In contrast to Crestron's hardware focus, Savant's core is its software, running on the Apple-based processor. Smith's view is that the greater speed and processing power gives him a lot more options, with not only graphic capabilities, but moving forward, as the custom channel is required to handle more and more interactive streaming media.

Additionally, as a programmer, Smith points out that Savant's programming interface cuts down, not only on initial programming, but later changes. Using the classing example of adding a DVD-player after the fact, he notes that recently in a client's house, they made exactly such a switch, and the Rosie controller automatically reconfigured all the touchpanels in the home to access the new device. With Crestron, Smith would have had to reconfigure them himself; not an onerous chore with cutting and pasting, but still more work than that.

Another keen difference is that Savant is not only a start-up, but an upstart, and the firm's personnel understands that. Just like car rental company Avis' slogan in the ‘60s was "We're #2, so we try harder," Savant appears prepared to go to great lengths to sign up new dealers and keep them happy.

The previous statement is in no way intended to reflect negatively on Crestron. In my own experience with their support, I've received prompt and in-depth aid from help-desk people, and also from Crestron's own engineers and programmers. Smith has had similar experiences.

However, he asserts that Savant's responsiveness to dealer's needs in the field is at a whole other level. "I have never had this level of support from any other vendor," he tells me. "Their openness and willingness to work out solutions to our issues is appreciated."

He qualifies his statement by pointing out that right now, Savant is still small and hungry. "I don't know if they'll be able to stay this way five years from now as they keep growing, but right now it's a big plus for them."

That's a level of flexibility that Crestron can't keep up with. It's just as a factor of its size, and the breadth of its product lineup. There's a lot of work on the back end, bringing a new SKU to the market.

I've often joked that when Crestron announces that a new box will ship in March, they really mean October, and not necessarily the same year! Of course, I would also argue that this actually a check in Crestron's favour: when they do release a new piece of hardware, it's been so thoroughly tested that integrators can count on it working right, more often than not.

In closing, as competing brands, both Crestron and Savant have something to offer the integrator. When asked about target clients, Smith maintained that they're the same for both brands. Both offer solutions for projects that go from the midrange all the way to the high end. He say he's installing Savant systems in the same kind of environments that he previously did Crestron systems.

We weren't looking to crown a winner in this week's column, nor to endorse one over the other; just to take a step beyond the marketing thunder, and talk about the pros and cons from an integrator's perspective.

If anything, the coming year is primed to be full of excitement in the automation category, and we look forward to seeing what both brands do for the custom channel as we go forward.

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