Residential Tech Today Nov/Dec. 2019

ISSUE FOCUS: BIOPHILIA IN THE HOME | VIRTUAL MEDIA ROOM DESIGN

FROM HOOPS TO HOME TECH: ONE-ON-ONE WITH

DAHNTAY JONES

PLUS: Innovator Spotlight: The Bravas Group’s Sean Weiner Cosmetically Conscious Home Technology

Nov/Dec 2019

2019 CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Mitchell Klein Watching TV is a Moving Experience with Automation

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From the Editor Creating lighting scenes is only one part of the equation that encompasses a home’s lighting design. In the past, dimmers and lighting control systems were as far as professional technology integrators could go. Now, with the prevalence of LED lighting, many smart home tech pros getting are trained and certified to specify the actual lighting fixtures and even design their layout throughout the home – roles that were once the exclusive domain of electricians and professional lighting specifiers and designers.

During a training session this past fall at the Azione Unlimited smart home association conference, Breakthrough Lighting’s Joe Pineda provided a 101-level course on the fundamentals of LED lighting design. While a lot of it seemed intuitive for anyone with above-average home design instincts, there were technical aspects that made it clear how important proper product and technology education is to the process.

Executive Editor Jeremy Glowacki

“ That’s only scratching the surface of a technology category that is so important to the aesthetics and livability of the home.”

In addition to general/ambient lighting fixtures, other design options include specific "task lighting for food prep/dining or office areas; accent lighting, downlights, uplights, and cove lighting to help create a sense of space in perimeter areas of the home; front lighting to focus on cabinets and shelves; wall washes and wall grazing to accentuate textures on walls and to showcase artwork; and backlighting to frame artwork or to draw out architectural surfaces.

Not only are various fixtures required to serve these specific functions, but placement distance from the wall and spacing between the lights must be calculated, as well as how much vertical tilt angle and horizontal rotation you want from the fixture’s lens and whether you want the lamp inside the fixture to be positioned near the ceiling surface or further into the aperture to reduce glare and create what’s called a “quiet ceiling.”

Then there’s the size of the lens to consider – a 2-inch for a more minimalist aesthetic, 3-inch for 8- to 10-foot ceilings, and 4-inch for higher (12-foot-plus) ceilings. As well, you must understand the differences in color temperatures, rendering ability, and beam spread.

Essentially, you want to make sure the lights that you are installing are rated in the same color temperature from fixture to fixture in one room (using a process called “binning,” where mass produced LED chips that inevitably have slight differences in color appearance and light output are sorted together to have similar light output.)

We also learned about the Color Rendering Index (CRI), which works on a scale of 0-100, helping a designer determine how close a light will reproduce the true color of a surface under an incandescent or natural light source. (Note: you don’t want a light that is rated less than 93, but 90-plus is a good benchmark.)

That’s only scratching the surface of a technology category that is so important to the aesthetics and livability of the home. And, we didn’t even get into the very new world of human-centric lighting, where a system can mimic the color and brightness patterns of the sun throughout the day.

Suffice it to say that there’s a lot to learn and a lot of opportunity to enhance a home with the latest lighting technology and science, but it’s important to have the proper training and certification.

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

NOV/DEC 2019

contents 40 Small Forward Meets Smart Home

Cover Photo: NBA Photos/Getty Images/ Cleveland Cavaliers and Pearl Homes

Departments 10 By the Numbers 12 Quick Bits 14 Connected Home 16 Audio 18 CEDIA Says 20 Inside Installation 22 Style & Substance

24 New Tech 54 Product Revolution 60 Art & Tech 62 Events 63 Coming Up 64 The Lighter Side

26 Innovator Spotlight Sean Weiner, The Bravas Group

28 Design Side

Catching Up with the Latest Cosmetically Conscious Home Technology

32 Industry Relations

Three Lessons from the World of Hip-Hop for Building an Effective ‘Wellness Tech’ Team

34 Issue Focus: Introducing Biophilia in the Home

Bringing the Beneficial Qualities of Nature Inside, Sans the ‘Wild Things’

38 Tech Advisor

Mountain-West Sales Rep Firm Takes the Experience Center to a Higher Level in Denver

44 Installation

Drees Homes Provides High-Quality Wired and Wireless Networks as a Standard in New Developments

56 Innovative Tech

Make Watching TV a Moving Experience with Automation

50 Control

As More Devices in the Home are Connected, Voice is Emerging as a Top Enabler

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

Contributors Lisa Montgomery is a home-tech journalist whose work has been published in a variety of magazines and websites. She makes it her mission to provide thoughtful insights on how to integrate technology into a home without compromising its aesthetics. In this issue, she writes about blending the cosmetics of smart technology into the home environment.

Darryl Wilkinson is a veteran freelance writer in the consumer electronics industry, which includes work as editor-at-large for Sound & Vision. He’s written for Audio, Home Theater, Wirecutter, Home Theater Review, and others. He’s currently working on designing the perfect automated smart chicken coop. This month, Wilkinson explores the motorization of smart home products from projector and TV lifts to transformational video screens.

At St. Louis-based Integration Controls, Jamie Briesemeister leads sales and marketing and is actively involved in business development, including industry outreach and education. She speaks nationally about the smart, connected home at several national events. This month, Briesemeister offers three lessons from the world of hip-hop for building an effective “wellness tech” team.

Henry Clifford founded Livewire in 2001 to meet the growing demand for technologically integrated homes and businesses. In January 2018, he co-founded Parasol, a remote service support company. In this issue, Clifford provides a definition for biophilia and how it may transform the use of technology in the home.

Rebecca Day has covered the consumer technology market for more than 25 years as a reviewer and reporter for consumer and trade publications. She likes when products work as they’re supposed to and calls them out when they don’t. Her articles have appeared in numerous outlets, including CE Pro, Electronic House, Sound & Vision, and Consumer Electronics Daily. This month, she explains how voice control and simplifying the user experience are top priorities for home control companies.

Gordon Isaac is a veteran sales leader with nearly 25 years of experience in the technology industry, including Core Brands, AVAD, and AVB Marketing. He focuses on culture and building successful teams, which get results that make companies grow. In this issue, he writes about how home builder Drees Homes is including high-quality wired and wireless networks as a standard in new developments.

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

e NUMB RS

by the

A look at the metrics shaping the technology market — and our lives

The weather outside is about to be frightful! But just because the temperature is going to be low in many parts of the country doesn’t mean your energy bill will be. It’s no surprise that chillier weather results in a bloated electric bill, making cost-conscious homeowners weary of the winter months. Thankfully, smart thermostats have provided opportunities to cut down energy costs with advanced controls and smart home connectivity. Let’s take a look at some statistics that will warm you up to smart thermostats.

Average Home Spends Roughly

Global Smart Thermostat Market to Reach

$2,200 Yearly

$10.74 Billion by 2023

on Utility Bills

Source: businesswire.com

(Nearly Half Goes To Heating and Cooling) Source: amerenillinoissavings.com

Smart Thermostat Can Take

Energy Providers Often Provide Rebates Between

10-25% Off Your Energy Bill

$50-100 Source: androidcentral.com

Source: androidcentral.com

Ecobee Smart Thermostat with Voice Control $249

•D ropping Temperatures • More Time at Home • Electricity Used for Holiday Decorations

Will Have Smart Thermostats

by 2020.

Honeywell Home T9 Smart Thermostat $199

Source: parksassociates via greentechmedia.com

2018 U.S. Average Temperature By Month

Ecobee 3 lite $169 Nest Thermostat E $169

80

Lux Kono Smart Thermostat $153

70

Lux/Geo Wi-Fi Thermostat $144

60 (Fahrenheit)

Bosch Connected Control BCC100 Thermostat $145

40 Million Homes

Source: directenergy.com

Nest Learning Thermostat $249

Honeywell Lyric T5 Wi-Fi Thermostat $149

According to a 2017 Parks Associates Prediction

3 52.8

50 40 30

4 2 32.5 31.8

7 59.4

1 74.6 73.51 2 7 3 .

68 67.5 1 53.7

26 40.

03 40.

3 35.5

20 10 0

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

JAN.

FEB. MAR. APR.

MAY

JUN.

JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT.

NOV. DEC.

Source: statista.com

Smart Thermostat Prices

Direct Energy Blog: Reasons for High Winter Electric Bill

ASK FOR

Google and Google Home are trademarks of Google LLC.

QUICK BITS WE ASK INDUSTRY INSIDERS ONE QUESTION

In what ways is your custom integration company using technology to create a healthier home for clients?

We educate our clients about the basic facts related to wellness technology, including the quality of air inside their home, understanding how lighting can affect your brain, your hormonal system, and your ability to sleep. Delos is the only company with a complete solution of all of the pillars that are necessary in a residential space to make it a well space. A smart home isn’t smart unless it’s healthy.

– Jan Vitrofsky, HEDsouth, Hollywood, FL

Multi-dwelling unit (MDU) developers in our area are looking for creative ways to apply technology to achieve WELL Building certification. We can advise them on the best ways to integrate motorized shades and Ketra lighting, for example, which establishes our value earlier in the project and helps the developer accumulate “innovation” points to achieve certification.

– George Harrison, Harrison Home Systems, Denver, CO

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

There’s obviously a lot of attention being given to wellness in this space right now. At RSI, we are taking a “fast follower” approach. We’ve been very active with human-centric lighting and have a full demonstration at our office in Littleton.

Beyond that, there are still a lot of things to play out in this area, and we aren’t ready to make big investments in the space yet. One of the worst things a company like ours can do is invest heavily in an early company, only to have them falter or go out of business. That being said, this is clearly an interesting area and one that we will undoubtedly enter at some point in the near future.

– Travis Leo, Residential Systems Inc. & Valhalla Integration, Littleton, CO Based on great presentations at the recent Azione Unlimited Conference, we are specifically excited about the Pure Wellness 365 platform, circadian lighting, and even the Bryte Bed. Our goal internally is to put together a comprehensive set of offerings and upgrade our showroom to demonstrate the real health benefits of this technology to our current and future clients!

– JW Anderson, The Integrated Home, Charlotte, NC We built a home in a building behind our showroom, which makes it easier to integrate “wellness” features like a fan or skylight for improving indoor air quality. When we combine our control system with the skylight or fan, if air sensors register poor indoor air quality, they then trigger the skylight to open or exhaust fan to turn on to clear the air. That’s just one example of how we’re adding a wellness component to our services.

– Gordon van Zuiden, cybermanor, Los Gatos, CA As a company, we are trying to get educated on wellness. As an integrator, we are trying to spread the word to everyone we encounter. Every client that comes through the showroom gets a human-centric lighting demo. It usually comes at the end of the typical demonstration and leaves the client pondering the possibilities. Come in curious, leave inspired.

– Ryan McDaniel, One-Touch Automation, Carmel, IN At Innerspace Electronics, we have been on for forefront of learning about and promoting the concept of the “healthy home” in the form of the wellness ecosystems that are soon to be released in our market. We were an early adopter of Ketra lighting and have had the opportunity to be trained and certified at Ketra early on (prior to Lutron’s Purchase of Ketra). We have also invested our time in being trained on the Delos product. We believe that these technologies will become very popular in the near future.

– Barry Reiner, InnerSpace Electronics, Mount Kisco, NY We work with our vendors to find out what is a healthy product or sustainable product. For instance, with shades, we look for a product that is sustainable, Earthfriendly, with no off-gassing. Then we look at how lighting affects someone’s mood. One of the biggest questions we ask a client is, “How do you want to feel when you walk into your home?” Often, we look to lighting control and shades, thermostats, and air purifiers to enhance their lifestyle at home.

– Luis Rodriguez, WOW Media, Fall River, MA The opportunities around wellness are really interesting to us as a business and in terms of providing the best living experience for our clients. User-centric lighting is one of the larger opportunities in both residential and commercial settings. We are the first Ketra showroom on the east coast and our employees are able to come in to an office that helps promote their wellness.

– Chris Smith, Cloud9 Smart, New York City

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DEPARTMENTS

Connected Home

Crestron’s New-Look User Interface Crestron Home OS 3 Delivers Simple and Sophisticated User Experience and Speeds Deployment of Projects

By Jeremy Glowacki

Crestron, long the leader in customprogrammed home control systems, has introduced a complete update to their residential operating system and app that were designed from scratch with new features, an interface that’s easier to navigate on mobile devices and Crestron TSW touch screens, and faster deployment for integrators, with no programming needed. To make Crestron Home OS 3 a reality, Crestron hired more engineers and went to work changing APIs and writing native applications for iOS and their touchscreens/Android devices.

Aesthetic design and “user friendliness” of the OS3 app were equally important to performance goals, according to Doug Jacobson, Crestron’s director of residential technology.

“It’s one thing to have the app or touchscreen interface be really responsive, it’s another thing to have a gorgeous user experience,” he said.

“But it’s more than just aesthetics, but how do you perform certain tasks? How do you discover things, for someone who is picking up the app for the first time? How does this look and make you feel?”

During the development of OS3, Crestron sought feedback not only from its dealers, but also end users, asking them to perform a small task and record the results. Here are five important things to know about OS3: Forces Pyng ‘Sunset’: While OS3 will obviously replace OS2, it also eliminates the need for the company’s popular Pyng platform going forward. Custom integration dealers may still opt to use “traditional” Crestron programming tools, however. Particularly in massive projects, there may be limitations for how far a system designer might want to push OS3, leading to the need for a customprogrammed system. Crestron encourages its dealers to visit their website to explore what

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

Crestron Home can do and what they company is developing for the system.

