New system help

[sjblanc]

Great forum

Looking for help

Looking to install some home automation in an existing home. Cable runs will not be a problem. I have been banging my head against the desk long enough….Looking for some unbiased advise. I’ve looked at Elan, Roussard, Creston, Control 4, Nuvo, Inteset and Niles. The more I look the more I get discouraged and confused.

I am looking for some good advice on reasonably priced equipment, with ease of use.

I currently have a Pioneer Elite Pro 50 plasma, Denon 3805 AVR, Toshiba SD 3109 DVD and a Sony Vaio running Windows Media center. I do have 3 zone running out of the system, however they are run with simple Niles VCS 100 volume controls.

Ok enough of that. I am looking to have a central rack system. My wish list would include a media server if needed. Touchscreens in each zone. 1 additional computer in my kitchen. My biggest use would be my CD collection and the Windows media center for video recording. I would like to have access throughout the house. Each bedroom has a TV now, so I don’t think I would need any system for that. Also I do have some Insteon light switches I would want to control with the system.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated

Scott

I've just been going through a similar exercise. My house is being totally refurbished at the moment so am starting from scratch. I had considered Opus, Russound, Creston Adagio and Control 4. In the end i've opted for Control 4 (although have a few months to change my mind). I was keen on having a server and LCD panels in each room and the ability to add to the system. Control 4 are very new over here and i've found it difficult to get information from current customers. They seem to be doing very well in the US and from my research the system has far more capabilities than similarly priced systems. I found it diccult to get unbiased advice as from the AV specialists I saw, all were keen to promote the few systems they had distribution agreements for rather than looking at the whole market - especially the Creston Adagio. Worryingly, many had not heard of Control 4. I'm not sure how much help i've been to you but am interested in the comments you get to your question.