Pinnacle, a home on the 2007 Street of Dreams, in Clackamas County, Ore., features a whole-house audio-video system installed by Global Security and Communications Inc. of Vancouver. The electronics features are even available in the home's bathrooms.
Global Security and Communications Inc.'s Kevin Miller of Vancouver work on installing a home audio-video automation system, which includes the LG 23-inch LCD unit visible.
Global Security and Communications Inc. technicians, from left, Hank Hamm of Vancouver, Scott Adams of Battle Ground and Kyle Susan, Vancouver, install an audio- video system.
Remote controls have often frustrated Shellie Grammer.
The ad saleswoman for Portland radio station KXL can count at least three in her living room alone - one for the TV, another for her surround-sound system, and one more for the DVD player. Wires overflow behind the units in a tangled mess. And if a friend visits and uses those remotes, the changes they make can leave Grammer lost.
"It screws everything up," she said.
So when Grammer and her husband, John Mumme, began building their new house in Woodland, they decided to simplify their electronic lives. They purchased a whole-house audio and video system, installing speakers in multiple rooms throughout the house - including their home theater system - and wiring them to a single set of audio-video components.
When their house is completed in August, the system will let Grammer and Mumme listen to music throughout their home without piling up separate speaker systems, stereo components and wires in each room. And those pesky remotes? They will be consolidated into simple control units mounted on the walls that will allow them to turn music on in the bedroom or change a DVD in the living room.
"It makes your house a lot more user-friendly," Grammer said.
That convenience is making whole-house audio and video systems increasingly popular, both among homeowners aiming to get a better grasp on their complicated electronics, and new house builders looking to attract new clients and increase their profitability.
The systems may sound intimidatingly high-tech to those new to the concept. But proponents say the beauty of the systems is in their simplicity.
Old approach
The old approach to home electronics involved stacking components - radio tuners, CD players and amplifiers in addition to the VCR, DVD player and television - into a cabinet, leaving the wires to twist loosely in the back. As the digital age evolved, those components expanded to include surround-sound systems and high- definition televisions. More components meant more wiring, more complicated setups and - as Grammer discovered - an arsenal of remote controls.
Whole-house audio and video systems offer a simplified solution. The components are stored in a single location - often out of sight in a closet or utility room - from which the signals are distributed throughout the house. Speakers can be set into walls, where they are less noticeable. DVD and CD collections can be loaded into computerized servers and distributed on demand to televisions throughout the house. And music can be piped from a radio tuner or media server to any room, controlled by touchscreen control units mounted on the walls.
It gives homeowners more convenience than traditional systems with the elegance of an all-encompassing remote control system.
Room to room
"You can go room to room and listen to the same song," said Brandon Smith, sales representative for Vancouver-based Global Security and Communication. "You don't have to, like in the old days, sit there in the same room and listen to it. You can keep on cooking dinner, vacuuming your floors and listen to the same thing. Or I can be in the living room watching my theater and the missus can be in the bedroom listening to whatever she wants to do.
"Everybody gets a choice in what they want to listen to."
In an age when devices such as Apple's iPod have given consumers unprecedented portability and control over music and video, local dealers said the demand for similar in-home management has been steadily increasing.
A 2005 study by the National Association of Home Builders found that 7.3 percent of new houses included multiroom audio systems - a figure that had nearly doubled over the previous six years. The NAHB also predicted that the demand for high-tech features - including whole-house audio and video - would continue trickling down from higher-end markets, joining such once-luxury features as three-car garages and vaulted ceilings as common options.
Hugh Hall, owner of Lynwood Homes and chairman of Clark County's Parade of Homes, said his clients increasingly expect to have the option of adding whole-house audio and video to their new construction plans. In fact, Hall believes the popularity of the systems is beginning to outpace that of home theaters, as homeowners look to break the electronic shackles that restricted them to watching video or listening to music in single rooms.
Leading trend
The trend will be apparent when this year's Parade of Homes opens next month. Hall said every house in the showcase will feature whole- house audio and video systems.
"In our price range, most people will want it," said Hall, whose company caters to the higher-end housing market. "I guess it's people's lifestyle. It's kind of what they expect."
The price range for whole-house systems can start at a few thousand dollars for a basic setup and increase depending on the user's desired level of control and the extent of the system. The cost can be rolled into the mortgage on new construction, and because the wiring and control units are built into the house, proponents say they can add to a property's real and perceived value.
That helped Grammer justify her family's purchase. If they decide to sell the house, Grammer said, those amenities may give them leverage over another seller.
But until that happens, the greatest benefit will come from tossing out their multiple remote controls and enjoying a simpler electronic lifestyle.
"If somebody pushes the wrong buttons on the remotes we have right now, I can't even make my TV work," Grammer said. "This is easy."
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