If Brent Esry had it his way, every custom electronics project would have to meet the electrical requirements of a commercial installation. In this high-rise condo just off the Las Vegas Strip, having to stick to code on electrical wiring meant that Esry, a sales associate at Genesis Audio & Video in Irvine, Calif., could future-proof this 3,000-square-foot apartment to the max. “We’ll be able to handle anything technology throws our way.”
That’s because conduit had to run to every speaker and TV location. In an industry where standards and features come to life and go obsolete in the time it takes to draw up prints and put the finishing touches on a home, that’s a claim Esry can’t typically make. This year’s component video inputs and outputs transition to next year’s DVI. The alphabet soup of video connectors mean little to Esry’s clients, but they count on Genesis to deliver the best video picture possible. He doesn’t relish telling clients three years after installation that upgrading to the latest video technology means sawing through drywall to snake new wire.
Here, in what Esry calls the “Player’s Penthouse,” conduit is a clear channel to HDTV and future generations of video. “With large enough conduit,” he says, “as technology changes—we’ve seen component video, DVI, and HDMI as video display outputs over the course of just a couple of years—the homeowner has all those options. We can run any wire for him and terminate it in any way we choose.”
That’s big when you consider the eight TVs in the place. TVs are the focal point of the high-tech home, and an upgrade to HDTV is just waiting to happen. The owner is a TiVo junkie, hooked on watching movies and TV shows on his schedule rather than the networks’, and using the fast-forward and playback features to control his own instant replay during sporting events.
That’s a good thing because ceilings and walls in this Vegas spectacular have been meticulously designed to evoke a glitzy nightclub feel. From the black mirrored ceiling and walls to multiple plasma TVs, the space is all high-tech entertainment. The owner wanted the apartment to sound like a nightclub, too, which meant lots of speakers and bass-thumping sub-woofers.
In the lounge area, the owner chose audiophile-grade loudspeakers for sound that would both satisfy him when listening alone and wow his guests while entertaining. It was music to Esry’s ears, too, when the owner told him he wanted the nearly 4-foot-tall Revel F30 floorstanding speakers to sit on the floor rather than hide in a wall. “It was a reversal of thinking of what we’ve been doing for the last couple of years where everybody wants in-walls,” Esry says. The Revels had to look as good as they sound so the designer prescribed the same burl wood veneer used on the video wall as a wraparound finish for the speakers.
In the master bedroom, the owner wanted another plasma TV but didn’t want a lift at the foot of the bed to house it. Esry is accustomed to installing lifts in ceilings of luxury homes, but here, with only 10 inches from the ceiling to the next floor up, his usual options were unavailable. “I found a lift (made by Inca) where the plasma can lie flat, fold down, and then extend,” Esry says. “At night it looks like the TV is floating in air.”
The thought of a relaxing bath takes on new meaning in this high-roller suite, where the owner wanted a TV in every room where he spends a lot of time. Esry considered several options for placement of the 13-inch Sharp Aquos LCD TV before settling on the marble tile wall above the tub. To satisfy the building code regarding electrical devices near water, Esry devised a sealed glass enclosure to protect the screen not only from water but steam, direct sunlight, and anything else that could interfere with viewing. The TV is controlled by a Crestron keypad on the wall.
From any TV or Crestron panel in the house, the owner can call up his library of DVD movies from the Escient PowerPlay DVD movie system. The primary TiVo hard-disk video recorder serves the entire house with recordings stored from the satellite system. The AudioRequest ARQ2 music server feeds all rooms a steady supply of music that can be organized by artist, CD, or custom playlist.
Security is tight at this personal nightclub in the sky. Guests invited to the club first pass clearance in the lobby of the building. When the elevator opens to the owner’s floor, guests are screened again at the front door by a Channel Vision security camera while serenaded by tunes from a pair of PMC speakers. After positive ID inside on a Crestron video panel, they’re buzzed in. If accompanied by their host, guests are ushered in when he swipes his fingertip across a biometric reader to unlock the door using keyless entry.
More music greets favored guests when they enter the multi-room suite. Standing on shag carpeting surrounded by mirrors in a space that Esry describes as a cross between 1970s Vegas and Austin Powers, what’s there to say but, “Yeah, baby!”—Rebecca Day specializes in writing about home electronics. She can be reached at customhomerd@aol.com.
Project Credits: Builder: Merlin Contracting and Developing LLC, Las Vegas; Architect: Architropolis, Portland, Ore.; Electronics design/installation: Genesis Audio & Video, Irvine, Calif.; Photographer: Anthony Gomez /www.agphotography.com.
