forrest@theinnovative.group, Author at Innovative Sight & Sound

forrest@theinnovative.group In Home Automation, Home Theater, Project Spotlight

Home Automation & Home Theater In Rosemary Beach

Smart Home and Surround Sound Installation

This project in Rosemary Beach, FL utilized many of our preferred technologies. It is ideal for showcasing how audio video equipment can be hidden to minimize it’s impact on the decor of the home.

Audio Video Details

Invisible speakers from Stealth Technologies were used throughout the house. These in-wall speakers are installed during the drywall phase of the project to ensure they blend seamlessly with the rest of the wall. They are then painted to become completely invisible.

Artwork was used to hide the TV in the living room home theater system. When not in use it is completely hidden behind a painting. A Sonos wireless Sound Bar mounted below the TV provides high quality audio and takes up very little space. Sources include Apple TV, HD Cable, and online music sources such as Pandora and Rhapsody.

This same setup is utilized throughout the house allowing each TV access to music, HD cable, and movies from sources such as Netflix and Hulu.

Home Automation Details

Control4 home automation products were used throughout this installation. Audio video, lighting control, automated shades, and the climate control system are all seamlessly integrated into touch screen controls.

Lighting keypads were used throughout the house to cut down on the amount of wall clutter. All the lights in each room can be turned on or off using one button press. These same keypads also control automated shades and blinds allowing the homeowner quick and efficient control over lighting levels and privacy.

This lighting system also allows the entire home to be turned on or off with the press of a single button.

All of the climate zones of the house can monitored and set from any of the touch screens or smart phone devices. This allows the homeowners to turn the AC on or off from inside or outside of the house. This is ideal in a vacation home as you can make sure the house is cooled before you or your guests arrive. It also allows you to turn the system off remotely in case this wasn’t done before leaving.

forrest@theinnovative.group In Project Spotlight

Home Automation & Audio Video System in Alys Beach

Home Automation & Custom Home Theater System

This audio video and automation project in Alys Beach was based on a Control4 system. Everything from the lighting, climate, audio video, and security system can be controlled from iPads located throughout the house.

Home Theater & Audio Video

The architecture of Alys Beach can make projects in this neighborhood very challenging. The clean lines and fine finishes leave little room for error. As much as possible TVs are hidden from view using alcoves and pop up lifts. The master bedroom is a perfect example of how electronics can be completely hidden from view until you’re ready to use them. Then with the press of a button the TV pops up from a custom furniture piece at the end of the bed.

In ceiling speakers were utilized throughout much of this house. To help them disappear into their surroundings they are painted to match the color of the ceiling. While the home doesn’t contain a dedicated home theater room, it does have a high performance surround sound system.

Music is supplied through a Sonos system that allows streaming of online content, as well as utilizing your existing music collection. All of this functionality is controlled through the Control4 app on iPads.

Whenever possible we try to limit the visible electronic components. For this particular project all of the video and audio sources are stored in a central location. This minimizes the overall footprint of the electronics in each room. A whole house audio video distribution system routes the audio and video to the appropriate room and display.

Smart Home Automation and Control

Simple control is the name of the game. All of our automation systems are designed to be as simple as possible to operate. This system allows you to quickly select from a wide variety of audio and video options in each room.

The tablets also offer control of the all of the climate zones in the house as well as the lighting system and security cameras. Lighting can also be controlled from keypads located in each room. A lighting system is a great way to cut down on wall clutter in homes that are designed with clean lines in mind. You won’t find any banks of light switches here. Just one keypad that turns all the lights in the room on and off.

In this particular case the lighting system was also used to highlight various architectural details of the home.

forrest@theinnovative.group In Audio / Video, Speakers

Powerful Whole House Audio From Sonos

Over the past 10 years one name has become synonymous with house audio. Sonos was one of the pioneers of wireless speaker technology. Utilizing the same basic principles as those used in wireless home networks, they created a system of speakers, amplifiers, and pre-amps that communicate without cords.

Sonos Wireless Home Theater

Since those early days they have branched out into even more products. Now you can create an entire surround sound system in your living room or home theater without running any speaker wire. Instead of a traditional left, right, and center speaker configuration the Sonos theater system is based upon their PLAYBAR.

The Sonos PLAYBAR is an internally amplified speaker that handles all three front channels of a traditional surround sound system. You simply hook up a optical cable from your TV into the back of the speaker. The only other wire that is required is the power cable.

For the surround speakers you can utilize any of the other wireless speakers in Sonos’ line. The Play:1 is a perfect choice as it is small but still offers excellent sound.

To get the full movie theater experience you’ll also need bass. They’ve got this covered as well. The Sonos SUB offers amazing performance in a compact package. As with all the other speakers in their line the sub is wireless.

