Home Theaters

All home theaters will require at two sets of components, a display (TV, projector)   and the video/audio equipments (DVD player, VCR, Cable Box, Satellite receiver, Amplifier).

Depending on the complexity of your system, you can put few components on shelf build below/next to your TV or if you have many components, you'll most likely have to use equipment racks. Two examples of equipment racks are shown below.

While the choice of TV, projector and any supporting components can be left up to the client, its important to understand that in order to provide a truly integrated system, some components may not be compatible with the automation part of the system.
Lets talk about what we're trying to accomplish when we're talking about integrated home theater system.

You want the ability to:

Watch the movie on DVD.
    Watch the news on channel 7.
        Listen to your favorite music.

                                        That's all.

                                                All you should have to do is to press a button that says DVD and you should be able to watch the DVD.

We're all familiar with the 12:00 syndrome on the VCR. We either never figured out how to program the time, or if we did, it worked until the next time power went out. When power came back on, the 12:00 was displaying again, and the manual was nowhere to be found, and so we lived with the blinking 12:00.

There are really four approaches to home theater integration/automation.

1. Ask your kids to do it for you. Kids are good at this sort of thing and they can figure all those little buttons and the multiple remotes.
       Better hope that they're home next time you want to watch that Thursday night special.
2. Find the handful of remotes (about 4 or 6 should do), and start pressing buttons. Eventually, we should have most things about right, at least the picture is on and sound is kind of right.
   And here is what you had to do just to get the movie to play:

• Turn TV on
• Select proper input on TV (channel 3, or Satellite input)
• Turn on Amplifier
• Select the source
• Turn on the Satellite receiver
• Select proper channel
• Turn the volume on the amplifier to proper level
• Close the shades
• Dim the lights

3. Here is the third approach:

• Buy one of those universal remote controls and pray that it will work with most components, I have yet to see one remote work with all components.
   
• If you're technically savvy, and I mean almost bordering a computer geek levels, you might go to Best Buy and purchase one of those learning/universal remotes with macros or routines capabilities.
  • Spend two or three weeks trying to program routines into the remote and if you're successful, when you press one button,
    • the TV turns on
    • amplifier turns on and goes to proper source
    • and the DVD turns on and starts playing the movie.
  • But what happens when you want to switch from the DVD to Satellite?
  • Well, you might have another routine called Satellite, and that's great, except what happens when your TV is already on and you run your routine?
    • You guessed it, now you TV is off and probably your amplifier.
    • The good news is that the satellite turned on, maybe.
    • Ok, no problem, you can fix that.
    • You press the Satellite routine on your remote again, and TV turns on and the amplifier comes back to life, but now the satellite that was on, just shut off.
       
• Folks, believe me, I've used remotes like that and while they worked for some applications, they didn't work for most. There were always functions that didn't come with universal remote, and some things just didn't work as they were suppose to. My friends and family never really knew how to use those things and most reverted to hunting for separate remotes and trying to do with 5 remotes what should have taken one.

4. This brings us to last and really the best approach. A fully integrated system that works and communicates with each components
   With ONE remote you'll have all the functionality, designed specifically for your system and custom programmed functions to meet your needs.

• Watching the movie is a simple press of a button
• Components are going to work with each other, not just be by each other
• Switching from DVD to Satellite just happens
• Drapes shut down automatically
• Lights dim
• Movie pauses when phone rings (because you can't hear it when your system is on)

Let me show you how automation can simplify the complex tasks of doing everything we just discussed here.

The only other option is to go back to just using TV and only TV, but with satellite receivers and cable boxes, even that might not be as simple as it used to; but it should, and it can.

Home                Gallery                Contact us                Privacy