In this part of the country (Seattle), choice is frequently left up to who the installer is, and what their preferences are.

I have no experience with Crestron, so I really can't comment on them. I am aware that Crestron has quite the following in corporations, which is likely why a lot of installers seem to know a lot about Crestron and work with Crestron (for whatever reason, Crestron has a good chunk of corporate needs, although it looks like Panja is trying to catch up with their new NetLinx product).

I think pricing looks like this: Panja Phast (very popular, trivially easy to program, but not as powerful) is priced similar to Panja AMX. Panja AMX is much more powerful, since it's "procedure" based rather than "macro" based, but takes more programming skill for that very reason. Both Phast and AMX have pretty "fixed" limits on how much the system can grow. Crestron is more expensive than either Phast or AMX, but is less expensive (I suspect) than NetLinx - which takes quite the price jump for the controller but has the expandability market licked (you can expand NetLinx systems pretty much forever; if you wanted, you could have a NetLinx system controlling millions of devices).

Phast and AMX programming is a "test/perform" kind of model, Crestron and NetLinx is more an event-based model. As do most programmers, I prefer event-based models, as it's generally easier to work with, especially for very large programs. Phast systems are limited in RS-232 flexibility. No such limits exist for either AMX or NetLinx.

Panja recently radically reworked their programming facilities. In the past (at least for AMX), it was a DOS-based compiler. Now they have Panja Studio, which is a whole lot nicer to work with (Windows based). Massive improvement. Panja Studio is sort of a one-stop place to do anything and everything (assign device codes, program, debug, setup special settings, etc).

I'd be very interested in hearing comparisons between Crestron and NetLinx, since NetLinx was designed/engineered within the past year or two, and is MUCH nicer. (Just as an aside, the AMX system was pretty much designed back in the 80's.) But since NetLinx is so new, very few dealers have learned it yet. I have yet to find a dealer that carries both Crestron and NetLinx. NetLinx pretty much started shipping late last year, so it's too new for many dealers to have much experience with it.

Panja has some really cool stuff coming up, but I don't think I'm at liberty to really talk about that. But trust me: some of their upcoming stuff is very cool.

I really like that, when Panja designed NetLinx, they had upgradability in mind. Rather than leaving all their AMX customers "stranded", you could buy a NetLinx controller and use all your existing AMX gear. This would be a fairly inexpensive upgrade, but would give you full NetLinx capabilities. I purchased the Meridian 861 for it's upgradability (and quality), and I like that NetLinx was designed the same way.

As a programmer with a hobby in home automation, I've done a BUNCH of stuff with my NetLinx system. It controls 5 rooms of gear, is integrated with whole house lighting, whole house HVAC, and a bunch of other stuff. It's really quite nice, and I have yet to want to do anything that wasn't possible with a NetLinx system. Pretty much, my imagination is the limit. All in all, I'd say I'm thrilled with my NetLinx system, and I think Panja has done a fantastic job of standing behind their product.

So, if you're looking to interact with a Panja owner, I'm one. I'm also more familiar with the NetLinx system than probably most of their dealers are; it's a hobby, and I've spent a good chunk of time working with it.

If anyone is interested, I can provide either AMX or NetLinx code to drive the Meridian 861 or the Meridian 800 via RS-232.

All in all, to try and decide what to buy: First, figure out what will fit your needs. If multiple systems will fit your needs, determine if you'd like to program the unit yourself. If so, then take a long hard look at the programming facilities, and try and pick something that will:

  • Be easy for you to work with,
  • will give you the power you need to do things now and in the future, and
  • gives expandability well beyond what you'd ever expect to need.


Basically, pick something you can grow with, that you like working with, and that gives you the power you want in automation control.

Good luck. As I mentioned before, I was hesitant to purchase an automation system at first due to cost, but after the fact, I'm very happy I did. Quite simply, I consistently do things that others are unable to simply because they don't have the tools they need. My automation system provides the tools I need to, quite honestly, do whatever I'd like.

[This message has been edited by Jeff Coffler (edited 04-18-2001).]

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