I've done home automation for years - Crestron, RTI...etc.. I used to laugh at people who used IR repeaters. Now, near the end of my career, I rarely do any kind of automation and don't do much IR repeating either. It's simply Sonos speaker bars/Amps for TV sound using HDMI ARC and stock bluetooth remotes supplied by the TV company, if the customer even uses one. I will do RTI for bar systems and ProControl for theatres with surround receivers. I seem to be doing more with just stock TV remotes and HDMI ARC implemented for volume and power control.

Honestly, I have a feeling there are still some old school guys out there still doing a lot of URC controllers and multi-room amps the same way they've been doing it for years. Or maybe there are newer guys drinking cool Aid fed to them by automation companies. Many are in denial that the Googles, Apples and Sonos are making better products with solutions that approach problems in more clever, efficient ways. If you are installing custom home automation, it's you against the most talented engineers at these giant companies and you have to ask yourself if you are adding value to people's' lives or adding more to their frustration with technology.

I'm getting old and I don't care about fancy solutions any more that do more to create problems than solve them. I am in and out of jobs with Sonos and TV installations. Making more money than ever. Leave thermostats and light switches for Home Depot. It's just the way it is now