High Definition Television
Industry analysts predict that 2008 will be the biggest year yet for Flat Panel HDTV sales and integration. This means more families will have High Definition Televisions in their homes than ever before. High Definition is a digital broadcast signal that displays 1080 lines of resolution in a 16:9 geometric ratio (a wide screen). This source is transmitted through local off air reception, DSS, and cable. All the major broadcast companies as well as many of the independent stations are already broadcasting an HD signal.
Homes have to be wired differently to accommodate this technology especially for flat panel TV’s. More coax lines need to be dropped into the homerun location as well as multiple drops of both Coax and Data wire to the TV locations. It is important to have someone familiar with the current technology as well as what the future trends may be to properly wire the home. Sound Idea has the experience necessary to do that job.
Structured Wiring/Smart Panels
Simply stated structured wiring is pre-bundled wire usually consisting of 2 coax cables, 2 phone cables, and a control/data wire. The cost runs from 3 dollars a foot and goes up from there if additional wire is added. There are advantages and disadvantages to structured wiring. The main advantage is saving time. Since the wire is pre-bundled it can be installed faster. One major disadvantage to structured wiring is the lack of customization. If the customer wants structured wiring then it has to be bundled according to the most complicated room in the house. The same bundle of wire has to be run to every room in the house, resulting in the guest bedroom being wired for 2 coax, 2 phone, data, and speaker wire when all that was needed was phone and coax. This leads to a second disadvantage cost effectiveness. The customer ends up paying for material that is not needed and will never be used. Time is wasted as well. The installer often has to separate the wires to place the runs in the right place.
At Sound Ideas, we have learned through experience that the best way to wire a home is to custom design the structured wiring according to the customer’s needs. If the structured wiring is designed for the customer’s home and system it not only saves the customer on material costs but also saves on installation labor. Custom structured wiring is the most cost-effective way to wire a home.
The same principle can be applied to Smart Panels. A Smart Panel is a box that fits in between the studs in a wall and holds the home runs for audio, video, network and phone. There are pre-made panels from various manufacturers. These are designed for generic homes and more often than not have more features and product that the homeowner needs. This not only wastes the homeowner’s money but also the installer’s time because they have to sort through the extra connections. Customizing the panel is the best way to capitalize both time and money for the homeowner.
Home Theater
Home Theater is the buzzword of the new millennium, but what exactly is a home theater? Years ago a home theater was a TV with the VCR’s audio run to the stereo receiver. Today, a home theater in its simplest form consists of a TV, Surround Receiver, a DVD player, and 6 speakers (front left and right, center, rear left and right, and the subwoofer – also known as 5.1 surround sound). There are many questions that need to be asked in determining how to correctly wire the home for a theater system. Where will the speakers go? Where will the subwoofer go? What type of TV do you have? What about room for upgrading the TV in the future? What video and audio sources do you have, and many more questions like that. As you move to more complicated and higher end systems there are other issues such as lighting control, shades, multi-zone, cameras, video sources, audio sources, acoustic wall treatments, seating, systems integration and HDTV. There is much more that can be done to create a true home theater other than just running a couple of wires to the rear of the room to be used as rear surround speakers.
Sound Idea can help create a Home Theater for the homeowner that not only suits their presents needs but also looks ahead and provides for the future technology and upgrades as well.
Lighting Control
Being able to control the lights from any room in the house or from centrally located keypads is a rising trend among new home construction. Lighting control has moved well past dimming the light fixtures in the living room. Now the home owner can have control over a single zone of lighting whether it is a lamp or a bank of recessed lighting to a room with multiple zones lighting to a whole home of lighting. With a lighting control system there are less wires to run fewer holes to drill, and the finished look is incredible. Lighting control can reduce a wall bank of 8 switches and dimmers to a single plate. The aesthetics, convenience and security of being able to turn on any lights in the house from the master bed room or even as you are driving up to the home far out weighs the cost of such as system.
Sound Idea can help with designing and installing a lighting control system. We can do single room control all the way to whole home control.
Systems Integration and Control
The hottest trend for 2007 is making all the different systems in the home communicate to each other and to easily control them. Imagine being able to walk into the home and with a touch of a button light a pathway from the kitchen to the master bedroom. From the same keypad you can turn on the house stereo system tuning into your favorite radio station. The house is a little cool; you can raise the thermostat from the keypad. Check the security cameras from any TV in the house to see if there was any activity for the day. If time is in short supply all of that can be done through an Internet connection at your office.
Not every homeowner will want something that elaborate but rest assured they will want some basic features such as one remote for their home theater instead of 6 or being able to turn on their outside lights from the master bedroom from their TV remote control. There are various levels in which a few systems can be made to work together to all of them. Sound Idea has the experience to integrate almost any system in the home. |
