Multiscreen Basement is Ultimate Football Fan Cave - Electronic House ​​

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Home Theater

Multiscreen Basement is Ultimate Football Fan Cave

Football Sundays spearhead design and automation of basement renovation.

System Design & Installation
Pure Custom Integrations
Mississauga, Ontario
www.pureci.ca

Builder
Finished Basement
Mississauga, Ontario
www.finishedbasement.ca


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When NFL season is in full swing, the owner of this renovated 17-by-30-foot basement can catch all of the action on not one big screen but on a videowall composed of five separate screens. The multi display setup was tops on his wish list when contacting the custom electronics professionals at Pure Custom Integrations, Mississauga, Ontario, to convert what had been used primarily as a storage area into a high-quality, sports-focused home theater.

Pure Custom Integrations’ Richard Juras and Dave Galante took the multi screen ball and ran with it, creating a unique viewing environment where each of five individual screens is able to display something different. So while the big game gets play on a 100-inch EluneVision projection screen in the middle, each of four smaller 50-inch Sony LED TVs lets the owner keep tabs on other less important matchups. Each of the small four displays is connected to its own cable box, all of which are tucked away in a nearby closet (HDMI wall outlets let the owner plug in his laptop or gaming console for display on either the 100-incher or the top left TV). A JVC video projector recessed into a bulkhead near the rear of the room feeds content from its own cable box to the center screen. (Audio from whichever program is on the biggest screen plays through the room’s Polk Audio surround-sound speakers and subwoofers.)

TVs on a Whole New Level
Getting five screens in perfect alignment requires careful calculations, precise measurements … and a versatile, super-adjustable wall mount. “We wanted the videowall to look just as good when the TVs were off as when they were on, so installing them to be exactly level was critical,” says Richard Juras of Pure Custom Integrations. “A wall mount like the LL11 HDPro from Sanus was extremely helpful in getting each TV in precise alignment.” Two of the great features that make the mount ideal for multiscreen installations are ProSet, which allows post-installation height and leveling adjustments of a TV, and lateral shift, which allows left and right positioning of the TV. The mount also allows the bottom of the TV to move away from the wall slightly to permit easy access to cabling.

Choosing a cable channel for each display is accomplished easily through a few finger taps on an iPad, which Pure Custom Integrations tied in with an RTI XP automation processor. This processor permits a high level of customization of the iPad interface, according to Juras, which he and Galante used to its full advantage by fashioning the presentation of buttons, icons and other information in a way that would simplify the process of managing five displays. Presented on the home page of the iPad is a graphical representation of the home theater’s screen layout. The owner touches a TV icon on the iPad then selects the program for that TV, and can follow the same process for each of the remaining four TVs. At any time, the owner can alter the view, like moving a game from a smaller set to the big screen when the action gets intense.

Before control of the multiscreen setup commences, the owner is greeted by still photography of important moments in the history of his favorite NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Each TV on the iPad menu presents a different scene from football past. It’s a tailored twist that makes this theater unique not only for the spectacular arrangement of the home theater’s audio and video system, but to the owner’s own personal NFL football fantasy.

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Lisa Montgomery
Lisa Montgomery

Lisa Montgomery has been a member of the Electronic House editorial team for nearly 20 years; most of that time as the Editor. With a knack for explaining complex high-tech topics in terms that average consumers can understand, her style of writing resonates with people who are interested in addition electronic systems to their homes, but are unsure of the steps involved and the solutions available. From basic lighting control systems to full-blown automation systems, Lisa understands the home electronics market well, and is able to point consumers in the right direction on their quest for a smarter, more convenient, efficient and enjoyable home.

Over the years, she has developed close relationships with key manufacturers and seasoned custom electronics professionals, giving her a keen sense of what home technologies are hot now and what’s on the horizon. She shares this wisdom regularly through feature stories, product roundups, case studies technology spotlights and comprehensive guides and books, which can be found on the Electronic House website, www.electronichouse.com.

Have suggestions or something you want to read about? Email Lisa at lmontgomery@ehpub.com

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