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Exclusive: Big Things in Store for Crestron Prodigy
Crestron Prodigy PMC2+ home automation system (pictured with PTX3 ZigBee Pro remote) will eventually give way to the PMC3.
Prodigy featured a rather small suite of products with limited functionality when it debuted late last year. Even so, dealers had purchased more than $5 million of the stuff by May of this year, Crestron tells CE Pro. And that was before the company debuted its new PTX3 Prodigy remote, and just after the release of the PAMP-4X100 six-source/four-zone amplifier.
In an exclusive interview with CE Pro, VP technology Fred Bargetzi provides a six-month report on Prodigy, and offers a sneak peek of new products and features to be showcased in September at the CEDIA Expo.
Momentum So Far
When it debuted, the Prodigy line was built around the ZigBee-enabled PMC2 media controller (still current) and the PLX2 monochrome soft-key remote – a combo that currently retails for about $700. With that, dealers could offer an affordable two-way RF controller for the home theater. Add the P-MNETGW gateway and you’ve got a whole-house ZigBee automation system for multiple 100 RF devices including Prodigy remotes, lights and thermostats.
While the base package was a good start, sales kicked into high gear when the PAMP-4X100 multizone amp – supporting six sources, four zones and 50 watts per channel -- was released at the end of January, 2010.
Early on, “installations were mostly theater-centric,” says Bargetzi. “When we introduced the audio amplifier, the systems started growing.”
Residential product manager Jason Oster says the $920 PAMP is no run-of-the-mill amp.
“We took the opportunity to go to new amplifier technology,” he says. “It’s better than some of the existing Crestron products because that’s how new technology works.”
That Crestron is building new technologies for Prodigy, before they’re implemented in the higher-end systems, underscores the company’s commitment to the entry-level brand, Bargetzi explains.
Also added to the Prodigy line is a new two-way AM/FM/XM tuner, which began shipping in May.
And one of the most exciting new developments for Prodigy is the step-up PTX3 remote control, featuring a three-inch color touchscreen and two-way ZigBee mesh technology that “works off the same ZigBee Pro stack” as the rest of the line, Bargetzi says.
Goodbye old monochrome PLX2, hellow new ZigBee Pro two-way touchscreen remote with graphics
“Put in some Prodigy dimmers and you’ve just created a beautiful network,” he explains. “You don’t need range extensions. Everything is an access point.”
The PTX3 is part of a new Prodigy package called PMC2+. It sells for just a small premium, around $100, over the original PMC2 with PLX2 remote.
“Now, for just a little more than some other products on the market, you get an awesome touchscreen controller,” Bargetzi says.
Coming Soon: Prodigy Does More
At CEDIA 2010 in September, Crestron will address the most common complaints by Prodigy dealers with these new solutions:
PMC3 with On-Screen Display
Bargetzi tells CE Pro, “The PMC3 is a new control platform for Prodigy. … It’s like the bionic man: better, stronger, faster. It can do multiple things simultaneously. That’s how committed we are to this product lineup.”
The PMC3 offers an OSD so users can navigate their entire entertainment and home-control system – with real-time feedback – via the television.
We assume that the PMC3 will offer similar features as the forthcoming Series 3 controller, which we speculated earlier might be DLNA compatible.
More, Better Wireless Lighting
Look out for new Prodigy EX wireless lighting controls, built on Crestron’s implementation of ZigBee Pro.
The EX moniker first appeared at CEDIA 2009, when Crestron demonstrated its new ZigBee Pro-based Infinet EX wireless dimmers and keypads.
However, instead of launching under the core Crestron brand, “we took the latest technology and chose to introduce it through Prodigy,” says Oster.
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Article Topics
News · Product News · Audio · Distributed Audio · Video · Multiroom Video · Home Automation and Control · Lighting · Universal Remotes · Retrofit · Wireless Av · Retrofit · Home Automation · Security · Crestron · Zigbee · Prodigy · Sequel Technologies · Zigbee Pro ·About the Author
37 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
Hey Flip.. I hate to be the guy delivering the bad news but the Crestron slide that they showed at AVAD is wrong.
The HC300 comes with a remote control so we can remove SR250 $199 off the price, the TSE-3.8C2-W is not 699 its 599 so take off $100, the LOZ-5S1 is an outlet switch. DIM1-Z should of been the product suggested which is 774 so theres 6 dollars, the KPZ-6B1 shows a price of 1794 which is ridiculous, 6 KPZ6B1 is 1074 so take off $720 Total price difference in the false pdf vs the real world is $1,025. That brings the total of the C4 system down to 5,839.95 which makes it $516 dollars cheaper then the Crestron package. Does the Crestron system have an on screen output to the tv? Does the it integrate with Rhapsody directly? What is the max amount of audio/video and zigbee zones that the Crestron system has?
