HED Mag March 2004

What a pleasant surprise to see the cover story for the March 2004 Home Entertainment & Design Magazine (from Robb Report) to highlight a story on a system I was involved with. Although the company I worked for at the time is now closed, it is still a little bit of a thrill to see your work shown in such a publication.

If you have a chance to view this issue, please let me know what you think here.

You can also click on the cover graphic to be taken to the magazine's web site.

From the magazine article:

"Tech Talk: the Blue and Gold Theater"

The magical convenience of a touchscreen remote control can make you feel like the luckiest person in the world -- next to the owners of this home theater, which incorporates two touchscreens. One touchscreen is a large wall-mounted Crestron Isys; the other is a Crestron STS (a smaller, wireless model). The large screen, which is impossible to misplace and doesn't require batteries, offers more control options, while the smaller wireless model can be used from anywhere in the room if the chairs have been repositioned to accommodate extra guests.

The client's desire to have every piece of gear hidden was a key motivator behind this design. The client would not tolerate even a video projector lens poking through a soffit.

Since a video projector is the only display that can provide the large picture the client demanded, the custom installer used a rear-projection configuration- the only option for getting a big picture without any visible equipment (except, of course, the screen). A room behind the screen contains a Runco DTV-1101 video projector and a mirror assembly that reflects the picture onto the back of the special screen.

Another advantage of this configuration is the bright video picture with plenty of contrast that is achieved even with the lights on. With a standard front-projection rig, any light will wash out the picture.

The walls conceal a staggering 15 speakers, including eight subwoofers. All speakers are from California Audio Technology (CAT), a company that specializes in creating custom-built, high-end in-wall speakers to fit particular spaces in a wall.

High-end Mark Levinson amplifiers power the demanding CAT main speakers, while amps from Audio Design Associates drive the subwoofers. A Lexicon MC-1 surround-sound processor decodes Dolby Digital, DTS and Lexicon's proprietary Logic7 7.1-channel surround mode.

Enhancing the sound of the CAT speakers are three different Owens Corning acoustic wall panels: reflective, absorptive, and diffusive (which scatters sound in all directions). Instead of hanging on the wall like most acoustic panels, the panels are the wall. Thus, the client can reap the benefits of their acoustic effects without knowing they are there (unless they examine the invoice closely). For an equipment list, please visit our website at www.hedmag.com. -Brent Butterworth