Eagle Sentry Finds A Client With A Big Budget For A Small Space
All of the video components are centrally located in the two six-foot tall slide-out rack systems from Middle Atlantic, which are located behind wooden doors in the living room. Eagle Sentry also installed a 60-inch Pioneer PRO-151FD 1080P plasma on a motorized Omnimount UCL-X P cantilever mount.
More often than not, the typical installation scenario these days includes a client who wants all the bells and whistles associated with a high-end project, but at an unrealistically low price. Or there’s the customer who has the cash, but doesn’t really understand technology and can’t articulate what he or she really wants beyond the most generic of concepts. But when you get the rarest of client who “gets” technology, knows what he or she wants, and provides the freedom and the budget to design a system properly, installations can actually be very smooth, even in the presence of obstacles.
Las Vegas-based Eagle Sentry was presented with a unique opportunity by an interior designer to develop an audio/video system with a big budget for a small space. The client, involved in the TV production industry, was willing to spend nearly $250,000 to design and install a high-end home control system providing ease of use, total integration and remote access for his 2,000-square-foot apartment.
Eagle Sentry sales manager, Cory Reif, explained that this project was different from his company’s more typical large-home job in a gated community. “Hi-rise condos are somewhat of a new phenomenon to Las Vegas,” he said. “Theses installations present a challenge in getting security clearance, getting product up to the higher floors, and just squeezing a lot of technology into a smaller space.”.
HI-RISE CONTROL SYSTEM
Reif turned to Crestron for integration and control of the residence’s security, thermostat, CCTV, lighting control, motorized drapery, and audio/video distribution systems. Crestron programming also provides four whole-house scenes (Home, Away, Party, and Vacation.)
“Why Crestron? It is simple; they are the best,” Reif said. “Crestron is unique in that they enable us to provide solutions for anything a client throws at us.”
According to Reif, this client spends only about 10 weeks a year in Las Vegas, so it was very important for him to control all of his components via his iPhone and any Internet-connected computer. He required the capability to press one button on his iPhone when his private jet lands at McCarren International Airport to set the system’s wheels in motion.
“The thermostats quickly cool the unit to the it is inexpensive and provides almost all new movies in HD on demand,” Reif said. “We believe the days of shiny little discs are numbered, and we are converting many of our existing clients to media servers.”
In the master bathroom is Samsung’s new 32-inch LED backlit LCD TV mounted into a recessed Chief Manufacturing MAC500 enclosure.
All of the video components are centrally located in the two six-foot tall slide-out rack systems from Middle Atlantic, which are located behind wooden doors in the living room. Eagle Sentry also installed a 60-inch Pioneer PRO- 151FD 1080P plasma on a motorized Omnimount UCL-X P cantilever mount in the living room so the TV can also be viewed from the family room and kitchen area.
A separate family room features a complete home theater, with a 40-inch Runco CX-40HD flat panel display, 5.1 B&W speaker system with two Velodyne Mini-Vee subwoofers, a Denon AVR- 3808CI receiver, six SpeakerCraft AIM7 Five inceiling speakers and six SpeakerCraft SE1612 deep six-inch round enclosures.
”For control we used a Crestron TPS-6X twoway RF remote,” Reif said. “The remote integrates with all integrated systems including the lighting, motorized drapery, HVAC, security system, and A/V system.”
A LAST HURRAH FOR PIONEER PLASMAS
The master bedroom includes a 50-inch Pioneer Elite PRO-111FD 1080P plasma. “We used Pioneer Elite panels for the larger 50- and 60- inch panels because we believe the Pioneer Elite plasmas provided the best picture for video,” Reif said.
The master bedroom includes a 50-inch Pioneer Elite PRO-111FD 1080P plasma
This bedroom also features B&W in-wall speakers and Crestron’s PS-6X wireless touchpanel. In the master bathroom is Samsung’s new 32-inch LED backlit LCD TV. “It is 1.2 inches thin, and we mounted it into a recessed Chief Manufacturing MAC500 enclosure,” Reif said. “When the TV is pushed back into its home position it sits flush against the wall and only protrudes the 1.2- inch depth of the TV. It is a very clean installation and when the TV is pulled out and cantilevered it provides a 90-degree swivel that allows the client to view the TV from the shower, the bath tub, and the vanity.”
Each bathroom has a Crestron TPS-12L video touchpanel that provides control of all integrated systems and doubles a TV.
Because Pioneer Elite did not make a 40-inch display, Reif selected his next favorite, Runco’s CX-40HD, as the display of choice for the guest bedroom. This bedroom boasts B&W in-wall speakers and features a Crestron MLX2 handheld two-way RF remote.
Each bathroom has a Crestron TPS-12L video touchpanel that provides control of all integrated systems and doubles a TV.
ONE-BUTTON CONTROL
Reif explained that his company installed Crestron’s TPS-6L at the front door, which works as the alarm keypad and provides a simple, onebutton operation for scene control. When the client leaves, he simply hits the Vacation button, which closes all motorized drapery systems, shuts off every light in the condo, sets the thermostats to their default energy saving mode and arms the security system.
“This is a very difficult industry that we work in. Products and technology are constantly changing and many clients have unrealistic budgets,” Reif said. “Once in a while we get a project like this, where the homeowner gets it, is willing to spend the money and allows us to design the system and is completely thrilled when the job is completed. It makes all the hard work worth it.”
Karen Sussman is a writer in Carmel, Indiana.
