks on Crestron systems that are not that functional. That concerns me. All the subsystems should play well with C4, basically a Honeywell vista panel, Jandy pool controller with serial interface, and Radiora 2.

Someone could easily screw up Crestron or C4 or AMX or RTI, etc.
Find someone competent for each product.

the Old LC1000 panels have to go.
There are far better panels now along with ipad control, so add a new ethernet enabled processor and you are good. There are not enough details here for price.
Why rip a bunch of stuff out that works?

Your least expensive option is to just get the pro2 repaired and go on living your life :).


Those panels are dated and i imagine hard to look at now that everyone carries a high res screen around in their pocket (phones).

How many of these do you have? Where are they located? Have you thought about leaving these where they are and just adding iPad minis to the rooms? This gives your system a face lift for a fraction of the cost of new panels and you now have a second way to control things...which is nice if one breaks.


This all depends on how many touchpanels you have and how much of your existing system you can keep. How about post a complete list of zones/rooms with the equipment in each. Be as detailed as possible.

As an example lets say you have 3 LC-1000's. It would be cheaper to add 3 new crestron panels and get the PRO2 repaired. But if you had 14 LC-1000's then obviously you are at the point where it might make sense to start over with something else.


I don't know what this means exactly but i think what you are saying is that you have crestron lighting module/s that handle the lighting loads in the theater. The installer didn't include an in-wall lighting keypad and you are forced to control the theater lights with a LC-1000? or another type of touchpanel?

You could always add a crestron keypad and have the on-wall location that you want.


I would need to see the existing equipment list for your system and the quote if you have it for the new gear. There should be no reason to replace the crestron lighting system. I assume Control4 can control it somehow. You can control most pool equipment with RS-232. This is something you could add to your existing system. Are you saying your theater isn't controlled by crestron now?


You can add an iPhone app to your existing program for a lot less than swapping out the whole system. Again i would need to see what you have, what your planning to upgrade/add and what your wish list is. Sometimes guys come on here and leave out details like the fact that they are also switching from component to HDMI distribution or they dont include details like "the control 4 quote is for 2 touch panels and 5 ipads instead of 7 new in-wall panels".


There will be programming charges with Control4 also.


I wouldn't worry about that. A typical system has a 5-7 year life span. Control4 will be here at least that long as long as we keep the bad math party out of the white house.

Thats usually because the people providing quotes and totals are leaving a lot of information out. Things cost what they cost. The only reason one quote is less than another is because you are giving something up.

As an example you can usually find 8X8 HDMI switchers for much less than a 16X16. For a project that has 9 TV's you find yourself in a situation where you either go up to the 16X16 and get everything you want or you delete a TV from somewhere and go with the 8X8. Thats a typical hardware issue/decision that significantly changes the total on the invoice. So if you get a quote that says "$10,000" from one company whos offering the 8X8 and $15,000" from the other company thats only accommodating 1 more TV...it makes it look like one guy/product is more expensive.

I talked about hardware because its something we can easily understand but this same situation exists with features and flexibility. If your want/need list can fit inside the Control4 box then you can absolutely save some money. If you step outside of that box then your invoice goes up.

True but not as fun!

Very dated.

We do have a few iPads around. There are only 3 LC1000's so not too bad to replace.


Really just local control in the home theater with the basics-AVR, DTV, bluray, apple tv and gaming system. Whole home audio with 8 zones (have a PAD8a now)

You got it. Sorry if I wasn't clear. Have to use the iPad to turn on lights, not terrible but not super convenient either.

Yes but I would probably need to add infinet receiver, though not expensive.

No, it does control theater currently. Yes, the pool is controlled via rs-232 adapter.

Nothing more complicated. No video distribution.

True but I would assume much less than Crestron.

When you say new ethernet processor are you referring to a series 3 unit? MC3 probably would be enough.

Am I correct there is still no Crestron integration for internet based audio like TuneIn, Pandora, Rhapsody, or Sonos? I guess we could just keep using airplay via out connected apple tv

Sounds like you've already made your decision.

This product was built to be a bridge between Sonos and Crestron. [Link: lodeaudio.com] Not sure what it costs or where they are in terms of development and support.

Crestron has a couple of products that can provide some streaming music. CEN-NSP-1 [Link: crestron.com] and the CEN-TRACK with the AUDIONET Card [Link: crestron.com].

A better option IMO would be the Autonomics Mirage MMS2-A at apx $2000 retail. [Link: autonomic-controls.com] Here you can see the available streaming services. http://www.autonomic-controls.com/

Count your devices. While the MC3 is powerful enough to run your system it may not have enough control ports (IR/RS-232/Relay etc).

MMS is now native to Crestron and the integration is seemless. Too little info to give you a really informed opinion. How many CT-1000? Do they have to be replaced?

My go to design is remotes for TV locations and iPads. Drops cost quite a bit. If we are only about budget then TSW-550 is not really expensive. It also depends on the GUI. My lighting GUI is very labor intensive, though much easier in Crestron then say, Lutron. Having just finished a rather large job, 34 touch panels ( 12 iPads, 6 TSR-302, 5 TSW-1252 11 TSW-752 ) the local C4 rep insinuated it could have done the same job. But I doubt it in part because of the level of cusomization involved.

I'm guessing yours is a standard installation. No centralized HDMI, no integration of CCTV with both mjpg and H264, no security, no SIP integration, no HVAC with systems like Mitsubish where the client wants it as secondary heat but it's only designed to be primary. No custom drivers to be written, you not caring about serial control of display over IR.

If you don't care about a custom UI I'm wagering either system would work for you. Cost: I'm wagering a Crestron system would come in 20% of the C4. MC3, iPad, 550 and existing DA system might even come in at lower price than C4, allowing you to add in MMS and get the streaming audio sources you're looking to obtain. I'm betting that leveraging the existing Crestron DA and lighting, your Crestron system would come in at 12-15K and I'm thinking it might be closer to 12k, including programming. But I'd need more info to be certain about price. What I do know is that few configuration systems allow for the sort of customization Crestron does. Since most jobs do not require great deal of customization I'm betting the programming will not be as expensive assuming your dealer can program in-house

Alan