Yeah it's definitely a little frustrating! In Core 2 training (it did help a lot) this week, one of my biggest questions was how to save custom UI's on a per device basis. Instead of mapping a Enhanced DVD why not mapping it to a Sony BluRay. That way whenever it automatically populates, the buttons are the way you want it. Their answer was to customize the entire theme which doesn't help when every job is different. And yes, it's amazing they have so many profiles and 75% of them are wrong. I still think it's much more reliable than RTI and much easier to program a large system AND have different techs work on the same file. I had a new guy go out to a 2 year old RTI job where we had 14 zones of audio and video using Terry's drivers. He had no idea what the hell to do even though he had experience with RTI.

I think this is one of those cycle issues. Savant is going thru a bad cycle right now with pricing, licensing, and programming while RTI is becoming more stable with their lineup. All I can say is, can't wait to see what happens with Apex!

From a customers standpoint (IMO), Savant is hands down more stable and a better product right now.

Like others said you are missing basic info in the post which makes it hard to give a serious response.

For example if we are discussing a wired whole home automation system that risks burning down the house (or like in a horror movie risks going evil and killing the family) then you definitely intervene and try and guide them to something new.

On the other side of the spectrum if it is a simple TV remote control and you are dropping it because the remotes don't get shipped on time and you are tired of dealing with them then why should it affect your existing customers that are using and are happy with their remotes?

Well, C4 is an explosive...

I can see the NSA sniffing around here wondering what a bunch of AV nerds are doing with C4 and trying to figure out the code language.

LOL! Yes, the system was a PIA to install and set-up... and was way beyond it's time. VERY innovative!

I always tell people their electronics are on bonus time for anything over 5 years old. I also use the car and cell phone analogy. All control systems will give you a headache at some point. RTI and Phast were my biggest PIA/ expensive experiences.

Phast... Oh man! How many people got burned by that stuff?!?!?!

What I love about RC........ The OP purposely didn't name the company and people here get on his ass saying he needs to. He's asking for advice on the situation, not the product. HOWEVER........When people around here DO share their bad experiences with certain manufacturers they get blasted the same saying "this is a public forum, there's no reason to name names here"! Which way do you bipolar clowns want it?

I have shared issues for about a decade now. How often do we hear from tech support, "we have never heard of this" on a known issue? Every once in a while you will hear, but almost anyone with history in the industry knows better.

Always name the company. That's how I want it. And the whole business with obscuring a name with @$! is pointless; you're not fooling anyone. IMO starting a topic but being afraid to name the company is a pussy move. Look at the stats, as of this writing there are 55 posts and 2100 views; clearly more people are interested in knowing the who more than the why. SAVANT, did I spell it correctly?

^^This^^. I took a slightly underhanded approach by not naming the system. My goal was to get input from others who have made a change or could relate to it. Guess what? I got it. The points made by others that got it have been invaluable. It never was about the original system. Even if we were the biggest AV f-tards, it still was about a how to handle it - post the decision.

If I was to name the system outright it would have been a skewed goose-shoot about the system itself. It was more about my skill set with the system than the system alone.

When I worked for Home Entertainment, we were the first Frox dealer in Houston

well first of all there are many people here, not just one and it is very possible that some want X while others Y so your comment makes no sense.

second some people might be interested in knowing the company because if it is a bad business decision to use them it might make sense for them to avoid it as well.

thirdly mentioning the brand can sometimes give a lot of information, is it the product (bad design)/ the user (product knowledge) or what situation we are talking about (Harmony implies a simple remote something else might imply home automation)

lastly and more importantly, like I pointed out previously, he did not explain the situation at all and so any advice is useless. " business decision" and "headaches" should not tell anyone anything about why he made the decision to drop it and the why would change the advice a lot. If the products are defective and dangerous then obviously makes sense to move customers away from them, if the headaches come from the product never arriving on time and causing delays why should it impact existing users? If the product is a stand alone (like a universal remote control) and their life span is short then you wait for it to brake and then you replace it (why try and convince people to change now?), if the product is a control system and some parts can have short life spans (but not dangerous) then it gets more complicated and like others have said you can always have a few spare parts or wait for when the person needs to replace them..... depending on the real scenario the best advice could be move fast to get the existing customers off that brand, warn them but do nothing, let them know but do nothing, do nothing.

When Philips dropped the Pronto, I did not do anything with existing customers at the time, why would I? They were happy with their control and there was no reason to try and push them to anything new, and if/when a remote needed replacing that would be the time to let them know that it was no longer an option. On the other hand (I was never a dealer but I want to go with brands that no longer exist and so hopefully what I say is right) if it was something like Phast where there can be many parts to a system I would have probably told the clients if the parts would be no longer available, just so that if in a couple of years part X brakes it won't come as a surprise that everything needed an overhaul.

I sometimes just like to know what people bitch about. Turns out its not just product but some of yall care about HOW people bitch lol.