The Boston Red Sox’ starting catcher, Jarrod ‘Salty’ Saltalamacchia, has been playing baseball his whole life, and now plays with some of the best athletes in the world. At his West Palm Beach, FL home, his family loves listening to music and watching TV and movies, so now he’s upgraded his home’s AV system to the major leagues with the ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System.
After a few weeks using the g! System, Saltalamacchia was ready for the full ELAN g! treatment and expanded the system to integrate control of the home’s lighting, heating and cooling, security and surveillance.
“Living with the ELAN g! System is almost like living in a different house,” Saltalamacchia said. “It’s such a better experience than using the Bose system I was used to. Not only is the sound clearer, louder, and distributed all over the house, but all my music and movies are automatically connected to the system so there’s no need to plug in my iPad. I also love using the g! iPad app to control the TVs, especially in the game room, where it’s easy to use three side-by-side TVs that are clearly labeled TV one, two and three on the g! screen. If I ever move to a new home there’s a good chance that getting an ELAN g! System will be one of the first items on my to-do list.”
Dave Febbraio of Connecticut-based Structured Home Solutions integrated nine audio zones, eight video zones, 22 security zones, 12 Lutron lighting zones and several surveillance cameras into Saltalamacchia’s g! System, filling the entire house—indoors and outdoors—with the latest in AV and control technologies.
“Like a lot of homeowners, Jarrod had never used a whole-home AV system before,” Febbraio said. “The beauty of the ELAN g! System is it’s easy enough for new users to dive right in, but also powerful enough for them to set their own schedules for lighting, heating, security, irrigation and more. It’s also very expandable, which obviously helped in this case when Jarrod wanted to add in his lighting, HVAC, security and surveillance systems. I recommend ELAN g! for all types of clients, from those building a single room AV system to homeowners who want whole-home automation. It’s very robust and compatible with a ton of popular third-party systems, while allowing users to add more zones and more subsystems as they desire.”
Inside the home, 14 Niles in-ceiling speakers provide audiophile sound in nearly every room, while nine Samsung LED TVs ranging from 26-inch to 55-inch and a Sharp 70-inch LED TV offer the family an endless selection of TV and videos from 12 DirecTV receivers and a 2 terabyte NAS drive. A Logitech Squeezebox adds Pandora and Rhapsody streaming services to the mix, which also includes AM/FM, Sirius|XM Satellite Radio, iPods, iPads and the family’s iTunes library.
When they venture outdoors, the family never misses a beat thanks to the well-appointed poolside patio that features six Niles outdoor speakers and three LG LCD TVs. In addition to the iPads with the g!Mobile app, several rooms and the patio have their own ELAN HR2 remotes that make choosing the family’s favorite music and videos a breeze while offering the reliability and familiarity of a traditional TV remote control.
“The system is so easy to use that my 6-year-old daughter jumped right in and started using my iPad to control the TV without any help,” Saltalamacchia added. “For my wife and me, one of the best features is the remote access, since we spend a lot of time in Boston. Now we can check in on the security system and look through the surveillance cameras, and even set a lighting schedule so the house isn’t dark when we’re away. It’s comforting to know that we can always look in on the house and even make it seem like people are home when we want to. And I can’t say enough good things about Dave Febbraio. I had him come down to Florida from Connecticut because I’ve dealt with all kinds of electricians and contractors, and Dave exceeded my expectations at every turn. He always responds to my calls and texts right away and all the work he did was exactly how we had discussed and was done in a very clean, professional manner.”
The home’s ELAN g! System comprises ELAN’s HC6 Controller, an ELAN V85 video switcher, an ELAN S1616A, five ELAN HR2 Remotes, an ELAN TS7 in-wall touch screen, an ELK security system, Lutron RadioRa2 lighting, two Aviosys IP video servers and a Panamax BlueBolt surge protector and battery backup.
Structured Home Solutions is a complete custom integration firm based in Sherman, CT, and serves the entire New York tri-state area.