Enables Quicker Access to Active Media: OS3 enables more efficient access to active media in the home, such as music that’s playing from a streaming service or TVs that are on. At any point in the app, you can quickly get to those controls via a media bar that pops up at the bottom of the app whenever a room is active for audio or video. When you touch that bar, you get a list of those rooms. You then turn them all off or adjust the volume or mute. Then with the click of a button, you can dive into the full controls for that room, whether it’s audio or video.

Creates Interfaces That Are ‘Roomcentric’: The most fundamental change that Crestron made within the structure of OS3 was moving from a “system-based” to a “room-

based” user experience. With Pyng, for example, a homeowner might want to control their home lighting and would see a list of all of the rooms with lights or she would want to play music and see a list of all of the rooms with audio in them.

OS3, instead, focuses on rooms and what options are available in them.

Provides Easier Access to Favorite Rooms: Another feature, called “Room Favorites” allows someone who has, say, 40 rooms in their house but spends most of their time in four or five of them to select those favorites and those rooms always pop up to the top of the list for that user.

Offers Multi-Home Support and Personalization: Additional OS3 features include support for multiple homes, personalization of the UI using photos of the home to represent rooms, and enforced end-toend encryption for secure communications. x

DEPARTMENTS

Audio

What Dante Means for Home Audio Professional Audio Networking Tech is Featured in New Products from JBL Synthesis, ELAN, and Powersoft

By Anthony Leo

Dante is present in ELAN’s IP Amplifier line, Just Add Power’s 3G+ 767DSS Enhanced Sound System transmitter, and Atlona’s GAIN Series of amplifiers.

Audinate’s Dante – the AV-over-IP solution that dominates the world of professional audio – is seeing rapid adoption by manufacturers of residential audio equipment. The technology provides an easy solution to route audio over long distances without any signal degradation, making it perfect for higher-end residential homes with multi-zone audio setups.

Dante launched in the live sound market in 2008 followed soon after by integrators in the commercial installed AV market to deliver systems with hundreds of uncompressed audio channels over a standard Ethernet network.

Dante’s introduction to the residential market brings cost reductions and installation time savings thanks to the efficiency of leveraging Ethernet cables in lieu of proprietary, singlepurpose analog audio cables.

“Our founders had a vision for making a solution that was usable in the real world,” explained Josh Rush, VP of marketing and product management at Audinate. “What that means is recognizing what equipment is out there, both in terms of cabling, the switches that are available, the bandwidth being used in the market. It’s also designed to work on a 1Gig network, which is much more common.”

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

Dante has become the de-facto leader in networked audio, with more than 2,000 commercially available products from more than 430 manufacturers, all with guaranteed interoperability. This means integrators can pick best-of-breed products for their particular installation with confidence that they will all network together seamlessly, while legacy audio gear can be brought onto the network using cost-effective Dante AVIO adapters. Dante integrates directly with computers using Dante Virtual Soundcard or Dante Via, allowing media streaming applications to playout up to 64 channels of audio using just built-in Ethernet.

In the residential market, Dante will soon be featured in the new JBL Synthesis SDP-55 surround processor, SDR-35 AV receiver, SDA7120 seven-channel amplifier, and SDA-2200 two-channel amplifier; the new Mezzo AD amplifier line from Powersoft; and the IP Amplifier line from ELAN. Other commercial/ residential crossover products from companies such as Atlona, Just Add Power, and others are also supporting Dante.

“Our new JBL Synthesis AV Receiver, AV surround processor, and multichannel amplifiers all include Dante connectivity as a

key component of their design,” said Jim Garrett, senior director, product strategy and planning, Harman Luxury Audio. “Dante enables us to provide simplified component connectivity along with advanced audio networking, and to be confident in the performance, reliability, and interoperability.”

Jeff Shaw, ELAN product manager concurs: “Dante is a vital part of our new ELAN IP Amplifier line, which simplifies multi-room audio for residential installations. Our accelerated performance plus Dante networking is a win-win for integrators and their customers alike.”

AudioControl is an official Dante partner and has been working with Audinate for nearly two years. “Dante adds an important level of compatibility for our integrators, addressing their need to create a more effective and efficient way of integrating our Director Series matrixing amplifiers and our CM Series 70-volt amplifiers utilizing audio over IP,” noted AudioControl CEO Alex Camara.

“Compatibility with Dante will benefit integrators within our own Director DSP network platform as well as when connecting to other Dante end-points and products.” x

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DEPARTMENTS

CEDIA Says

A Chat with Mitchell Klein Learning More About the 2019 CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

By Ed Wenck Mitchell Klein is learning the mandolin.

It’s what you’d expect from Mitch – even though he’s in the midst of a vacation when we sat down to talk, he’s always expanding the base of his knowledge, whether that’s in the realm of music or microchips. He’s been a custom integrator, an exec at URC, a CEDIA president – and a working musician. And the sum total of all of those experiences and accomplishments have resulted in Klein being honored with the 2019 CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award.

From Hi-Fi to This Old House Klein – who’s now director of the Z-Wave Alliance – got his start like a lot of other men and women in the CEDIA channel, in the realm of live sound. But Klein wasn’t mixing the music, he was playing in the band. Klein became a bass player as a teenager because there were too many guitar players in his high school jazz band. “I’m like, okay, I’ll play bass,” Klein recalled. “I’ve always been that person to say, ‘Let’s go explore; let’s try something new.’”

Klein realized pretty quickly, however, that the vast majority of professional musicians aren’t making Beyoncé money. In fact, most are barely surviving. But reproducing music accurately?

That held Klein’s interest, and that interest became bankable when he was offered a managerial spot at a hi-fi store called Tweeter, Etc. From there, Klein eventually made the leap to custom integration, founding a firm called Media Systems.

“That firm saw a lot of firsts,” Klein said. The company was CE Pro’s first “Dealer of the Year,” for example. All of this was happening at Media Systems’ HQ in the Boston Design Center, which got the attention of a number of architects and interior designers – but not in a good way. “Back then, they wanted nothing to do with us,” Klein noted.

Public television, however, did want something to do with Media Systems, and gave Klein and

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

company an on-camera gig as part of a renovation featured on the show, This Old House.

Klein’s ability to make an AV system unobtrusive was a fairly unique talent back in the mid-’90s, and the taping was a hit.

There was a downside, though, involving latenight calls to troubleshoot new tech. But the toughest for Klein? Suffering through the economic slowdown that immediately followed 9/11. After experiencing the pain of shuttering a business, Klein went about taking URC from a “hand-held remote control company to a wholehouse interface business,” and from there wound up in the director position at Z-Wave.

The Association Klein also became intimately involved with CEDIA nearly at the outset.

Early on, Klein realized that the association wasn’t functioning as best as it could: “We recognized that we were always so focused on the

technology, that we were ignoring a really key ingredient, which is the business. And the other piece was, at the same time there was legislation in my home state of Massachusetts that essentially would have put all of us out of business. The bill would have required licensing for our people – it was geared toward electrical contractors.” That led Klein to form what would eventually become CEDIA’s Government Affairs Department, which tracks legislation all over North America with the help of a grassroots network of member volunteers.

From balancing the books to taking the notion of certification from pipe-dream to concrete reality, Klein’s tenure with CEDIA still resonates to this day. But that’s not why he volunteered.

“What I love so much about CEDIA is working with the other volunteers and bringing people in and recognizing other people’s passion, leveraging that passion and letting them run with it, let them go with it.” x

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DEPARTMENTS

Inside Installation

Tech on Demand

A New Service is Offering Affordable Tech Installs for the Technologically Challenged

By Patricia Miller This year, Dish opened its installation services to non-Dish customers.

Smart homes can still make some people feel dumb. Integrating technology from different providers on various platforms and enabling them to work with Bluetooth and voice control, setting them for automated routines, and personalizing user profiles for every individual in the home can be frustrating. Few people have the time or patience to integrate new technology properly, particularly with each addition of a new device.

Dish Network is familiar with this frustration.

For the past decade, they’ve been providing custom installation and programming for all variety of smart home devices. However, it’s only this year that Dish opened the service to non-Dish customers. Their new OnTech program, now available in 31 major markets, provides installation, set up, and education for numerous smart home products.

After a decade of listening to reports from their installers, Dish realized there was a demand that extended beyond Dish users. Vice President and General Manager of OnTech Jeremy McCarty explains, “When you think about all of these devices, the possibilities are

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

really endless. There also can be endless frustration with the customer trying to make it all work in their home at the same time. So, this is really aimed at customers who don’t have the time, the know-how, or even, quite frankly, the patience to pull all those pieces together.”

When McCarty described their ideal customer, I realized I was that customer. So, I scheduled an appointment with OnTech to check out their services myself. The word “invaluable” comes to mind.

I reached a point where half my smart plugs weren’t communicating with my app, which was affecting the lighting in my home. I wanted my new robotic vacuum to be voice activated. I wanted a soundbar and wireless subwoofer installed, and my Wi-Fi wouldn’t reach my outdoor patio table. I needed help and I didn’t have the time to watch YouTube instructional videos for each problem I was having.

OnTech showed up at exactly the pre-arranged time. The technician installed my new Klipsch RSB-14 sound bar and subwoofer, synchronized all my smart plugs to my app, programmed my voice assistant to “release the Kraken” when I

wanted my robot vacuum to begin cleaning, and installed a new mesh Wi-Fi system so I could receive signal all the way to my back fence.

The technician spent a solid four hours in my home, patiently showing me how to operate the new technology and how to better utilize my existing smart-home accessories. It was a revelation. I was the technology master!

Everything came to life with the sound of my voice and problems that had been plaguing me for months were resolved in an afternoon.

McCarty described the experience succinctly: “It’s not just about installing or setting up the product in the home, it’s also about educating the customer on how to use the equipment, and how to use their smart home, before the technician leaves.”

OnTech works with several of the top technology brands to offer their clients best-inclass systems that work in unison to create a whole-home ecosystem. A complete list of brand partners, as well as pricing for installation and setup, is available on their website at www.OnTech.com. x

DEPARTMENTS

Style & Substance

Performance and Style for AV Accessories Austere Designs Are Intended for Those Who Demand More from the Products That Connect and Power Their World

By Walter Joseph

There’s a new AV accessories brand in the consumer electronics business that hopes to match the performance features of their products with style demands of the people who own them. Founded by fashion and consumer technology industry maven Deena Ghazarian, Austere is committed to creating technology accessories.

Home Theater Audio and Video Accessories • III Series HDMI 2.0 Cables (1.5m/2.5m/ 5.0m, $49.99/$69.99/$129.99) with HDMI 2.0b, 4K HDR, 15µ in pure hard-gold contacts, with 24K gold-plated contact shields and aDesign precision connector housing and WovenArmor cable, lifetime guarantee.

Available since early July, the Austere line includes home entertainment audio and video cables, conditioned power, and clean products.

Austere is so passionate about being more than expected that it stands behind its home theater, clean, and power products with a lifetime guarantee to replace them if they ever break or underperform.

• V Series HDMI 2.0 Cables (1.5m/2.5m/ 5.0m, $79.99/$99.99/$149.99), features HDMI 2.0b, 4K HDR, 30µ in hard-gold contacts, 24K gold-plated contact shield, aDesign precision connector housing, silver conductor, WovenArmor cable and LinkFit locking connector, lifetime guarantee.

“There is a massive gap in the technology accessories category, where the choice is either ubiquitous products that easily break and underperform or overly extravagant, antiquated accessories,” Ghazarian said. “At Austere, we’re equally passionate about performance and style and believe there’s a tremendous need in the accessories market for accessible products where these ideologies intersect. That’s why we’ve created Austere, from the packaging to the in-store displays to the products themselves, with intentional design and minimalistic style that deliver spectacular performance.”

Austere’s products feature substantial reusable packaging and opulent-yet-minimalistic style. The Austere Collection includes the following:

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The Austere line includes home entertainment audio and video cables, conditioned power, and clean products.

Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

• V Series Optical Audio (2m, $39.99), employs 24K endurance gold-plated, aDesign precision connector LinkFit housing. Precisionpolished termination for digital audio accuracy, braided WovenArmor cable, and superior durability from over-molded strain relief and metal retention hardware, lifetime guarantee.

• V Series Audio Interconnect (2m, $69.99), offers 24K endurance gold-plated aDesign precision connector housing, LinkFit secure connection. Superior durability from overmolded strain relief and metal retention hardware soft-touch high-flex cable, lifetime guarantee.

• V Series Speaker Cable and Speaker Cable Adapters (14-gauge 100-foot $149.99, 12-gauge 100-foot $199.99), boasts fine-stranded 100-percent pure OFC, soft-touch high-flex cable, durable jacket for smooth wire routing.

Four banana adapters are included, and additional adapters are sold separately ($29.99), lifetime guarantee.

• V Series Subwoofer Cable (5.0m, $79.99) features 24K endurance gold-plated aDesign precision connector housing, LinkFit secure connection. Superior durability from over-molded strain relief and metal retention hardware, SoftTouch high-flex cable, lifetime guarantee.

Power and Protect • V Series Power and Protect 6- and 8-outlet models ($129.99, $149.99) dedicated 4K joules surge, flameless MOV protection, with 12A circuit breaker + LED indicators for power, ground and protected, expansive SmartFit, PureFiltration, aDesign all-aluminum enclosure, Omniport USB, and WovenArmor power cable, lifetime guarantee, component guarantee.

