$8.5B Las Vegas CityCenter Banks on Control4

I would wager that the onscreen GUI is what won this sweet-suite contract for Control4. IMO its a pretty amazing feature that obviously doesn’t drive the hardware costs up.

I think installation labor would be similar across the board and its safe to assume the programming and system design would also be close. Control4 hardware is less expensive than Crestron and AMX but on a project this size i think the numbers could have been shuffled enough to have competing quotes.

The features discussed are relatively simple in terms of what all of the major control system companies can provide. I think it all comes down to Control4 as a boxed solution… being a better fit for their needs.

Im an installer so i really dont know what im talking about . Im just talking out loud here and wondering how often Control4, AMX and Crestron quotes are all submitted for projects this size and who the typicaly winner is or whether or not there even is a “champ”.

Crestron sucks
AMX sucks
Control4 is a badazz system so deal with it…

lol. Thanks for the laugh Jason. While i agree that AMX sucks you cant seriously be saying that Crestron sucks?

You are aware that Crestron is miles ahead of any other control system currently available right? While others were using 3rd party matrix switchers for the last 5+ years Crestron dealers were using PVID’s and CNXRMC/LV’s. And now with their HDMI solution and the ADMS replacing Kscape in every high end project nothing can touch them.

I wouldn’t worry about it, that GUI was promissed for the 2.0 firmware release last year that still hasnt come out.

I was forced into taking the Control4 courses and after 2 installs I stopped carrying that fisher price crap.

Just an FYI, get on a plane, come to ARIA, check in to a room, and walla Control4 doesn’t work.  The press is great but the system ain’t!  Very glitchy and staff says they are still working out the bugs. On the other hand the hotel is amazing.  CONTROL4 is the only bad experience here.

Reading the comments, it always amazes me how people try to compare Crestron to Control4. I mean, Control4 is a FRACTION of the cost of Crestron. They dont Even play in the same league. Sure Crestron is more powerful and versatile, but its available to 0.00001% of the market. Control4 can at least be, on some degree, accessible to every home, and you dont need to be a rocket scientist to programme a unit. Having said that, I think that is why control4 does recieve bad press. Not a bad product, bad intsallers who constantly underestimate the time and effort needed to configure a robust system. I think people who put control4 down need to look at the product for what it is, and whos installing it.

Its just such a crime that people who have never been exposed to automation are now going to think that the best way to do it is on the TV with a ridiculously clumsy interface that takes twice as much time and button presses to accomplish what can easily and elegantly be accomplished with one or two presses on a well designed touchpanel control system.

These people are going to return from their dream trips to Vegas telling all their friends about the ‘Jetsons’ system they had in their hotel room and how great it is and how easy it is to operate.  Having never been exposed to a proper control system they will never know the possibilities and never want for more.

Bottom line is C4 got the job so they can dumb down America’s automation expectations to their hearts content.  I just hope it actually works or else the same people are going to return home from their dream trips spouting hateful venom about ‘smart home systems’ to anyone who will listen.  That would be an even bigger disservice by C4.

JJohnson, I can feel your frustration. The last thing you want is for the hotels clients to go home and tell their friends about how great the system is and how easy it is to operate! (I hope you smell the sarcasm). If it werent for C4, these exact people wouldn’t ever be introduced to “smart home” technology because theres nothing else on the market that can offer the same at the price. Sure everyone wants to drive a Ferrari, but the harsh reality is that money isn’t made on trees. Bottom line is C4 got the job because it can offer the same functionality, if not more (im talking about the integration with the Building management system, concierge, billing ect) for a fraction of the price. And for a company thats been around for only 6 years and grown both financially and technologically so fast, who knows, maybe it will be the true “Jetsons System”.

This, I believe is a very smart move. People while traveling for business, or vacation, who may not have been exposed to Control4, or how home theater integrates into a home, can get an idea in a none pressure, non sales environment.
Plus, its obviously great exposure for Control4.

Control 4 is so easy to use and understand vs. Crestron and AMX - it has a lot of mainstream appeal.

We are dealers for both Control4 and Crestron, and they both have their place.  Crestron is much more customizable and you can do more with it, but it comes at a price (dollar wise).  We have “in house” programmers for Crestron, AMX, and Control4.  Each product line has its place.  Control4 is much less expensive than Crestron, and that is reflected in what Control4 can and cannot do.  For the price point, Control4 does exactly what it is supposed to do, but it does have its limitations.  But, one would expect that for a system that is at a much lower price point.

I agree that Control4 can be taught to a new programmer in MUCH less time, and is a lot easier to program due to its layout.

It all depends on what the client wants and on their expectations.  I think all 3 can exist and profit, if they are sold and programmed correctly, and if the hardware and software provided do not hamper the programmer.

Control4 Killers
- Crestron Adagio – Failed
- Crestron Prodigy – Is failing.
So far Control4 is winning the battle. They must be doing something right.

Can someone supporting C4 please watch this video and tell me what part of this can be done by a standard C4 dealer using standard C4 stuff available on the market today?

http://www.fox5vegas.com/video/21979937/index.html

I’ll be waiting right here for your responses about how v2.0 will allow for custom interfaces.  Then I will be waiting for someone to tell me how the concierge interface, the interface to the airport system, the ability to save your prefs on some server in the hotel for your return visit and all the other stuff that every integrator knows C4 doesn’t do and never will do out of the box.

Kind of an oxymoron to tout the affordability of a system that uses unavailable GUI interfaces and millions of dollars of custom programming without telling the customer of that fact. 

I can see it now: “Oh Mr. Client, you stayed in the Aria?  I heard that is a great system.  I am sorry but I cannot only offer you this blue interface with a red 4 button in the middle and there is no way for me to program the panels to operate as well or smoothly or intuitively as you experienced in that massive Beta test operation.”

Or: “Oh Mr. Client, you stayed in the Aria?  I would really like to be able to offer you the same level of system at the same low prices for the MDU you are developing, but only the factory can program/implement that solution.  Why don’t you call them and I’m happy to lose the sale so you can save some money from a real MDU system that has actually proven time and again in the real world.”

In all seriousness, I’m not bitter or anything like it.  I’m just tired of the wool being pulled over the eyes of dealers and the public by companies like this.  Don’t pretend that all that is available off the shelf now or even in the future.  Call it what it is: a special one off project and be damn proud of it.

How long have you dealers been waiting for v2.0 to create your own GUIs?  As long as we all waited for 1.3 to fix the bugs in the first systems?  Longer?  Well, it looks like someone has access to v3.0 - how do you feel about that?

Google is your friend, might want to use it once in awhile:

http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS356US357&q=2.0 control4&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

Come to the Control4 Booth during CES and you’ll find out more.
Looks like you missed the demo at Cedia.