AMX's relevance as a 3rd party

vining

I moved this post from it's original location in the iPad dock thread so it could be added to w/o thread jacking that other other thread. I think it's important that AMX re-establishes itself as a leader in the AV resi market because to most consumers AMX no longer exists and now too many products don't list AMX as an available 3rd party integration partner and name recognition is very, very important. Even talking to newbs in the AV industry working in other companies installing other systems they don't know anything about AMX which is kinda sad but they do know about Craptron, Savant and Control4. How did AMX become invisible in the resi world? I understand the market shift and that we're not and can't be as competitive in this sector as we once were but to completely disappear makes no sense IMHO.

from the other thread:

I was thinking of showing a link of the LaunchPort w/ Lutron buttons to a potential customer and again AMX's lack of resi support slaps me in the face once again. Apparently AMX is no longer a relevant 3rd party integration system, maybe some bridges burnt with their past partnership with Lutron. Once upon a time when looking at various device's 3rd party support lists AMX was often listed 1st, now they're often not listed at all. Yet another ball dropped by AMX, you gotta be in it to win it! I've been telling this particular potential client that AMX is the best system out there and according to this pic I'd have a hard getting them to believe we're even better than RTI or URC,or worse Pro control. A picture tells a thousand words!

vining

Again no AMX? Maybe we just aren't a "leading industry name" in resi anymore. Even if it makes no sense dumping millions into developing products exclusively for the resi market at least pursue that sector with the equipment on hand that can be used regardless of the market sector.

imsoco

I also noticed in the CEDIA training offered, Autonomic is offering integration classes for all of the top control companies and has not included AMX. Also, Just Add Power no longer has a tech support agent that understands AMX. It seems it is no longer being realized as a useful product to most integrators.

a_riot42

I know our company is selling fewer AMX systems in favor of Savant in most cases. I'm not really sure why either, as Savant has turned out to be problematic for many installations, especially when clients ask for customizations. I think management thought it would be far easier to customize than it is. They are now hounding me to learn Savant, but I don't really want to lose my programming chops and become a configurator. I'd rather go back to Java, C++ programming and program everyday than become a Savant systems configurator.

I understand the appeal, as fewer higher level programmers are needed which reduces labor costs, but the problem seems to be that when the higher level programmers leave, they take away all the other knowledge required to build good systems like wireless, networking, devices, UI design, lighting, HVAC, cameras, etc. As soon as there is a hiccup of some kind, the configurators are lost, since they don't have the education/experience to deal with it. I think many people think that all there is to programming is learning the language. However, that just gets you the toolbox. You still have to know how each tool works, when it should be used and when it shouldn't be. We'll see if this changes, but it doesn't look like its going to. The only time they are selling AMX these days seems to be when no other system can do the job, and even then I think they try and force a Savant system anyway.
Paul

ericmedley

Modern CEDIA is not your father's CEDIA. The show has been losing steam now for several years as the whole Resi industry races to the bottom. I dunno, it's easy enough to pick on AMX and how they've handled (or not handled) this whole affair. But, I still feel it's more to do with the general movement in Resi in general as opposed to one or two companies poisoning the well. In the Resi AV firm I used to work for in this area, they went from 18 employees down to 2. They now just do hang-and-bang TVs with URCs. Times-they-are-a-changin...

vining

ericmedley wrote: »

Modern CEDIA is not your father's CEDIA. The show has been losing steam now for several years as the whole Resi industry races to the bottom. I dunno, it's easy enough to pick on AMX and how they've handled (or not handled) this whole affair. But, I still feel it's more to do with the general movement in Resi in general as opposed to one or two companies poisoning the well. In the Resi AV firm I used to work for in this area, they went from 18 employees down to 2. They now just do hang-and-bang TVs with URCs. Times-they-are-a-changin...

I completely agree and feel that there's little AMX can do to maintain the resi market share they once had or even hold on to the #2 spot behind Craptron for high end resi installs. Maybe it's an ego thing where they'd rather give the appearance that they dropped out of resi all together rather than "stay in" and watch their status slide down to the 5th or 6th position of high end resi sales. I understand, believe me I understand that it's getting harder and harder to sell AMX resi systems but AMX doesn't help us at all by being virtually invisible in everything resi related. They don't even have come up with new products, just make appearances and show people they're still in the game.

ericmedley

vining wrote: »

I completely agree and feel that there's little AMX can do to maintain the resi market share they once had or even hold on to the #2 spot behind Craptron for high end resi installs. Maybe it's an ego thing where they'd rather give the appearance that they dropped out of resi all together rather than "stay in" and watch their status slide down to the 5th or 6th position of high end resi sales. I understand, believe me I understand that it's getting harder and harder to sell AMX resi systems but AMX doesn't help us at all by being virtually invisible in everything resi related. They don't even have come up with new products, just make appearances and show people they're still in the game.

At developers conference this summer one of the speakers was a big-wig from Resi at AMX. (I apologize - I do not remember his name at the moment. So, consider my following statements anecdotal at best) When plied with question about the future of Resi at AMX he started off with a very positive/forward looking statement. But, after that he went on to explain that basically AMX was approaching Resi from the standpoint of "When a high-end whale-type client contacts us with a huge resi job, we take it on ourselves with the help of a few large resi dealers in the area of the client. The idea being that the folks at AMX could ensure good programming in conjunction with the install skills of the local dealer.

In my mind, I thought, "So, you're just becoming a broker of AV install work to local sources." They were pulling in those $500K ~ $1000K jobs we large Resi dealers were once doing and handling them internally. To me this is just AMX's Resi sales becoming a "dealer" in a sense and competing with its own. I remember thinking I wished everyone on this forum could hear what this person was saying as it seemed to me to be the most realistic expression of what we all felt was going on anyway.

All this to say - I'm not at all shocked or surprised. With things the way they are nowadays, I'd almost expect it. But, as you suggest vining, it'd be nice to just hear for once about the white elephant in the room.