Aaron from Little Rock wrote:

“This is probably been asked 8 million times, but I am going to ask it anyway. I am currently building a house and I am looking to set up a system to mainly control a/v components. HVAC control would be a bonus, but really isn’t necessary. Here is what I would like to accomplish: 3 televisions, 1 in the living room, 1 in the media room, 1 on the back deck. Surround sound with a sub is necessary in the media room, also, there will be an xbox, a blu-ray, and Directv with DVR in there as well (maybe apple tv?). In the living room surround sound is not a necessity as it is obviously not necessary on the outside television either. All televisions would be
Directv. I would like to be able to control as much as possible from an ipad/iphone. It would also be awesome to be able to stream music from a phone to the system. There would also be various speaker zones throughout the house. I have a great centrally located closet that I can run cables/ wires to as well as a server rack that I was planning to use to set up a little home network. I was thinking something as simple as Airport Express but wasn’t sure it would do everything that I want. Suggestions?”

Hi Aaron,
So what you’ve got planned is a three-zone AV system with at least 4 sources, maybe more, plus temperature.

If you want this to be all centrally located and distributed, this is a job for a professional because it will involve control processors, matrix switchers and programming.

There are many system that will be able to do this very well (and all have apps available for your iPad—though I recommend at least one dedicated remote or touchpanel be included). Companies you should look into include URC, Control4, Elan, Savant, HAI, Crestron ... and others.

The October issue of Electronic House has a special supplement all about home control system. You can also find more info here: http://www.electronichouse.com/channel/homecontrol

Also, talk to local integrators who will show you how the systems work and explain what components you’ll need. You can find one in your area here: http://www.electronichouse.com/findinstallers

Thanks admin for sharing those links. :D

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Knoxville windows

I would like to be able to control as much as possible from an ipad/iphone. It would also be awesome to be able to stream music from a phone to the system. There would also be various speaker zones throughout the house.