There are a lot of reasons to have a home theater or a multipurpose media room. Most people appreciate watching a movie without lines, cell-phone chatter, and sticky floors. Some people just like being able to get their drink on, all while entertaining in the privacy of their own: home.
This homeowner wanted a media room with not just one bar, but two—and had very specific tastes in both ideas and drinking.
“As a custom electronics design and installation professional, one of my favorite parts of the job description is designing and installing multipurpose rooms that will be used when my clients want to kick back and have some fun,” says John Young of Smart Home Systems, an installation company out of Lakewood, CO. “For this project, we were tasked with designing a not-so-traditional English pub connected to a dedicated theater.”
However, it wasn’t just a pub that the homeowner was interested in. After all, those conjure up images of pints, wood paneling and darts. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! However, this space needed: to be a spot where all sports could be enjoyed and celebrated.
“The design is actually quite simple: To have enough HDTVs that a large group of friends can grab a pint and watch up to five different sporting events without having to leave the comfort and safety of home,” says Young. “The challenge was to seamlessly integrate the high-tech electronics required to pull the design off into a very rustic yet polished English pub.”
Smart Home Systems repurposed a 55-inch Fujitsu 1080p plasma HDTV, a pair of B&W bookshelf speakers, a Yamaha subwoofer, and a Yamaha receiver. Of course, there was plenty of new gear added as well, including four Samsung flat screens. An in-wall docking station provides convenient, always-available iPad-based control, allowing the homeowner to flip between a variety of different sources, including six DirecTV receivers, three Apple TVs, and four Blu-ray players.
“My customer also has Golden Tee Online connected to one of the Samsung HDTVs in addition to a feed from the Atlona 16×16 HDMI HD BaseT matrix switch, just in case he gets the urge to play golf with someone in an actual pub somewhere in England,” says Young.
Despite all of the screens, this isn’t a complicated setup. Smart Home Systems made ease of operation a priority, programming several combinations of macros into the Clare Controls ClareHome system. That programming allows the homeowner to turn all of the TVs in the pub and/or theater on or off, as well as set sources, all with the push of a button. Other macros set the lighting levels and audio feed, with a single “Room Off” button to power down all of the equipment for the night and light up a pathway to the upstairs.
Aside from the entertainment, this media room has plenty of other automated features. When guests arrive at the home, the OnQ intercom installed at the front door can open an instant connection to the pub area—a perk that’s also available at other intercom locations throughout the home. And just to make sure that: the homeowner isn’t buzzing in a bunch of hooligans, the front door has a camera that can display live video on the in-wall mounted iPad that runs the Clare Controls app.
Once guests have cozied up to a few pints, they can adjourn to the connecting theater room, which has access to all of the same A/V sources, as well as a 120-inch Da-Lite screen and a JVC projector.
Want a better peek at this multipurpose media room and the theater? Check out our slideshow below.
Equipment List:
- Apple iPad
- Apple TVs (3)
- Atlona 16×16 HDMI to HDBaseT Matrix Switcher
- Atlona HDBaseT Receiver Baluns
- Bass Palermo Loungers (Motorized)
- Bowers & Wilkins Bookshelf Speakers
- Clare Controls CobraNet Streams Multiroom Audio Distribution Preamplifiers
- Clare Controls CS-iMR CobraNet Streams Integrated Multiroom Amplifiers
- Clare Controls Home Control System
- ClareVision 2MP IP Cameras
- ClareVision Network Video Recorder
- DirecTV Receivers (6)
- Fuitsu Plasma HDTV
- Lutron Radio RA2
- Middle Atlantic Equipment Rack and Cooling Fans
- OnQ Selective Call Intercom System
- Samsung Blu-ray Players (4)
- Samsung LED HDTVs
- SnapAV WattBox IP Controllable Power Conditioner/Surge Protector
- Universal Remote Control MX-980
- Yamaha Receiver
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