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We all sit at home watching TV with the trusty remote control close at hand for channel
surfing. As time passes and we add new toys like a laser disc player or upgraded stereo;
our remote turns into 3 or 4 remotes. Then, the big plunge…a universal remote. All in
one. Then, we find out that the universal remote is not that easy to use and has
limitations - not all that it's supposed to be.
Companies like Crestron Electronics in Rockleigh, NJ have taken that concept about 100
steps further with actual control SYSTEMS for the home. Crestron's products have been the
standard in corporate boardrooms and conference centers worldwide for years. With the
growing home theatre and home automation market, Crestron is popping up more and more in
mainstream homes everywhere!
Unlike the universal remote purchased at your local Circuit City, a control system is more
than just an infra red (IR) controller device. Control systems are networks that connect
devices such as A/V components, lighting, even computers. 
All of these devices are
connected electronically to a central unit or control processor that, in turn,
communicates to the user interface (or remote). User interfaces in the Crestron world are
called control panels. The most common control panel is a touchpanel. Crestron makes a
system called SmarTouch STS. This is a wireless (it communicates via radio frequency
instead of IR or wires) control processor and compact touchpanel.
Touchpanels are great. A series of appropriate graphics (pictures) and text are programmed
into the touchpanel and a simple touch can turn, tune or play anything on the system. Gone
are the days of complicated buttons, controls and sequences only a technician could
understand -and that's just to play the Barney video. With a touchpanel simply touch
"VCR1" and everything that needs to happen, happens - the TV comes on, the VCR
cues up, the lights go down; whatever was specified for that button.
Here's how it works (we'll take a simple system example): You have a
large screen TV, 2 VCR's, a laser disk, a DVD player, some audio components and a lighting
dimmer. Want to control all of this with one panel? No problem.
The devices to be controlled are installed and programmed into the Crestron unit,
touchpanel graphics are edited or customized if needed and, voila, you have control.
As easy as a Crestron SmarTouch and other similar systems are to set-up, they still need
to be installed by an A/V or home theatre professional. Cost? About $2500 for a basic
system with grayscale touchpanel. Nope, this is not your father's remote control…but
I bet he would dig it!
