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Specifying a Multiroom A/V System (1/4/2009)

By Dave Chester, Custom Controls

A well-installed multiroom audio/video system can enable a home owner to enjoy their music collection, Sky HD+ and DVD collection anywhere in the home. Indeed selling a multiroom solution is not difficult, as most clients can see the advantage of being able to enjoy their music whilst cooking, or being able to catch up on the week's TV whilst relaxing in the bath.

The Aquavision TV allows viewing in the bathroom.

Planning

There are a lot of different things to consider when specifying a whole-house system. The most important thing to ascertain is whether cables can be pulled around the house. We always prefer wired solutions for reliability, but sometimes this just isn’t possible, for example, in a finished home. Wireless solutions do exist from companies such as Control4, Linn and Sonos, and can often be installed with great success.

Before completing the sale however, it is highly recommended that a full wireless survey be done, since certain locations, such as Central London and large blocks of apartments, often have very little capacity left for a new wireless network. A wireless survey can be carried out by using a laptop and a piece of software such as NetStumbler, and wandering around the home trying to isolate dead spots or interference areas.

If pulling cables is not an option and a wireless network won't work, you can always resort to powerline solutions that use the existing mains infrastucture to carry content and control data. You do need to be careful however, as apartment blocks and certain mains equipment can interfere with the techonolgy. If at all possible therefore, a wired solution is the best option. But what cable should be pulled for the most flexibility and best quality?

Cabling

With the advent of HDMI, most manufacturers have settled on distributing high-definition audio and video over Cat5e cabling, or for longer distances, fibre optic cable. These cables connect with HDMI equipment via some form of HDMI matrix, such the Crestron DigitalMedia system. This allows you to plug an HDMI component into an input of the matrix, and it can then be distributed to any or all outputs over Cat5e cable.

Pulling at least four Cat5e cables to a TV location provides enough for current and future use. The cables are normally terminated with RJ45 connections, and the TV monitor is then connected to these using a small balun which would sit behind the TV on the wall. The balun would have a couple of Cat5e sockets on one end and an HDMI socket on the other. Alternative ways of connecting the TV are also available, depending on the distribution system used. For example, the DigitalMedia system uses a room receiver that fits in a standard UK backbox and has HDMI leads on it as well as serial, infrared and USB ports.

We would also normally install speaker cable to ceiling voids - two for stereo rooms or five for home cinema rooms. This combination of Cat5e and speaker cable provides the flexibility for any room to have a local amplifier providing stereo or surround sound, or a centrally-mounted stereo or surround sound amplifier.

Choosing sources

Choosing sources carefully can pay huge dividends. Not all sources are able to be controlled in the same way, and researching the best devices can be the difference between an 'OK' system and an outstanding one. Only by getting hands on with sources can you tell how well they integrate.

We tend to specify source components as separates, although some products will handle multiple media types such as DVD and CD. HDTV is usually provided via Sky or Freeview satellite receivers (which also have the benefit of being relatively cheap to install in multiples), and Panasonic commercial plasmas tend to be good to control as they have discreet on/off and other control features.

Distribution

Systems such as the Crestron DigitalMedia enable a centrally-located source, for example Sky HD, to be routed to any or all rooms in the house. This central source approach also ensures that future sources, and indeed technologies, can be accommodated simply by slotting cards into the DM switcher that serves as the central hub of the DigitalMedia system. The same distributed approach can also be applied to Kaleidescape DVD and music servers for example, with two Mini Players sitting side by side in a rack, and outputting 1080p.

An 8x8 version of the Crestron DM switcher.

Centrally-located amplifiers have also moved on in recent years, with the advent of digital Class D amplifiers. These only switch on rooms as required, and run cool, thus saving energy and making rack design easier. Some manufacturers advocate installing in-room amplifiers, under the premise that the amplifier is closer to the speaker and therefore provides a cleaner signal, but we find that such amplifiers seldom have the required power, and have the added drawback of requiring a space to be neatly housed.

Speaker placement

An important consideration of multiroom audio is where to house the speakers. In our view, the optimum approach is to install in-wall and in-ceiling speakers so that the only part of the system on show is the grille, and this can be colour matched to the room décor.

The Bowers and Wilkins CCM 80 in-ceiling speaker with grille to match surrounding décor.

In some instances there may be little or no mounting depth available, in which case, on-wall speakers are the solution. Companies such as PMC and Artcoustic make stunning flatmount on-wall speakers, and the latter's speakers can even be finished with a wide range of artwork, making an artistic addition to the room in which they are installed.

Examples of Artcoustic on-wall speaker grille artwork.

Control

Multiroom controllers come in a number of forms. On-wall touchpanels offer the most reliable control available, and can often allow album and DVD cover art to be viewed. In rooms such as lounges, we normally install RF wireless touchpanels rather than Wi-Fi because RF connects instantly, whereas Wi-Fi waits to swap encryption keys, get an IP address etc, and this can result in quite a noticeable delay, even with an optimally-configured network.

We have even recently completed a project that uses an iPhone as a controller, complete with album art and two-way feedback - perhaps not the perfect touchpanel, but great for occasional and remote use. In this instance, the client also has the ability to manipulate curtains and lights around the home, wherever he is in the world! For this application we used an Australian software solution for integrating an iPod into a Crestron system, called Command Fusion, and we expanded the Command Fusion software interface to provide better track listing etc, through Kaleidescape.

iPhone used as a multiroom A/V, lighting and shade controller.

Conclusion

Designing and installing a multiroom A/V system can be a challenging project to undertake, but the benefits are that it allows the homeowner to enjoy their media throughout the home, like never before, and can save energy. The most important consideration is to ensure that the right cable is installed at the outset, and that the right source and distribution components are specified in order to ensure a fully-integrated and upgradable solution that is a pleasure for the customer to use.

Dave Chester is the Managing Director of Custom Controls, bespoke home cinema installers and multiroom AV specialists.

www.CustomControls.co.uk