• VII Series Power and Protect 6- and 8-outlet models ($179.99, $199.99) Dedicated 4K joules surge, flameless MOV protection, 12A circuit breaker + LED indicators for power, ground and protected expansive SmartFit, isolated PureFiltration, aDesign all-aluminum enclosure, Omniport USB w/45W USBC PD, WovenArmor power cable, lifetime guarantee, component guarantee.

Clean and Protect • III Series Clean and Protect Screen Cleaner (200ml, $19.99).

The Austere collection is available at austere.com and select national, regional, and global retailers. x

WHERE DESIGN IS

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DEPARTMENTS

New Tech

Managing All That Bass Arcam, JBL Synthesis, NAD Electronics, and StormAudio are First to Feature Dirac Live Bass Management

By Anthony Leo

Dirac’s General Manager of High-Performance Audio Niklas Thorin

(Top) Dirac Live Bass Management turned on and off. (Bottom) Dirac Live Bass Management fixed in the“on” and “off” positions.

Sound waves bounce throughout a space and collide with one another to create crossover areas with uneven bass distribution. Even the most high-end hardware possesses certain performance deficiencies that can only be resolved through an understanding of the room itself.

One of the roles of professional technology integrators and systems designers is to offer a room acoustics solution that optimizes a system’s subwoofers and speakers to deliver consistent, accurate bass throughout an entire room.

To make that process a little easier, Dirac Live Bass Management from Swedish sound pioneer Dirac, measures and phase corrects a home theater’s speakers and subwoofers across all frequencies, even in multiple subwoofer systems, to produce enhanced bass clarity and improved bass tone evenness throughout the room. The software tool is a spin-off, of sorts, of the company’s original Dirac Live offering.

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“While Dirac Live offered new standards in room correction and speaker phase correction, it left one area – the subwoofer’s low-frequency bass tones – unaddressed,” explained Niklas Thorin, Dirac’s general manager of high-performance audio. “The new Dirac Live Bass Management now equips installers and their customers with a tool that addresses this final frontier, moving them one step closer to perfect sound.”

Dirac Live Bass Management aggregates measurement and location data from each subwoofer to determine how a system’s bass is distributed throughout the room. It then identifies gaps in the sound waves and distributes bass evenly across the room. The software corrects the low-frequency sound waves produced by the speaker pair, so the bass produced by each speaker is in sync with the system. All of this processing enables the

subwoofers to be positioned anywhere in the room – wherever most aesthetically pleasing – without sacrificing performance for design, or vice versa. Dirac Live Bass Management, the first in a series of modular add-ons for Dirac Live is available in two versions: Single-Sub, for single subwoofer home theater systems, is priced at $249, while Multi-Sub, for systems with more than one sub, is priced at $399.

The M10 BluOS streaming amplifier and C658 BluOS streaming DAC will be the first two products from NAD to feature Dirac Live Bass Management. Depending on one’s specific system, customers will have the option of purchasing the Single-Sub or Multi-Sub options.

StormAudio is set to incorporate Dirac Live Bass Management into its full line of processors and amplifiers, while Arcam and JBL Synthesis are slated to incorporate it into the majority of its AVR product portfolio. x

innovator spotlight

An Aggressive Growth Plan Bravas Looks to Expand Custom Integration Model Beyond Initial 15-Company Network

By Jeremy Glowacki In late August of this year, Presidio Investors provided a $75 million private equity investment that merged 15 independent smart home design-build firms across the United States, creating Bravas LLC. The investment launched a national network of luxury technology integrators, operating as one brand, working across North America with architects, builders, remodelers, interior designers, and affluent homeowners. They will use lighting, shading, climate, entertainment, smart home, voice, wellness, security, surveillance, networking, energy, power, and other technologies to transform how custom homes and offices are designed, organized, and operated. Bravas is based in Overland Park, KS, with locations in 13 states, annual revenues around $75 million, and a team of more than 285 professionals, including designers, engineers, installers, technicians, and programmers. In 2018, Bravas locations collectively completed more than 3,500 residential and commercial projects.

Rollups like this one typically fail in the custom integration industry. But, never before have the merging companies already been working together as long as this particular group did under the guidance of business coaches Paul Starkey and Steven Firszt of Vital MGMT. To learn more about the process that led up to the merger and how it’s going so far, we spoke with Chief Technology Officer Sean Weiner, formerly the owner of Bravas-owned Starr Systems in Baltimore, MD, asking him about his new role and why he’s very optimistic that the Bravas network will succeed where others have failed.

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In 2018, Bravas locations collectively completed more than 3,500 residential and commercial projects. Sean Weiner, former owner of Starr Systems in Baltimore, MD, is now chief technology officer for Bravas.

Residential Tech Today: How did your experience in the Bravas Group, under the guidance of Vital MGMT, prepare you for the official merger of the member companies?

Sean Weiner: This is going to sound like a commercial for Vital MGMT’s Bi4Ci [Business Intelligence for Custom Integrators] dashboard system of CI metrics and benchmarks because that provided the accounting system and financial structure that we share and continue to work with. That’s the premise that unified this group in the first place. Then the private equity investment to support the merger allows us to do even more than what we started with Paul and Steve. The goal now is to leverage the foundation they provided and make the whole significantly greater than the sum of its parts.

RT Today: What industry challenges are you working to overcome as a group?

SW: I think that fragmentation is one of the biggest problems that our industry faces.

Everyone is working in their own little silo, their own bubble, their own market. We go to buying group meetings, conferences, and trade shows, and have conversations about best practices.

Mostly, we don’t have time to apply all of the things that we’ve learned because we’re busy running our businesses. We’re having a big conversation about business development now [within Bravas], which is a huge part of every CI business. Every business has to go out and find customers. If we’re successful, then we find great new clients and build lasting relationships that way. But once we find those clients, it’s easy to slow down or even stop the business development efforts because we’re busy fulfilling the obligations that we made to the clients we just signed. Once that initial wave of projects is complete, if you haven’t continued those efforts, you realize, “Uh-oh, I don’t have enough new business,” and you have to go back and start doing it again.

RT Today: So how does your scale as a bigger company help you break that cycle?

SW: Our scale gives us the ability to smooth out those peaks and valleys. To have people in full-time roles that support the larger entity. We have full-time business development people and full-time sales and marketing people. We also have a large group of subject matter experts covering almost every discipline and category.

We’ve got them focused on both manufacturers and wider disciplines. For instance, we have a group of SMEs for a particular control system manufacturer. There are five people from our design and engineering team in the group and one person leading the team. Soon, we’ll be adding experts from our sales, installation, and support teams to the group as well. That group will have as solid a tech support background for that manufacturer’s products as their own internal tech support would have; they’re the most highly trained people on that subject in our company, and probably some of the best in the industry because they can focus entirely on those particular products.

RT Today: As chief technology officer, what is your specific role with Bravas?

SW: I am responsible for all of our clientfacing technologies. I’m working with our manufacturers/suppliers to determine which products Bravas will support and how they’re best used. We’re actively participating in product development discussions with many of our manufacturers, to make sure we have input on the products and features that are important to our success.

RT Today: What’s the plan for expanding into other regions and growing the company beyond the core group you’ve started with?

SW: These are rough numbers, but a third of our growth plan involves growing the business in the markets that we’re already in. The other two thirds involve growing through acquisition.

So, we’ll find other companies that are like minded and have similar makeup and are a good cultural and financial fit and make them a part of the Bravas team. We have a fairly aggressive growth plan, given our investment direction.

RT Today: As far as branding is concerned, are you keeping the local names and just tagging them with the Bravas brand?

SW: No. The plan is to become Bravas and slowly phase out the local names. It will be a long process, because we don’t want to lose that name recognition, but we also don’t want clients to think that the company and the people they’ve known for 20 years are not in business anymore. But, ultimately it’s going to be the Bravas name that the public will see.

RT Today: What are some the keys to your potential success?

SW: We’re fortunate that, with the help of our investors, we’re very well-funded from day one.

Many in this group have been working together for four years already. We have shared everything from our finances to the way we run our businesses. There are no secrets. Long before the deal closed, many of us had visited the other locations to get a first-hand look at how they operate. We shared resources, including shipping off installers to one another, sharing design resources, programming resources… So, we had a true familiarity before the merger took place. I think that time period allowed us to work on our culture too. I can tell you everything about the people who I work with now – their families, where they live, what they do with their free time, what their businesses are like, who their customers are.

They’re more than just business associates now, they’re like family. It’s not that different from the relationships each of us had inside our individual companies, just on a much larger scale. That’s hard to do when you’re just looking at numbers. x Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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DESIGN SIDE

Technology with an Eye for Design

Catching Up with the Latest Cosmetically-Conscious Home Technology

By Lisa Montgomery It’s easy to get wrapped up in the technology behind smart products for the home. After all, it’s the level of engineering and customization of the hardware and software that determines how well TVs, music systems, architectural lighting, home control systems, and other devices perform. But technology should look good, too.

It should blend with the home environment, complement the surrounding cosmetics, and maybe even stand out as a conversation piece.

Home systems manufacturers are embracing this notion, as products from all sectors of the residential tech industry have incorporated a distinct design slant. Home systems integrators are on board, too, recognizing the value that designers bring to the overall home systems project.

“In our business, interior design has always had an influence on home technology solutions we pose to clients,” said Jamie Briesemeister, CEO/sales marketing director of Integration Controls, St. Louis, MO. “With products that are geared at providing the best of both worlds, it makes it easier to include form and function without compromise.” Many fashion-forward, high-performance, no compromise home systems solutions were showcased at the CEDIA Expo, held earlier this year, in Denver.

Here are some of our favorite looks from the show floor.

Artistry in Audio Speakers are going through a major cosmetic makeover. Models that can be recessed into the wall and ceiling are being joined by speakers that double as pieces of artwork. Leading this design trend is Leon Speakers, which showcased a remarkable assortment of eye-catching loudspeakers intended to be admired just as

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Leon Speakers mixes art with technology in its speaker designs.

much for their visual appeal as their audio performance. Grabbing attention at the booth were wall-mounted speakers covered with grilles customized with images from celebrity photographer Roberto Rabanne and custom metal artwork from Gabriel Urist. The Ente SoundTiles represent a completely new way of

looking at loudspeakers – as an art form, not only a piece of technology.

When speakers weren’t masquerading as fine art at the CEDIA Expo, some were functioning as useful pieces of furniture. Leon’s Horizon Denza Modular Credenza, for example, performs as a soundbar but looks like a shelf on

DESIGN SIDE

Through a process called hydro dipping, James Loudspeaker can make speaker grilles and housings look like granite, marble, wood, and other housing materials.

entire unit is freestanding, so it can be repositioned, moved to a different room, or relocated should you move into a new house – try doing that with a wall-mounted display.

which to display framed photos, vases of flowers, and other decorative items.

Other companies like Sonance and James Loudspeaker demonstrated how to minimize the visual presence of loudspeakers in a home’s interior or landscape through an application called hydro dipping. During the hydro dipping process, a piece of film dissolves into a layer of paint that floats on the surface of water.

When the speaker enclosure is dipped into the water, the paint conforms and sticks to its surface. The result is a speaker finished to look like wooden boards, granite, or even shrubbery – a perfect blend for outdoor environments.

Modern TV Cabinets Just when you thought the wooden TV cabinet of the 50s and 60s was long dead, it’s back… but with a modern twist.

Manufacturers including Salamander Designs and Bang and Olufsen have given the antiquated TV cabinet a fresh, contemporary look, offering an alternative to the uber-popular, yet often cosmetically disruptive, method of mounting a display to the wall. Salamander’s “Wall” unit, which originated in commercial settings, incorporates a cabinet with a panel onto which a display can be mounted. The unit is modular, which means the finish of the cabinet door and panel can be updated, and a new TV mounted, at any time. Plus, the

Another freestanding solution, the Beovison Harmony from Bang and Olufsen, incorporates motorization and a clever design to transform itself from a stylish piece of furniture while not in use into a high-end entertainment center. On command from a handheld remote, an oak and aluminum cabinet – which conceals six speakers – opens like the wings of a butterfly, and ultimately rests beneath the TV. At the same time, a 77-inch LG OLED TV lifts several inches to a more comfortable viewing position.

Innovations. Seemingly stuck in a time warp, fascia were long due for facelift. So, Cooley connected with an ASID designer to select 12 different fashion-forward colors and low sheen finishes for Screen Innovations’ Nano portfolio of products. In addition to being available in a wide variety of trendy color choices, as well as custom colors, the Nano shading casings are the smallest in the industry, starting at 2.25 inches, and are completely finished on the ends – something that’s missing on many other fascia, according to Cooley.

New Styles for Home Cinemas In the past when people thought about home theaters, a dark, secluded “man cave” came to mind. While this style still resonates with some people, home cinemas are “seeing the light” by incorporating accouterment that make the space just as eye-catching

“The Beovision is the answer to the age-old problem of what to do with the TV when it’s not in use,” said B&O Public Relations Manager Christopher Devine.

“Rather than staring at a piece of technology on the wall, users can admire an interesting piece of furniture.”

Fashionable Fascia Draperies are the epitome of form and function. They serve as a decorative element of the home space while providing a layer of privacy, insulation, and lighting control. It’s a shame their headrails are usually so unflattering. “My pet peeve has always been the cosmetics of drapery fascia,” said The housings of Screen Innovations’ Nano line of motorized shading Tom Cooley of Screen comes in 12 trendy colors.

Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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DESIGN SIDE

Technology with an Eye for Design

Movie viewing and meditation come together in Rayva’s line of prefabricated home cinemas. Keypads, thermostats, and power outlets do their job while looking fabulous in the wall, thanks to elegant new designs from Basalte.

when the movie is off as when it’s on. Outfitted with color-changing LED lighting, decorative acoustical treatments, and custom finishes, the home cinema has evolved into an area that can function as meditation room, yoga studio, gaming room, sports bar… really, just about anything.

Integrating all of these elements into several different packages is Rayva. Its prefabricated, personalized entertainment environments streamline the design process, as everything is included in the package: lights, seating, carpeting, and more. And as demonstrated at CEDIA, a shift in colored lighting, video, and audio can transport viewers to a forest, beach, or yoga studio. “Wellscapes” are a huge initiative of Rayva’s, offering home systems integrators another avenue of differentiation and end users an exciting new way to utilize technology.

thermostat and electrical outlet – all of which can be finished in stainless steel, leather, brass, or whatever material complements the décor.

“We’ve always had an interest in design, as is apparent with our line of products,” said Basalte’s Tom Lambrecht. “But now it’s become a real topic of discussion in the home electronics community.”

Tech Comes to Terms with Tasteful Design Home technology continues its march forward in its evolutionary journey. Systems continue to become smarter, more robust, and increasingly

reliable. This has always been the objective. More recently, however, design has become an equally important element of the home systems equation. There’s no place that proves this point better than CEDIA Expo. From speakers and displays to keypads and motorized draperies, attention to design was apparent across the show floor, and a huge area of focus for home systems integrators.

“Blending the world of interior design and home technology will not be a trend that will pass,” Briesemeister said. “It will be how homes are designed and built now and in the future.” x

Keypad Couture Keypads that consolidate multiple controls under one wall-mounted faceplate have singlehandedly cleared up the “wall acne” that can plague homes. Instead of relying on several individual switches to operate lights, ceiling fans, and other devices, buttons on one keypad can do the job. Taking this concept a step further is Basalte. Its sleek Euro-style keypad doesn’t look like a keypad at all. Void of traditional buttons and labels, it adds a stunning, decorative touch to a wall, and can be integrated with leading home control systems to operate a wide variety of devices. To offer a complete “wall control” solution, Basalte also offers a matching A functional, decorative shelf or a soundbar? Leon Speakers proves one product can be both.

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

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“InfoComm is where I learn about the latest and greatest in AV technology, but more importantly, it’s where I meet other amazing AV peeps to share war stories and make new partnerships.”

Kaleo Lee, CTS Sales Manager, Southwest BrightSign

infocommshow.org

INDUSTRY RELATIONS

Stop, Collaborate, and Listen Three Lessons from the World of Hip-Hop for Building an Effective ‘Wellness Tech’ Team

By Jamie Briesemeister

“Wellness” (aka biophilia) is a growing movement, centering smart tech design around people and the overall state of wellness that they have in a space. This design philosophy affects how spaces are composed in a more holistic way, which requires more collaboration between more trade partners.

As technology integrators, we are accustomed to working with many people on a project. The wellness movement, however, amplifies our connection to other professionals. While creative opportunities remain abundant, managing priorities and client expectations is a

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delicate balance. This can be achieved with a little help from hip-hop: stop, collaborate, and listen.

Stop When priorities collide, progress halts. If this happens during a project that you are working on – stop – take time to reflect on the ultimate goal. Wellness is about people and is meant to address 10 concepts: air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind, and community. This comprehensive set of concepts may negate some of the ideas and products that you typically

It’s time to put ego on the shelf; there is a specific reason why you are on a particular project with a specific project team.

INDUSTRY RELATIONS

This project showcases how it looks when the contractor, cabinet maker, and home technology integrator collaborate well together.

provide. While a solution you pose might seem to be the best – in technology, materials, design, or budget – it may not be the best for the people in the space. Remember, it’s not about your mission; it’s about the mission.

Collaborate This is where creative problem-solving and collaboration come into play. Collaboration means “to labor together.” It’s time to put ego on the shelf; there is a specific reason why you are on a particular project with a specific project team.

As a professional, you will already take time to understand the needs of the project itself.

I also encourage you to take the time to understand the needs of the project team members. What influences the success of your designer on the project – or the general contractor? How can you help this along? The end result is owned (and celebrated) by everyone, not one shining star. Working together is the only option, and by adopting this mindset at the forefront of the project you set yourself – and your team – up for success.

Listen Once you have the mindset to work together as a team, you will be better able to listen and

empathize with your team members. Listen for insights, such as client quirks or if the atmosphere of onsite relationships has shifted.

Pay particular attention to how your process may need to change or adopt to match the reality of the situation. A few years ago, I had an “ah-ha” moment after working with a designer on a project. We were involved early – in her perspective – and the client was getting overwhelmed with options. The designer asked me, “They don’t even know how their kitchen will look; how can they envision using their home electronics?” Ding! Our process moved too quickly for comfortable decision-making.

Listening to this designer changed how we sell, discuss, and implement our projects – all because of one question she asked.

Wellness includes thoughts and design intentions that enable a better lifestyle. When you accomplish this, celebrate it with your team.

Share what it took to get there with others and tell the story about how working together built something unique, special, and bespoke. Enjoy the secret behind it, knowing hip-hop inspired the whole thing. After all, anything less than the best is a felony. x

Wellness includes thoughts and design intentions that enable a better lifestyle.

When you accomplish this, celebrate it with your team.

Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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ISSUE FOCUS

Introducing Biophilia in the Home Bringing the Beneficial Qualities of Nature Inside, Sans the ‘Wild Things’

By Henry Clifford

iStockphoto.com/martinwimmer

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Residential Tech Today | Nov/Dec 2019

iStockphoto.com/Maartje van Caspel

ISSUE FOCUS

We’ve seen an abundance of interest this year around biophilia in the home technology space.

What is it and how can we best leverage it in homes simply, reliably, and cost effectively? I’ve spent the last six months researching the latest trends and wanted to share my findings.

Biophilia refers to our innate love of being in nature. In other words, the closer we are to the natural world, the better we feel and perform.

Biophilia’s definition certainly rings true for me.

I’m an avid outdoorsman, cherishing mornings waking up with the sun on a campout or energizing in the solitude offered by hiking miles of rugged backcountry trails.

If we’re all better closer to nature, then how can a home better mimic a natural environment

without turning it into a scene from Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are? We all experience the world through our five senses, and I’ve approached integrating biophilia into my company’s technology integration services by focusing on each faculty – testing the products available, rejecting most of them, and offering our clients a small and carefully selected menu of solutions.

Hearing According to a 2018 study published by the International Journal of Cardiology, German researchers found that people who reported being annoyed by sounds such as the rumble of a car, construction vehicle engines, and horns in their neighborhood had a higher risk of atrial

fibrillation – an irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots and stroke.

Numerous studies in recent years tout the benefits of getting a good night’s sleep as a key to wellness. We all use myriad methods to get our eight hours of rest, including sound machines, leaving the TV on, or jamming in earplugs. Try as we may to reinvent the wheel, it’s hard to beat the quiet murmur of the woods or slow roll of the ocean. Luckily there are a ton of great solutions out there to bring the outdoors into the bedroom, including: Engineering firms like Steve Haas-led SH Acoustics specialize in isolating bedrooms and other key areas in the home from traffic, construction, and other stressful sounds. By Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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ISSUE FOCUS

Introducing Biophilia in the Home

My company tries to keep things simple, encouraging our clients to brighten up their homes with plants, decent air filtration, and features like garden walls. DARWIN by Delos is still in its infancy and not a mainstay for us (yet).

Taste I’ve noticed a huge difference between eating processed food from large fast food chains and fresher ingredients from fresh burger joints. The same holds true for tap water, and there are a variety of water filtration systems out there claiming to deliver great taste and toxin-free refreshment for consumers.

The DARWIN Home Wellness Intelligence platform, which also includes features such as circadian lighting and water filtration.

focusing on noise pollution, SH Acoustics claims their solutions help clients sleep better, accomplish more in their home offices, and improve overall wellness.

decorative plants to salad greens. Design ideas

HoMedics SoundSpa products deliver white noise or a variety of nature soundtracks, including Campfire, Ocean, Brook, Wind Chimes, Thunderstorm, Summer Night, Gentle Rain, or Everglades.

of spending time in the backyard garden.

Existing home audio systems can do double duty by adding nature or white noise soundtracks, delivering an easy $0 biophilia add-on.

Home Wellness Intelligence platform, which

abound on sites like Pinterest and can be a fun way to engage the family in gardening while injecting new smells into the home reminiscent DARWIN Air Purification by Delos claims to help filter contaminants and pollutants from the air while removing harmful toxins and pathogens. It’s part of the Delos DARWIN also includes features such as circadian lighting and water filtration.

Smell Some nature smells are great, and others are best left outside. How do we strike a balance? There are a ton of biophilic design resources showing how to best transform spaces with vegetation from edible garden walls to portable planters.

Today’s solutions are a long way from the early days of Smell-O-Vision and oriented around promoting wellness and fresh ingredients on the dinner table.

Living walls are an emerging trend encompassing

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Vinyl records are experiencing a renaissance and demand has surged for players such as Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDeck.

DARWIN by Delos offers water filtration, which can remove toxins and improve taste.

Delos points out that our tap water can often fail to meet the Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLG) set by the EPA. Carbon filtering improves taste and eliminates bad odors Eliminating hard water can improve appliance efficiency and prolong service life

Touch In a world where we cocoon ourselves away in technology, touch and contact have never been more important. Paper books, handmade furniture, and vinyl records are experiencing a renaissance. Why? It’s human nature. While many of us may be introverts, we all crave connection with each other through shared

ISSUE FOCUS

How a kitchen with Ketra Natural Light transitions across 3 times of day.

Photo: Hunter Kerhart courtesy of Ketra

experiences. Luckily there are some easy technology recommendations which complement our standard solutions nicely.

around the client’s vision, yielding a result which teases touch, vision, and hearing simultaneously.

combined with their ability to time lighting from dawn until dusk, especially useful in rooms where there isn’t much available sunlight.

Record players like Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDeck are experiencing a surge in demand because we like the sensory experience of handling vinyl, caring for LPs, and sharing new (or old) albums with each other. Listening to 45s and 33s forces us away from our touchscreens and into a mode of solo or shared listening, very similar to opening a nice bottle of wine.

Vision

Darwin Circadian Lighting by Delos promises to improve hormone balance, appetite, sleep, energy, and productivity by mirroring natural light patterns throughout the day. Their lighting, water filtration, and air quality systems all work together to form a platform oriented around improving sleep to boost wellness.

Products like the Lena sound sculpture from Leon Speakers incorporate sound and sculpture together in a way that begs for human interaction. Each soundscape is designed

Last but not least, light is our biggest area of opportunity for biophilic design in the home.

Fixture and control manufacturers are clamoring to claim the high ground around wellness.

Colorbeam’s LED lighting solutions can produce millions of colors, including a mode designed to mimic a complete sunrise-to-sunset day bathed in natural light.

Lutron’s Ketra Natural Light technology mimics the properties of sunlight and can be

While it’s still early days with biophilia inside the home technology world, it’s encouraging to see so many emerging players, and we look forward to refining our offerings for the five senses as more solutions become available. x Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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TECH ADVISOR

Blending Tech at 924

Mountain-West Sales Rep Firm Takes the Experience Center to a Higher Level in Denver

By Jeremy Glowacki David Thomas felt that there was a better way for a manufacturer’s sales rep firm like his to help systems integrators sell more residential and commercial technology products to their clients and trade partners.

The president of Denver-based Momentum Group felt that instead of commoditizing the expensive products sold by the smart technology industry by “writing a price on a piece of paper and shoving it across the table” to an architect, designer, homeowner, contractor, or builder… that training, education, and demonstration were essential.

In addition to creating one-minute how-to videos for professional installers and a web portal for researching and ordering products, Momentum made a major investment to transform a 6,000-square-foot, 120-year-old former lumber company headquarters into a hightech design center/training facility that shows just how seamlessly tech can blend into a room.

Located just south of downtown Denver, the builder (called “924” after its street address) showcases multiple brands of complementary audio and video technology, all working together like it should in a person’s home or office building. The facility was renovated at no charge to the manufacturers or to the dealers that Momentum Group serves.

It is located in a very hip little corner of the world, which also includes a coffee roaster, a distiller, a brewer called Renegade, and a popular barbeque restaurant. Nowhere on the rep firm’s building is there any reference to the technology that resides inside.

“The goal is to make people feel comfortable in the space, rather than overwhelmed by tech,” Thomas noted.

“When an architect, designer, or

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Denver-based Momentum Group made a major investment a year ago to transform a 6,000-square-foot, 120-year-old former lumber company headquarters into a hightech design center and training facility that shows how technology can blend into the space where you put it.

TECH ADVISOR homeowner walks through the door, they’re in a 120-year-old building that’s brick and timber,” he said. “They see things like an old safe that is original to the building from the early 1900s. They also see a space that opens them up to take a deep breath, and have a conversation about technology, which is about the last thing they usually want to talk about it; they hate those conversations, but if they can see products in here that are working seamlessly together, and they see the wallpaper and a cool blue bike, then they’re open to a conversation.”

