When we were first approached about this project by the home owner; we thought he was just kicking tires. After meeting the owner and architect while touring the job site, we knew this was not an ordinary home. Located within a wooded lot in Shelby Twp, you first realize the uniqueness of the architecture and interior design upon entering the home. Aside from its first floor elevator and luxurious floor space, most are drawn to the open floor design between the kitchen and the great room, only separated by two salt water fish tanks hanging between two arches. When we asked about their ideas or initial concepts for audio, video, and system control, we were told they wanted “dynamic yet simple”, sort of Star Trek meets Forrest Gump!
The home owner was interested in the following: structured wiring for future expansion, discrete room to room voice intercom, touch screen keypad whole house audio with metadata, 1st floor theater room with 9.2 surround sound, basement media room, 1080p video distribution, two way touch screen RF system control with Wi-Fi, surveillance cameras, 802.11n wireless home network, multi-line phone system (including elevator), digital media library, bedroom office with system wide control, and outdoor audio with MP3 access. Fortunately, drywall was not complete yet, which made the pre-wire phase slightly less time consuming. However with the high ceilings the pre-wire project was a bit “trying” at times.
Most of the AV and electronics are centrally located within the basement rack storage; the primary audio, video, intercom, and home network are constantly monitored and kept at optimum operating temperatures. It was exciting and fun installing such a robust, yet trouble-free system. Even the home owner was amazed at the simplicity in which the system was integrated within the different aspects. Looking back, it was a challenging project with huge rewards; we can’t wait to do it again.
Michigan Home Theater is based out of Oakland County, MI and is the area’s most popular audio – video specialty retailer. The company is a family owned and operated business offering top quality name proven products and a six month full labor guarantee on all custom home theater installation services. They offer home theater design services, professional sales, and custom installation and have been in business since 2001.