Interior Frustrations – Designers and A/V Installers

 Interior designers face a bright future as more and more homeowners turn to these aesthetic experts to bring a sense of fun and joy to their homes. Along with interest in whole-home redesigns, owners are also seeking a complete home theater experience, and are in need of qualified technicians to provide them with a truly immersive sound and video package.

The devil in home renovation projects lies in the details, which is something that both designers and installers must contend with. Sometimes, conflicts can arise between a designer and installation technician if necessary electronic components cause an aesthetic concern or interfere with the use of a space. Good communication and professionalism from both parties can help to alleviate this concern and allow the two experts to work out a mutually acceptable solution.

In order for an A/V installer to assist an interior designer and expedite the project, it’s a good idea for the technician to streamline the process by letting the designer know what they are going to install and when. Options such as invisible speakers or display lifts can help to minimize the visual impact of the equipment and help designers and installers work together to complete a project. Installers and designers are seeking to accomplish the same goal: to make the homeowner happy. By working together, this goal is accomplished far more easily, and in such a way that both professionals are able to do their best work.

Best Laid Plans – The Architect and A/V Challenges

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows a significant upward trend in the number of “owner built” homes over the course of the last four years. While the number of “spec homes” has remained high, it has dropped from 80% of all homes on the market to just 2/3, and homeowners have been finding ways to create homes that are not simply well-built, but that are built with their needs in mind.

In order to create a custom-built home, owners must deal with a number of professionals, and chief among those professionals are architects. The overall “vision” of any home project rests with the architect, and a great deal of responsibility for the reaction of the homeowner to their new home lies in their hands. Unfortunately, architects are often confronted with tradesmen and contractors that are not able to deliver on time or are unable to live up to the high standards of professionalism demanded by architectural work. One area where this can be a significant issue is in high-quality audio-visual installation.


Sounds like A Good Idea – The Role of A/V in a Custom Home

For owners who have the means to build their own home and the time to invest in making sure their vision of the home is achieved, high-end audio-visual equipment and home theater systems are often high on the list of “must-haves.” With a myriad of options now available for home theater systems – from wireless control options to whole-home entertainment and thermostat operations panels – homeowners have more than ever to choose from. In order to ensure that their preferred A/V system is installed correctly, a homeowner must hire a professional installation company that not only sells the products they want, but services them as well. Unfortunately, these companies can often present a problem for architects.

Start To Finish – Where Architects See A/V

For an A/V technician, a home is seen as a place to be made more entertaining – they see how a big screen television, surround sound system and 3D projector assembly could make the home more enjoyable.

For an architect, an A/V system is merely a small part of the overall plan, and the technician that comes to install it must not only know what they are doing, but be able to do it within the guidelines set out by the design. Plans for homes are specific, down to the last inch and detail, and A/V technicians who are sloppy in their installation or unprofessional in their conduct can make a home building project extremely difficult. Even worse are installation companies with little coordination or scheduling abilities – an architect needs to know when each contractor will be coming to work, and when the work will be done.

Architects and A/V technicians can co-exist, but a dedicated and knowledgeable A/V technician is required in order to help a custom home plan to stand out from the crowd.

Apple IOS 4.2 Airs On The Side Of Awesome

As of November 1, 2010, Apple completed the “golden master” version of its latest IOS update for the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. Version 4.2 is the first upgrade that will bring the functionality of IOS 4 to the iPad, and includes a number of new features that aim to make Apple’s range of mobile devices even more user-friendly.

Users can expect to see this version of the IOS within a week or two if previous releases are any indication, and app developers are now able to submit and tweak their apps for the final release version, meaning that most will be up and running when the upgrade hits.

From a proprietary Apple perspective, the most important advancements in this IOS are AirPrint and AirPlay. AirPrint will allow users to wirelessly send documents to printers, while AirPlay will allow them to transmit music or video to a supported receiver.

