Weighing my options

[jonkyo]

So I have been sizing up all my controller options recently and went to RAP in Orlando this last weekend with that as one of my primary goals as two of the big ones were (supposedly) there. The Neptune booth was massive and I have to say it was something to see it all in person and be able to get a demo of the new Apex Fusion service. However, when I went over to the GHL booth, there was nothing. They were selling a bunch of clownfish (weird) and there wasn't even a controller on display. I don't know what they were doing there. The only gear I saw was this little light hanging on strings on some rickety rack. I think this sealed the deal for me.

Here is a pic from the show of the GHL booth and another from the Neptune booth.

 

[BigAl2007]

Even though that "little light" looks insignificant it's a Top Contender for the best LED light fixture on the market. That small unit packs a LOT of punch and power.

With that being said it really sucks their booth was dismal. Maybe they didn't have it completely set up when you came through? I have no idea but I know firsthand the ProfiLux is a workhorse of a controller. I've been using mine for 7 years now and I bought it 2nd hand at that time.

Don't judge the controller by the booth... you might be surprised in the long run.

 

[BigAl2007]

Just to add .... that booth was a local dealer and not a GHL booth so in reality there could have been almost anything within that booth GHL or otherwise. All of the GHL booths I've seen are pretty impressive to say the least.

 

[AQD_ottawa]

Just to step in here.

Allen is right, typically GHL will focus on one show a year that being Macna, as RAP was right on the toes of Macna 2013 in Florida it is hard to justify a huge show for many people that would have seen us only a few months prior.

That being said Macna this year will be even more impressive than Macna last year, we are already building the booth this week in preparation.

GHL spend most their money on development not flash booths in multiple locations, yes many other brands that are USA based do many shows, but does the product hold up to the test of time? Has too much money been spent on marketing and not enough on development?

GHL products are simply the best you dont hear ever about a warranty on a Profilux or Mitras, they simply dont go wrong. The investment has been put into building the end user a cutting edge product instead of huge displays.

In regards to the little Mitras, the Mitras is by far the most technically advanced lamp on the market and has a spread in excess of 36x36. Again not ever a single warranty failure.

Please drop me an email to info@ghlna.com and we can give you as much personal time you need to hear about the product

 

[jonkyo]

Well, that is some good spin for sure. As a consumer looking making this purchasing decision, it doesn't seem to wash with reality I see. If that is the attention to detail that the company allows for their brand, what does that say?

What does it mean to me for support in my product when its a German product brought to the US via Canadian distributor and a US fish store? And, I can certainly see it must have far less cases of issues - hardly anyone has one. This forum itself can go days and even weeks without a single post with people sharing ideas, helping each other, etc. The Neptune forum is buzzing with ideas and help - not nearly as much on any GHL forum I have read. Where are the users?

I am sure that the Profilux hardware itself is a quality product in many aspects, but this was a major event and that booth (and the answers I did not get because no one was there) did not give me much confidence in the GHL brand.

 

[BigAl2007]

It sounds like you're on a witch hunt to be honest. You've either not done your homework or you have an ulterior motive to your posting here. It's obvious you aren't as you stated "weighing your options".

When something smells fishy it usually is.

 

[AQD_ottawa]

I have to agree with Allen to be honest, why continue here when we have been dutiful to give you full access to speak with us directly?

RAP was actually a small event on for one and half days, not even Ecotech were there and not a single other European electrical brand.

What does it mean to me for support in my product when its a German product brought to the US via Canadian distributor and a US fish store? And, I can certainly see it must have far less cases of issues - hardly anyone has one. This forum itself can go days and even weeks without a single post with people sharing ideas, helping each other, etc. The Neptune forum is buzzing with ideas and help - not nearly as much on any GHL forum I have read. Where are the users?

Firstly the GHL is distributed out of Ogdensburg New York USA NOT Canada and for support you are looking in the wrong place, GHL has its own support forum that is widely known about, Reefcentral is purely for marketing. The Fish store was our local vendor who wanted to show off the Mitras.

click here www.profiluxsupport.com

This was Macna 2013

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2328388&highlight=macna

 

[jonkyo]

Well I was weighing my options. It sounds pretty defensive here. I am not interested in getting into what is a big event or a small event. How hard would it have been to use some of that space to have the Profilux running?

Also, I thought Aqua-Digital was the distributor? Aren't they a Canadian company out of Ottawa? I could not tell because there was no address on their site, but that is what I thought I saw on the GHL site.

