This homeowner’s request of his electronics installer was to have a good surround system and a TV mounted over the fireplace. He ended up with surround sound—and also surround video.

For the homeowner’s room that features a bar, pool table and sitting area, systems installer MHS Technologies of Newland, NC, chose a 63-inch Fujitsu plasma to be recess-mounted in the rock work above the fireplace. It soon concluded that one monitor was not going to cut it for this expansive room. So it added matching Sony 50-inch plasmas on either side of the fireplace, mounted on articulating arms in the cabinetry.

MHS didn’t exactly have to twist the homeowner’s arm, and one look at the three-TV setup shows why. Any sports fan’s jaw would certainly drop at the sight.

For the surround sound, MHS placed Klipsch bookshelf speakers in the cabinetry to form a center channel. Another pair of bookshelf speakers, two Klipsch Reference Series Powered subwoofers and in-ceiling surround speakers complete the audio package.

For system control, MHS chose an AMX MVP-8400 wireless touch panel. The installers decided that only audio from the sources playing on the primary plasma would route to the surround-sound processor. A Vaux component matrix switcher allows for easy changing of video sources as well as audio and video from sources played on the secondary plasmas to be switched to the Fujitsu and played in surround sound.

A press of the button on the AMX touch panel lets the homeowner flip flop audio and video from the primary and secondary TVs. He can choose between three HD satellite receivers, cable and a DVD player for content.

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Arlen Schweiger - Editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen writes about home technology installations and product news and reviews for electronichouse.com and Electronic House magazine.