By Stan Sauerwein
The Internet and the convergence of home entertainment with computers now offer an amazing potential for homeowners to transform their living space.
With a bit of creativity and some advice from a new breed of installation professionals, anyone can integrate home computers and other household systems and adapt their home for an enriched high tech lifestyle.
As home electronics installation experts for the last eight years, Mike Ohman and his crew of technicians at Beyond Audio in Kelowna specialize in the integration of home electronics. His discipline covers the full gambit from wiring for cable vision to full household sound systems and safety applications like sensors for heat, ventilation, water and gases.
Applying the capability of the Internet to all those applications can suddenly vault a home to 'intelligent house' status. Computers can set the mood with lighting and music, control access and even regulate the temperature.
Five years ago Ohman was telling his customers to wire for computer networks and high speed computer access. Today he talks about fibre optics, interactive monitoring and even integrating appliances into a comprehensive home electronics system.
One of the leading edge technologies he is applying to the unique needs in estate homes is fibre optics.
"For estate homes, the outbuildings can be very far away from the main building and the only way to get effectively video, cable vision, security and audio is to convert them to fibre optics. Today that is very expensive but still worth it for a customer with the budget. A few years from now everybody will have fibre," he predicts.
For many homes, the installation of sound systems and home theatre a higher priority.
Mike advises considering a room 16 ft x 12 feet as a minimum size for the home-theatre. "We are doing a home-theatre now that is just under $11,000. It has a 92-inch screen, a projector, full surround sound and we are thrilled that we can do it that inexpensively." He estimates that to complete proper sound system and home-theatre wiring, a homeowner should budget about $4,000.
On the video front, he says digital television is in everyone's near future.
"Picture resolution is better which means you can have a huge picture and it's not fuzzy. It's like looking through a window. It will also allow embedded information." Andre Blanleil, owner of Andre's Electronics and other outlets throughout the Okanagan and Kamloops agrees. He suggests the move to High Density Television (HDTV), which takes viewing a step further in visual clarity, will revolutionize our viewing habits.
HDTV pictures contain over five times more picture detail than regular television.
Homeowners have to understand that HDTV broadcast service is limited at the moment however. Canada still doesn't have HDTV broadcast and in the US it began only a few years ago.
"For anybody wanting to go into a bigger screen, we suggest going to a satellite system. It will give you a direct feed receiver right to that television . It doesn't have to be extreme either. They start at under $1000 if you're looking at a smaller TV and they go all the way up to $15,000 or even higher."
Blanliel expects that projection television systems will occupy a larger part of the market in the next few years. At the moment his store sells over a dozen such systems annually. With the projection systems, living room decor is no longer centered on the television. Mounted to the ceiling, a projector can cast the television picture to a screen that can be retracted when it's not being used. Blanliel has just such a configuration in his own home.
One system that Beyond Audio offers is called the Plus Piano video projector. It includes a full complement of inputs to accommodate a wide range of video playback devices, is HDTV compatible and can project a 106-inch image.
"The nice thing with plasma or projection is you don't have a big box in your living room. You can design your decor in more ways," says Ohman
For the audiophile, computerization has made it much easier to achieve a varied and enriched listening experience throughout your home as well.
Andre's can install sound systems for a little as $300 per room, says Blanleil.
Mike Ohman's current favorite audio option is a music server. "It's a dedicated computer hard drive." The uploading formats can include CDs, cassette tapes or the Internet. With the system, you can select the type of music you wish for any occasion. Soft classical for dinner parties or rock music for patio get-togethers. "With the proper wiring you pipe music throughout the house in various ways."
In the long term, he suggests the Internet will become more pervasive in home design and it has also made advances in safety possible.
Jim Porter, vice president of Trojan Security Systems, says the arrival of affordable computer technology has created a tremendous surge in integration. Now, because security systems are being sold the way cellular telephones have been marketed, anyone can get a basic security system for the cost of a monitoring contract. Trojan installs an average of 120 basic systems per month in the Okanagan.
Security systems have various optional configurations that can include window sensors, floor sensors and motion detectors.
"These days the issues are safety. It's more than just having a burglar alarm. You should be considering a full home security system."
Equipment innovations range from remote control units owners can wear as watches to postage stamp-sized cameras for entry surveillance.
One popular feature is the TeleDoorBell. It is an enhanced doorbell and intercom replacement system which allows homeowners to communicate with an equipped entrance using any household telephone, including cordless. The system is particularly ideal for the elderly, infirm or anyone with restricted mobility.
Other systems will automatically engage lighting and other appliances when the homeowner arrives in the evening using wireless keys. One system even notifies the homeowner via a numeric pager if the security system has been disengaged.
With all the options combined, for Okanagan homeowners, the future is just a click away.
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