Again, it looks like the Profilux is a decent piece of hardware. Lots of people seem to like it. From reading the forums and such it looks a little more complex to set up and it is definitely more expensive. All of that was going into my buying decision, but ultimately something just doesn't feel right. I think if I were in Germany and spoke German I might feel better about it as I think the support would be better and the number of users greater. The RAP even helped solidify that for me.

No witch hunt here, just made my original post to see what was the deal with that event. Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

[AQD_ottawa]

Also, I thought Aqua-Digital was the distributor? Aren't they a Canadian company out of Ottawa? I could not tell because there was no address on their site, but that is what I thought I saw on the GHL site.

Aqua Digital Own GHL North America, GHL North America control the distribution for all of the Americas, we have 3 warehouses the USA base is in Ogdensburg. The product is supported at both local (USA) and international level.

Im sorry if we read you wrong but posts like these are confusing, we have to get suspicious when people dont communicate such personal issues by normal channels i.e email then phone instead of posting here. You found our website easily enough if you had concerns then contact us directly. It is far easier to help you then for a global company having to publicly justify their marketing choices.

GHL ProfiLux is way to big a topic to cover at a small booth at RAP to be honest and we need to give the product its fullest attention as we did only a few months ago at Macna just down the coast.

I am quite sure a booth not to your liking is not enough to turn you off from a global market leading product with such massive credentials, so please drop us a line I will call you personally and we can go over all your options, including any local dealers that can demonstrate the product to you, I am assuming you are local to Florida so Chris would be more than happy to demo the whole set up in the peace of his own store.

We hope we hear from you directly so you can really see the true benefits of the most reliable controller on the market.

 

[Antipodes]

Well I was weighing my options. It sounds pretty defensive here. I am not interested in getting into what is a big event or a small event. How hard would it have been to use some of that space to have the Profilux running?

Also, I thought Aqua-Digital was the distributor? Aren't they a Canadian company out of Ottawa? I could not tell because there was no address on their site, but that is what I thought I saw on the GHL site.

Again, it looks like the Profilux is a decent piece of hardware. Lots of people seem to like it. From reading the forums and such it looks a little more complex to set up and it is definitely more expensive. All of that was going into my buying decision, but ultimately something just doesn't feel right. I think if I were in Germany and spoke German I might feel better about it as I think the support would be better and the number of users greater. The RAP even helped solidify that for me.

No witch hunt here, just made my original post to see what was the deal with that event. Thanks for the feedback guys.

Hi Jonkyo,
Too be honest not a lot happening here on this forum.
Most things happen over at the at the GHL forum with as you say a few requests for help etc.
I have had my Profilux 3ex for nearly 4 years now. Only issue I had was when I had connection problems that were contra indicating.
Turned out I had a ethernet cable crushed during one of our earthquakes here.
Other than that I fried a PAB power bar when one of my metal halides failed early last year.
I have setup various programming functions on it which are very simple to setup up, but do need to have a good think about Boolean‎ code, but from what I have seen you have to do this on the Apex just to do the simple things which are part of the Profilux setup.
Personally I think the support and availability of spares and options for the Profilux (and Apex) are excellent in the USA.
Where I live we do not have any suppliers of either product and to get spare and other options I have to either try the online shops.(Many do not sell to NZ) or I have to get on a 4 hour flight to Australia and then drive around for half a day to find a shop there that sells the product (again not many stock a full range) at huge cost and a couple of days of my time.
You do have more choice there in that the Apex systems are fully supported there, where I can't use the power bar due to a different voltage requirement.
One of the main reasons I went to the Profilux.

Now I have the profilux, I think I made the right choice.
I note that the Apex is going to a new programing interface which is web based. Not very keen on that and if I was pushed into using that I think I would definitely being selling it if I had one.
About the only thing I can say is the Profilux is more expensive. But I believe for that, you do get a better product and further reliability.

Yes I see quite a few persons complaining about updating the firmware and it failing. I also note a lot of people use Macs and Parallels, when the software is specifically states for PC. I use a PC and have never had a problem. (No serial port on my laptop either).

I am not sure how many profilux have sold in relation to the Apex. But for that I see the complaints on the forums as low in comparison to some of the other forums for hardware and software. (Including the Apex, Lots of complaints lately about the new firmware for the web software).

If you have a particular option you want to compare, let us know and will try to give you a comparison if I have that option on unit.

Yep and I do like to look at the hardware myself prior to purchasing (Especially after researching on the net), I do believe that the shows are important, but with the dealer base in the USA, I think you should be able to find a store that would make available the unit and options you want to look at? (But you guys would know best about that).

About all I can think about at the moment and good luck with which ever system you go with.