Crestron Bolsters Entry-Level Prodigy Home Automation System
By Julie Jacobson
Crestron bolstering entry-level Prodigy with two-way ZigBee Pro touchscreen remote, PMC3 controller, on-screen display, video switching, support for 100 wireless dimmers.
Crestron has big plans for Prodigy, the company's first real entry-level solution for home automation.
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.
Click here to continue.
By Julie Jacobson
Crestron bolstering entry-level Prodigy with two-way ZigBee Pro touchscreen remote, PMC3 controller, on-screen display, video switching, support for 100 wireless dimmers.
Crestron has big plans for Prodigy, the company's first real entry-level solution for home automation.
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.
Click here to continue.
