is dei the best

Viper/clifford etc are basically all the same. The remotes feel cheap to me and they do not have some vital outputs that other brands like Audiovox/Pursuit have. The most important being Pulse after start. Once you install an audiovox unit you forget all about DEI viper etc. The programming isnt terrible and doesnt require a programmer and access to the brain under dash to change simple things. All of the new units feature the program button on the antenna so no dissassembly is required.

And I've had the exact opposite experience with Dei vs Audiovox, but this is how this "question" is always answered. You'll never get an unbiased answer. Dei is not the best, but one of the top contenders. They have saturated the market with multiple brands, and as far as sells, they me be tops, but there are other brands as good, if not better than them. I can tell you what I have in my own truck, and it's a Compustar. It is also what the company I work for carries now,  I got tired of DOA units from other brands. I'm not saying they don't have any, I just haven't seen one yet. The install takes a little to get used to...but other than that, they are rock solid.

No...no...no, I wasn't implying anything towards you. Everybody has their brand that they like, and to answer the question "what is the best" is impossible. Just to be clear, I have no problem with DEI. I cut my teeth on DEI product. I just prefer not to use them now. I do like the Autostart stuff though. Used to do a bunch of those, and very rarely had a failure.