What is an Automation System?

When you talk about a custom home theater people often remark that it's the last 10 or 20 percent, the finishing details that make it truly custom.  On our show we tend to focus on the do-it-yourself project.  Whether it's a plasma, a micro display or front projector system, we usually tie it all together with a universal remote control, like a Harmony 880.  That's typically as far as we go on the automation side, which is why a true home theater, the one you pay someone to build for you, should go even further.  That's where automation comes in.  Sometimes called a control system or a "smart home," the automation ties all of your electronic devices together in one easy to use and easy to understand interface.  So what exactly does it it, and why would we, in the HDTV and home theater podcast care?

Let's take a look at an automated theater, then we can spread out from there.  First thing to automate are your various pieces of home theater electronics.  You want one button to turn it all on, change modes, turn it all off, etc.  OK, so we can do all that with a remote.  But what if some of the gear is behind a wall, or the projector is behind you, or any number of different configurations.  That's easily handled with an RF remote.  It would certainly be cool to control it all from a touch screen, instead of a standard remote control.  Well, the Universal MX 3000 or the new Harmony 1000 get us that.  It would seem that in most home theaters the remotes on the market will cover just about anything you want your gear to do.

So we need to go beyond the gear a little.  The first thing to look at are the lights.  The lighting in your home theater should be in sync with what's happening in the theater.  For example, when you hit play on a movie, the light should automatically dim.  If you pause the movie, you might want the lights up to 20 percent or so, to allow you to see your way to the kitchen, of course.  Then, when you stop the movie, it would be nice if the lights would slowly ramp up to around 75 percent.  That way the room is lit, but your eyes don't get shocked.  All of this is easily done with an automation system.  These are the subtle details that really make a theater unique.  Nobody would buy a receiver that only had two options for volume, on or off.  Or a shower that only had two options for temperature, hot and cold.  But that's exactly how we use our lights.

There are options for IR controlled lighting, like Lutron's Spacer System dimmers and switches.  But they require IR, so the remote has to be pointed at them.  There are other that operate with RF, they're more expensive, but also more useful.  There are so many useful things that can be automated in a home theater.  How about a special button that turns on just the light above where you sit, so it's easier to see the remote or control interface?  Or how about turning on the light just above the significant other, so they can read while you watch your favorite Blu-ray movie for the thirty seventh time?  And it's not just the lights themselves, window coverings, curtains that cover your screen itself, anything else you can imagine can all be automated.

And a good automation system is more than just the finishing touches on a home theater.  It allows you to tie everything together and access it from anywhere in the house, or even away from the house using a web interface.  You can control whole-house audio systems, you thermostat to make sure it;s not too hot, not too cold, but just right.  Not only that, but you have the ability to integrate cameras, surveillance and security systems, so you can see whose at the door when you're in the middle of watching 24, to see if it's worth getting up or not.  Now you can even automate your oven.  There are ovens that double as refrigerators.  You load the food in in the morning in fridge mode, program it to come on and start cooking right on time so a hot dinner is ready for you when you arrive home.  If you get stuck at the office, just log in and postpone the cooking time for an hour.  Then when you get stuck in traffic and decide it would be easier to just grab take-out, you log in with your cell phone and cancel the cooking altogether.

One day all of these things will be standard.  We'll wonder what people ever did without them.  But for now your options are somewhat limited.  You can spend a lot of money to get it custom built and done just right, with a system like Crestron, AMX or Control4, or you can try to put it together yourself.  If those you share an abode with don't mind the occasional hiccup that comes with a home made system, this can be one of the most fun home projects you've ever worked on.  And it lasts forever - it's the gift that just keeps on giving.  Some listeners have recommended a program called CQC from charmedquark.com.  We haven't had a chance to check it out, but hope to really soon.