MVP-5200i First Impressions

vining

Although I don't care for small screens and the16x9 fromat as a whole I think the 5200i is quite a nice little touch panel. It's a very comfortable size as far as the hold and handling goes although when scaling GUIs down you need really good eyes to read the text. A zoom feature would be nice.

I don't care for the three piece lexan look and think a single piece would be more attractive. The inside screen edge of the lexan (if that's what it is) should be eased a little more since it feel sharpto the touch. I tried several times to see if it would slice my finger but it doesn't but a little more off the edge would be nice.

I like the table top docking station alot. At least so far! Very simple w/o any of those aligning issues that the 8400 docking base had. Hopefully when my in wall docking stations come in I will be equally pleased.

I've yet to test the wi-fi ranges but I'm hoping they're not as bad as posted.

Overall, so far I'm very pleased and I'm hoping that doesn't change.

Now if we can just move the scroll wheel to the bottom in the mesh area and make the upper area all screen with a small 1/4" bezel edge we'd have a serious TP.

I think customers w/ good eye sight will be very pleased w'/ this TP.

RicardoSiqueira

I wish they had included the 4 hard buttons like the MVP8400 on the left side. They did include the external navigation arrows. The 4 external buttons make it convinient for volume and channel up/down. Maybe on the next revision.

GSLogic

I didn't think I would like it after seeing it at Cedia, but I'm VERY IMPRESSED!!!!
I really like the look, size and the feel of the 5200. From now on, I'm only going to offer 800x480 panels to my resi clients. The only thing I would change would be to add some hard buttons on the sizes. I need to order one in an olive green????

vining

GSLogic wrote:

I'm only going to offer 800x480 panels to my resi clients.

Yeah, I guess it really has to be one or the other to make matters simple and I think the 5200i will be the deciding factor. I just don't think the 16 x 9 screen format is the best for what we use these panels for, generating lists. I'd rather view 8 or 10 items at a time than 5. For me 4x3 is proportionally a better display but I guess I'll now have to learn to adapt and roll w/ the times.

GSLogic

vining wrote: »

I'd rather view 8 or 10 items at a time than 5. For me 4x3 is proportionally a better display but I guess I'll now have to learn to adapt and roll w/ the times.

I know what you mean... I never said I liked the format better, its just the way it is and I tooo will learn to adapt.

terrmul

I just received our first one. One big problem right out of the box - when on the integrated stand IT WOBBLES!!

It's enough of a wobble to be annoying when touching the panel.

Aside from that I'm looking forward to playing around with it...

DHawthorne

From the way 16:9 panels are proliferating, my guess is that is what the actual display manufacturers are pushing, making them cheaper than a similarly sized 4:3. It would then have less to do with usability than economics.

davidv

It needs a bigger screen with more resolution. 800x600 minimum.

Joe Hebert

davidv wrote: »

It needs a bigger screen with more resolution. 800x600 minimum.

Behold...the MVP-8400

vining

The TPS-6X made by those other guys looks cool and at 5.7" screen just slightly bigger. Although I'm not a big fan of hard buttons on TPs this look is pretty slick. I think with the 5200i there's too much unused empty real estate around the screen making the screen appear lost in the large surrounding bezel while the Craptron the buttons visually break up that dead space. I do think the overall size ot the 5200i would allow for a 30-40% larger screen which would make a big difference. I would like to see the TP mostly all screen w/ a minimal bezel.

Spire_Jeff

I don't have much time at the moment, but I will say that I liked the other guys touch panel a LOT more in photos than I did when I saw it at CEDIA. So far, we have had VERY good reviews from clients about the look and feel of the 5200.

Jeff

jjames

Man I'd love to have those graphics!

GSLogic

I thought AMX was going to unveil a MVP8200 tp this year. It would have been a much needed addition on the resi side, not to mention he 8400s are really looking old. I hate/don't sell 8400s when a job has mostly 800x480 resolution panels.

DHawthorne

Now that I've had a chance to actually play with one, I don't think I can overstate how bad an idea I think it was to give it a piano-gloss finish. You can barely look at the thing without leaving a greasy print. That kind of finish is fine for something you rarely have to touch, but for a device that must be handled, it's a bad idea. A fastidious client could go insane trying to keep it nice looking; you literally have to wipe it down every time you pick it up.

jjames

DHawthorne wrote: »

Now that I've had a chance to actually play with one, I don't think I can overstate how bad an idea I think it was to give it a piano-gloss finish. You can barely look at the thing without leaving a greasy print. That kind of finish is fine for something you rarely have to touch, but for a device that must be handled, it's a bad idea. A fastidious client could go insane trying to keep it nice looking; you literally have to wipe it down every time you pick it up.

That was the first thing the cleaner said when we put these in for the first time. She also remarked on how "dirty" the screens were with all of my finger prints on it. Sexy little panels for sure, just not sure about the finish. Maybe they won't wear out like the 8400s did.

vining

Since we're now on the subject of finsihes, what were you guys at AMX thinking with all these gloss finishes? The MVP5200i, R4 body & buttons, Metreau keypads, etc.

Most all my jobs use Lutron satin finshes becasue they blends better with almost every wall finish and they are are virtually smudge free. After 5 minutes or using any of the AMX gloss devices they look like crap and require cleaning. Even when clean and smudge free the shiny reflective surface is really unattractive IMHO.

I think it's time for AMX to fire their desingers and just run a forum poll so the folks that sell, install and later deal with the customer have a say as to direction these products go. These are custom products so why are we trying to match what you can buy off the shelf at Home Depot? So they can be installed in a tacky condo?

DHawthorne

It's not the first time a recent AMX design item caused a "What were they thinking?" moment for me.

A few examples (mostly from original MVP series):

* Soft white plastic with a thin chrome coating
* Kickstand that has to be removed to use with docking station
* Inaccessible stylus when in-wall dock is used
* Really cheesy buttons on MIO keypads

I've come away with the (probably unfair) impression that the design team consists mainly of a group of head-in-the-clouds artistes that either have no idea what the practical considerations are for their designs, or simply don't care ... just so long as it looks good.