Add some synergy to your home with some technical gismos to enjoy.

AV Synergy was employed to fully design and fit a Multiroom Audio Visual system that was simple to control yet ultra reliable. Working alongside the M&E consultants and architects, they were asked to include, SkyHD, DVD and music to be distributed to multiple rooms. The client requested 3 sky boxes, 3 DVD players and 2 iPod docks to be available in the following rooms; the living room, kitchen, dining room, master bedroom, en-suite, bedroom 2, 3 & 4; the pool room, garden, jacuzzi and cinema room. Each person in the house wanted their own dedicated Sky HD box and DVD player, that they could enjoy from whichever room of the house they were in.

The obvious choice for a project of this size was to use a Crestron control system, a high quality colour touch panel, giving the user the ability to turn on the TV, select the desired Sky box, or DVD, adjust the volume, dim the lights, draw the curtains and enjoy a movie at the single touch of a button.



They started with the living room, a full HD 60” Pioneer plasma was flush mounted into the chimney breast, the surround sound installed in this room was a Lexicon Processor along with Artcoustic speakers. The large Crestron remote control gives the owner full, reliable control of everything in the house.

The kitchen has a 42” Pioneer plasma on the wall with 8” ceiling speakers to generate stereo sound. On the wall they decided on a Crestron Control panel, which enables full control of not only the kitchen, but also has, full two-way video intercom entry for the electric gates and control of the lights and audio/video. This house control is a handy feature much needed in a sizable house, being able to turn off lights or the TV from another room can be a blessing, especially where children are concerned!

The pool has its own 42” plasma, mounted inside a waterproof housing. The housing is finished in oak, matching the door frames and uses non reflective glass to provide a protective housing, without impairing the vision quality.

The garden has by no means been forgotten either, one of the most fun features are speakers, that have been cleverly disguised as rocks! These speakers not only blend into the garden, but also sound fantastic. Perfect, for outdoor entertaining with ambient music.



The master bedroom of course has a 42” Pioneer plasma and ceiling speakers. In the bedroom also, one can find the Crestron Colour touch panel, giving all the same features as the kitchen, plus the ability to control the en-suite.

In the en-suite a 17” Aquavsion bathroom TV can be found. This waterproof TV is flush mounted into the tiles and with its mirror finish, looks fantastic even when not in use.

The cinema room is perhaps the piece de resistance, having its own surround sound, again using the Lexicon sound Processor; however, in this case the speakers are professional studio monitors from Genelec. The cinema features a Kaleidescape system. This is a professional means of storing all your DVD’s and ensuring an extremely easy way in which to access and view them, with its on screen menu. All of the DVD cover art is shown on screen, making it simple to choose the film that you wish to watch.



The projector produces a 7ft wide image onto a fixed screen. Below, all the equipment is housed in a specially made unit, by Custom Made furniture. AV Synergy worked with Neil at Custom Made, to come up with a design that not only looked great, but was functional and discreet in hiding all of the equipment.

The sound and picture quality in this room is first class, watching a film on the large screen with crystal clear professional surround sound is a totally different movie experience. This room also has a Playstaion3, so that the kids can enjoy their favourite games, with the same high quality, sound and vision.

All of the equipment for the house is mounted in a purpose designed rack. The rack not only provides a neat and tidy means of installation, but it also has thermal management, to ensure that the system runs cooler than normal, thus giving better reliability. The power supply is conditioned from the mains, to provide the control processors with a clean 240v. This in turn enhances the audio sound and protects the equipment from long term damage from voltage surges. The rack is covered in a custom designed wooden cabinet, to match the other study furniture.

AV Synergy fully installed, programmed and commissioned the full home automation Crestron control system as shown. To contact them for a free consultation please call 0845 6800009 or visit www.avsynergy.co.uk

See more in Homes issue 92.