OTHER TECH

Four years ago, Carl approached the custom-installation company that columnist John Sciacca works for - Custom Theater and Audio - and asked it to install his home theater. But he also wanted to have a fully integrated whole-house audio and video system, plus a computer network that would let him work anywhere in the house and on the road. Here, Carl recounts how he took his entertainment from being hopelessly scattered to completely connected. -The Editors

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Audio and video technology has always fascinated me. Through my teens and into my early twenties, I built my own gear - all kinds of components that I couldn't afford to buy premade. Since then, I've owned a lot of A/V components and assembled a lot of systems.

Until recently, my systems were confined to whatever room they were set up in, and I could only enjoy them in that room. If I wanted to watch movies in other rooms, I had to buy more VCRs or DVD players and build multiple little systems throughout the house. I actually ended up with three laserdisc players! And if I wanted music piped into other rooms, I had to run miles of wiring invisibly throughout the house. So when my wife and I began construction on our new home four years ago, I had one goal for my entertainment: to be able to enjoy music and TV and use my laptop anywhere in the house, with everything distributed from a central location. And that meant no duplication of any components.

A Custom Fit I used to buy all of my gear at A/V stores and then try to make the best of installing it on my own. With my new system, I knew what I wanted to do but wasn't sure how to do it. So I contacted a custom installer.

I knew that the entire house had to be prewired. (If we hadn't done that, installing the system would have been a mess - and it wouldn't do half of what it does now.) Whatever company I selected had to understand my goals, suggest the wiring, and come up with a plan for what I needed. I chose Custom Theater and Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, because everyone there seemed so knowledgeable. Once I described my goals, the designer quickly came up with an excellent plan. Then it was all up to the installers to make it work.

My main goal was to be able to play different movies, music, and TV programs in different areas of the house. In the past, when my wife turned on the TV, that would be the end of the music. Now I can play satellite-TV music channels or CDs in my office - or any room in the house - while she watches the TV in the living room. Having that kind of flexibility is great.