Hmmm...I think the point of my comments were a little lost. I was not trying to evaluate the overall value/benefit of SystemBuilder as compared to Simpl, but expressing the desire to have help in dealing with this beast as-is.

Again, no one denies the fact that learning Simpl would be the most advantageous. However,...as a Prodigy dealer who has access to it only through distribution, Simpl training is not even opened up to us!! Crestron has not allowed it...yet. So, in reality, the learning process of having to pick up Simpl programming on our own or simply through yahoo forum groups and other threads - without the benefit of Crestron training - is not a time-saving practice. For those Prodigy-only dealers who are direct with Crestron, I would agree that the best course of action would probably be to investigate if Simpl training is opened to them. But from my understanding, they're in the same boat as us distribution guys.

This only leaves the other "Simpl" option of hiring a programmer for every Prodigy job that's sold. To do this for every project that the Prodigy line has been targeted to [modest system, modest budget] - again, is not practical. Very easy to say, but for any business owner, project manager, salesperson, etc. who has ever had to run the numbers and examine profit margins on small projects, it just does not always work. You will price yourself out of so many small jobs. All of us who have experience selling Crestron projects know exactly how large of a percentage Crestron programming factors into the cost of a project. Large project? The cost is easy to explain. Small project? Not always easy. C'mon, it's the very reason why many of the CI firms carry secondary automation systems - so as not to be priced out on the SMALL job.

When you are offering a modest Prodigy system - staying in the "sandbox" as some here like to phrase it - and you're several thousand dollars more on a proposal over an exact system programmed with URC or RTI [again this is for a modest system that Prodigy is marketed for], are we truly offering any extra value to the client by having it programmed in Simpl? Will the client notice the difference on a small, typical one-room theatre system, even on a simple D/A system? Will his Samsung bluray player play any faster because the IR code was sent via Simpl programming instead of URC? Will his Panasonic 3D set offer better 3D capabilities because it's got Simpl as its backbone and not RTI programming? No. The client will not see the difference nor know the difference.

Is there some value for the dealer? Perhaps. Do I hate the fact that my code may be broken by a SystemBuilder update made 2,3,4 years from now? Absolutely. Do I intend on still being a Prodigy-only/SystemBuilder dealer 2,3,4 years from now? Absolutely not. God willing that my current biz continues to climb, I'll have that full-time Simpl programmer on-staff by then. I will have extra means to deal with these issues - if it arises. And I'm sure that a lot of other Prodigy dealers feel the same way. It's a stepping stone. However, I have to deal with the stone as it exists right now.

Trust me, I'm not trying to p**s off the CAIP guys out there. I've hired many in the past for our mid to high-end projects. AND I WOULD HAVE IT NO OTHER WAY. However, again...I'm trying to address the market for which Prodigy has been directly marketed to. I'm trying to address the issue that Crestron has purposefully opened it up to dealers on the distribution level who they would like to see replace their RTI & URC projects with Prodigy projects. I'm talking about projects that live within the "sandbox" of RTI and URC programming. If you look at that simple RTI project proposal and now replace it with Prodigy + Simpl programming, chances are you've priced yourself out of the running. Will you still be able to win a few? Of course. But who wouldn't prefer to stack the odds in his favor the majority of the time?

So, I must deal with SystemBuilder for now. I'm not overly fond of it. To be honest, I don't really think much about it. [Definitely not bragging to anyone that I'm using it.] But for many of us guys who need to keep profit margins up on smaller projects and have a plan for taking on more with Crestron, we're forced to use it. It sure would be nice to have a place to go to where dealers/programmers could help each other through the transistion period.