I agree with sanjays's response about the "packaging efficiency" because I do agree that is a "plus" of the Crestron rxvr, in some jobs that might even be reason enough to go with the product, though I don't doubt that given the 975's compact dimensions a similar diminutive unit ought not be to hard to engineer with off the shelf class D power...

That said seems gonk is venturing into the "subjective" with rest of their comments?

I might concede a point on "level of support" but the custom installation folks I talk to generally tell me that increasingly it is not Crestron that sets the bar for making the task of creating a well integrated system achievable but firms like Control4.

Similarly the feedback from not just custom installers but folks who've bought stuff from "grey" channels does not support the myth that products with esoteric labels on 'em are somehow of a greater 'longevity' than high quality gear from well known sources.

I would even suggest that it is largely impossible to say that these sorts of products really deliver any greater "control functionality" than more feature rich products from firms that do respond to the feedback of a wide range of dealers, custom installers and 'regular' customers -- the fact is Integra and Sony-ES are NOT just "labels" but represent an sub-speciality of their parent firms that are in many ways more responsive than the more 'mainstream' companies overall AV organization, they have more resources available to quickly tailor the offerings of each product in their line-up than firms that are much smaller.


Finally I have been part of enough "build outs" of my own home, offices that I have worked in and even community type organizations that the "legacy" of architects and designers spec'ing not what is REALLY best suited for a particular job but what is most easily obtained often does mean that wide availability "wins out" over "best in breed" UNLESS someone is especially educated / passionate about not going with the herd. This is not "subjective" it is what I have seen OVER AND OVER in not just the little odds and ends of connectors or routine things like plumbing fixtures and such but even MASSIVELY costly things like UPS/DBG, FSSs, CRACs & PDU/RPPs for huge data projects.

I certainly agree that firms like Crestron do everything they can to crowd-out true innovation and discourage competition from their entrenched markets in ways that make the anti-competitive practices of firms in the consumer space that have hindered Outlaw's progress toward new pre-pros seem positively tame by comparison. I know our good hosts here avoid using the forum to besmirch their competitors as much as possible but one might wonder if the Outlaw's have not been harassed by companies that do recognize their value priced products do threaten the high margins they can command from folks that are increasingly capable of doing a little comparison shopping...