Educational sessions can be held for smaller groups of around 15 people in the training center upstairs, or the configuration can be changed to 30 seats facing the same direction toward an LED TV. Seating also can be pivoted 180 degrees to accommodate 80 or more people, auditorium-style, on two different levels. Catered lunches, coffee from the roaster next door, or beer from the brewer across the way in the evening make the space come alive even more.

924 is open 24/7/365 to dealers to show their customers new products integrated into the space or to host parties for architects or other business partners.

Momentum Group has a small office space within the building, with glass doors that separate it from the showfloor during events.

“We show a number of products in here that we don’t even represent, so that a customer can see what a building is supposed to do,” Thomas said. “We can put CEOs and CTOs in a seat, and they see the shades drop in a single push of a button. They see a TV move out on an automated mount, and they’re ready for teleconferencing. The whole idea here is if a CEO is sitting in this seat, and he’s watching this room happen, we want him or her not to say, ‘How much is that TV?’ but, ‘Can you do that in my office? Can you do that in my conference room? Can you do that in my home?’ This is one example of how technology should work together to create a solution that people understand and ask to have happen in their building. We never talk to a customer about brands.” x Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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FEATURED

Cover Story

Small Forward Meets Smart Home

Former NBA Champion Dahntay Jones Brings His Passion from the Court to the Smart Home

By Anthony Elio On June 19, 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 93-89, concluding an incredible comeback after falling behind 3-1 in the series. This championship was a first for numerous Cavs players, including Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, and Dahntay Jones, a veteran small forward playing for his eighth NBA franchise. For any longtime player, especially one with double digit years in the league, this would be the happy ending to their story. However, for Dahntay Jones, there was no time for rest after hoisting the trophy.

Following his title-winning season and one last Finals run with the Cavaliers, Jones completed Harvard Business School and the NBA’s Crossover Into Business program, a collaboration of students and athletes with a focus on learning business essentials. Earlier this year, he was named the Managing Partner and Vice President of the smart home-focused company Pearl Homes, where he works to create sustainable, approachable smart home communities utilizing LEED-certified development.

Dahntay Jones fulfilled every NBA player’s dream on June 19th 2016, when he and the Cavaliers successfully overcame a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors.

And, while much of the former NBA champion’s time is focused on residential innovations, he still finds time to come back to the court, playing for the Big3 league’s “3’s Company” team under head coach (and former NBA star) Michael Cooper. In our exclusive conversation, the multitalented Jones reveals his aspirations with Pearl Homes and how technology has drastically changed professional basketball.

Residential Tech Today: If I’m not mistaken, your entire interest in smart homes started when your wife gifted you a Google Home.

Dahntay Jones: Right. My wife gave me a Google Home because she works for Google. As

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I was using and setting it up and seeing how it could be effective in my house, my kids loved it, and we were using it for a whole bunch of things. Then, I just started building on the Google Home. You start going to the Nest products. You start going to the security system.

You start going to all these different areas and it was labor intensive to piece together your home in that way, but you get to actually make your home as efficient as possible with it. So, that’s where it gave me the idea, “Why don’t we just make this the standard for our home?”

FEATURED

RT Today: How did your career with Pearl Homes start?

DJ: It started with my partner Marshall Gobuty. He’s a builder in the Bradenton/ Sarasota area and he’s been amazing in providing LEED platinum homes. We have a boating community of 86 units. That was the original basis for our home and he wanted to be able to create a smaller home that people could use that would be efficient from an energy standpoint and spatially as well.

So, when I saw the home and I saw how amazing it was, it just triggered the thought process that it could be more. People needed access to this home and there was a market available since this home can be moved and can be constructed in all types of climates and environments; this will be necessary for more people than just the people that can afford a boating home. We went for it with our boating community. Then, we started exploring the affordable housing market because there’s such an affordable housing crisis and people need to live where they work. They deserve a very special home.

the everyday American. However, their energy efficiency makes them… they generate more energy than you need, actually. So, that energy can either be sent back to the grid or there are certain communities where we’ll be able to create a hive system where we’ll be able to power the whole community and still be able to store energy. So, each home has its own battery so it can create energy and store it and you can use that energy on a daily basis.

RT Today: So, affordability and sustainability seem to be two of the big hallmarks of the company.

DJ: Definitely. Most homes right now are either one or the other. It’s hard to put those two together, but we’re making that our foundation, affordability and sustainability, and giving you nothing less than that. That’s what you can expect from our product.

RT Today: What really makes Pearl’s smart homes unique?

If home rates are high right now, you definitely don’t need a big energy bill. You definitely don’t need to be paying for extra things that are available to us naturally. So, our net-zero homes are something to help you on the affordable standpoint in just being able to afford something that you’re proud of, but also from the utility bills as well.

DJ: What makes them unique is, number one, they will be affordable for everyone. That’s for

RT Today: Harvard’s “Crossover Into Business” program helped you along the path

to working with Pearl Homes. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

DJ: Well, before I went to take that Harvard class, I’ve always been interested in real estate, and I took a kind of internship with Douglas Elliman through the NBA. Douglas Elliman was showing me how I could use the interest that I have and be in a space where not many athletes are. I was teetering whether I wanted to be a residential real estate agent, but just learning about real estate and about what the needs were and learning about all the different types of real estate that you could be into, that’s where I started developing how I wanted to do this.

Then, when I took the Harvard class, I was sitting with a bunch of business professionals who are also in different areas of business, and trying to figure out their personal lives and using their personal experiences and business practices.

RT Today: You were one of the first NBA players with an iPod. Have you always been ahead of the crowd in terms of tech?

DJ: Yes. My parents have been in technology my whole life. My parents worked for Johnson & Johnson, both on the technology side. I’ve always been abreast of different sets of technology. My first year in the NBA, I was downloading CDs to iTunes, that helped me fall Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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FEATURED

Cover Story: Small Forward Meets Smart Home DJ: It was definitely something that I had on my list of things I wanted to accomplish. There was one point in time where I didn’t think I would, but all the hard work that was done behind the scenes helped me get to that point. It was well worth it to be able to experience something that... to have a collective experience like that with so many great guys, but also to just get that individual achievement that a lot of people don’t have the ability to get.

RT Today: You’ve also had involvement with the Big3 league as well. How do you see that league as being unique as compared to the NBA? What opportunities are there that might not be available in the NBA?

Jones had an interesting path after hanging up his jersey in 2017, including taking classes at the Harvard Business School and joining Pearl Homes, a sustainability-focused smart home company.

in love with this new invention called an iPod. Every extension after that has always piqued my interest, and I stay interested in technology and how I can make life easier and just how I can use different things to just have fun with them or make life easier in general.

RT Today: It’s crazy how quickly technology evolves.

DJ: I was explaining to my son how this was a total separate entity than the phone, and the evolution of having it all together has just been a process. I was explaining to him the lineage of how this came to be. He was kind of dumbfounded. He’s 13, and he’s like, “So, you had to keep music with you before?”

RT Today: Throughout your years in the NBA, how did you see technology change the game?

DJ: Oh, technology has been at the forefront of our game, whether it be wanting to start on the science side of how to make better athletes or how to track athletes or learn the ways of your opponent and what they might do. It’s been all around us in basketball. We actually appreciate it, and you just have to use it in the right capacities, whether on the front office side or sports nutrition. You have to be abreast of all these new ways of trying to be better. I think that’s what technology affords us – the ability to

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always be a better version of ourselves, whether it be in sports or just in general.

RT Today: So many players spend an entire career just wanting to win a championship and never actually get that opportunity. How did it feel to be a part of a championship team?

DJ: Well, the Big3… which it’s not a diss to say it’s in its infancy stages, but the first three years of an organization is the infancy stage… and it’s gaining a lot of attention because it provides a product that is necessary in the summertime, good basketball. Guys who are either just in it now just to still fall in love with the game that they’ve always been in love with and it was taken from them, or guys who walked away from it just want to continue playing in some capacity, or want to have some involvement in basketball.

The development process of seeing it evolve has been amazing to see a business evolve and to see guys who have input and to see something

FEATURED

Pearl Homes collaborates with a University of Central Florida research institute, the Florida Solar Energy Center, to help maximize efficiency and ensure LEED certification.

you’re working so hard on go to different places.

It’s been amazing just to be a part of it, and to see what Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz are doing.

RT Today: It’s great to watch especially because, once summer rolls around, if you’re not a baseball fan, there’s not very much to watch.

DJ: Right. There’s not much to watch. It’s just a different set of context. It’s a different game.

It’s different rules. It takes a different mindset to play it, but once you put your time into it, it’s very interesting, and it’s a set of still skilled basketball players, but it kind of caters to what they can do right now. Takes all the up and down out of it, but the half court of it and the mental capacity to play half court basketball. It’s good to see skilled basketball players that can still do some things on the court.

On the business side, it gives you inspiration because you see a concept that is flourishing right in front of your eyes and you see guys who’ve taken a chance on something that they’re passionate about. Now, it’s moving in the right direction. From a business standpoint, it just shows you that anything is possible as long as you work hard and you have the right mentality going into the business.

RT Today: You’ve seen smart home tech develop over the past few years, and it’s obviously just going to keep growing and

growing from here. Where do you see the future of the smart home?

DJ: Oh, man, that’s a tough question because even on the sustainability side, it grows every six to 12 months. It takes leaps and bounds. I think the fact that we are growing on the sustainability side so fast, it’s amazing because now people have access to resources that they thought were not going to be in their reach. It kind of makes everything more affordable, and I think that’s where it should be. It should be affordable for you to conserve energy and for you to be able to live the way you want to live and feel comfortable living the way you want to live.

So, part of my job is to stay abreast of where everything is going, but everything is moving so fast that you just pick whatever you’re interested in and you try to adapt to it and hope that you’re giving people the best product possible.

RT Today: We touched on that combination of affordability and sustainability earlier. I’m sure it can be difficult to find that balance when developing these homes. Do you think it’s just a matter of the technology improving enough for it to be more affordable?

DJ: It’s bigger than just the technology because the technology is getting more affordable. It’s just the building practice, and it’s the resources that you use and it’s how you source them. Those things are still big hurdles,

but we’ve created a system where we can give you the same resources that will give you the ability to have a quality home, a home that is hurricane- and fire-proof, a home that is able to sustain earthquakes and natural disasters, in that sense. So, it’s about giving you a quality home and having the resources and the margins, basically, to be able to create that type of home.

Then, finding different technology that fits that home, that makes that home unique. I think that those two are the ones that teeter on that affordability side.

RT Today: What do you want to accomplish in the next decade?

DJ: I just want to be, number one, passionate about the work that I do. I think that that’s something that I’ve found here in Pearl Homes, being able to provide as many people as possible with something that they can definitely be proud of. Once you walk into one of our homes, you’ll see why I say that. That makes my heart sing. That makes me want to go to work every day. I’ve been privileged enough to go to work every day with something that I had fallen in love with as a child. Now, I’m trying to create that extension where, when I go to work, I don’t feel like I’m at work. The ability to provide people with resources is not a job. I think that is what I have the ability to do and I’m trying to give to as many people as possible. x Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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INSTALLATION

The Builder Behind the Networked Smart Home Drees Homes Provides High-Quality Wired and Wireless Networks as a Standard in New Developments

By Gordon Isaac As a builder, deciding what technology to include in your new homes can be a difficult task. With the Internet of Things proving to be more than just a trend, and so many connected devices on the market, should builders include a smart thermostat, something with Google built

together the DreeSmart Technology initiative, which provides homeowners custom options, such as smart lighting, video doorbells, smart thermostats, and more. What makes this program unique is that while many tech options can be selected, every home includes a high-

Legrand – a worldwide manufacturer. Luxul’s product line of wired and wireless networking solutions offers an extensive range of robust components designed to allow their network of authorized installers to provide customers in residential or commercial applications with a

in, or perhaps a video doorbell? The choices are endless and all of these have one thing in common: the foundation for these devices is a home’s wired or wireless network. Without an appropriate network, devices are unable to communicate to each other, and they cease to bring value.

quality wired and wireless network solution as a standard feature.

much more reliable network than can be found off-the-shelf from a local retailer or on the internet. Luxul is so confident in the performance of their networks that they’ve created the Wi-Fi Assurance Program, which helps give homeowners peace of mind, and installers added support and benefits, all of which are valuable for a builder who is including this level of technology in every home.

Drees Homes understands what it means to deliver on the needs of their customers. They have been building quality homes for more than 90 years. Recently, the builder has recognized the increased demand for technology, largely in part by an influx of millennials – the 23- to 38-year-old demographic – who grew up during the technology boom and are now buying their first homes.

After some due diligence, Drees Homes put

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When you purchase a new home, you would expect it to have basic utilities such as gas, water, and electricity. With so many things being able to connect to the internet, buying a home that doesn’t have a proper network to connect to is kind of like forgetting to include a major utility.

Drees Homes recognized this gap in the market and used the opportunity to differentiate themselves by making sure that every home was wired with Category 6 cabling to be able to handle the high-speed services being offered today, as well as a robust wireless network.

To help with the network technology, Drees Homes chose to partner with Luxul, a premium brand of networking products owned by

As part of this program, each system comes with a three-year hardware warranty and unlimited feature updates with lifetime support.

In addition, the program includes value-added features, such as internet content management from Router Limits for managing screen time, filtering content, and tracking browsing history.