Wireless Home Audio

Sonos offers a couple different options when it comes to configuring your whole house audio system. If you already have wiring and speakers throughout your house you can use one of their CONNECT: AMP to power the speakers. Each amplifier is capable of powering two speakers. Here’s a quick look at what it can do

Stream music to your favorite indoor or outdoor speakers.
Lots of power. Built-in amplifier powers large or small speakers.
Rated at 55 W per channel at 8 Ohms.
RCA line-in for connecting a range of playback sources.
Subwoofer line-out.
Utilizes wi-fi, not Bluetooth, so the music never stops – even if you get a phone call.

If you already have amplifiers in place and you just want to be able to stream all of your music through the intuitive Sonos control you can use one of the Sonos CONNECT. It allows you to do the following:

music streaming to the audio equipment you already own.
Offers analog, optical and coaxial digital audio outputs.
Line-in. Plug in any of your favorite music sources.
Will even play an amplified turntable.
Stream CDs and LPs to Sonos speakers in other rooms.
Uses wi-fi, not Bluetooth, so the music never stops – even if you get a phone call.

And of course you can always get one of their amplified speakers allowing you to listen to your favorite music in any room in the house. Home audio doesn’t get any easier than this.

The options include the PLAY:1, PLAY:3, and PLAY:5.

The PLAY:5 offers the ultimate in music performance. It includes:

Fills a large room with pure, brilliant sound.
Deep bass that packs a punch.
Impressive sound whether mounted vertically or horizontally.
Intuitive top panel touch controls.
Plug in any device you desire to the back via the line-in.
Uses wi-fi, not Bluetooth.

So if you’re looking for a way to add music to multiple rooms in your house without the hassle of running wires, take a look at the Sonos system.

forrest@theinnovative.group In Home Automation

Control4’s New EA Series of Automation Processors

Control4 has been a force in the home automation industry for over a decade now. They were one of the first company’s to approach the industry with a view of driving down costs of equipment and installation time. Before their entry into the market many home automation systems were EXTREMELY expensive, highly proprietary, and difficult to program.

10 years later they are continuing to innovate with EA series of processors. These new processors are designed to increase overall system performance with additional processing power. But they include some additional features that we’ll dive into as well.

The Control4 EA Series

Built with substantial processing power to ensure a highly responsive smart home experience that is both scalable and upgradable, the EA series of processors include three different models from which to chose.

>The EA-1

For those just stepping into home automation there is the EA-1 which is designed for single-room control. Included with the EA-1 is the SR-260 remote. This system is designed to automate everything in a typical home theater or family entertainment room.

This processor is the ideal starting point for complete room control. It is capable of handling over 9,500 connected products including sources like Blu-ray players, satellite or cable TV boxes, gaming consoles, TVs and any other product that allows for infrared control.

It also features IP (internet protocol) control for web-enabled devices like Roku, Apple TV, and more. The unit wirelessly communicates with other more common automation equipment such as lights, thermostats, automated locks, and more.

>The EA-3

The EA-3 is a step up from the EA-1 and integrates high-performance audio into it’s structure. This includes three audio outputs for distributing up to three simultaneous audio streams from music sources. One HDMI, one stereo analog, and one digital coax output.

It also features an integrated music server with built in functionality for Pandora, Rhapsody, Tidal, and TuneIn.

This unit is ideally suited for mid-sized systems. It integrates fully with other Control4 home automation products including lighting, HVAC, security and more.

You can see it’s full spec sheet here.

>The EA-5

The EA-5 is the top of the line processor designed for the largest home automation systems allowing for integration and control of hundreds of devices. This includes an advanced must-core processor that provides instantaneous control and feedback of all your smart home devices.

As with the EA-3, it also includes on-board high-resolution audio capabilities using high quality DACs (digital to analog converters). The integrated music server works with Pandora, TIDAL, Deezer, TuneIn, and Rhapsody.

Designed from the ground up to offer the ultimate automation experience, the EA-5 has abundant processing power and can concurrently control hundreds of automated devices. It simultaneously allows for browsing robust music libraries, distributing high-quality audio, and controlling a multitude of devices through even the largest homes.

It can manage sophisticated interior and exterior lighting control, integrate security and communications systems, and control the climate in multiple rooms.

Click here for the EA-5 spec sheet.

Smart Home Controller Cost

The Control4 EA-1 Bundle with Control4 SR-260 remote retails for $600. The EA-3 controller retails for $1000, and the EA-5 comes in at $2000. These prices do not include installation. All three come with the latest Control4 Operating System 2.8.1, and are compatible with Android and iOS mobile devices including the Apple Watch. They are backed by Control4’s standard 2-year warranty.

If you’re looking to step into your first home automation system, Control4 provides lots of options for getting started. And as we’ve highlighted before, they are considered the best home automation system out there.