At the moment, both AirPrint and AirPlay are fairly limited in functionality – the Print is focused on HP printers and the Play mostly on Apple TVs and similar devices, but this is merely the first iteration. Just as the iPhone and iPad IOS has become far more functional from 3 to 4 and now 4.2, AirPrint and AirPlay will also evolve.

For high-quality A/V users and those with cutting-edge home theatre systems, this means the ability to use their Apple device to wirelessly stream their favorite music or video is enroute.

Creston Focuses On Prodigal Fun with Its New Line

Creston is one of the most respected names in the home theatre and automation industries. Known for their high quality, Creston products have long been sought after by connoisseurs and sound enthusiasts alike.

To both stay ahead of the curve and offer their line of high-quality A/V products to the broadest range of consumers, Creston has developed their Prodigy line, which focuses on a combination of whole-home automation in a simple to use package.

Simple? Absolutely. Taking advantage of the latest in wireless technology, the Prodigy control center can be easily installed in any home and connected to televisions and audio systems, along with thermostats and lighting. The Creston Prodigy line makes it possible to control the entire ambiance of a room with a simple touch of a button – and with no need for complex wiring.

In addition to quality, Creston has also taken into account the need for affordability, and has made the Prodigy line extremely scalable. Start with a wireless home theatre center, and then branch out to heating or lighting control, all from the same basic platform. With a simple interface, the Prodigy control center gives ultimate control at any level.

Prodigy is also smart enough to act on its own and help you save money by intelligently adjusting lighting and temperature when no one is around. Backed up by the Creston brand and with features unmatched in the industry, Prodigy is cutting-edge technology in an affordable package.

Installation of 103" Plasma

The Kiwi Team out in the field during a recent install

Runco 3D Projections Run Away With The High-End 3D Market

The future of home theatre is 3D if statistics from Japan - the home television innovation - are any indication. According to a Goo survey from July of 2010, 24% of those polled wanted a 3D television set in their homes, even if they’d never seen one in action before. This kind of potential market penetration for high-quality 3D home theatre experiences has led to the design of top-end 3D projectors – for example the Runco 3DimensionSeries D-73d.

Long known for their superb home electronics, Runco is now making the leap into stereoscopic 3D with their new line of projectors. Using Runco’s proprietary Constant Stereoscopic Vision design, the projector is able to provide a movie-theatre quality 3D viewing experience using what are known as “passive” glasses. These proprietary shades contain no electronics or wiring, and are thus far less susceptible to environmental issues such as varied lighting or multiple electronic devices in a room.

The Runco D-73d is sleek and compact, easily fitting into a variety of aesthetic visions for a home theatre space. Add to that the fact that the projector is able to flawlessly display both 3D and 2D video in a native 1080p DLP 16x9 mode, and this Runco model is a standout as a marker for the next generation of 3D.

For anyone looking to take their home theatre space to the next level, the Runco 3Dimension Series of projectors are the current pinnacle of the industry.

New Apple TV Brings Sleek Sophistication Home

Apple is known for user-friendly products such as the iPod and iPad, but has had little success in the high-quality A/V market as their first two versions of the Apple TV were bulky and difficult to use. Hoping to change all that, Apple has now released the third iteration of its Apple TV box, a streaming, cloud-based TV and movie player for home theatre enthusiasts.

The specs look promising: it can display streaming TV in 720p, not as high as a Blu-Ray player, but a significant improvement over other TV boxes; uses the A4 1Ghz processor from the iPad, 802.11N Wi-Fi; and can be controlled using the Apple remote app on the iPod or iPad. Overall, it’s a significant A/V improvement from the last two versions.

The new Apple TV is also far smaller than any other TV box out there – only 4 inches across and less than 1 inch high, it blends in seamlessly to a high-quality home theatre system. So seamlessly, in many cases, that guests can’t even tell where it is located in the room.

For a homeowner considering a home theatre system installation using cutting-edge technology, the new Apple TV might just be something to consider. With sleek, fast menus and a growing library of TV and movies to choose from, in combination with a tiny space footprint, Apple is likely to be a major player in the high-end A/V market for the first time, and home theatre enthusiasts stand to significantly benefit from this technology.

