All or Nothing

A Reno couple goes from no-tech to high tech with audio/video amenities that include a home theater, arcade/casino, and great room with wall-to-wall screens.

It is hard to believe that a couple of years ago, Roger and Elise Norman had nary a cable TV in their 7,500-square-foot home in Reno, Nevada. The Norman home, designed by renowned architect Peter Wilday, is nestled above a serene lake in an exclusive private community with a view of a golf course below and the Reno Valley and Mountains to the north. But while all seemed quiet on the western front, this house sat poised to be hurtled into the technological future. With the integration of a whole house system, including a great room that could now double as a nightclub and a powerful dedicated home theater, complete with a lobby and arcade, the Normans would go from no-tech to hi-tech.

"Once in a blue moon a remarkable project like this present itself," says Terry Morton of Land and Sea Entertainment. "When the Normans contacted me to assist with ideas for their new home, I happily caught a plane to investigate." While John and Jane Homeowner, eagerly looking to get their hands dirty, might conceivably slow down the implementation of such an expansive project, Roger and Elise had skills that would actually prove very useful. Roger has an extensive background in land development and construction, while Elise has equally impressive credentials in several disciplines of design. "It was unique working alongside the homeowners in this respect," says Morton. "It was a direct path from their concept to reality. Decision-making was swift and accurate."

The Normans' main objective for the theater was that it be able to "push you back into your seat," meaning they needed to be able to crank up the volume with reckless abandon and never give it a second thought. Roger suggested they consider a small subterranean room built in a heavily reinforced concrete bunker below the driveway for the theater. It was not only sonically isolated from the rest of the home, but had no windows, therefore no ambient light to compete with a projection system. The room was originally designed for winemaking. In fact, there used to be a hatch door in the driveway that was used to deliver grapes to the cellar for processing. The room now can only be accessed through the home's elevator or through a secret passageway, designed to look like a cave, that lures people down to the theater's lobby. After Morton did some preliminary measurements, which showed the room to be workable in terms of acoustics, Roger and Elise agreed on the room choice, and the team rolled up their sleeves and went to work.

Morton spent a couple of months working with the CAD design program to come up with a plan that everyone agreed upon, and the first stage of the installation, prewiring, was underway. The prewiring was a monumental task as much of it was either in or through the room's existing concrete structure. Mike Johnston of Liberty Wire & Cable provided a high-quality, one-stop wiring solution. Their Panelcrafters division was even able to fabricate the custom wall plates used throughout the home. The team worked round the clock to implement the wiring. "There were a number of people required to get the job done," says Morton. "Due to their resourcefulness, we were able to get wiring everywhere we needed it, and then some." Wires all had to lead back to one place: the electronics room. Finding the appropriate room to put the copious amount of gear for the theater and whole house A/V system required planning. "We knew there would be tons of wiring, racks of equipment, substantial electrical upgrades, and dedicated climate control to keep the room at a constant 72 degrees," says Morton. "Which meant we needed a location as central to the whole house as possible. In other words, we needed to build Mission Control: the heart and brain of the system." Mission Control, as it were, is on the floor above the theater, located behind a secret panel. In fact, if you didn't know the room was there, you'd miss it. Elise not only added some design elements to the room, but also was the first to tour its merits as a functional equipment space. And the room is by far one of the more elegantly appointed equipment rooms we've seem, with leopard-print carpeting and soft lighting. It also houses the Norman's extensive DVD library--any DVD can be routed to any of the TVs throughout the home via an Escient PowerPlay system.

Once the intricate task of wiring was completed, Morton went straight to working on the theater's construction. Unfortunately, Morton and his team realized very quickly that the original flooring was the acoustic equivalent of a kettledrum, and began rebuilding it. After the floor was successfully completed, Morton was free to choose the equipment that would fill that wonderful equipment room we discussed earlier, and also fill the theater with sound and video, both of which were equally important to the Normans.

For audio performance, Morton used JBL's Synthesis 7.1 digital sound system, which electronically configures itself for both home theater and music. "We chose the JBL Synthesis 7.1 Digital sound system for its awesome performance and the ability to be electronically tailored to the space," says Morton. "We knew the system would get put to the test constantly, and that the JBL system would meet that test." Eric Leicht, director of JBL Synthesis, personally tuned the theater's 7.1 Digital audio system to perfection.

Likewise, the video quality is nothing short of spectacular, supplied by the combination of a Sony VPH-G90 CRT projector, fed by the Faroudja DVP-3000 processor, and projected onto a 106-inch Stewart Filmscreen. "Whether it's watching a movie on DVD or HDTV from the satellite, these are the very best seats in the house," says Morton. The theater projection system and Faroudja scaler were meticulously converged and calibrated by William Phelps of Wm. Phelps Consulting.

