- With a terrace overlooking downtown Dallas, Tony Chiarello's four-story townhome features 6,600 square feet of living and entertainment space. An elevator connects all floors – from the garage underneath the premises to the main living areas that feature modern architecture and an open floor plan.
"Tony wanted to incorporate technology into his home that would enhance his lifestyle but be very easy to operate. He also wanted to consolidate his audio and video equipment. Based on his needs, a distributed audio and video system controlled by AMX® was really the only way to go."
Hidden Technology
- "Tony wanted to incorporate technology into his home that would enhance his lifestyle but be very easy to operate. He also wanted to consolidate his audio and video equipment because of the modern look and feel of his home; he didn't want boxes everywhere. Based on his needs, a distributed audio and video system controlled by AMX was really the only way to go," explained Michael Dodson of M Audio Video Design Group, a Dallas-based custom electronics company and AMX dealer, who designed the whole-home distributed audio/video (A/V) system, as well as A/V for the dedicated home theater.
"Once we completed the installation, the first thing Tony said was 'Wow, this is really easy to use. It's exactly what I wanted. I can press one or two buttons and get to where I want to be.' AMX really is the best in the industry, and this project is a testament to that. My client couldn't be more thrilled."
- Chiarello's AMX control system includes an NI-4100 NetLinx® Integrated Controller, three 8.4" Modero® ViewPoint® Touch Panels (MVP-8400), and four Mio Modero R-2 Remotes (MIO R-2), which are used in areas like the home office and bedroom. Additionally, AMX AutoPatch® Optima® and PrecisLT Matrix Switchers make it easy for him to route audio and video feeds from one room to another – all at the touch of a button.
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"AMX AutoPatch Switchers are very reliable, and they really simplified the equation for us," added Dodson. "The system I designed for Tony is easy to use because of the automation built into it. If he selects a source in a particular area, it's going to turn on that area, give him the appropriate sound, turn on his favorite channel, and give him the
opportunity to select another channel using an icon, as opposed to having to remember station numbers."
Architecting the Interface
- To create the easy-to-understand touch panel interface, Dodson took advantage of the templates included in the VisualArchitect™ system design platform from AMX. A different background color scheme was used for each floor of the home to designate its location, and the choice of buttons and graphics easily matched the home's décor."
- "VisualArchitect provides companies like mine with a huge advantage. It's not just programming software; it does a lot more than that. In addition to using VisualArchitect to program the touch panels and controllers, it consolidates other features and allows me to figure out what products I will need ahead of time to make the system operational," said Dodson, who achieved an estimated 50 percent time-savings over custom coding.
Homeowner Satisfaction
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Simplicity, flexibility and quality were key to Chiarello's satisfaction. "With AMX, we were able to quickly and easily make changes as we went along, which isn't possible with a lot of other systems on the market," he said. "The touch panels are really easy to use because they're so self explanatory. I appreciate that I didn't have to spend much time learning how to use the
system. After all, when technology's done right, it should make one's life easier, not more complicated."
- Dodson added, "Once we completed the installation, the first thing Tony said was, 'Wow, this is really easy to use. It's exactly what I wanted. I can press one or two buttons and get to where I want to be.' AMX really is the best in the industry, and this project is a testament to that. My client couldn't be more thrilled."
