I could use some help figuring out how best to approach this problem. There's a bit of necessary background I need to get out of the way:

I'm a professional web programmer, which more recently has meant tablet interface development, and I decided that it would be good to bring my company into the home automation market, focused on high end interface development (read: not dealing with hardware installation, but getting hired by installers to do interfaces). I decided Crestron was the best market for me to work into, and I've been doing the training.

I've just bought a home, and want to be able to use it as a development sandbox. I'd like to hire an *experienced* installer to do the install on the home (and then I could focus on building interfaces on top of that). There are some good installers where I'm located, but their current portfolios for new installs are either with Savant or C4.

So, the question: do I look far and wide for a Crestron installer, or stay local and refocus my business on a different platform. It's a rather complicated question, I suppose, so another way to put it: Is it a bad idea to use an installer that's not local (meaning hundreds of miles away)?

As a developer, I'm able to do remote work easily... but hardware installs are different, and I don't yet have the expertise to answer this for myself.

Dig deeper. There are two certified Crestron firms in the Buffalo NY market.

Thanks Chris, that's a fair thing to point out. Without being too specific, I was not satisfied with those firms. One would provide neither a portfolio nor references, and the portfolio of the other doesn't fit me.

how customized can the Control4 gui be? I know Extra veggies and Blackwire have some custom buttons apps. I know for some commercial installation, a redesigned interface would be beneficial.

Crestron is the platform you should focus on. The app based control system companies that are popping up everywhere are all tablet/smart phone controlled so anything you develop for Crestron Mobile can be ported to their UI software.

I normally say that it doesn't matter where your dealer is located. Firms that travel imo typically leave you with a system that you have more "ownership" of than local companies. What i mean is that their documentation & remote troubleshooting capabilities is usually much better because it has to be.

With you though this isn't a typical client situation where you put it all together and only hear from them for service. Your place will be a test bench and i have a sneaking suspicion that you will be in those racks as soon as the installers walk out the door. I also think you will form a business relationship with whoever ends up doing your system. It might make more sense for you to stay local.

What Mac said.

Definitely, Crestron.


Mac, do you mean you (the programmer) have more ownership, or you (the client) have more ownership? Since the OP is both in his own case I can't tell what you're saying here, though I'd think you mean the client has more ownership for the reasons you cite.

But yes, go with, stick with, Crestron. The fact that you already know who's in your area and see yourself offering something different means that you've got a chance to offer something that they don't. That's a good thing.

What i meant is that the client has more ownership because their system will be heavily/completely documented. Dealers don't have the luxury of making it up as they go along because it all has to be planned out in advance.

A local dealer may not be as pressured to label both ends of every cable, the wall plate and the patch panel because they can send one of their guys out to troubleshoot. The problem though is that the guy who installed the system might quit one day leaving it up to the other guys to reverse engineer his install before they can begin to troubleshoot. This happened to me with a programmer that did most of our Phast systems. No notes no documents and one day he was gone.

Thanks for all the feedback so far, it's incredibly useful.

That's the worst. I've had my fair share of jobs that were prewired by the builder electrician, or some other A/V company in which not a single wire was labeled. Some of these jobs had speaker wires buried behind sheetrock and no wiring map. Clients were always happy with the results but always questioned why the install price was so high.