Crestron & Apple partnering for HomeKit & Apple TV integrations

Posted:
in General Discussion edited August 2019
Crestron's popular TSR-310 touch screen home automation remote is getting full Siri, HomeKit, and Apple TV support in a firmware update.




Crestron made the announcement on Monday morning. The update process is multi-fold, with device databases and a firmware update to the remote itself.

Following the update procedure, users of the TSR-310 will be able to control either one Apple TV or multiple linked by device name, connect to HomeKit, and route voice to the currently selected Apple TV.

Beyond the firmware update to the remote, support is coming soon to Crestron Home as well. Crestron promises that benefits from the Apple and Crestron partnership will arrive with the OS 3 update to the system.

The Crestron TSR-310 system is not an inexpensive one. Crestron relies on a dealer and installer network for sales, with pricing variable on what the customer needs in total.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    This will likely be a big deal at the upcoming CEDIA expo and will go a long way to cementing Home Kit as the go-to solution among custom installation specialists and their customers.
    cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 9
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Those 1 percenters really gonna love their Crestron systems 
    gatorguycornchip
  • Reply 3 of 9
    Still hoping for Control4 to add Siri and HomeKit support. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 9
    gutengelgutengel Posts: 363member
    I have a couple family members with Crestron System on their places and it's trash, the Ui is confusing and the remotes and screens look and feel cheap. To be fair, they don't have the latest and greatest, but every time they have any issue, some IT person has to come to fix it. Obviously the company want to play nice with HomeKit so their system appears updated and capable. However, I really hope Apple start making the Home Kit ecosystem more capable so companies like Crestron really work hard so you can justify purchasing their system or just get crushed.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    Looks like un-Apple crap.

    Apple needs to improve Home and Apple TV integration.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member
    gutengel said:
    I have a couple family members with Crestron System on their places and it's trash, the Ui is confusing and the remotes and screens look and feel cheap. To be fair, they don't have the latest and greatest, but every time they have any issue, some IT person has to come to fix it. Obviously the company want to play nice with HomeKit so their system appears updated and capable. However, I really hope Apple start making the Home Kit ecosystem more capable so companies like Crestron really work hard so you can justify purchasing their system or just get crushed.
    In what ways would you like HK more capable? What use cases are missing from HK APIs?
    cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 9
    gutengel said:
    I have a couple family members with Crestron System on their places and it's trash, the Ui is confusing and the remotes and screens look and feel cheap. To be fair, they don't have the latest and greatest, but every time they have any issue, some IT person has to come to fix it. Obviously the company want to play nice with HomeKit so their system appears updated and capable. However, I really hope Apple start making the Home Kit ecosystem more capable so companies like Crestron really work hard so you can justify purchasing their system or just get crushed.
    If they have Crestron touchscreens, it is usually up to the Crestron programmer to lay out the UI. Some programmers, while very smart technically, just don't have an eye for graphic arts and visual layout. I have seen many confusing GUI that are crowded with inconsistent layouts (such as varying font and button size/positions) from page to page. There are templates out there, but even some of them are too busy IMO. Sometimes programmers find it difficult to think like regular people when it comes to task flow, but to be fair, they can be led astray by their clients, and get stuck between trying to make them happy and what works best.

    The fact that Crestron programming requires many hours of specialized training does make it difficult if not impossible for the end user to make adjustments or fixes. This is not lost on Crestron. They are trying to create some easier to program systems (not sure how successful they will be here), but I think they see the writing on the wall that Homekit may make some of their product lines irrelevant. Overall, I think it is smart of them to embrace Homekit and see where it takes them. Keep in mind that even with an easy to program system like Homekit, the more capable it gets, the more complex it can be. Complex home automation is still...complex, and can often involve higher level logic and decision making than what many people are interested in doing for themselves. I think future AI tools and techniques will help here, but at some point, an expert human may still need to be brought in.
    n2itivguywatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 9
    gutengelgutengel Posts: 363member
    gutengel said:
    I have a couple family members with Crestron System on their places and it's trash, the Ui is confusing and the remotes and screens look and feel cheap. To be fair, they don't have the latest and greatest, but every time they have any issue, some IT person has to come to fix it. Obviously the company want to play nice with HomeKit so their system appears updated and capable. However, I really hope Apple start making the Home Kit ecosystem more capable so companies like Crestron really work hard so you can justify purchasing their system or just get crushed.
    In what ways would you like HK more capable? What use cases are missing from HK APIs?
    The powerful aspect about Crestron, as far as I underhand, (I'm not super knowledgeable about their protocols or APIs) is that is agnostic and you can connect almost anything as far as it has some communication interface like infrared, bluetooth, wifi, zigbee, etc, etc. Even if you have a proprietary system or old hardware, you can usually build around it so you can control anything and everything from one place. Whatever you want to connect to HomeKit has to come ready from the factory, obviously is a much more reliable and intuitive system, but it excludes a lot of possible integration an backwards compatibility. Apple should to finally incorporate Thread for HomeKit on their new Apple TV or Router so it can open a whole new realm of possibilities for the smart home.
    n2itivguywatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 9
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member
    gutengel said:
    gutengel said:
    I have a couple family members with Crestron System on their places and it's trash, the Ui is confusing and the remotes and screens look and feel cheap. To be fair, they don't have the latest and greatest, but every time they have any issue, some IT person has to come to fix it. Obviously the company want to play nice with HomeKit so their system appears updated and capable. However, I really hope Apple start making the Home Kit ecosystem more capable so companies like Crestron really work hard so you can justify purchasing their system or just get crushed.
    In what ways would you like HK more capable? What use cases are missing from HK APIs?
    The powerful aspect about Crestron, as far as I underhand, (I'm not super knowledgeable about their protocols or APIs) is that is agnostic and you can connect almost anything as far as it has some communication interface like infrared, bluetooth, wifi, zigbee, etc, etc. Even if you have a proprietary system or old hardware, you can usually build around it so you can control anything and everything from one place. Whatever you want to connect to HomeKit has to come ready from the factory, obviously is a much more reliable and intuitive system, but it excludes a lot of possible integration an backwards compatibility. Apple should to finally incorporate Thread for HomeKit on their new Apple TV or Router so it can open a whole new realm of possibilities for the smart home.
    My understanding is the requirements for HK devices are based on encryption capabilities for security. I’m completely OK with that, considering that articles have shown how many IoT device makers regard security as an afterthought with minimal or no measures taken. No thanks. Secure or go home. 
    edited August 2019 watto_cobra
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