Upgrading and Improving

We were contacted by a client who wasn't happy with his Control4 system, installed by another AV company.  He asked if we could pay him a visit to take a look at his setup and come up with some options to improve it where possible.  He also wanted to control the system from his Ipad if possible.

As you can see from these photos, the Cinema room design looks (and sounds) great, with a fantastic Pioneer plasma in a 7.1 arrangement. Those front speakers are the Kef Ci9000ACE range.  

There are three at the front, two for the surround rear channels and two HTS9001's for the surround sides.  I must admit that after testing the system out with 'The Dark Knight' on Blu-ray it was a real struggle to get back to work! 

There were ceiling speakers in each bedroom on the first floor, driven by a Control4 audio amplifier back in the rack.  There was also a Netgear EVA8000 media player, a Sony AV receiver for the Cinema room, Sky HD and a Samsung CCTV recorder.

We did find a number of issues that needed to be resolved:

1. The speed and performance of the Control4 system was unacceptable for what the client wanted it to do, and the firmware needed a few updates to get it to work with the latest equipment.
2. The HDMI signal to the plasma screen was occasionally cutting in and out.
3. The wireless Control4 touchscreen wasn't working.
4. The music management wasn't working.
5. The movie playback wasn't working either!
6. There was no UPS or power management in the head-end rack to protect the equipment, just a mess of white plastic power strips and cables galore.
7. The rack cabling was really messy at the back, and needed some attention.
8. There was very poor wi-fi coverage throughout the house.
9. The old Control4 mini-touch screen wasn't going to cut the mustard with the new Control4 software, so it needed to be changed for the latest model.  See here for how we did this: http://limelightautomation.blogspot.com/2011/08/rip-mini-touch-screen.html

Our proposed upgrades and improvements were accepted by the client straight away so we got started.

Firstly, we upgraded the Control4 processor to an HC1000.  A system this size, with eight rooms of audio and plenty of media management needs the fastest processor to keep it all running smoothly.

We then swapped out the old Netgear POE switch hanging on the back of the rack for a simple Cisco small business ethernet switch mounted on the front, and installed a simple POE injector for the new in-wall touchscreen.

The EVA8000 was exchanged for a Dune HD Duo, a nifty new media player that we also equipped with 4 terabytes of internal hard-disk space, so the client could browse his digital movie collection with ease.

We also installed an APC UPS at the bottom of the rack, to protect the expensive AV equipment from mains spikes and surges, and keep the system running in the event of power failure.

The HDMI-over-Cat5 sender behind the plasma screen was swapped out for a much better version from Vision HD, and the original Sky HD box had developed a fault and was upgraded for a Sky HD 1TB model.

We installed a couple of Apple Airport Express wireless extenders to improve the wi-fi, and added the Control4 MyHome app to the clients Ipad so he could control the whole house AV with it from anywhere inside the house.

The rack got a good tidy up - power cables were shortened, old  and unused cables were removed or replaced, various missing screws were replaced, and the shelves were spaced out a bit more to allow the equipment a touch more ventilation.

All in all the project was a great success.  The client was very happy with what we did, and has not reported any problems, touch wood.

The client had this to say to our Control4 rep:

"Dear Hamish, thank you for putting me in touch with the guys at Limelight Automation.

Finally, I have the Control4 system that I expected.

Adam and Sam were extremely knowledgeable and polite.  Our Control4 system now works smoothly, and they explained all the features and functions perfectly.
I would suggest that, if anyone wants to have a Control4 system, then call Limelight Automation".

Whole house Control4 - even heating integration!

One of our first projects when we started Limelight was for a client in deepest darkest Surrey.
We met him back in the summer of 2010, and he had a pretty comprehensive brief that he had worked on for quite some time:  Three years ago he had his electrician pull in Cat5 and speaker cables to all the rooms for the future, but held off installing anything else as he was waiting for the right system to come along.



He wanted everything: 3D cinema room, multi-room AV distribution, lighting control, updated wired/wireless networks, large capacity network storage, and CCTV, all integrated into one automation system that he could use with his Ipad or Iphone.  Also, the ability to showcase his company's work as a video editor was very important - he wanted to show his clients what they had been working on from any display inside (or outside) the house. 



We started the second fix at the end of October and finally finished handover in March.  It took a lot of resources to get everything done just right, but we're proud of what we have achieved with this project.
Here's a selection of the best photos....regular followers will already know that I'll never win any prizes for my camera skills!


The house is amazing, a beautiful cottage situated in the woods.

Let's start in the Study.  There are a pair of Monitor Audio R90 bookshelf speakers up high, just to provide a little background music.  

And here's the AV rack, on the opposite wall.  We used a Middle Atlantic Slim5 to house all the kit.  It was a tight fit, and it was quite a challenge trying to get all the equipment in it but still keep everything tidy and manageable.
We also installed a ventilation duct and fan that draws hot air out from behind the rack when it's in use, to help keep the air moving and the temperature down.
The clients carpenter built out a side wall of MDF so that the rack would be hidden from view if looking stright into the room.

 This is the Living room.  The TV was a 3D Panasonic, with an Onkyo TXSR709 AV receiver driving set of Monitor Audio Radius speakers and subwoofer.  There's a custom wall-plate on the left as you walk into the room, which we blogged about in an earlier post here:

 The Dining room - another pair of  Monitor Audio R90's.  Hope those plates are securely fixed!

 The bedside table, showing the Control4 7" touchscreen and SR250 wireless remote. 
Our client loves the idea of the Control4 Wakeup feature.  From the touchscreen, he can setup a very advanced alarm clock mode. It can be programmed to turn the heating on, ramp up the lighting, gently begin playing his favourite music, or even turn on the TV to a particular channel at any set time.

 This is the bathroom TV.  It was mounted on a standard swivel arm which was recessed back a few inches so the TV would sit closer to the wall, so it didn't intrude into the room so much.

 The client wasn't happy with the TV in one of the smaller bedrooms, so decided to bring the carpenters in and had them build a neat little cupboard to hide it in when not in use.

Now you see it....

 Now you don't.
 












The old Kitchen TV was replaced by another little Panasonic LCD.  The client installed four ceiling speakers and a sub in here, and like all Kitchens, this room gets a lot of use.  There is a small 5" Control4 touchscreen on one wall, which the client uses to set the temperature for his heating to come on.  Integrating the heating into the Control4 system was something I hadn't attempted before, as the C4 thermostats are only really aimed at the US market.  However we knew how we could do it, using a small relay interface that the electrician provided, and it worked as designed!


When the project was finished, he had these kind words to say about us:
"When I first met Adam & Sam from limelight last year I gave them a very
complex brief to install a tailor made control 4 system which extended the
running of the home entertainment system within the house to my editing
suite in a converted outbuilding. After many discussions and Limelight
coming up with various different ideas of how the system will work within my
existing cat 5 cable schedule I can now say that I am very pleased with the
final result.
I now have brass switches within each room turning on/off different devices
which was one of Limelight's ideas and also we solved how to get my central
heating system working within the C4 system which I have to say works really
well. I can now turn up or down my central heating remotely when I am away
from home. After a year of having the system installed I can now say that

Through out the entire process with Limelight I found them to be very
adaptable to changing demands and I would recommend them to anyone who is
thinking of having a control 4 system installed".