Crestron Prodigy Home Control System: ZigBee Wireless Automation Gets Priced

It's not, arguably, as exciting in pure A/V terms as the company's Procise PSPHD 7.3 previewed yesterday, but Crestron's new Prodigy Home Control System is certainly more affordable. CEPro have been behind the scenes with the new wireless automation system, which uses modular ZigBee-compatible components to manage lighting, heating, distributed A/V and more.

The core of the system is the PMC2 controller and its companion PLX2 two-way ZigBee remote, shown above, which will be priced at around $700. Up to six remotes can be hooked up to one controller, and 100 wireless devices are supported; a P-MNETGW wireless gateway can bridge ZigBee and hard-wired devices, such as thermostats and lighting.

There's also a touchscreen in-wall control panel, with Windows Sideshow support for email, media and RSS widgets, together with starter kits covering various price points. $825 gets you the controller, remote and wireless gateway; $5,500 gets you four audio zones, a thermostat, fifteen wireless light switches/dimmers and a touchscreen unit. The system is not compatible with other Crestron devices, however, but does promise easier, wizard-based setup.