A luxury home today can’t just look state of the art, it has to be state of the art. The details matter. For one homeowner, they wanted their Michigan home to be a marvel of custom stonemasonry, full scribe logs, and modern AV with whole home audio, control, and video distribution. To align the technology with home design vision, the builder called on Kozar Technologies for an opportunity to be part of the project in the build stage and find the best solutions for the unique home.
Challenges
This extensive residential project presented several challenges that required a flexible, high-performance video distribution system. Spanning multiple buildings — including the main house, a detached garage with a gym, and a pickleball court — the installation needed to deliver high-quality 4K video to 16 Sony displays ranging in size from 32 inches to 85 inches. With 12 diverse video sources, including satellite TV, Roku, and a gaming system, the system had to handle seamless switching between devices without any noticeable delay or loss in quality.
Additionally, the property’s unique construction — featuring 6-inch real stone walls and full log beams — posed logistical hurdles for video and audio distribution across multiple zones. Furthermore, audio extraction was needed for specific setups, such as routing audio from a DVD player in the gym and a gaming system in the gaming room, while maintaining synchronization across the entire home. The homeowners required a solution that would be state-of-the-art, future-proof, and capable of integrating with their custom Control4 automation system.
Finding a video distribution solution that could meet these requirements while maintaining latency and performance across multiple buildings and with various media sources was crucial.
Solution
Just Add Power 3G Ultra HD over IP was originally spec’d for the project, but Kozar Technologies pivoted to Just Add Power’s MaxColor 4K60 Series as it hit the market. MaxColor is engineered specifically for distributing 4K, providing an affordable, scalable 4K UHD platform that natively supports today’s 4K 36-bit video source content with ultra-low latency for the company the company is renowned.
MaxColor 4K60 transmitters and receivers support 4K60 in and out, enabling the seamless distribution of Ultra HD video from various 4K sources across the home’s 16 displays. It supports 36-bit color and 4:4:4 chroma over Cat 5/Cat 6 cabling. This not only saves time and money during installation but also ensures that the system could handle the high-performance demands of 4K video distribution.
In addition, the system supports MPEG downstreaming for connected devices, such as laptops or tablets, providing a versatile and adaptable solution for the homeowners. It switches between video sources instantly and seamlessly switching, upscales and downscales accordingly, and HDR management. The system supports all lossless audio formats, as well as HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision, ensuring the best possible viewing experience on every display.
Results
By using Just Add Power’s MaxColor Series 2, Kozar Technologies successfully delivered a robust, high-performance AV-over-IP solution that met all the homeowner’s needs. The system allows seamless switching between the home’s 12 video sources across 16 displays, with zero detectable latency and no loss of quality. The homeowners can watch a satellite TV in the breakfast nook, play video games in the game room, or work out to a DVD in the gym.
“We truly like using Just Add Power because it works and the tech support is great,” says Scott Lacko, owner of Kozar Technologies. “The video switching is nearly instantaneous, and it handles renegotiation without any delay. We’re able to offer the homeowner the latest in 4K video technology without compromising on performance, and the flexibility of the system means it’s built to evolve as their needs grow.”
The system has not only enhanced the home’s state-of-the-art design but also provides a future-proof platform that the homeowner can expand as needed, ensuring that their home stays at the cutting edge of technology for years to come. As their Netgear switch allows, it only takes an additional receiver or transmitter for every new display or source to expand the system.
For more information, visit justaddpower.com.
