Exceptional Innovation is launching packages for builders. So much for dedication to CI. So let me guess, EI lines up the builders while Best Buy knocks down the jobs. Pretty good partnership.

EI/HP had quite a booth at the International Builders show last.
BTW:
So did Monster Cable, Key Digital (?), Sony, Best Buy & OnQ/US Tech.

Exceptional Innovations is one more company in a long list of companies that is trying to use the PC market as their model for succeeding in this market. It doesn't take a whole lot of guess work to imagine why they are marketing to builders. Because no one is selling their systems (claims of having "hundreds" of installations aside).

Think about the absurdity of what this company is doing business model wise. They are basing their entire company on MS Media Center - and trying to package a system based on that solution that can reach Crestron and AMX type prices. But wait a minute - isn't the ENTIRE purpose of MS Media Center to open up "media centers" to the masses, i.e. a cheap solution? It now comes packages with every $599 Vista PC.

So if you are a customer with a Cadillac or Mercedes budget, do you want to spend 25K or 50K on a solution built around MS Media Center? Can you say "contradiction"? Remember these words guys - this companies business model is built upon a house of cards by people who likely have little to no experience in this industry.

BTW, I am QUITE sure they are marketing to builders to "help" CI's ;-). You can rest assured of that :-).

I think if Creston or AMX got in bed with MCE you would think differently. I honestly don't like like the Lifeware control solution. I think AMX or Crestron is going to come out with a solid solution for Vista MCE. Some sort of Adagio component.

???. Not sure how that relates to the opinion I offered. Crestron already does integrate with MCE. They have not however, based their entire company on it!

I have a friend that worked on the MCE project. He now works at google, like many other intelligent former microsoft employees. When MCE was being built, the decision was made to use windows xp as the OS for MCE, instead of creating a new OS for the project, as Microsoft did for the xbox. Because of this decision he, and others from that team consider MCE as a failure in it's current state, due to instability. If the developers feel this way about the project, why would you trust it to take care of your clients' automation?

Crestron and AMX or SOLID control systems that interface with every system they possibly can find a way to work with. That includes MCE.

That is not the same as a company that builds their control systems on an instable operating system, like MCE.

This is nothing new. How many successful control systems do you know of that are base their SYSTEM CONTROLLERS on Windows XP? Many have already tried. Crestron and AMX don't consider any of them as competition. This isn't going to improve just because vista is here, or because a company like Lifeware has a huge marketing budget.

even if MCE worked well, which it doesn't, i think that any consumer should steer clear of any product that is not supported by the tradesmen and experts in the field that it is being used for. EI does not seem to have the support of any expert custom installation resources, unless you count best buy.

Sorry QQQ, then I do agree with you. MCE as it stands now is more of a media server than automation platform. With that said Vista MCE is much more robust than the previous versions. I would feel very comfortable giving say a Niveus Media box to a client to store, organize, and retrieve digital content.

Tiippy-Tie, MCE and Windows XP are not the same in terms of reliability. Most of the companies that your most likely speaking of using XP are actually using XP Embedded. Even Crestron uses XP Embedded. XP Embedded can be a very stable platform.

There's a difference between SELLING to builders and MARKETING to builders. EI is doing the latter, and we should all be grateful for their marketing budget. Many of the respectable mfrs MARKET directly to builders to push sales to their dealers. With the abysmal lack of awareness and adoption of home automation, we should show some appreciation to mfrs who do much of the heavy lifting for the integration community.

Julie it is the responsibility of the manufacturers to promote their product to the masses, not ours. our job is to promote the product to Mr and Mrs.

personally i thinks that our industry does a piss poor job of marketing the products and getting the sales to the dealers....

but that is just my opinion

ed

Julie,

You are of course absolutely right. But you know us CI's, we're a pig headed bunch and it's just too damn fun taking off on companies like EI that have embraced Best Buy. I honestly do think their business model, at least with their *current pricing structure* (i.e. high) is built on a house of cards though.

What happens if the builder marketing works? Builders are then referred to Best Buy for sales?

Well of course, the builder gets referred to Best Buy for the 15K home automation in a box package that he can buy from the Neanderthals and Neanderthalesses (female Neanderthal) sales people at Best Buy Magnoilia and of course he gets a package price when he buys his appliances there. But haven't we discussed this before ;-)?

p.s. No offense meant to the Geico guys.