Project Spotlight: Control4 Put to Test in Huge N.C. Home

Project Spotlight A new-construction, high-tech project can pretty much go in any direction. This one went big.

But the results are a seamless blend of A/V, automation and decor-friendliness that suits these North Carolina homeowners well. “The project was a design build concept for integration in a new construction home in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The technical elements of the project include a dedicated theater room, whole house sound, high-definition video distribution, intercom, telecom, network connectivity, access control, alarm system, lighting control and automation for hearing impaired residents,” says Mark Lynch, president of Quality Sound and Video, which outfitted the large home.

The automation is centered around Control4 touch screens and controllers, which helps control the 16 zones of audio and 12 locations with TVs, notes Lynch. One of those rooms is a dedicated theater that features a high-performance JVC projector with a Da-Lite Cinema Vision fixed frame screen. The surround-sound system features a Yamaha 7.1 surround processor and Yamaha SOAVO speaker systems.

home control

Control4 amplification and switching commands the whole-house sound system, and each zone is controlled by a wall-mounted Control4 color touch screen. The speakers used throughout the residence are a combination of JBL and Elan products.

Project Spotlight

The high-definition video distribution system is based around the Audio Authority Aviatrix matrix switcher featuring six inputs and individual outputs to 12 TV locations, says Lynch. In addition to DVR cable boxes, sources include a 400-disc DVD media server and a 1080p movie-on-demand VUDU box. Main flat-panel Project Spotlight displays are Panasonic professional series in 42 and 50 inch sizes, while smaller LCDs in secondary rooms are Sharp 120Hz AQUOS series.

Intercom and telecom systems are accomplished using a Panasonic digital hybrid key switching unit. “A relay contact from the door phone board is used with an InterTel Encore Voltage trigger contact closure to inform the automation system of incoming door phone or telephone calls,” explains Lynch. “When incoming calls are received a custom announce module prints a message on those displays that are active and flashes the lights in those rooms where displays are not active contingent upon time of day and other programmed conditions.” The home is on a large rural lot with a motorized entrance gate that’s commanded by a Control4 controller in conjunction with the Panasonic intercom system. Ethernet extenders to provide connectivity over 500-plus-foot distance to the gate.

home control

Network connectivity throughout the home works in both wireless and wired formats using Linksys by Cisco POE gigabit switches and wireless N routers and access points. The Apex Destiny panel provides the backbone for the alarm system which is accessible on all wall mounted color touch screens throughout the home. And for good measure, Control4 lighting controllers provide control and operation of virtually every lighting load too in this truly illuminated residence.

-Story written by Arlen Schweiger, Managing Editor for Electronic House Magazine