On August 1, 2010 at 16:00, 39 Cent Stamp said...
To be clear guys.. I am not saying that we shouldn't have a forum for System Builder and Prodigy. I am not talking to you guys like strangers online looking for info. I am offering up my opinion on what direction you guys should steer your business the same way i would if we were buddies sitting at the bar having a drink.
My reason for posting was to make you guys aware of issues your not thinking about yet. You are not thinking about those issues because they haven't happened yet and they don't teach you about them at class. When you come from RTI and URC world you program a system and in 5 years you go back and the programming is the same and the system is the same and you swap IR files and edit text on a few buttons and viola your done in an hour. Its the same when you work with simpl and vtpro for the most part. But when you work in these wizard programs your dealing with a totally different situation.
I remembered the name of the first Crestron wizard app. Its called smart touch wizard. Guess how i have to update those systems? I have to break out the 8 year old laptop that has the software installed on it and try and remember how to make changes. When application builder came out we did a bunch of jobs and then when System Builder came out i had to rewrite every single one of them because you cant run both programs at the same time.
Like i said.. i understand the logic behind programming it yourself especially when your a small company where you always seem to have more time than money like we used to be. All im saying is that as you move forward you will learn what we did. The one thing you will always not have enough of in the years to come is time. You wont be able to give away 10,20,40 hours of programming labor to be able to use prodigy in a budget system. And when you do that you are making decisions for future you. How do you think future you is going to feel about having to dig out the old laptop only to find out that the old wizard program wont let you drop in the new touchpanel and there is no update and if there is an update you find out the new device database broke your XM menu and... Im trying to save you guys from a world of hurt.
Stamp, these are great points, and scary too. I guess I need some more clarification.
To me, Composer is a wizard, it just walks you thru it, the options are few. You call Systembuilder a wizard, but it reminds me of URC, or Elan or Homeworks for that matter. To me, it seemed less pre-built and wizardy than the three I just mentioned. But it was familiar enough in format that I thought I could get used to it without tooooo much effort, though I know I am going to have to put some time into learning Systembuilder.
Second, it seems that after six years, a lot of things are going to change. Isn't is natural to assume that some of the equipment is going to be outdated and unsupported? Are you saying that Simpl works for the oldest Crestron systems to the newest? Nothing gets "broke" in Simpl as you said would happen when Systembuilder is upgraded?
Here is why this all concerns me:
I just took the 3-day class. It was a little intimidating, I had to try and get used to how Crestron does things, and I have had no experience with Crestron, but like I said before, I felt that after the third day, with some time, I could get a handle on Systembuilder.
I started looking at Prodigy because I wanted an affordable but powerful system that had 2way feedback. I like the handheld remote. I like the Tstats. I like the new dimmers (the old ones were ugly). I like the fact that Crestron made it all, and knows how they work together. So often, tech support for the control system has no idea how the lights, tstat etc work and vice versa, so you end up going back and for between two tech supports trying to get an answer. I felt like that would be alleviated with Prodigy.
Also, I felt like this was a way to leverage the Crestron name and reliability, to offer the same to people who wouldn't be able to afford a full Crestron system. I KNEW I wouldn't have the time to learn Simpl. I am a one man band. I want a powerful and easy to use, functional, system. Prodigy seems to be that system. But some of the points you bring up make me wonder if I should be going that route.
So like two guys on bar stools, I'm asking for input. If I stay in the sandbox, you're saying that I'm essentially short-changing customers because I'm really giving them a C4 or RTI system with a Crestron name? And if I get out of the sandbox, Prodigy doesn't have what it takes, or that making it work will be many times harder than if the system was programmed with Simpl? As small as I am, and will likely be for some time to come, do you think Prodigy is a good business decision?
I'm sure I'm not thinking of all the questions that could be asked, but your comments on things "breaking" when they update the program scared me. I don't want to have to go back continually to jobs to fix things, or have to do a lot of reprogramming just because I added some lights or a TV.
Anyway, you obviously have a lot of experience with Creston. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
G
