[ReTrO]

Anyone here qualified to program Crestron remotes?

May need to do it myself in the near future.

Cheers

[Nic Rhodes]

[quote]Originally posted by ReTrO:<br /><strong>Anyone here qualified to program Crestron remotes?

May need to do it myself in the near future.

Cheers</strong><hr></blockquote>

No experience of the creston what so ever but I would be very interested in what you think of them. Everyone is highly complimentary of them but I have never seen one. It is not the sort of thing you see in the local dealer, well certainly not here in Cumbria!

I would be interested in learning more about them if anyone has any first hand knowledge.

[Vis Man]

Hi Guys

The Company i work for Install Crestron all the time mainly Boardroom and lecture Theatre setups.The system is Excellent but very expensive.I can do the basics Create a touch panel,load programs into a system. The company are sending me to do a course at RGB next month on programing.Talkig to the guy who does all our programing you have to be 100% dedicated and keep up to date or you will soon forget what your doing. knowing how to use a pc is a must.The Pronto edit is p**s easy compared to Crestron.There is another system called AMX which is like crestron very big in the USA again i can do the basics. AMX is more user friendly when it comes to programing. AMX courses are free of charge but for a starter pack to learn on at home or in the office is £3000 but worth every penny if you become a pro you can earn big bucks. I Dont know everything about Crestron or Amx but if you need any info i will be pleased to help.<br />Cheers <br />Visman

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

Simon at Martin Klieser is a bit of a star at the old Crestron programming.

I've been to Belgium and done my time at Crestron too. Also been to York and done some AMX/PHAST/PANJA or whatever they call themselves these days.

In the past the AMX panels were much nicer. Their programming code is simple for a "programmer" to understand and work with.

Crestron panels were much more industrial looking until now with the new ISys range. They look and feel great. Crestron have also developed a visual programming language for their systems. You can programme in their old code as well if you are feeling clever.

The Crestron Smartouch system is easy peasy lemon squeezy like Pronto programming.

Both these systems big advantages are BIGGER screens and RF or wired control. So when you push a button the command actually happens. They also have two way comms so if you want to talk rs232 or whatever to a device and wait for the feedback from it you can get confirmation that things are actually doing what they are told.

The big panels also have video capability. So you can be smart and cue up your DVD on the touchpanel before hitting the button to open the screen curtains dim the lights yaddayaddayadda.....

If they damn things were cheaper I'd have a Crestron Smartouch for myself.

Gordon

<img src="cool.gif" border="0"> I can feel my head swelling..... cheers for that Gordon!!

You can create very simple programs very easily using VtPro - basically draw your button, right-click on it and then assign an IR command directly to it. You can also create macros, and utilize RS232 in a one-directional sort-of-way. However, it's a bit quirky in a few different ways! Simpl Windows is far better when it comes to the logic programming side of things (you still need VtPro to create touchpanel layouts) - you can do virtually anything you like with it in terms of pure logic and conditioanl stuff. If you're really flash, you can do the whole thing in Simpl+ which is a C+ style code (very similar to AMX's programming language - hmmm!!!).

Anyway, it's all very interesting and frightfully boring at the same time! If anyone wants some programming doing, get in touch (but it won't be cheap - but then again you'll get a bloody good program!)

hi dose any 1 no how much aprx. it would cost to get a cheap effective amx/cestron system ?
Many thanks
WIll

[vex]

Will,

Do you want Crestron/AMX or something that will provide 80% of the functionality for about 10% of the cost!

[Neil Davidson]

Originally Posted by willadunno

hi dose any 1 no how much aprx. it would cost to get a cheap effective amx/cestron system ?
Many thanks
WIll

Yep, in my experience this sentence is an oxymoron! Never will will cheap and effective meet in a Crestron/AMX system!

I like Crestron a lot and personally prefer the feel of their new panels over the AMX. One of these systems done properly can amaze but for all that a lot of people still miss their tactile push buttons!

There is a huge amount of competiton in the lower end of the market which means that a high quality control system need not be the bank shredding experience it was a while back. As pointed out above you can probably get 80% of the functionality for a fraction of the cost.

For those who want the best and have the money to buy it then I have still to see anything that competes with the best AMX / Crestron systems.

Neil

[vex]

As a guess, Crestron based systems could start arround 15/20K and run in to the 100K mark with little problem!

