The rise of home audio visual automation

With a seemingly endless list of products to choose from when it comes to home automation technology, it can be overwhelming to decide what products best fit each project and each client’s needs. This is where Rapallo can help.

Providing premium audio and visual products from over 70 brands such as Denon, Arcam, Yamaha, Klipsch and Devialet, the Rapallo team of experts can help architects, designers and homeowners find a home audio and visual system that delivers a next-level experience.

Experts on the ins and outs of installing this technology as well as understanding how to maximise audio visual for the best in-home experience, Rapallo collaborates with design professionals to get the best result for their clients. 

“Early planning is crucial to a good outcome,” says Rapallo’s Simon Bell. “A good set of project specifications is also crucial so the client understands what they are getting and how it will work. We offer an initial consultation that’s free, and from there we can generate an initial estimate and work with the homeowner or professional to ensure all their requirements are met. This means no surprises.”

Some key trends the team at Rapallo is seeing and working with clients to bring to life include:

Immersive movie experiences: “The home cinema room is now having its roof and walls lifted off,” says Simon. New technology has provided advances with the use of Dolby Atmos and speaker calibration and placement. This means that when in the room, the sound and visual experiences link – making you feel like you are right there in the moment that’s on screen. 

“A well-designed and built room with this is quite exceptional. Our main cinema room at Rapallo is available for demo and it provides quite an experience.”

Streaming: The increase in bandwidth over the last five years has meant the Blu-ray or DVD player has been pushed to the back of the pile. With some of the streaming offerings today such as Apple TV or the Kaleidescape platform, users can now access movies, TV or sports providers quickly and with high-quality visuals in their rooms. 

“Gone are the days when you had to get up and go and change a disc, now you can do all that from the comfort of your couch or theatre chairs,” says Simon. “We have a good demonstration of this in a simple system at Rapallo in the demo room using Apple TV. It's on-demand content – the caveat is that you need to have good bandwidth and preferably a fibre connection.”

Acoustics: The importance of acoustics is becoming more widely understood, with both clients and designers seeking Rapallo’s expertise in both technical design and acoustic design to ensure the sound is as realistic as possible. 

One remote: “Now more than ever with the advent of products, the room can have a lineup of remote controls,” says Simon. “But there are many ways around this both at a budget level and a high-end level by using automation platforms to control the various services in the room.” 

One remote technology means that with one button push, the lights dim, the blinds close and all the technology turns on. “It’s simple and easy, which is the main focus in many of our projects.”

Hybrid events and virtual conferences: Beyond the home, Rapallo also works on projects for commercial clients. “We have had a few projects lately that have been a combination of local content with the addition of live content and external feeds. It’s much like TV, but in a hall and directed by one person. It covers most of the needs of organisations that have various stakeholders and remote locations,” says Simon.

Early planning and future planning are the most important considerations when installing audio visual equipment. 

“The cabling needs to be run and set up before the walls are up. Also, future needs are important – speaker cable is cheap, so if you think you might want some speakers somewhere, just cable them,” says Simon. 

Aspects such as where you spend the most time in your home should also be front of mind, as well as the placement of amplifiers and the strength of your network connection. “Think about where background music would be nice. If music is needed for entertaining and parties, then some thought needs to go into the use of subwoofers to fill in the base – especially if you are using in-ceiling speakers.”

Before you start planning the audio visual in your next project, get in touch with Rapallo to understand the possibilities and explore their impressive range of products on ArchiPro.