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Opus Technologies Multiroom Audio in Orchard House (3/11/2008)
Orchard House is an ultra-luxurious eight-bedroom property in Wimbledon Village, South West London. Set on three floors, the house is built around a central atrium and wrought iron spiral staircase. The developers, Curzon Place Properties Ltd, approached Complete Entertainment Installations (CEI) to provide an affordable whole-house entertainment solution which was in keeping with the feel of the property. The project features a dedicated home cinema room including blackout blinds, HDMI DVD player with built-in Freeview and upscaling, projector and screen, 7.1 speaker set-up, and multiroom audio for over twenty zones.
The brief A number of key considerations factored in the selection of the multiroom system. It had to complement the standard and particular cosmetics of the property, provide high-quality audio, future-proof the home for audio/video distribution, and be competitively priced. After careful consideration, CEI decided to specify an Opus system which includes four Master Control Units (MCUs) and six WCU600 touchscreen keypads. CEI settled on the Opus system because it met all of the above criteria, plus it was felt that the new WCU600 touchscreens added a high-end finish.
Planning Microsoft Visio and custom graphics were used to create wiring diagrams, layout schematics and patch drawings to plan the installation. As with any installation, planning was critical, especially in ensuring that the correct amount of cable was included within the first fix. Long runs can degrade signal quality, so optimum usage was essential. To this end, CEI proactively gained access to the property at an early stage to ensure their cabling had priority and was not compromised by other installations that could have lengthened the cables. Careful consideration was given to keypad placement so as to blend in with existing decor, and appropriate speakers and keypad faceplates were selected for the swimming pool/sauna complex to cope with differing degrees of humidity.
Installation Opus runs a Certified Installer Programme to which CEI is signed up, and this training ensured that the Orchard House project was undertaken to a professional standard, with the minimum of disruption. The property required 13 main zones and 9 sub-zones of audio, so three Master Control Units (MCUs) were used, each capable of supporting up to 4 main zones and four sub-zones, with a separate MCU for the pool area, since this is a long distance from the main AV hub, and so was treated as a separate system. The building was a refurbishment project rather than a new build, so much work was undertaken with the building contractor to ensure that the multiroom entertainment system was sympathetically incorporated and not too intrusive. The AV hub was positioned on the first floor in the right hand side of the building since this is the most central point due to the open-plan central atrium. The first task was to run Balanced Transmission Cable (BTC1-100) out of the AV hub and through the false ceilings to where the Opus DZM20 and DZM100 digital zone amplifiers were situated. Internal wiring to each keypad was then undertaken, as well as speaker cable and CAT5 to sub-zone keypads.
Once the Opus cabling was in situ, the rest of the home entertainment equipment could be installed, such as the Dynalite intelligent lighting system, the home cinema room, and video distribution. Speakers, amplifiers and Opus WCU500 and WCU600 touchscreen keypads were then fitted. An Escient Fireball music server was also included to allow Curzon Place Properties to easily demonstrate the system to potential clients. The Opus TXT500 Text Interface Unit was programmed to receive track information, and then finally the WCU600 touchscreens were programmed too. Experience from the project The project highlighted the importance of a wide range of magnetic interchangeable faceplates that can be used for different rooms and decor. It also demonstrated that integration with third party products is essential if seamless design and operation are required. Indeed Opus intends to increase the number of faceplates options and become compatible with even more third party products over time. Conclusion The property now has a bespoke multiroom entertainment system which controls all source equipment and third party automation solutions, from attractive wall-mounted keypads. The system is simple to use, requiring no technical know-how to operate, and at handover, the set-up is explained with the option of customising keypads by uploading personalised images and artwork. The system is also upgradeable thanks to USB and RS232 ports, ensuring that it is as attractive when the time comes to resell the property, as it is today.
Equipment list Opus equipment 6 x DZM100 digital zone amplifiers.
Home cinema Cinema black-out cassette blinds.
Dynalite cinema lighting LED floor strip lighting.
Opus Technologies Ltd www.opus.eu
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