AV Control Systems | Reliable and Affordable AV Control Options

Once upon a time a good control system for your AV room could cost you as much as the system you wanted to control. With the advent of devices like the iPad and the Android Tablets customers will now have far more options.

However, before we get to that lets talk about why you need a control system. There is nothing more embarrassing then being in front of a group and not being able to put on a presentation that you planned, because the equipment will not work. Skimping on a control system potentially leaves you open to this embarrassing situation. Most of this is avoidable. 

One of the biggest push backs I hear from customers on control systems is that "they don't need anything fancy like that, it would be too hard to use." In reality, a well-planned control system will not make the system harder to use it will make it far easier to use. This is especially true for busy executives that don't have the time to be trained. It's also true for visitors to the facility that have never used the system before.

For an example let's look at the iPad. Almost anyone can pick one up and use it right away. Why is that? I would say it's because it doesn't try to do too much. Unlike a PC, its simple, intuitive, well laid out and it just plain works, always. Don't get me wrong , a PC is a great device and it can do almost anything you want, anyone is allowed to write code for it and it's very inexpensive. However in regard to the PC all of those pluses come at a price, when we are talking about reliability.

A good well laid out control system takes the "thinking" out of the process. With the touch of a single "button" the system can tell a projector not only to turn on, go to the proper input; it can turn on an amplifier and set the volume controls for all the devices to a preset level. On top of all that, if it doesn't happen that way, information can be relayed back to the system from the devices and tell the system to make it happen. So by being "smart" and having information go back and forth both ways (two-way communication) mistakes and embarrassments are eliminated.

In the past, these kinds of AV control systems typically required a proprietary touch panel to operate them. Well that's not so any longer. The iPad (and soon I'll bet other devices such as Android tablets) are putting quality control systems within reach of far more corporate and consumer budgets. As far as AV Integrators like ourselves are concerned, it is much easier to help customers understand the benefits of a good control system by tying them into these devices they already own or are familiar with. 

Now, just to be clear, touch-panels likes Crestron's TPMC-8X do far more than the iPad can. They can not only control the AV system but display the video from the devices being controlled on the panel as well as a host of other things. We'll save that for another article. However compare the Crestron TPMC-8X at a retail price of $3,800 to a $500 ish iPad and you can see what I am getting at.

AV Control system manufacturers like Crestron, RTI, Savant, AMX, Control 4 and others are embracing the iPad. I would assume this is for a host reasons such as; its low price point, good looking display, reliability and customer familiarity. The iPad has really brought the price down for the touch-panel part of the system. In my opinion these manufacturers see the writing on the wall, that the iPad is here to stay and yes they are competing against it. However in addition I think they see an entirely new market they can now reach because of the lower price point. I don't see the iPad totally supplanting the other manufacturers panels but I do see it changing how much time and money the manufacturers would want to invest into the panels as opposed to the control systems themselves.

I recently read an article detailing how Apple was able to market the iPad at such a low entry level price. I think in the long run, this is going to help everyone have better systems. Once clients are used to having a control system I think they will continue to want to improve their control systems and at that point maybe even add the manufacturers own feature rich panels later on. I think making the first step towards implementing a control system easier to reach by using an iPad is a great thing for all of us in the industry. That includes us integrators and the clients as well.