Articles and whitepapers

Product Article: Crestron Prodigy - a new control solution for a wider audience (4/1/2010)

By Phil Solomons, Crestron UK

Not so long ago, home automation was exclusively at the premium end of the market. It was commonplace in expensive homes across the globe, with the lifestyle benefits available only to those who had the income to invest in it. In more recent times however, the home automation market has been energised by activity at the lower end. The marketplace is changing because technology in all forms is becoming further entrenched in our homes, and interest in automation is growing across the board. The shift in attention to the more affordable end of the market is due it being a huge untapped growth area for both installers and manufacturers in custom installation.

Prodigy(tm) is a new control solution that is aimed at bringing the benefits of Crestron technology to a wider audience. It is a fast and reliable wireless solution which allows any home system to be set up quickly and easily, saving on-site time and money.

In most minds, Crestron is associated with being successful at the top end of the market, and some think that perhaps this success won't translate at the more affordable end. I prefer this approach: most car manufacturers make a range of cars, from luxury right through to budget. However, whichever model you buy, you are buying into the ethos and identity associated with the brand. That's how I like to think of Prodigy - you buy a Crestron product, you buy our quality, performance, service and support, whatever your budget.

The Prodigy range is an inexpensive control solution that is simple and affordable, aimed at the residential market, and has the level of control and scalability you'd expect from Crestron. Businesses today cannot afford to ignore potential areas of growth, and Prodigy gives our dealers the opportunity to expand their market into new areas, offering home control for every lifestyle and budget.

System components

At the heart of the system is the PMC2 (Prodigy Media Controller), a cost-effective control processor that integrates all of the system equipment. Included in the range is an in-wall touchpanel, a hand-held remote, wired and wireless light switches and dimmers, audio keypads, an iPod interface, a tuner, an amplifier and a thermostat - in essence, all of the elements required for a home automation system.

The PMC2 with the PLX2 hand-held remote.

Installation

Installation is quick, simple and straightforward. Prodigy products are designed to work together seamlessly, so there's no system design required or expensive installation time. The PMC2 is connected to the mains and once live, is ready to begin talking to the other devices that you may want to have included in your system. The wireless gateway supports all of the remotes, dimmers, touchpanels (apart from the PTL4 which is connected via Ethernet) and thermostats that have been installed, and will also interface with third-party security systems for example, over the home LAN.

A Zigbee wireless protocol is used - a highly-reliable and robust topology. It is expandable, with a limit of 100 wireless devices, with up to twelve of these being gateways. As with all wireless networks, there is the possibility of interference, but this is avoided with careful planning.

Schematic of a Prodigy system being used for wireless lighting and climate control with home theatre and audio being connected to the LAN via Ethernet.

The lightswitches and dimmers in the range are wired and wireless. If wireless is chosen, they are still connected to the mains, but each switch is fitted with a wireless transmitter/receiver which communicates with the wireless network - this is an great feature for the retrofit market.

Programming

Programming is a simple plug and play set up. Prodigy Composer guides you through a few simple steps using basic drop down menus and check boxes. The PMC2 has a full Ethernet connection that allows full access over broadband to ensure remote system login and fault diagnosis.

The software provides all of the logic and creates touchscreen interfaces automatically in the background. The wizard is intuitive so that a system can be up and running in minutes.

A typical user interface generated by the Prodigy Composer, on a PTL4 in-wall touchpanel. The PTL4 is connected via LAN.

Expandability

Prodigy is designed for smaller residential installations and the hotel/ hospitality market. It has its own keenly-priced product range and is designed to offer simplicity to ‘non programmers’. If you know that the install will have to be expanded, it is not impossible to expand Prodigy by adding more processors and building separate smaller building blocks, but this is complicated. So if you require a larger system, it would be preferable, on a number of levels, to specify a larger Crestron system.

Conclusion

Prodigy is a control solution for every budget, and it opens up a wealth of new business opportunities for the custom installer. It is not just the customers that are put off by the expensive price tag of some systems who can take advantage of Prodigy - there are many potential customers who would love to have home automation, but couldn't bear the thought of the upheaval associated with a retrofit. The wireless Prodigy makes the problems of endless cable runs and holes in walls, redundant.

Home automation is still in its infancy and Prodigy is the beginning of a whole new market with huge potential. The building blocks are in place for a new era of wide availability, and it is up to manufacturers and custom installers to make the best of the opportunity.

Phil Solomons is Head of Residential Sales for Crestron UK. Crestron is a global leader in advanced control and automation technology for commercial and residential applications.

www.crestron.co.uk