RE: New Installations Trade

["Paul Gordon" <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Responses in-line...
=20
Paul G.
=20
________________________________

From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx on behalf of Neil Fuller
Sent: Thu 19/01/2006 20:37
To: UKHA_D Group
Subject: Re: [ukha_d] New Installations Trade



Paul

>The reason that there's no one prepared to do what you/we want for say
>=A35k is that sticking all the disparate "cheap" bits of kit
together=20
>takes a considerable amount of skill, knowledge and  development time.


Ah, well that is precisely the bit that I am suggesting be cut out, - by
ju=
dicious component selection something of a halfway house can be reached
bet=
ween a fully bespoke design and a single-vendor off the shelf solution. -
B=
y selecting, and specifiying the same components each time, the skill,
know=
ledge & development time only has to be done once (Ok, as time moves
on, ne=
w kit comes along, and older kit is discontinued there will be a
continuous=
cycle of refreshing this component base, but the important distinction is =
that we are talking about a LONG way short of having to support every
singl=
e bit of kit available). This is where I see the main difference between
th=
e two polarised ends of the HA install market today, - the CEDIA space
*has=
* to support pretty much anything and everything that is available, - a
cus=
tomer might very well insist that he wants THIS AND ONLY THIS model of
soun=
d processor for example, and the CEDIA boys have to try to accommodate
this=
requirement, and invest that development time to support it and integrate =
it into the overall solution. At the DIY end, pretty much the opposite is
t=
rue, there are vendors who offer one-make solutions, but no single-vendor
o=
ffering  that's available today covers every aspect of producing a
holistic=
solution such as provided by the CEDIA installers... - for example, SONOS =
make a very nice audio distribution system, but it doesn't integrate with
l=
ighting/telephony/Security systems for example, and no installers to my
kno=
wledge are offering this outside of the CEDIA space... unfortunately,
stepp=
ing through the CEDIA front door pretty much means leaving your wallet on
t=
he hall table...


>Why on earth would those capabable of such feats want to earn =A3200 a
day
>(say) when they can earn =A31,000 a day!?

Because the market of customers willing to PAY =A3200 a day is potentialy
h=
ugely bigger than the market of customers happy to pay =A31000 a day. -
How=
many members are there in this group? - 1100? 1500? - how many of US have =
ever actually paid (or seriously considered paying) for a full-blown CEDIA
=
install? - I don't know the answer, but I'd bet a fiver that the answer is
=
less than 10.... Now, how many of US do we imagine would be happy to pay
so=
mewhere around the =A35,000 mark for an all-encompassing system comprising
=
heating/lighting/security/AV, all preselected to work together and with a
c=
onsistent control interface? - granted it might not use tier-1 components
(=
no Meridian CD players for example!) - but the components would be
"good en=
ough" for the majority, granted it might not be customisable to the
Nth deg=
ree like a CEDIA system might be, but 99% of most peoples requirements
coul=
d be met and so on....=20

It's a bit like "Ready Steady Cook"... - if you've got a bag of
ingredients=
that contains prawns, Chilli peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and rice, - then=
no matter how much you pays yer celebrity chef, you can't make a sponge ca=
ke!!! - If what you want is a sponge cake, then you have to accept that
the=
celebrity chef might not be able to use the ingredients that you've alread=
y got in your bag, and might tell you that you have to go out and buy
parti=
cular ingredients from a very specific list, and when you've got them,
he'l=
l come along and bake your cake for you... alternatively, he might offer
to=
bring the right ingredients with him, for cost plus a small mark-up of cou=
rse... :-)



>The day that HA comes to the masses will be when Micro$haft, Panasonic,
>Whirlpool, Bosch etal colaborate on a common protocol that, allows
>everything from the freezer to the 100" plasma to talk
intelligently to
>each other, without requiring a masters in abstract programming to get
>the whole bloomin lot working!

Do the "masses" actually need such an all-encompassing
tightly-integrated s=
olution though? I suspect that many people would be more than happy with
at=
least a degree of integration that provides enough added convenience/secur=
ity etc... - I think we would probably all see the actual benefit in
having=
features like on-screen Caller-ID, with photos of the caller popping up, w=
hich also causes the AV system to mute the audio, and also switches off
the=
hoover if its running so that you don't miss a phone call (unless you've s=
et a "do not disturb" or "I'm watching a movie" mode,
when it should be sma=
rt enough to divert to answerphone instead...), but do most people
*really*=
consider integrating their white goods that important? - personally, I don=
't think I need to have a pop-up panel on my TV to tell me the washing
mach=
ine has finished it's spin cycle! - now, a popup that tells me that water
i=
s leaking out of the bottom of it and flooding my kitchen is another
matter=
entirely!



>Me, frustrated about the lack of interconnectivity and the hassle and
>time it takes just to something simple to work - No, never!!


You and me both mate!


>Just my 2p's worth!


I think I've probably spent about 50p so far!


=20



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