I don't see channel up and channel down buttons.....am I missing something?

Nope, you're not missing anything. We reviewed the button set closely with dealers who determined that for a keypad, channel up and down are generally not that useful. They noted that few people would walk up to the wall and either channel surf or sequentially channel seek to get to a specific channel. For a keypad, it makes more sense to program a set of favorites. Most of the time, keypads are not used for watching TV, because that's something you'd typically sit down and get comfortable to do. Then further, as a wall pad, we didn't want to clutter the button set with buttons that are generally only used for TV watching.

So yes, while the KP-900 is detachable and can be used as a remote, it is at its core a wall pad, so its feature set is designed around walk-up use, not sit-down use.

Best regards,
Dale

to make this thing a home run!!


make an optional wall docking station that has a built-in RF antenna and which also can recharge the batteries (all hardwired of course) you should be able to do that with a single cat-5....

some would love the "no-new-wires cradle", some would love the "always-powered-up" cradle

Brent:

Yes, we looked into that as well, but ultimately decided to focus on the retrofit market for this product. Of course, the battery life of the KP-900 is quite long (I've had mine on the wall in dauily use for two months and it's showing no signs of slowing down). So even in new installation, there's still a huge market for it due simply to the ease of installation. The feature set of the KP-900 is complete now, but as it gets into installer's hands and they start getting lots of real world experience with it, we'll of course be looking at that feedback as we move into the design of future keypads.

Best regards,
Dale

Don't get me wrong , the KP-900 looks like an awsome unit and a real retro magic peice.

I just can't see clients not using channel up and channel down.... not just for TV. What about ch up and down for AM-FM and XM radio stations? People use these all the time on the RTI's keypads we put in.

Brent:

I totally understand your reasoning. We designed the button set of the KP-900 going through constant interaction with a group of key dealers. Although of course the channel functions are worthwhile, most of the dealers indicated that channel macros, plus the ability to directly control the Guide, more than made up for the lack of channel buttons. I agree with their thinking: what's easier, standing at a keypad and pressing CH+ 388 times to get through the DirecTV channels to the one you want, or to press the Page button once and then press the "EPSN2" button?

Don't get me wrong: I understand that some clients are still going to be the "388 presses" variety. But the large majority of dealers greatly preferred this configuration, considering that they can still program CH- and CH+ on the LCD screen.

And no doubt, the market will let us know whether this is the right choice. So I appreciate you taking the time to indicate your preference. As the product makes its way into the market, we will pay close attention to the needs of installers as we look forward to future designs.

Best regards,
Dale

a nice feature on the b&k pads is that little green status light in the bottom left corner that lets the user know amp condition. a little status feedback is better than nothing!
i-pod data?
music server data?
come on urc, give us something!

The KP-900 is a one-way keypad, built on the MX-900 platform. As for future products, of course I can't say. :)

Best regards,
Dale

Dale-

So it will cross software platforms with the MX900???

If you're asking if KP-Editor can read MX-900 files, yes, it can. We wanted to help make it easy for installers to leverage all the experience they have programming the MX-900 when they start adding KP-900's to their jobs. Depending on the original programming, many MX-900 files can operate on the KP-900 without modification.

Best regards,
Dale

Question to all as we await the release of the KP-900:

What percentage of the time do you anticipate using the KP-900 in black?

Personally, I'd probably use one less than 10% of the time.

Mike

We expected a low percentage of KP-900 sales to be in black. However, in the installs where you NEED black, any other color would look absurd. We expect that it will sell less than the other colors, but we want to make sure than installers have the option when they need it.

Best regards,
Dale

I understand offering the option, just wondering what others thought about it and where they might use it.

I could see it in a blacked-out theater room, but a keypad is typically not of much value in such a room.

I find my black keypad looks really nice in my kitchen, since all my appliances are stainless steel on black (a style that's very popular here in the southern USA, but as I understand it, not as popular elsewhere).

You stated that there might be 8 variables on the kp-900, does that mean that the mx-900 will be getting 8 variables?

BTW, if this takes off, I think a kp verion of the tx-1000 or mx-3000 would be really cool. A few hard buttons and a touch screen. That would allow direct key pad entry of channels, matrix router control, etc