The way they are going about competing is dumb. They need to be fair and do research on their competition before posting these stupid comparisons that arent even true
looks like everyone is copying control4 and going with ZigBee technology
Big Deal..
Even if the comparison retail numbers were a little off, the difference is easily made up for by the fact of the marketing clout behind the Crestron name alone.
This is probably going to be my go-to solution from entry level to mid-size job.
PS: Control 4 lighting dimmers have a poor reputation both in terms of cosmetics and function.
Julie, When will this pmc3 product really hit the streets? Soon?
As an open minded Crestron dealer I have to admit the OSD is a feature that has existed on Savant and C4 for far longer… It is necessary for Crestron to catch up. Feature parity is a bitch.
This remote though blows c4 and savant out of the water, big time.
Will every tv that wants OSD need to have it’s own pmc3?
Oh, and during the AVAD Webinar there was also brief mention of an HDMI switcher using CAT5.
So nice to take the “we have an OSD” line out of the uppity Control4 dealer’s playbook 
LOL because a company lies you to about $1,025 dollar difference and you don’t care that makes their marketing clout really amazing!!! Feature for feature C4 offers more and with the pending 2.0 release it’ll bring even more to the table that no one else currently has. Their dimmers are fine. They HAD a poor reputation well over 4 years ago but since have found a much better manufacture to produce them. Its funny people always talk about the past from years ago and don’t look at anything remotely currently. I didn’t know marketing helped bring more features and products to your clients vs actually just delivering those products and not putting performance restrictions on gear
JoelH.. You WILL have.. Currently its not shipping so lets not discuss what the UI even does until its actually in dealers hands 
I could discuss products that are being released by Control4 this year but wont
The comparison was a joke. In addition to what Kevin posted they also stated a few other inaccuracies about Control4.
If they would of done an actual feature comparison, the Prodigy system would not even come close.
It really is insulting to the attendies when a company spreads missinformation about their compeditors at a training.
Yes, the remote does look nice. I’m not a big fan of the Control4 remote.
iPodTouch and iPad make great remotes though. 
See, Kevin, I really don’t have a problem with C4, not my choice, but I respect them. What bothers me is the abundance of hyper C4 dealers on just about every forum. They all seem so paranoid that they have to always jump in with some ridiculous story about how they just ‘tore out’ a Crestron system and replaced it with a C4 system with 5000 processors and 8000 dimmers. C4 dealers just need to calm down and understand that Crestron makes exceptional products and is an industry pioneer. But that doesn’t mean we can’t coexist just because I like one more than the other.
all this paranoia about C4 from their guys…
i am gonna ask one question… how can i expand a C4 system to have more IR ports and more com ports and more relay ports without having to fork over a huge chunk of change to buy a new master controller? where are the peripherals…? huh? C4 IS NOT cheaper than Crestron when it comes to a system that requires multiroom/ multi-video room setup… I can buy one crestron processor and add on to it… C4 doesn’t work that way… and no one tells you that either…
one more question… is the ethernet issue fixed? you know, when more than one Master controller exists… I heard it was something they can’t fix…
enough slamming… just do your self a favor and buy crestron… you’ll be much happier, have more options, and a much more future resistant system… and it comes with 20+ years of control experience…
Control4 installers use Global Cache’ hardware to add IR, serial, and relay ports all the time. They’re certified by C4 for smooth integration, very affordable, and are either wired or wireless. That’s the cool thing about open systems…..they work with other vendors gear and give you choices.
tlit.. What are you talking about? you can add on an IO bar or a controller which starts at 399 msrp that has more IO. There are plenty of other options as Robin Ford mentions. Global Cache makes great affordable products and they easily integrate into a C4 system.
Also what ethernet issue? You really shouldnt be running mulitple projects on the same network ( they should be one large project ) but there are working systems out there with more then 1 master controller. Please explain in detail the issue you are speaking about.
Enough slamming? LOL.. pot kettle there buddy.. You are posting mis-information and telling us to stop slamming.. Good Job.
I attended AVAD’s first Webinar on this very subject just the other day.
I have to admit that I am seriously now considering adding this line, especially now that it is being expanded as noted in this article.
I had been waiting and waiting to see what the Speakercraft Nirv was all about, but you can only wait so long.
The other system I had been considering for simpler to medium size projects was Control 4, but based on the retail price points I saw in the AVAD webinar, Prodigy can easily beat a comparable Control 4 setup.