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[Jeff Heart]

I am starting to dive into the residential market and have "self determined" through speaking with some industry users that either RTi, Colorado Vnet, or Control 4 would be of the top choices for a stable, friendly, Ipad interface-able, control system.  Upon further research, I see that Control 4 requires an initial investment into training (minimal though) and some yearly quotas.  RTi perhaps does not.  I haven't look too much into Colorado Vnet other than I like the interface and a friend suggested it.   So, outside of AMX, Crestron, Xantech, etc...  as a mildly priced control system for whole house control, does anyone have any preferences and/or does industry trends find any of the above mentioned systems (or any not mentioned) ranked as a leader in the industry?  Aside from spending way too much time playing around and reading about every single one out there, I would like to just stick with one or two well respected systems and research further if I found a need for more advanced control.  I am educated with basic Crestron level stuff, Highly fluid with Xantech and some others, so I already understand the backend of programming these types of systems, even though they all have their own proprietary schemes.  I'll deal with learning the programming methods once I make a choice but I want to make sure I am looking at the best tried and true systems for now. Is there something out there that may be a better choice than what I have mentioned (Vnet, Control 4, RTi) or are these brands excellent choices?

Thanks in advance

[Lee Douglas]

I suspect that Control 4 would be the most widely marketed system of the three mentioned.  I've been a dealer for Colorado Vnet and while I like it just fine, it always seemed to me like a control system designed around a lighting control solution.  I haven't worked with it in a few years, but at the time they were looking to put what were essentially in-wall "dimmer packs" in various locations through the house during the prewire stage.  They, of course had audio, t-stat and other product that integrated with thier system.  Anyway, that leaves RTI which is what I still use most often when the need arises.  They make rock solid (depending on your programming skills) control systems, integrate with a plethora of products, have regional training seminars and fill the void left below the least expensive Crestron/AMX offering.  Thier programming software, Integration Designer, is really versatile and allows you to design a panel from the ground up as opposed to using predetermined templates and buttons.  This is what sold it for me.

[John Moore]

Look at On-Q or Vantage from Legrand (old Wiremold).

[Jeff Jenkins]

Check out mControl...

www.embeddedautomation.com


All the compatibility of Control4, less hassle.

[Paul Lipp]

I am starting to dive into the residential market and have "self determined" through speaking with some industry users that either RTi, Colorado Vnet, or Control 4 would be of the top choices for a stable, friendly, Ipad interface-able, control system.  Upon further research, I see that Control 4 requires an initial investment into training (minimal though) and some yearly quotas.  RTi perhaps does not.  I haven't look too much into Colorado Vnet other than I like the interface and a friend suggested it.   So, outside of AMX, Crestron, Xantech, etc...  as a mildly priced control system for whole house control, does anyone have any preferences and/or does industry trends find any of the above mentioned systems (or any not mentioned) ranked as a leader in the industry?  Aside from spending way too much time playing around and reading about every single one out there, I would like to just stick with one or two well respected systems and research further if I found a need for more advanced control.  I am educated with basic Crestron level stuff, Highly fluid with Xantech and some others, so I already understand the backend of programming these types of systems, even though they all have their own proprietary schemes.  I'll deal with learning the programming methods once I make a choice but I want to make sure I am looking at the best tried and true systems for now. Is there something out there that may be a better choice than what I have mentioned (Vnet, Control 4, RTi) or are these brands excellent choices?

Thanks in advance

If you have any AMX questions, I'd be glad to help you out.
I don't do residential except my own home, the rest is government, but for the most part the control side is the same.

[Randy Freed]

I've used crestron for many years and consider it the pinnacle of almost all areas of home control.  I recently moved from extremely wealthy area to more average economic region and am migrating to their Control4 competition: Crestron Prodigy.  I have also been in touch with Autonomic Controls who make servers and 3rd party modules for Crestron products with a very sophisticated ability to access, display, and control digital music collection and internet radio like Pandora, rhapsody, etc.  They already have created templates for touchscreens and mobile apps for the Prodigy system (and full blown Crestron) and will very shortly have templates for the newest touchscreens and handheld remotes.
Prodigy is also about to release their hdmi video distribution boxes.  When these are available and the Autonomic templates are ready, I don't think any other drag and drop system will come close to the power at near the price point.
For really less expense, when Universal Remote releases their media player, that will be a nice option, but they don't have the range of lighting and hvac controls (I don't think.)
Just my 2 cents
Randy
Assuming this takes place

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