When a Scotch Plains, NJ homeowner wanted the most cutting-edge technology to automate his home theater, his AV installer offered K-Touch.
Challenge
This high-tech home theater room showcases five displays: one 60-inch projector screen surrounded by four 40-inch flat screen TVs. Behind the scenes, video and audio sources include a Wii gaming system, four DirecTV receivers, a cable box, CD player, DVD player, and Apple TV — all routed through an 8x8 matrix switcher.
Solution
The system was fully customized using the Kramer K-Touch control solution. K-Touch is a cloud-based solution for designing user-friendly room control systems over IP. K-Touch systems can be operated using any iOS or Android touch device. There is no need for dedicated touch panels or other hardware. All data is stored in a cloud-based platform and can run on any web browser. K-Touch control systems are designed using the K-Touch Builder. The free K-Touch app is available in the App Store and Google Play.
Kramer’s SL-10 and SL-12 controllers provide necessary inputs and outputs for the current system and allow room for future sources. These controllers support Ethernet, bi-directional RS-232, IR, and a number of other inputs and outputs.
“The Kramer controllers give a broad range of options and allow for full customizability,” said pro AV systems integrator Steve Rescigno of Roma Technology. “Add the K-Touch App and you have some really, really cool stuff — great for home owners as well as businesses who might utilize the equipment in conference rooms or interactive offices,” added Rescigno.
The controllers and the user-friendly K-Touch app enable any combination of source material on any one display or all displays at the same time. “If you’re a football fan, imagine having your own ‘game zone.’ Instead of a bunch of little images on one screen, I can comfortably follow multiple games with the ability to move games around onto the bigger screen,” Rescigno said.
During the installation of the home theater system in Scotch Plains, Rescigno wired the sources and switchers, but experienced some challenges. He credits the Kramer team for helping him develop the RS-232 syntax for some of the home’s equipment that was not already compatible with the controllers.
Results
Rescigno says the system has met the homeowner’s goals of having everything controlled by a single app. Not only does the app control the electronic equipment, but it also dims the lights on command. Nice touch. That’s K-Touch.