Crestron Prodigy - Breakthrough or me too?
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 07:09AM Crestron Prodigy is the answer to 2 questions: How do we deploy multifunction remotes with feedback into large hospitality projects and how do we keep more dealers from starting mid-market integration practices focused on Control4 product.
The product approach is quite different. The Prodigy product is massively stronger in some areas but way weaker in others. The strength of the driver model, the focus on the reciever as a multi-zone switcher in the home along with the leverage of better underlying product (Infinet primarily) is a real strength. Control4 has a reasonable retro-fit whole house music story that isn't part of the Crestron message at all. Control4 also has interoperation between controllers that neither Prodigy nor regular crestron has (think automatic ISC's.)
All the same, C4 is toast. This isn't the first salvo, this is the middle salvo of a broad based product shift towards products that integrate presumed operation model, specific user interfaces and form factor and pricing/packaging aimed at that solution. I've said it before and I'll say it again - single market tech manufacturers are at a massive disadvantage to those who sell to broad markets. Want to be a channel master (AVAD)? Fine, keep to a single market. Have a massively broad market? Ok, that'll work (which I think C4 thinks automation is...it's not). No, selling the same technology to lots + lots + lots of different markets is what will let Crestron be the first company in this space to break $1B/yr.
It started with the Adagio line. Then the MPS controllers. The MPC-10 is directly price competitive with the Extron MLC-104-IP. The IPAC-GL1 from Crestron does everything a Lutron LCP128 or a Homeworks P4 does and more.
Unlike any of these companies, however, Crestron is building off a single technology delivery platform - these products are VERY similar to one another. Well, they are the same on the back-end controller side. The UI side is just all over the place....Why not a thermostat and a single gang controller that work like an APAD? Where is my TPS-3X? The TPMC is nice and all but the TPS-6X is so nice...while were at it, how about a TPS-6X feature set in a form factor like an MX-980? Got me....
Where does it leave the dealer? I'm not going to go out all of a sudden and sell a deal for 100 classrooms. But having the strongest product and the strongest vendor helps close deals. And having strong partner products really helps and this product approach lets partners continue to treat a Crestron partnership as a required no-brainer....