03.20.2008 — Two days after AMX officially launched its AMXHome prepackaged control solution at EHX, Adam Gershon, product manager for AMX’s residential business unit, and a training crew were in Massachusetts setting up Elite Media Solutions to be the first post-beta testing AMXhome dealer.

Eight guys hunkered in a dark home theater demo room for three days.

Normally, it will only take about one day, Gershon explained, but Elite requested some tweaks to the standard solution.

That standard solution is intended to make it easier for dealers to market AMX control, install it and consistently deliver end products that meet clients’ expectations.

It draws on AMX-provided marketing material—including a seemingly real, working touchpanel that clients can navigate—and standard designs that greatly reduce programming, installation challenges and room for error.

It may not be “custom” per se, but it’s intended to provide clients with a relatively high level of control while increasing dealers’ profit margin.

On the surface, AMXHome seems geared toward dealers without a programming staff (because of the greatly reduced programming demand) or a showroom (because of the powerful marketing props).

However, AMX chose to make its official AMXhome launch with a dealer that doesn’t fit that mold at all.

Elite has two technicians on staff that are level one AMX certified (even though AMX only requires AMXhome dealers to have one) and a fantastic 2,500-square-foot show house. Still, co-founder Brian Gibson says the program is an excellent fit for the company.

Even with two qualified AMX programmers on staff, Elite doesn’t have the manpower to handle high-level AMX programming.

“We just don’t have the resources,” says Marc Mable, design consultant and one of the AMX level one guys.

“We do a lot of AMX business but not necessarily enough to hire a full-time programmer, which is an expensive employee to have on staff. We can’t hire graphic designers to do our touchpanels, so we have [traditionally gone] to an outside company for that.

“That makes us inefficient. It brings profits down. It takes control of the end product out of our hands. And it takes the support of the client and the control system out of our hands.”

Not having complete control of follow-up service on control products has been a point of frustration for Gibson. He uses a theoretical example of an existing Elite client with an AMX system programmed by a third-party programmer.

“They come back and want to add a Blu-ray player. That means re-engaging the company that provided the programming.”

It also means paying the programmer again, and this is the case every time a client wants to add a control feature to an existing system—thermostat, lighting control, for instance.

“We’re not going to tell them it’s their fault for not tell us [they want that feature] up front,” Gibson jokes.

“What we’ll do is realize that we have to ask them about that feature next time. More often than not, we’ll eat the cost to keep the client happy … so we [haven’t been] making any money on programming.

“I’ve read many stories about third-party programmers lately that seem to think that if they charge us $30,000 for programming we should be charging [the client] $60,000. Well, that’s absolute nonsense. That’s a pipedream. That can’t happen. That’s why this [AMXhome] is a great opportunity.”