But that's a non-argument. It presupposes that only those companies are competent to interface to a Sonos box. This is clearly incorrect as proven by other products in the field that have long supported them. And, it's also irrelevant because it's just a protocol, and the person who creates the user interface and the automation logic for a given installation is who is really creating the user experience. All the automation system vendor really has to provide is the interface/driver. So is the argument that only installers who use those products can create a good user experience, and that all of the installers who use those products will create a good user experience?

I for one, am so thankful you post on this forum and share your many, many years and vast experience with all of us newbie wannabes.

I guess that I have been a HomeLogic/ElanG integrator for 13 years (since 2003) means that I have been wasting my time installing a "wannabe" automation platform all this time.

Who Knew?

But I'm sure at least the Crestron integrators are relieved that you have validated their choice of automation platforms

What were you doing in 2003?

Who, me? I was still wondering WTF that PHAST/Panja thing was and trying to get heavy clunky super expensive touchscreens to stay connected to WiFi.

The thing about Sonos is that it was great but everybody else caught up. I have a C4 touchscreen in my office with an iPad and I've been using C4 and Sonos together and separately. C4's UI for music is equivalent.

Control4 needs to make a Playbar killer. After the UI Sonos' other big hit was the Playbar/Sub combo. That Playbar hits the spot in the mid markets.

The bigger picture....

1. Sonos can focus more on hardware and Crestron, Control4, Savant on software.
2. The broad customer base will use Sonos as a qualifier, doesn't work with, then it's junk. I'm not saying they're right, but it's what they will do.
3. This isn't what Sonos has been working on all year.....
4. Provides a large hurdle to other companies getting into the distributed music market... Like Amazon.
5. Want a remote ala Bose, buy a pico, I'm sure lutron will make them a special labeled one. (ohh, just read the article, they do $49, hmm no mention of needing to buy the smart bridge to use it though....)
6. Cross selling, will Sonos sell casetta, will lutron promote Sonos, etc?

There will be a lot of ramifications of this.

Here's the stuff of nightmares for you....

What if all the revamped Sonos products, including the Boost, have already built-in the Casetta smart bridge hardware. New app update and they have Lighting, Music and HVAC (Nest). Lutron and Nest get huge market boosts, direct marketing.

Sonos overtakes the IOT with the flip of a switch.

Google is taking dozens of Nest engineers to work on the smart home

Hardly, but if Sonos wants to maintain control of their user experience--with an officially supported API--then they're going to start with partners that have the most market penetration and the most internal resources. After the success of that deployment can be evaluated in the market (months, years, whatever) then they can look to expand those partnerships to other players. It seems a pretty straightforward move, although I understand that smaller market players (like yourself) would feel frustration at being left out.

Years, or even a year, is as synonym for never basically in this game. If it were that long, I imagine we'd end up just making them irrelevant to our customers by implementing more direct support for streaming services. We already have integrated media management and can support lots of different media servers and players (including our own) for streaming local file based media. We would likely move to supporting more streaming services directly and just save our customers the bucks. We'd prefer to do other things with that time; but. if that's what it came down to, that would be the way it would likely go.

I imagine many other companies in the same boat might be thinking the same thing. Why not just skip the middle-man if he doesn't want to do business with you? I imagine other companies not in the same boat (aka C4, Crestron, Savant, etc...) would be thinking similar thoughts as well. Why let the middle man get between you and your customers and therefore have control over you?

Any other inside info that you have from sitting in on Sonos meetings? Did you not have to sign an NDA? Can you go ahead and tell everyone what the Sonos roadmap looks like 5 years out?

While we are at it you seem to have a very good grasp on RTI financials. We still do some RTI, I would like to know with your vast knowledge of RTI finance if this is still a viable option. Please post the P&L for the last 6 quarters that you must have in a binder somewhere.

I don't understand why everything Sonos puts everyone in a tizzy.

Basically it sounds like whatever driver your chosen platform has or had for Sonos is going from a "hacked" solution to a "supported" one. Functionality appears to be the same.

I would guess going forward RTI, Elan, CQC etc will get their Sonos gold star. Oh thank you so much Sonos for acknowledging (enter chosen platform here).

My guess is that Sonos doesnt want to open the flood gates and get hammered all at once by every company in the worlds software engineering team. They will probably work with this select group of companies, and develop the API to include more and more features that all platforms will then be able to utilize.

And yes a wall mounted Pico that can play a favorite and control volume for auxiliary rooms or rooms where the prewire crew didnt drop a Cat5e is going to be very nice.

Based on C4's disclosed financial history, and the plummet of their stock price from their IPO until recently, I suspect they are probably the least solid of the major players in the industry. Crestron and RTI have solid histories, URC produces almost every OEM remote made, and Elan has a new parent company with extremely deep pockets.

As a kid I got tired of only drinking red Kool aid

This a joke right?

Have you fallen for the C4 propaganda that they are making money?

Well their numbers are all on the table and they still manage to afford a booth at CEDIA.


Oh and it think its absolutely great Crestron can finally control Sonos... Its like 2010 for you guys! I wonder what Control4 will announce at CEDIA that the leaders in home automation will be able to show at CEDIA 2022! :D

Your right, there numbers are all out in the open. And except for the last two or three quarters, they have all been in the red too. So what if they can afford a booth at Cedia? They've had no problem spending into debt since they were founded. And those founders cut and ran just as most people predicted as soon as they got enough cash in the bank.