Drees Homes worked closely with Luxul and

INSTALLATION

provided them with every floor plan, so that Luxul sales engineers could design certified solutions that would ensure proper wired and wireless coverage unique to every model. Each floorplan has a Wi-Fi heatmap that has been created, showing the ideal location for the equipment and the coverage that can be expected once installed – alleviating the potential for problems of a comparable one-size-fits-all approach. As a free service Luxul provides to their builder partners, paired with the guarantee that the system will meet the specs as designed or Luxul will provide the necessary additional network products for free, the Wi-Fi Assurance program has proven an enormous benefit to Drees Homes – even enabling them to offer benefits to their own customers they wouldn’t have ever been able to offer without it.

Every system includes a Luxul Ethernet switch for the hardwired connections throughout the home, a Luxul XWR-1200 wireless router with

built-in wireless controller, and sometimes a Luxul XAP-810 wireless access point, depending on the size of the home. This added access point allows for active roaming with patented Roam Assist technology to allow for greater coverage while walking through a bigger home. The primary components fit in an OnQ 30-inch structured wiring enclosure, also from Legrand.

To help better educate potential home buyers on the value of this technology and the additional options available for personalization, Drees Homes paid extra attention to ensure that each technology category was effectively communicated on their websites and throughout their printed materials. They provide potential home buyers with a copy of the Wi-Fi Assurance Program along with the networked heat map for their specific home, and have included a “Wi-Fi Engineered” logo on every floor plan to help aid in the discussion

around this great benefit that comes with every Drees home.

The Wi-Fi Assurance Program was rolled out

by Drees Homes in October of 2018 to their 10 cities and 12 markets. The builder is expected to have Luxul installed in nearly 2,000 homes before the end of the year, and customer feedback has been positive. Drees Homes customers have noted their satisfaction for how their home has been wired and prepared for the future. The result is greater satisfaction in their home purchase, due to working with a builder who is looking out for their needs.

In a time when everything from a coffee maker to your toothbrush can be connected to the internet, it is important that companies like Drees Homes and Luxul continue to lead the charge in educating consumers on treating the home network as a required utility to meet their needs for today and in the future. x

After some due diligence, Drees Homes put together the DreeSmart Technology initiative, which provides homeowners custom options, such as smart lighting, video doorbells, smart thermostats, and more. What makes this program unique is that while many tech options can be selected, every home includes a high-quality wired and wireless network solution as a standard feature.

Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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INNOVATIVE TECH

The Magic of Motion Make Watching TV a Moving Experience with Automation

By Darryl Wilkinson Throughout recorded history, human beings have been enchanted and enthralled (or, in some cases, had the bejesus scared out of them) by cleverly designed autonomous mechanisms – non-living objects capable of moving seemingly of their own accord.

During the 5th century BCE in China, courtiers marveled at artificial birds made of wood that could fly. Two hundred years later, geeky Greeks were equally astonished by what’s considered to be the world’s first cuckoo clock, complete with bells, puppets, and mechanical singing doves. Today, even though I’ve had various cleaning robots for years, I still can’t resist being mesmerized by a Roomba sweeping the kitchen floor. (Not that the to-and-fro of a dirt-sucking robot has quite the bewitching gracefulness of a flying wooden bird or a

mechanical singing dove, mind you, but I don’t get out much.)

Smart door locks and motorized window treatments can also be attention-grabbers, especially for those unfamiliar with the wizardry of home automation systems. But even for the most experienced with home control – those who say, “meh” to the majority of modern motorization – one category remains irresistibly compelling: automated television mounts and mechanisms that dramatically move TV screens from out-of-the-way (or totally hidden) locations to the ideal viewing positions.

Of course, TVs that rise out of luxurious credenzas or drop down from hidden alcoves in ceilings are not new. This type of specialized motorization has long been part of the daunting

realm of high-end custom integrators possessing the resources, expertise, disposition, and (most importantly) available client budget to accomplish what’s often an audacious one-off task. Intrepid do-it-yourselfers – be they competent or clueless – have also been known to dabble here.

Regardless of their background, though, pro and amateur alike have historically been required to cobble together actuators and other necessary pieces and parts from a variety of manufacturers. Thankfully, there’s good news for anyone with a hankering for this sort of modern magic: motion and motorization are becoming more mainstream, and the number of available off-the-shelf solutions is quite impressive.

When triggered, MantelMount’s MM860 Pro Robotic TV Mount is capable of simultaneously lowering by up to 30 degrees of drop and swiveling up to 25 degrees left/right before stopping at any of several preprogrammed positions.

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INNOVATIVE TECH

Home is Where the Hearth – and the TV – Are Much like the farmer and the cowman in the musical Oklahoma!, the TV and the fireplace should be friends. Yet, for a variety of reasons, they’re not. For starters, each one wants to be the focal point of the room, and neither likes to share (talk about awkward…) Built-in fireplaces aren’t moveable, and while TVs up to a certain size aren’t exceptionally heavy, displays over 40 inches in diagonal are usually unwieldy enough to require more than one person to lug them around the room. Then there’s the inconvenient fact that TVs, like nearly all electronic gadgets, aren’t particularly fond of heat, especially temperatures high enough to burn logs or natural gas in a fireplace.

powder-coated matte finish is paintable, and the mount can be used in recessed or surface retrofit installations.

The MM860 Pro comes with an RF remote, but it can be operated by IR-based universal remotes along with home automation systems from Control4, URC, RTI, Crestron, Savant, and Logitech.

Stealth Acoustics says that all of the SPT enclosures are custom-built using marine-grade Baltic plywood and are spar-varnished inside and out to provide weather protection for the LED screen and lift mechanisms stored inside.

With an SPT Extreme model, when the nature lover wants to watch TV, the LED-based display slowly rises out of the rectangular pedestal enclosure, which also houses the invisible speaker package. Because it utilizes a fixed flat screen, the SPT Extreme cabinet must be taller and wider than the display itself. This means that even the “stealthiest” SPT Extreme model (the 103-inch diagonal SPT P3-103) requires an enclosure that’s at least 55.5-inches high (when fully retracted).

For homeowners unable or unwilling to give up that much real estate to hide Mounting the TV above the a TV or for applications, Stealth fireplace’s mantel can be a livable, Acoustics recently unveiled the temperate compromise – except that it company’s newest SPT model, the almost always puts the TV in an Transformer. Expected to ship in the unnaturally and uncomfortably high spring of 2020, the Transformer is a viewing location. fold-away TV system that can squeeze a Stealth Acoustics’ Transformer is a fold-away TV system that can squeeze a 120-inch diagonal LED-based screen into a trunk-like enclosure by folding 120-inch diagonal LED-based screen For several years, MantelMount has the screen in half lengthwise and then storing it horizontally. into a trunk-like enclosure by folding offered a series of pull-down TV the screen in half lengthwise and then mounts designed to make the farmer Stealthy Jack-in-the-Box TV storing it horizontally. Surprisingly, Stealth and the cow… I mean, the fireplace and the TV As with fireplaces, TVs often have intractable Acoustics says the unique design requires only become best buddies. These manually operated differences with Mother Nature.

Even when a two actuators: one for lifting and lowering the mounts safely secure the TV above the mantel television is specifically designed to withstand lid of the enclosure, and one that simultaneously while the room is filled with the glowing the elements, it can nevertheless become a stark, raises (or lowers) and unfolds (or folds) the TV warmth of a fire. When the fire’s out and it’s rectangular eyesore amidst an otherwise screen via an elegant side-mounted ratcheting time to watch the warming glow of the TV, a carefully tended landscape when there’s no system. convenient handle below the screen allows the image on the screen.

Although Mount Vernon, TV to be easily pulled down to a lower, moreThe Transformer is available with all of the WA-based Stealth Acoustics is best known for comfortable viewing location in front of the necessary AV and control electronics contained its line of full-range invisible architectural fireplace opening. within the fiberglass-finished enclosure, loudspeakers and wall-mountable art speakers, including built-in LCR speakers and The company’s newest model, the MM860 the company also offers three configurations of subwoofers. Because of its smaller size, lower Pro Robotic TV Mount ($1,999), eliminates LED-based “outdoor entertainment solutions” it overall profile, and all-in-one design, the the need for human involvement. (Well, not refers to as the Stealth Patio Theater (SPT) line.

Transformer can be installed in a fixed location totally – someone still needs to be there to or used as the ultimate portable TV for You could think of the Stealth Patio Theater watch TV.) When triggered, this jaw-and-TVtailgating, camping, or climbing Mt. Everest. models as the ultimate Back Yard Jack-in-thedropping mount is capable of simultaneously Box TV, as each SPT can be ordered as a lowering by up to 30 degrees of drop and RoboTV complete, turn-key weather-resistant outdoor swiveling up to 25 degrees left/right before You’re probably familiar with the old adage home entertainment system with screen sizes stopping at any of several preprogrammed that says, “The bigger they are, the harder they ranging from 103 to over 184 inches in diagonal positions. The MM860 Pro incorporates heavyfall.” When it comes to the motorization of TVs, and “built-in high-performance invisible Stealth you could also say, “The bigger they are, the duty steel (3-5.5mm), and MantelMount says more difficult they are to lift.” That may be one speakers and subwoofers in 3.1 to Atmos audio it’s designed to hold TVs ranging from 55 to 100 of the reasons why the Model L-75s from Nexus inches, weighing as much as 125 lbs. The configurations.”

Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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INNOVATIVE TECH

The Magic of Motion

(Top row) Nexus 21’s Model L-75s can lift TV screens as large as 75 inches in diagonal over a range of up to 52-inches of travel in as little as 18 seconds, or about one-fourth the run time of a typical erectile disfunction ad on TV. The Nexus 21 Model E-550 is designed to lift projectors weighing up to 100 lbs that are as large as 23.5 inches wide x 23.5 inches long x 9-inches tall. (Bottom row) It doesn’t matter whether the source material you’re watching is 16:9, 17:9, or 2.40:1, the proprietary telescoping frame system of Screen Innovations’ Transformer projection screen can adjust on-the-fly to make sure you never have to endure the horrors of black bars along the sides of the image.

21 looks a bit like an early prototype for one of the human-hunting robots in The Terminator.

You don’t have to worry about this mechanical beast of burden scaring the kids or causing the neighbors to call the RoboCops, though, since the majority of the mechanism – including the multiple, interconnecting, telescoping lift columns, the motors and wiring, and the connectivity circuitry – remains hidden in the enclosure or behind the TV when it’s in the fully raised position.

Nexus 21 says the Model L-75s can lift TV screens as large as 75 inches in diagonal over a range of up to 52-inches of travel in as little as 18

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seconds, or about one-fourth the run time of a typical erectile disfunction ad on TV. The Model L-75s also includes a 360-degree manual swivel capability and comes with an RF remote or with a control system integration kit that includes an IR remote and contact closure interface. The company also offers an optional Stealth Control Module that will allow operation of the Model L-75s with an existing TV remote control.

Nexus 21’s Model E-550 is designed to lift projectors weighing up to 100 lbs that are as large as 23.5 inches wide x 23.5 inches long x 9-inches tall. (The company estimates that the

Model E-550 can accommodate over 400 different projector models.) It offers 10 inches of downward travel and can fully extend with “near-silent operation” in 10 seconds. There are no exposed gears, tracks, or scissor mechanisms to clutter up the ceiling so, when the unit is retracted, the projector Model E-550 lift becomes as invisible as the motorized screen.

Presto Chango One of the best things about watching a fastpaced science fiction flick or an edge-of-your-seat drama is being caught offguard by a spectacular “Wow, I didn’t see that one coming” plot twist. Based in Britain and

INNOVATIVE TECH

North America, Future Automation is a one-of-a-kind company specializing in automated mechanisms that can conceal and reveal displays and projectors from some of the most surprising and unanticipated locations in your home.

Future Automation’s HL, for example, is a horizontal TV lift mechanism that can seamlessly hide TVs as large as 65 inches inside walls or fireplaces when not in use, and then gracefully slide the TV into the open when it turns on. Options include a Smart Airflow Control fan configuration for reducing heat in the enclosure, as well as a universal speaker mount bracket that allows a soundbar to be mounted under the display.

Future Automation's PIC Picture Lift Mechanism and PICSIDE Picture Side Mechanism allow you to mount pictures, mirrors, or pretty

panels in front of recessed, in-wall equipment racks or mounted TVs up to 60 inches.

Future Automation offers a couple of additional ways of hiding “colorization” as the stuff of your nightmares. diagonal of 255 inches (in a 2.40:1 flat-screen TVs inside walls, but configuration).

Although Screen Innovations can’t help with the these concealment configurations don’t involve latter, the company’s new Transformer fixed moving the displays at all. Instead, the Screen Innovations says the Transformer is projection screen uses what appears to be company’s PIC Picture Lift Mechanism and available using any one of 10 of the company’s cinematic magic (but what is really a very clever PICSIDE Picture Side Mechanism allow you to projection surface materials, including application of motorization) to banish the mount pictures, mirrors, or pretty panels in acoustically transparent versions, as well as the former from your home theater. In fact, the front of recessed, in-wall mounted TVs up to company’s ambient-light rejecting Slate company claims that the Transformer is “the 60-inches. When triggered, the PIC elegantly material. The Transformer ships with an first ever projection screen that changes shape to raises (or lowers) the attached artwork to reveal included wall switch (with optional dry contact) fit your content.” It doesn’t matter whether the the hidden screen. The PICSIDE slides the and can be controlled by third-party automation source material you’re watching is 16:9, 17:9, or attached panel to the left or right to unveil the systems using IP via Screen Innovations’ IP 2.40:1, (or, according to Screen Innovations, TV and adds a bit of drama by utilizing a based PoE powered automation and control anything in-between), the Transformer’s “ramped” start and finish motion profile. Both gateway (SIFI). proprietary telescoping frame system can adjust models are available with a variety of control There will no doubt come a day when on-the-fly to make sure you never have to options, including RS232, contact closure, IR, society’s acceptance of technology has so totally endure the horrors of black bars along the sides and RF. crossed the uncanny valley that androids, of the image.

