Automated Entertaining Space

Stunning 50" Fujitsu Plasma
Given the size of the room, and the light conditions, a 50" Fujitsu Plasma screen was chosen. Fujitsu screens 10180p screen provided the very best picture quality fat the time of completion of this installation. This, combined with the Sky High Definition box and recently added Arcam Blu-Ray players source provides some  visual results.
The thin piano black bezel has a sleek, elegant appearance totally in harmony with the existing character of the room.
The Monitor Audio Gold front speakers are recessed flush within the cabinet. They have custom made cloth grills fitted over the speakers to match the dark grain of the wood.

James Bond Style Plasma Lift
The Future Automation plasma lift keeps the screen completely hidden when not in use. With one button press on the remote control, the plasma screen switches off and quietly descends into the cabinet. The lip then comes up to seal the top of the cabinet completely flush (see below) with the grain of the wood running through perfectly.
This was the perfect solution to a discreet system without having the traditional inconvenience of opening and closing cabinet doors.
Unlike plasma lifts from other manufacturers, the Future Automation lift allows the screen to sit without a wooden "hat" on top. Instead the lip retracts into the cabinet when the screen rises.

Bespoke Designed Cabinet
Given the clients passion for fine furnishings, the cabinet that we were commissioned to design and build had to be something quite special. The client requested explicitly that we use Macassar Ebony to match the wood elsewhere in the lounge.
This called for the fine craftsmanship of Bernhard Hobson Woodworking. Balancing the clients aesthetic demands, our technical requirements and the woodworking build constraints a fine piece of furniture was produced which exceeded the clients expectations.

Music and Video 'On Tap'
The  Media server with a massive 3TB of storage stores hundreds of DVDs and CDs on the system. This means that without leaving the chaise-longue, the client can browse through his entire DVD collection on screen and start any one of hundreds of movies at the touch of a button.
The media server also stores images which can be set to play as a slide show. To make optimum use of this facility we transferred pictures of all the clients antiquities to the server so these cycle through on screen it is when not in use.
The RAID protection guards against any data loss so if the unit fails, all the precious movies, music and digital photos are completely protected.
it fails, all the precious movies, music and digital photos are completely protected.

Discreetly Hidden Equipment
The function of the cabinet is to keep all the equipment completely hidden when not in use. The design of the cabinet has achieved this while allowing easy access for changing CDs and videos.
A customised cooling system has also been added to the cabinet so that two silent running fans turn on automatically when the equipment is in use. This ensures that all the equipment can operate at optimum level without overheating.


High Quality Surround Speakers
The Monitor Audio Gold rear speakers are perfectly matched with the front speakers and also complement the design of the light fittings. Given the size of the room it was important to choose a speaker that would fill the room with a full bodied sound.
All cables were run during the build phase so they are completely hidden. Additional cables were run in the ceiling so that a projector and discreet automated projector drop could be added with minimal disruption at a later date.
A Triad subwoofer with a separate amplifier was built into the cabinet with a ported bass hole. This avoided the inconvenience of having a separate subwoofer box located elsewhere in the room.

Effortless Blind and Lighting Control
Using the touch screen controller the floor to ceiling blinds in this room are very simple to control. The lounge and dining area blinds can be operated either independently or simultaneously.  In a similar fashion the Lutron Lighting system has been programmed to allow distinct lighting moods to be created at the press of a single button the lihgt switch on the touch screen controller.
Useful 'intelligent' features have been incorporated into the system so that when the house alarm is set, all the blinds close automatically and the lights are switched off.
Alternatively, the control can be set to 'holiday' mode having learned their normal daily sequence the control, will replicate this while the client is away in their holiday home in Tuscany.

Simple 'One Button' Operation
The control method chosen was a Philips Pronto TSU9600 multi-remote control with Radio Frequency (RF) connectivity.
This allows the remote to work from anywhere in the room as it does not require line of sight to any of the equipment. This means all the equipment can be housed discreetly in the cabinet at the back of the room.
Macros were programmed so that with a single button press, the lights dim, all the equipment is switched on, set to the correct inputs and the plasma screen rises. To achive the additional inteligence mentioned above the Lutron blinds and lights were fed directly with light and heat sensors and timeings set to react according to the wishes of our clients.