While the audio and video certainly meet the stated requirement of pushing audience members back in their seats, it would all be useless if the Normans were not able to make it work. Enter the AMX control system--a 10-inch touch panel that displays video images and allows them to operate the theater with ease. In fact, once they saw all the features and the simplicity with which the AMX can be programmed and used, they decided to use AMX systems throughout the house.

What the theater lacks in size, it makes up for in the quality of the experience. Elise put her design skills to the task, choosing to go with two comfortable sofas in rich earth tones, arranged on tiers to avoid line-of-sight interference instead of traditional, and sometimes uncomfortable, theater chairs. The walls are done in a dark green fabric, giving the theater a cozy feel, while minimizing both light and sound reflections. The family has affectionately named the theater "The Biggest Little Theater in the World" in keeping with the spirit of the City of Reno, which is known as "The Biggest Little City in the World."

The spirit of Reno is perhaps best encapsulated, however, in the theater's lobby, which is filled with professional arcade games and novelty slot machines. "During social events at the home, you will find people of all ages down there," says Morton. "In fact, we installed a lobby camera so parents and spouses could keep an eye on their 'kids' from anywhere in the house." Those same kids can also enjoy the theater's Xbox or computing capabilities.

Rivaling the dedicated theater is the home's Great Room, which was built from the ground up between the home's deck and patio areas. The Normans are very active politically, socially, and civicly, often opening their home for fundraisers, parties, and political functions. Roger, therefore, was very clear about the performance he expected from this room. It had to be the ultimate party room--a nightclub disguised as a spacious room in someone's home.

To this end, Morton called in Henry Heine of Bag End, who flawlessly set up and calibrated the professional club-grade sound system consisting of Bag End ELF (Extreme Low Frequency) components. Four 18-inch subwoofers flanked by four 12-inch 2-way loudspeakers certainly do the trick. At the heart of the audio system lies the Bag End ELF-1 low-frequency integrator, and room equalization is smoothed out by a Klark-Teknik digital equalizer. Professional-grade Crown power amps deliver a whopping 4800 watts to the speakers.

The Great Room's video is executed by four Sony HDTV displays. A Sony projector throws a 110-inch image onto a 16:9 screen. Along with the other three 32-inch HDTV sets, the room has the capacity to display four separate HDTV feeds at once. To round out the Great Room's cadre of impressive audio and video capabilities, Morton coordinated the installation of a Martin robotic professional lighting system around the ceiling and a haze machine for special lighting effects. The room even makes live music and events a breeze. Multiple cameras capture the action from all angles, and live bands can plug directly into the house mixer and not have to carry in their own big speakers or amps.

Of course, lighting and climate control were also vital considerations for the Great Room. During the day, when the family is enjoying the room, a cozy and warm look can be chosen with one stroke on the touch panel For entertaining, the Normans can effectuate a dramatic look, or make the room cooler depending on how many guests are in the room. Extensive touch panel programming was required to run all the systems in this room. A lot of work goes into, for example, programming the touch panel to snap all the TVs to specific scenes, such as "Sports Bar," in which four different sports feeds will appear on the TVs.

But the technological facelift on the Normans' home didn't stop there. They extended it to the Master Suite, comprising Elise and Roger's bedroom, bathroom, his and her custom closets, a gym, and the deck and spa area. Sony displays are featured throughout the Suite. A 42-inch Sony plasma above the Jacuzzi bathtub is artfully framed like a work of art. Its twin--another 42-inch plasma--resides on an adjustable mount in the bedroom. Even the shower has a 20-inch TV and speakers that are programmed to come on with the light switch.

If the Arcade, the Master Suite, Great Room, or Theater aren't enough to keep the Normans thoroughly entertained, then the outdoor kitchen outside the Great Room is always available. A pizza oven, a Tepanyaki grill, a large barbecue, and a full kitchen keep guests entertained in summer, winter, spring, or fall. Guests can enjoy the kitchen as they contemplate the vista of the back yard, which features waterfalls, a Bocce Ball court, and several terraces--all which cleverly disguised speakers that blend in with the landscape.

It took a lot of work to get all these rooms and zones in the Normans' home to work perfectly. The more variables introduced into an expansive project like this, the trickier it becomes to create the desired end result. Morton couldn't have accomplished the seamless outcome of the home's whole house audio and video, along with the implementation of the theater, without the help of some consummate professionals. "I am very grateful for the opportunity we had to work with Heine, Phelps, and Leicht," says Morton. "What was most impressive was their use of computer-assisted tools and incredible knowledge and expertise." Needless to say, the Normans are extremely satisfied with their new, hi-tech estate. The concept of all or nothing took on a new meaning for them as they watched their Reno home transform from a palace without even the slightest bit of technological know-how, to a marvel of hi-tech home.