For years, the room had stood largely unused, a blank canvas that offered ample square footage for a fun and functional space, but the homeowners weren’t sure how to begin the transformation, according to the team at Your Digital Concierge. Then, a visit to a friend’s home for a dinner party provided a glimpse of a modern, custom built home theater and family gathering place, which proved that was all the inspiration the curious family needed. Suddenly, a vision for the space was crystal clear.
“The family wanted their new theater to look and sound as good as — if not better than — and function exactly as their friends’ home theater, which we completed just a few months earlier,” points out Brian Murray, general Manager at Your Digital Concierge, a San Diego-based AV integration firm.
Murray admits he and his team saw this as an opportunity for his firm’s next “showcase” project. Starting with the sound, Murray and the Your Digital Concierge team chose Snap One’s Triad speakers, incorporating 11 speakers and four subwoofers, all hand-built with custom enclosures in Portland, Ore.
“Triad’s customization services allowed us to tune the speakers precisely for the room,” states Murray. “Regardless of the wall material or placement limitations, the enclosures and speaker directionality ensure nothing interferes with the speakers’ performance. The result is a powerful, crisp audio experience and with ideal imaging —exactly what you’d expect from a high-end, custom configured theater.”
The customized enclosures also simplified installation. Rather than letting the room’s design dictate the sound parameters, Your Digital Concierge could select speakers built specifically for the sound requirements and room position, all working according to Dolby Atmos specifications. The result the San Diego integration company boasts, is optimal performance and a truly immersive experience.
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“The goal isn’t to hear sound from any individual speaker, it’s to be transported to another place, fully consumed by the movie or music experience,” says Murray.
To maintain the clean, modern room cosmetics, the speakers were built flush with the walls and ceiling with the front speakers hidden behind a 125-inch acoustically transparent projection screen.
Working with the family to tailor the home theater to their usage applications, Your Digital Concierge identified the owners’ preference for streaming content over physical media as a key consideration for the project.
Given the family’s already high bandwidth usage, integrating additional Internet-enabled AV equipment alongside tablets, laptops, and music systems threatened to overwhelm the existing home network. Without a professionally programmable network, the theater’s advanced technology would struggle to perform optimally.
“The AV processor, streaming media, gaming systems, video projector and control system are all network-dependent,” underscores Murray. “Streaming movies, games and music simultaneously and property-wide would overwhelm the family’s current home network, so upgrading these systems was job one.”
To address these concerns Your Digital Concierge selected a combination of Araknis and Access Networks routers, switches, and access points.
“You can have the greatest sound system in the world, but if the network delivering that content is unreliable, and the control system is inconsistent, the entire experience falls short,” comments Murray.
The upgraded network also future proofs the home, enabling easy integration of new devices. Shortly after the theater’s completion, the owners requested additional smart televisions and a “club-like” sound system in their game room, and all of these additions were seamlessly supported by the enhanced network infrastructure designed by Your Digital Concierge.
To ensure long-term reliability, a WattBox power management system was also integrated.
“It’s not uncommon for devices to fall offline after updates or power disruptions, which are common in the area for fire prevention.” emphasizes Murray. “With WattBox, impacted devices reboot automatically. For added convenience, the family can reset certain identified equipment with a single button on the theater remote or a touch panel.” Additionally, Snap One’s OvrC platform allows Your Digital Concierge to monitor and troubleshoot remotely.
“Most issues can be resolved without a house call, saving time and effort for both us and the family,” notes Murray.
Your Digital Concierge further protected the gear by utilizing AV racks from Strong. Although the racks are hidden in a storage space, the racks’ stability, versatility, and accessibility for maintenance and service make them an underrated aspect of the home theater installation the smart home services company asserts.
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