[pemberto]

[QUOTE=Nic Rhodes;139411]

Originally posted by ReTrO:<br /><strong>Anyone here qualified to program Crestron remotes?

May need to do it myself in the near future.

Cheers</strong><hr></blockquote>

No experience of the creston what so ever but I would be very interested in what you think of them. Everyone is highly complimentary of them but I have never seen one. It is not the sort of thing you see in the local dealer, well certainly not here in Cumbria!

I would be interested in learning more about them if anyone has any first hand knowledge.

Nic, More than happy answer any questions. I pulled together all my crestron gear from the US and over the last couple of years I have managed to get my head around the application enough to program it for my setup.

Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Thanks
Pemberto

[hornydragon]

Originally Posted by vex

As a guess, Crestron based systems could start arround 15/20K and run in to the 100K mark with little problem!

for home AV they start around 7k (media server and contoleer with a panel or 2 (basic) Adagio is quite nice but there are better for that sort of budget it really depends on what you want to do with it tho

[neilball]

Crestron forgot to check for registered trademarks and upset JVC when they launched Adagio so it's now been renamed Adanto. I've not tried the standard Adanto system but have just finished working on a more sophisticated set up behind the scenes that uses Adanto keypads up front - the customer preferred the look/feel of the Adanto keypads as they reminded him of his Ipod! Have to say it works very well although it took a few attempts to get the functionality right.

[sschueller]

I didn't know about the Adanto renaming, that's too funny. :D

If you are going to try to program it yourself here are some good crestron resource sites:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Crestron/
http://www.crestronforums.org/

[bigshout]

if you still need a programmer for crestron then I know just the man. Fully trained in AMX and Crestron and produces the best panel desings by far. He does private jobs and lives near High wycombe. pm me if your interested.

hi dose any one know aprox how much and where to get a crestron system that would be used in one room to simply dim lights, control tv, dvd, surround sound and to control motorised blinds in a bay window (for a bedroom setup)
Many thanks
Will

[vex]

IMO Complete over kill for a bedroom.

Have you considered using something like a pronto, nevo Sl or even one of the new Harmony 1000's

Other options are from RTI and URC 3000 (iirc)

Any of these should be able to provide the control you need.

[pemberto]

Not 100% sure on the costs, but about £800-900 for the Crestron kit and then you have the cost of the lighting control, blinds and programming to add.

Even if you could get the kit of eBay you will struggle to get all the software to program it, unless you know anyone in the trade.

hope that helps.

Pemberto

[mikeva50]

Originally Posted by willadunno

hi dose any one know aprox how much and where to get a crestron system that would be used in one room to simply dim lights, control tv, dvd, surround sound and to control motorised blinds in a bay window (for a bedroom setup)
Many thanks
Will

I've been installing/programing Crestron systems for about 4 years. If you really would like to go with Crestron I would suggest getting a simple 2 series processor with a cat-5 jack "MP2e - $1100.00" and plug it into the wireless router that you use for your home network and an Crestron Infinet RF gateway for lighting control. Infinet is a new technology offered by Crestron that acts like a simplified WiFi network. You dont need to run new cables because each dimming wall switch is wireless. All you do is take out your old wall switch and replace it with a Crestron Infinet switch. The wall switch communicates with the Infinet RF gateway and then communicates to the processor as a Cresnet device. The gateway is about $500.00 but can be found on e-bay for about $200.00 and wall switches are about $150 each. You will end up saving money going this route because retrofitting wires into an existing home is rather expensive. Also don't bother waisting your money on a Touch panel as they can cost thousands of dollars. Instead you can use VT-ProE to create what is called an X-panel which can be either an EXE file that you run from your computer or a web page that you store on the mp2e "can be viewed by any computer on your network by typing in the IP address that you assigned your processor." So now you can buy a Viewsoic V1100 tablet PC from e-bay for $250 and run your x-panel from it and have a fully functional touch panel for a fraction of the cost. Keep in mind you have to buy a Crestron processor that has a cat-5 LAN jack the "e" in MP2e signifies that it has a LAN jack

If your looking for a cheaper solution then you should look into a company called Control 4. They also use this wireless technology "Wireless Zigbee." Also programming crestron isn't all that easy if you don't know what you are doing but Control 4 is made to be much more user friendly. I would personally recommend Crestron simply because they have been in the automation market the longest "next to AMX" but lets face it we all can't afford Crestron.