Don’t Letterbox Me In robots, cyborgs, and all manner of The Transformer’s ability to handle such a Dedicated home theater rooms don’t have to biomechatronic creations will seem as old hat as wide (no pun intended) variety of aspect ratios obey the same rules of decor as do multi-use a 1990s flip phone. In the meantime, TVs that begins with the fact that the screen height rooms that have to accommodate activities move by themselves from out-of-the-way or remains constant while the left and right edges other than watching movies. As a result, screens totally hidden positions to the ideal viewing of the frame seamlessly – yes, literally – move and projectors don’t have to disappear after the locations for everyone in the room – or in the inward or outward as necessary to fit the entire final credits roll. But if you’re enough of a movie yard – will continue to command attention and image onto the screen’s surface material. The buff to have a dedicated home cinema room, admiration. In fact, depending upon what expandable structure consists of a 6-inch you know that not all movies share the same you’ve chosen to watch on the newly revealed aluminum extrusion that is hand-wrapped in aspect ratio – and the terms “pan-and-scan” and screen, the motorization might be more moving “letterboxed” are probably right there with velvet and is available in a maximum screen for the audience than the content. x Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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CONTROL

Reliable and Seamless As More Devices in the Home are Connected, Voice is Emerging as a Top Enabler

By Rebecca Day Voice control and simplifying the user experience were top priorities for home control companies exhibiting at CEDIA Expo 2019, the annual trade show for home technology professionals held this past fall in Denver. As more devices in the home are connected, it falls on control systems to make communications between those devices reliable and seamless, and voice is emerging as a top enabler.

Voice control is “increasingly important to users,” said Bill Hensley, senior director, marketing at Nortek Security & Control. The company has integrated microphones into its ELAN Intelligent Touch Panels that integrate with Alexa and will soon integrate with Google Assistant. ELAN views voice control “as a way to have a more intuitive, fluent, and personalized control experience,” he said.

While it’s growing in popularity, voice control doesn’t replace other user interfaces, Hensley assured. Control is no longer a one-size-fits-all proposition, Hensley said. Choosing the right method of interaction depends on use case, user preference, and the room.

“For example,” he said, “when it’s control of the media room, the handheld remote still makes the most sense. For a high-traffic area like entry hall or kitchen, this touch panel is generally the best solution.”

ELAN is also enhancing features of its tactile interfaces, integrating its intelligent touch panels with face recognition to make that user experience more seamless: “By recognizing the user, the system is able to present options personalized to that user, intuitive to that specific user’s needs and different from what other family members may want to experience,” Hensley explained. “Imagine that your touch panel identifies you as you approach and then displays a custom menu of options, sets your preferred lighting and temperature, and turns on your favorite music.”

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Smart Home OS 3 brings Google Assistant for the first time to the Control4 platform, which has had Alexa integration since 2016.

In addition, Elan introduced the SC-100, a Z-Wave-based media room control system with an on-screen display option that allows users to control and manage their home from the TV. The integrated Z-Wave gateway eliminates the need for dealers to add third-party hardware to control Z-Wave devices and allows for expansion to whole-home control via compatible devices.

URC, meanwhile, has an eye on making voice control universal. At CEDIA, the company launched the TRC-1480 handheld remote with Alexa built-in; the remote also incorporates a two-way module, allowing users to control Apple TV using Apple’s Siri voice control engine. “That’s really cool because the customer can press a button and say something like ‘Show me all of the videos with Clint Eastwood,’ and Apple TV will present them on screen for selection,” said director of marketing Petro Shimonishi.

Support for additional voice control platforms from URC will follow, Shimonishi noted, adding that the company’s goal is to provide

choices for the homeowner, enabling control of every connected device and system on their platform of choice.

URC also unveiled the 500 series wireless lighting control system that can be controlled by the array of user interfaces, including voice, for its Total Control 2.0 smart automation and control system. The 500 series can be set to automatically illuminate rooms when a client enters, create scenes, control lights from other rooms, and turn lights on or off based on geo-fencing, the company said. The system can be automated to go on or flash when a sensor is triggered.

Integrators find voice to be useful in some applications, but a button press or touchscreen access is more efficient in others, and that flexibility is at the heart of Control4’s latest operating system Smart OS 3, featured at CEDIA 2019 for the first time. With OS 3, users can choose which control method best suits the scenario to control their devices and scenes, explained Charlie Kindel, chief product and technology officer at Control4 parent company SnapAV.

CONTROL

Smart Home OS 3 brings Google Assistant for the first time to the Control4 platform, which has had Alexa integration since 2016. The OS 3 platform allows homeowners to control devices and scenes with simple voice commands, using their choice of Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant speakers and displays, Kindel said.

Referencing “robust integrations with each voice assistant,” Kindel gave examples of a customer saying, “OK Google, turn on Good Night,” to set an end-of-day scene that turns off the lights, lowers shades, locks doors, and adjusts the thermostat. Or, they could ask Google Home to start playing a food podcast on Spotify in the kitchen, he said.

Homeowners have the ability to set their own scenes in Smart Home OS3, so they’re not dependent on the integrator for simple changes they want to make to device control or scenes.

They can go into the “When>>Then” automations in the Control4 MyHome app to enable scenes or rename a voice command, or to remove scenes, he said.

The latest Control4 OS release, which also continues to support touch screens, handheld remotes, and wall keypads, added third-party doorbell support for Control4’s Intercom Anywhere, Kindel noted. That feature allows homeowners to make and receive calls from Control4 touch screens, mobile devices, and other devices from one part of the home to another.

Control4 also launched the CA-10 controller for large installations with four times the processing power and memory, capable of handling thousands of devices. The CA-10 includes redundant power supplies, network ports, solid state drives, and fans, ensuring continuous operation even in the case of a hardware failure. A fail-over event triggers an automatic notification to the dealer for troubleshooting.

RTI has expanded its voice control capability from drivers that integrate with Alexa to “baked-in” Alexa control, said Vincent Bova, dealer experience director for the company. The benefit for integrators is “very little work on the programming side.” At CEDIA, RTI showed two-way communication via Alexa, allowing the

Nortek Security & Control has integrated microphones into its ELAN Intelligent Touch Panels that integrate with Alexa and will soon integrate with Google Assistant.

client to ask a question and receive an answer.

He gave the example of homeowners being able to ask Alexa-based devices if their door is locked or if the garage door is closed.

response, and gesture control. The 11.6-inch KA11 touch panels, with Full HD resolution, have an edge-to-edge glass design; the KA8 8-inch touch panel has WXGA resolution.

RTI plans to announce other initiatives for iOS, Android, and other voice engines soon, Bova said. For the next generation of voice control, RTI will offer native Alexa control that brings new functionality and power to the end user, allowing them to adjust their surroundings more precisely. Bova said. At the same time, RTI has found that many end users are moving away from app control via mobile devices because of “inherent disadvantages they have in comparison to a dedicated handheld or touch screen controller,” he said.

Savant has introduced the Smart Home App for Apple TV, an on-screen control platform that provides fast access to smart home functionality via high-definition graphics. The graphical control icons can be shown full screen or as an overlay to live TV or a movie that is currently playing.

RTI showcased at CEDIA its new T4x handheld remote, with a sophisticated, highresolution 4-inch capacitive touchscreen and fully programmable soft-touch buttons. The remote features Wi-Fi, dual RF, and has grip sensors that keep the remote awake while in use.

For harsh environments, it debuted the U3 weatherproof controller featuring an electronic ink display, inductive charging, and wireless programming updates that allow the unit to be completely sealed.

In its tabletop and wall-mountable touch panel line, RTI displayed the KA8 and KA11, which combine widescreen LCD displays with integrated capacitive touchscreens, a fast touch

Delivering an intuitive user experience via Amazon Alexa and Google Home voice control has been an important part of Savant’s strategy over the past three years, according to company president JC Murphy. He noted that Savant works natively with Amazon and Google smart devices, and that they recently added userdefined Savant Scenes to both voice platforms.

Savant’s most recent addition was partnering with Apple to deliver Siri voice control from its Pro Remote user interface by turning Apple TV into a HomeKit gateway. At CEDIA, Savant launched its Smart Soundbar, calling it the first of many audio products coming from Savant that will directly control HomeKit and Savant third-party devices using Savant software. IPbased integration with Apple TV allows Savant intuitive control over media player commands such as play, stop, menu, and select, while giving them direct access to the Apple TV home screen and “now playing” commands.

Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

51

CONTROL

Reliable and Seamless

RTI’s T4x handheld remote (right) features Wi-Fi, dual RF, and has grip sensors that keep the remote awake while in use. The company’s tabletop and wall-mountable touch panel line now includes the KA8 and KA11, which combine widescreen LCD displays with integrated capacitive touchscreens, a fast touch response, and gesture control.

Savant chose to make voice control “active” via the Pro Remote with push-to-talk functionality. That ensures Siri is not listening all the time, something clients asked for to ensure privacy and security while giving them the convenience of voice control, Murphy said. Looking ahead, Savant will “continue to support ever-expanding algorithms that bring natural speech to the world of voice commands.”

Savant’s Smart Home App for Apple TV provides a menu of icons in a large visual format representing key features such as climate, lighting, audio, and Savant Scenes. This on-screen experience is part of the company’s Pro App software that provides an interface with smart home functionality via touch panels, mobile devices, and the Savant Pro Remote.

Users can select their favorite channels, choose to control or view the status of a service in the home, or activate a Savant Scene.

With The Smart Home App for Apple TV, Savant

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can not only provide access to quick control options, but also provide the user with “live” features, such as door station or security camera views, TrueImage control of lighting including applying favorite colors to USAI Lighting Fixtures, Savant DMX Light Strips and Smart Bulbs, along with a view into energy usage history and current generation statistics. Integrators will appreciate the ease of implementation, managed through the Savant IP Video feature set or as a standalone “Direct Mode” option with a dedicated Apple TV. Crestron, which didn’t exhibit at CEDIA Expo, launched its OS 3 software update with “hundreds” of features and a new interface for TSW touch screens in early September. The software allows complete projects to be set up and deployed “on any scale” in much shorter time with “no programming needed,” said the company. x

URC’s TRC-1480 handheld remote with Alexa built in also incorporates a two-way module allowing users to control Apple TV using Apple’s Siri voice control engine.

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PRODUCT REVOLUTION BodyGuardz is providing security of a different sort with a new smart home product line comprising a portable security camera, portable over-door camera, and portable emergency unit. These products were developed to fill a specific gap in the smart home security market for renters and others who prefer portable, convenient peace of mind both at home and while on the go. The first three products in the smart home product line include a Portable 360-degree Security Camera, a Dual Camera Door Security, and a Portable 5-in-1 Emergency Hub.

The ChargeHub HomeBase Power Bank Docking Station is an at-home charging solution that powers the whole family on-the-go. This Docking Station charges four power banks, plus one additional device using the USB charging port. Each power bank has a durable aluminum case and is colorcoordinated with a metallic finish for easy identification. Its powerful 4000 mAh battery capacity will keep devices powered throughout the day.

The Circle Home Plus hardware and app from Circle Media Labs is an intriguing “screen time” management solution, designed to help families to find balance, set healthy limits, build good habits, and get the best out of their digital experiences.

From laptops and tablets to smart TVs and video game consoles, parents can manage their family members’ time spent on internetconnected devices at home and across all mobile devices on any network. The solution leverages a cloud-based architecture.

Nortek Security & Control has released a new Jandy iAquaLink Driver for its ELAN intelligent home control system, enabling seamless cloudbased integration of iAquaLink-connected RS pool and spa control systems with the ELAN platform.

The new ELAN iAquaLink Driver provides automatic discovery of all of AquaLink’s features and labels to ensure fast and easy integrations. If a pool’s automation is already connected to the web with an iAquaLink antenna, the integrator can use the driver to simply connect ELAN to the iAquaLink cloud service.

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PRODUCT REVOLUTION

Sonos Port is the versatile streaming component for your stereo or receiver. Connect Port to your traditional stereo to stream music and more. Enjoy control with the Sonos app or Apple AirPlay 2, and easily expand your sound system to more rooms.

RoseWater Energy Group has expanded its partnership with Alpine Power Systems, a nationwide provider of backup power, telecom, cable, and motive power that currently manages RoseWater Energy Group’s installations of the HUB SB20 Energy and Storage System. Through an expanded partnership, Alpine Power Systems will oversee logistics and warehouse support for the HUB SB20 Energy and Storage System.

Vantage Controls’ EasyTouch Glass modular keypad station offers a highly reflective, glass-like look with a smooth touch surface for a one-of-a-kind aesthetic. Available with up to five programmable buttons for different scenes — such as “Welcome,” “Away,” or “Party” — not only does the keypad allow users to set the lighting in a space with one touch, it can also incorporate control over QMotion automated shading, speakers, and other third-party systems.

