from the moment you enter It s all at your fingertips.The room fits the mood making it difficult to ever leave.

www.ramultimedia.com

ROBERT ALLEN MULTIMEDIAC U S T O M H O M E T H E A T E R SROBERT ALLEN MULTIMEDIAC U S T O M H O M E T H E A T E R S

21 Cross Street, New Canaan, CT 06840 – By Appointment Only – 203.856.0058

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Robert Allen began his love affair with sound and performance early,perhaps it was the influence of his songwriter father and singer mother. Fromhis acquisition of stereo equipment before he hit his teens, to recording jin-gles from the age of seven, his appreciation for the total experience, notjust pictures, tone and decibels was developed. For the past 15 years hehas been applying those sensitivities to create for his clients uniquehome environments that go beyond installation of media equip-ment. In their words “He has enhanced our home and our lives.”

High praise indeed, but when you can create a mini per-formance center for kids, “float” a screen to create justthe right workings for the room or create a customItalianesque theatre all in concert with the client'sunique living design, well, you then have a homeyou simply do not want to leave.

What's the difference? It's all in thedesign – the specialized design – windows,molding, cabinets, seats, curtains, light-ing – and the attention to personaldetail. That's what makes RobertAllen's approach unique.

There are so many options tochoose from and, happily, thatcan accommodate a shoestringto a sky's the limit budget.At the high end is a homethat is fully integrated –

lights, cameras, heating and cooling,computers, security and entertainment, all

operating with the convenience of a touch screen. For someit's taking advantage of that new high definition television set with its

incredible sound and picture. Others want that theater experience on their boat.That's why taking time with the client is so critical.

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Things thatare “hot” now:Mass storage/retrievalsystems for musicand video.

Outdoor environments.

Design alternatives forthe “big screen” – makingyour spouse happy.

Things homeownersneed to think about:New Home MultimediaDesign Considerations

1. Level of integration. At the more elabo-rate end you'll find integration of lights,security, phone, audio, video, computers,and even heating and cooling. The mostcommon is integration with audio, videoand lighting.

2. User interface. Most people today feela little overwhelmed with their mediaequipment, remotes, what goes on withwhat, etc. The user interface makes theuse of the system very intuitive and hasslefree. The more elaborate user interfacescan pull up cover art with the musicplaying, show video on the screen anddisplay options in the way theparticular owner wants to see them.

3. Coverage in the house. This refers tothe rooms in the house that will offermusic/television. Most common is to makesure the living areas and master rooms arecovered. Guest rooms, laundry rooms,utility rooms are often times not covered.This also addresses what kinds of optionswill be offered in each room. It is commonto only put in volume controls in somerooms, while full control in others.

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4. Coverage outside the house. Since many times out-side spaces function as other rooms of the house thereis special attention paid to speaker types, placement ofspeakers, wires and even televisions in areas such asbarbecue pits, pools, saunas, decks and gardens.

5. Equipment quality and sophistication. This typicallywill vary even in one home depending on the level ofuse of the room. Kitchens, for instance, surprisingly seebetter quality speakers and televisions since they are inconstant use. Dining rooms, on the other hand, typicallyrequire less sophistication and quality since they areusually used as background to quieter conversation.Some rooms, bathrooms as an example, due totheir acoustical properties don't require larger, morepowerful speakers.

6. Media rooms and theatres. These can be big costdrivers due to the number of components and levelof sophistication involved. Typically satellite receivers,AM/FM tuners, center, side and rear speakers,amplifiers, DVD, CD, VCR screens, and projectors areconsidered/implemented. Couples usually have strong(and many times different) opinions on this topic.

7. In-wall vs. free standing speakers. Many times peo-ple would like their speakers concealed in the room.There may be a room or two where listening to greatmusic would be best supported through the bigger,more visible speakers. The best way to determine thisis to listen to sample speakers and decide the levelof appreciation to the sound.

8. Location of equipment. A very important designconsideration is less about the economics of the systemand more about making sure the investment is wellhoused and accessible.

Perhaps the most important thing in all of this isfocusing on making it simple to use. Having allthis power isn't any good unless you know how toharness it. Intuitive remotes, user friendly touchscreens, cheat sheets and one on one hand holdingcan all be employed as necessary, to make surethose using the system feel in control. Robert AllenMultimedia does not leave you until you arecompletely in control of your controls.

Kim Kelly

Robert Allen Multimedia would be happy to talk toyou about enhancing your own love affair with the

sights, sounds and performance for your home.

www.ramultimedia.com21 Cross Street, New Canaan, CT 06840 – By Appointment Only – 203.856.0058

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