How Apple Integration Can Enhance A Home Theatre Atmosphere

The new face of high-quality A/V and home theatre includes not only a focus on green technologies such as automation and solar power, but also on complete synchronicity of all system parts. Consumers have high standards for the products they purchase not only in terms of overall quality and installation, but also in terms of ease of functionality. Two devices that are now frequently becoming home theatre integrated are the iPad and iPhone.

iPads are gaining home theatre functionality with the emergence of apps such as the one from Creston. Creston offers a free app download in the form of Creston Mobile which turns the iPad into a 2-way touch panel that can be made to work with any Creston product. This instantly gives the user the ability to create a self-designed remote control layout that can wirelessly turn on and manipulate all aspects of their home theatre experience – from lights and sound to video and action.

The integration of Apple devices into existing home theatre systems means greater ease of control for users and a broader range of functions for the iPhone, iPod and iPad.

Enhancing Your Outdoor Living Space With High Quality Audio

High-quality indoor A/V systems are intended to give a home theatre atmosphere a feeling of luxury and completeness – the sense of being separate and apart from a “traditional” television room while still maintaining a sense of familiarity and comfort. One of the marks of an A/V installation master is to create a sound atmosphere in which listeners do not know exactly where the crisp and crystal-clear sound is coming from. While this has been nearly perfected by high-quality A/V providers for indoor systems, many clients are now looking to add seamless audio integration to their outdoor living spaces.

 This can pose a challenge for even technical wizards, and hiring a company with a reputation for both quality and performance is essential when creating an outdoor audio system. Outdoor speakers have evolved from their bulky progenitors, and are now made to order, with current models on the market shaped like rocks, small outdoor lights, or even taking the form of fully-functional planter boxes. In addition, items such as subwoofers can now be buried underground to create a bass effect unlike any felt in a home. Take a look at our product listing to see all of these items in their full detail: http://kiwiav.com/products.html.

By using a company that has expertise working with high-quality A/V materials, homeowners can design an outdoor living area that matches the high standards of their indoor entertainment system. Installed correctly, an outdoor speaker system can create a luxurious oasis of sound that guests will marvel at. For a high-quality indoor or outdoor sound system consultation, contact Kiwi Audio Visual today.

Saving Energy in a Home AV System: A Bright Idea in Solar Technology

Cutting-edge technology, like solar panels, can provide a consistent and renewable energy source for a home. However, they're rarely the first piece of automation technology that a home or business owner decides to implement. Solar panels are usually used as part of an overall automation system designed to decrease the carbon footprint of a building. They're a very useful and ultimately cost effective solution to this end, and fit in well with modern automation technologies.

A successful approach to using a solar panel involves some calculation of solar panel energy storage versus current automation settings. The energy output of the solar panel should be compared with peak building energy usage times and actual energy needs in order to get the most out of automation services; otherwise, energy generated by a solar panel will simply be wasted.


For example, if a home has several 123 watt solar panels that collect the most energy from 2:00-3:00 every day, a home automation system should be set to decrease energy during that time period if at all possible. This allows more energy to be stored by the panels, allowing greater energy efficiency in the home. Larger panels can handle and store more energy, so with a 160 watt panel, automation could be less strict.


The amount of resources being directed toward the furtherance of solar energy speaks loudly to the fact that it will be the next significant power source on our planet. In the state of California, the state government has enacted a rebate plan through the California Solar Initiative. Among other rebates, any home that has solar systems that “are thermally isolated from living space or any other area where the energy is used” is eligible for a property tax exemption up to the full value of the solar system. Federally, and through 2016, solar system owners are eligible for a 30% tax credit.


What this means for homeowners is that wiring in a solar generation or capture system to an existing home automation system can not only cut down on power costs, but lead to state and federal tax reductions as well. Solar generation systems can now be easily tied into existing whole-home or A/V systems, allowing consumers both control of this cutting-edge technology and a way to help contribute to a greener planet while still saving money.