Anthem’s new MDX Series of audio distribution systems features fully powered independent-zone subwoofer connections, as well as ARC Genesis room correction for each zone. MDX includes 60 Watts (8 Ohms)/120 Watts (4 Ohms) with all channels driven, or bridges to provide 200 Watts (8 Ohms) to provide eight or 16 channels of Ultra-Class-D amplification, each supported by Advanced Load Monitoring technology. Zones can have custom names, multiple inputs, independent playback, and tuning controls, and can bridge for more power.

Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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PRODUCT REVOLUTION Two new Hi-Fi listening products from Denon, the PMA-600NE integrated amplifier and DCD-600NE CD player, have been designed to deliver superb sound and connectivity at an accessible price. The amplifier is engineered with Denon’s Advanced High Current (AHC) single push-pull circuit power amplification technology, delivering 70 watts of powerper-channel (4ohm, 1kHz, THD 0.7 percent, 2 channel). The Denon DCD-600NE CD Player supports CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, and WMA formats and features Denon AL32 Processing technology ensuring discs always sound their best.

Meridian has begun shipping its new 210 Streamer to help integrators meet client demand for reliable, high-quality audio streaming throughout the home. The device allows the latest music-streaming services to connect to home audio installations via a range of formats, for a flexible and powerful system. It can be connected over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to any smart phone or tablet, with volume and playback controls synchronized between streaming apps and the Meridian system.

Pro Audio Technology has created three new model additions to its SR series of invisible-mount loudspeakers – SR-25im, SR-6im, and SR-26im – as well as a new pivot bracket that provides installation flexibility. SR Series are built with the same genuine professional-grade speaker components as Pro’s high-end loudspeakers, but in discreet form factors ideal for home theater and multi-room audio environments where superior sound is desired without sacrificing design.

QMotion has launched a new self-service portal on its website that allows integrators to easily browse a wide array of shade fabric styles – nearly 300 options from solar and eco screens to light-filtering decorative sheers and matching room-darkening blackout fabrics – and order memo samples. Anyone can search QMotion’s fabrics by openness factor, price group, color group, and special characteristics, such as fire retardant or PVC-free, and then add samples to the cart with a single click.

Savant has expanded its window shade offerings to include both battery-powered motor solutions as well as new quiet, high-powered wired motors. Unlike bulky, unsightly motorized shades, all Savant wired or wireless solutions fit into the same low-profile tube and bracketing system, giving integrators a no-compromise window treatment for both new construction and retrofit applications. For retrofit projects, Savant’s new rechargeable battery-powered motors install into the same JGeiger bracketing system as the wired solution and are available with more than 400 fabric choices with sheer, translucent, and blackout options.

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PRODUCT REVOLUTION The T 778 represents NAD’s philosophy of real-world performance, simplicity of operation, and future upgradability.

7.1.4 Dolby Atmos and DTS Master Audio combine with Dirac Live room correction to deliver hyper-realism that captures every dimension of a performance. Add bit-perfect UHD 4K video processing and the T 778 delivers what the company says is the most accurate sound and image experience possible. Musical performance is optimized with High Res multi-room streaming via BluOS.

AudioControl has introduced two RS Series single-channel subwoofer amplifiers ideally suited for home theater, 2-channel music systems and multi-zone audio applications. Both amplifiers feature AudioControl’s DSP feature set. The RS 1000 delivers 1000 watts from a 2U chassis into a 4- or 8-Ohm subwooferr, and the RS 500 delivers 500 watts from a 1U chassis into a 4 or 8-Ohm subwoofer.

Atlona’s Opus series consists of three HDMI-toHDBaseT matrix switchers and one receiver built for high-performance 4K/HDR and Dolby Vision signal distribution and extension in residential AV environments. Opus products are engineered with a comprehensive range of control and audio matrixing features, making the series ideal for a wide-range applications requiring multi-zone AV distribution.

With the Bollard XL, Origin Acoustics took its original Bollard Loudspeaker design and super-sized it. The poly/ rubber subwoofer grew from 6.5 inches to 10 inches, and the satellite portion is now a full 6.5-inch two-way loudspeaker.

The efforts of these separate portions are combined within a heavy-duty powdercoated Aluminum Bollard Enclosure. The sound is then distributed in either 360 or 180 degrees, depending on the choice of acoustic lens. They are available in three standard colors: silver, black, or bronze.

The new Performance range marks the entry point to the Dynaudio Custom Installation product lineup. It was designed to deliver high-quality sound in distributed audio, media room, and other architectural audio applications. For installers, specifying Dynaudio Performance speakers means not having to choose between deep or shallow versions of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. The new lineup keeps things simple with just one relatively shallow depth. They also no longer have to compromise between fit and performance.

Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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PRODUCT REVOLUTION LRx85 is the latest generation of high-performance, invisible speakers from Stealth Acoustics. They are available in both passive and active versions, allowing for invisible audio in the most critical applications for home theater, listening rooms, and high-performance distributed audio. This two-panel system, which replaces a segment of a flat wall or ceiling with a paintable, nonpenetrable flat front speaker system, incorporates five mid-range/high frequency drivers mounted in a unique dual-D’Appolito alignment for noticeable improvement in left/right panoramas and depth of sound stage.

The first seven loudspeaker products from Theory Audio Design consist of three soundbars (sb65, sb75, and sb85) designed to perfectly match with 65-inch, 75inch and 85-inch flat panel TVs, an all-purpose on-wall loudspeaker model (sb-25) with dual 5.5-inch carbon fiber woofers, as well as two subwoofers (sub12 and sub15) with 12-inch and 15-inch drivers. At the core of all Theory systems lies a 9-channel Amplified Loudspeaker Controller (ALC-1809), with 1,800W per system and 96kHz/32-bit digital signal processing.

Wilson Electronics has launched the weBoost Home MultiRoom and weBoost Home Complete, two powerful, consumer-friendly indoor cell signal boosters designed to provide solid cellular connectivity in homes up to 5,000 and 7,500 square feet, respectively. Compatible with all mobile devices and wireless carriers in North America, the boosters allow users to enjoy better voice quality, fewer dropped calls, uninterrupted texts and faster data streaming throughout their home.

The Epson LS500 short-throw Laser Projection TV1 comes with an ultra-high definition ambient light rejecting screen with unique optical layering technology. Capable of displaying 4K HDR content up to 120 inches, it features Epson’s proprietary 4K PRO-UHD 4 3LCD technology, a contrast ratio exceeding 2,500,000:1, and advanced HDR5 processing to produce vivid colors and deep blacks for an exceptionally bright, colorful, and sharp picture – regardless of the viewing environment.

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ART & TECH

Building a Virtual Media Room Updated Modus VR Software Platform Expedites the Home Theater Design Process

By Jeremy Glowacki Imagine designing a home theater or media room through a virtual reality headset and hand controllers and being able to walk through that room and experience it almost like the real thing.

Now, consider the convenience of trying out various seating configurations and sizes, table placements, and even see how a movie would actually look on different sized home theater projection screens in a basement home theater.

Modus VR design software makes that all possible, enabling professional technology integrators to deliver a stunning virtual reality experience to clients that expedites the design process. The newly updated software provides more flexibility and options than the company’s initial offering, including an updated CAD export workflow, options for new virtual finishes and materials, support for new Windows Mixed Reality headsets, and improved organization of the virtual-objects library.

Once a room is built in virtual reality, it can be exported as a CAD document faster than ever, thanks to the platform’s new CAD export workflow. Using a simple UI, integrators can create as many different views of the space as they need, and even add a company logo and information to PDFs for the ultimate professional presentation. The new support for Windows Mixed Reality headsets further enhances the sales process by eliminating the need for external sensors and making setup and breakdown of a VR experience much faster and simpler.

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ART & TECH

Modus VR design software includes new virtual objects such as two new Epson projectors, SnapAV Signature Series racks, more default sizes for 16:9 projection screens, area rugs, ceiling fans, fiber optic ceilings, and more.

Integrators will appreciate the availability of new virtual objects such as two new Epson projectors, SnapAV Signature Series racks, more default sizes for 16:9 projection screens, area rugs, ceiling fans, and fiber optic ceilings. New finishes are available for floors and walls, including select wood flooring, various carpet patterns, polished concrete, and more, while seating options now include a variety of leathers and microfiber.

Some existing objects received minor upgrades, such as in-ceiling speakers with smaller bezels, recessed lighting with round and square options in four sizes, and additional pendant light styles.

A new flexible couch and ottoman can be resized on three axes for complete control, with a realistic, reactive appearance that adds cushions as length is increased.

Modus VR’s object library, where 3D models of all the furniture, appliances, and decorations are stored, is now organized into categories, providing much faster object selection and enabling larger libraries that are easier to navigate. Aesthetics options also received upgrades, with the added ability to select wood flooring, various carpet patterns, polished concrete, and more. Seating options now include a variety of leathers and microfiber.

The new process for creating color palettes is easier than ever, too. Designers can set up their own library of color swatches, assign them to multiple objects, and then make sweeping changes in seconds. x Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

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MEET-UP

Events

CES is your annual one-stop shop for everything tech. From major tech leaders to startups, CES always brings out the latest tech innovations and the leaders driving their industries.

Photos: IPW/Adam SaldaĂąa

NOVEMBER 11-13

Basic Residential Boot Camp Indianapolis, IN

13

LED Specifier Summit Chicago, IL

19-20

Smart Home Summit San Francisco, CA

DECEMBER 14-16

Home Theater Boot Camp Indianapolis, IN

19-22 Greenbuild Atlanta, GA

9-11

Advanced Networking Boot Camp Indianapolis, IN

JANUARY 2020 7-10

International CES Las Vegas, NV

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13-17

Project Voice Chattanooga, TN

21-23

Kitchen & Bath Industry Show Las Vegas, NV

COMING UP

Residential Tech Today

COMING ISSUES January/February

Privacy and Security Matters. There are more internet-connected devices in the home than ever before, which adds remote control conveniences and efficiencies, but also real privacy mistakes and security breaches involving IoT devices and private information. Find out how home networks can be protected and what lessons can be learned from prior security breaches.

March/April

Becoming a Cinema Sommelier. The high-end private cinema industry finds itself in a unique position as the multi-purpose entertainment room remains a more preferred option for homeowners.

What opportunities are still available for skilled home cinema designers and integrators as they work with clients to raise the bar on these projects?

May/June

Outdoor Tech: Improving the smart home experience around the pool and yard requires a thorough understanding of weather-proof speakers, TVs, lighting, and extended network connections.

iStockphoto.com/onurdongel

Nov/Dec 2019 | Residential Tech Today

63

RELAX

The Lighter Side

The 2019 Holiday Gift Guide (For Your Enemies)

By Anthony Elio The holiday season is here! This means it’s time for the annual tradition of gaining weight, chopping down trees, and sitting down with such timely films as Doogie Howser’s Hospital Holiday and Jeff Bezos Saves Christmas: An Amazon Production.

Oh, and maybe some gratitude and family time thrown in. However, most importantly, it’s gifting time! But while you’re going to be so busy purchasing gifts for your friends and family, don’t forget about the people that need gifts the most this time of year: your enemies. Yes, whether it be your childhood rival, your disapproving aunt-in-law, or that Subway employee that kicked me out for putting soda in a water cup, everyone has an enemy, and even enemies receive gifts this time of year.

And so, here are the gifts you should get if you feel like passive-aggressively telling someone you don’t like them without showing up to the holiday party empty handed.

ClickStick Do you have a tech-savvy rival that you’re trying to insult in a subtle manner? Then might I suggest ClickStick, the very first “smart deodorant” in the world. Funded on Kickstarter, ClickStick inspired over 1,000 perspiring backers to shell out $65,172 to complete the project. So not only will you insult your enemy’s odor, you’ll also make them realize someone actually raised tens of thousands of dollars for deodorant while they’ve done nothing with their lives.

A Subscription to Crackle Streaming services are all the rage these days. And, while there will undoubtedly be subscriptions to Hulu and Netflix stuffing stockings this year, why not be a little bit more original with a subscription to the often-forgotten Crackle? While everyone else is binge watching Orange is the New Black and The Handmaid’s Tale, your enemy can enjoy such Crackle originals as Rob Riggle’s Ski Master Academy and Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser. As an added bonus, since Crackle is completely free, you won’t even need to pay for this particular spiteful gift.

Galaxy Note 7 As with any holiday season, smartphones will be a hot commodity for young and old alike. However, the newest models can often be expensive, so many gift-givers often opt for an older model rather than the latest and shiniest. And so, I suggest the Galaxy Note 7 as the perfect present for your enemy. Because the model is outdated, the user will be unable to download Android 9.0 Pie, the latest update for the phone, which will undoubtedly result in mild frustration. Oh, and rampant battery issues caused numerous Galaxy Note 7 explosions, resulting in the model being recalled. (Side note: In order to determine if giving this gift constitutes manslaughter, I suggest consulting your legal counsel before purchase.)

A Copy of WIRED Gifting an inferior magazine will undoubtedly make your enemy jealous of Residential Tech Today readers such as yourself. x iStockphoto.com/DNY59

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UBPX1100ES

Built for Custom Integration Award-winning performance to suit every need.

Delight your clients with Sony’s award-winning line of home entertainment products, built specifically for custom integration. Sony’s full lineup of premium-quality AV receivers and masterful 4K HDR TVs, projectors, and Blu-ray players define the modern home theater, delivering the most breathtaking and immersive experiences possible.

Step into next-generation home entertainment with Sony.

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