Helicopter air delivery for an 85-inch plasma TV to a penthouse apartment because it was the only way to get it there. 

By Lisa Montgomery, February 13, 2014
An 85-inch flat-panel TV isn’t the easiest of high-tech amenities to get installed into a home. It’s heavy, rigid and very expensive – nothing you’d want to drop on your toe, or anywhere else for that matter.  Try stuffing the unbendable screen into a standard-size elevator.

The 85-inch Panasonic plasma has to compete with a magnificent view.

Faced with the dilemma of carting an 85-inch Panasonic Premier plasma TV to a penthouse in a high-rise apartment building, a helicopter was commissioned to deliver the gigantic display to the 27th floor.  From deck the TV was carefully moved into the great room where it was framed in a metal casing to give the illusion of floating on air.

Although the air-lifted dispatch of the big-screen TV was definitely one of the most challenging and nerve-wracking parts of the renovation project, it was a much smaller screen that prompted the 26-year-old homeowner to outfit his 8,000-square-foot residence with a complete home automation system.

Speakers throughout the home offer music anywhere.

Confident that the owner would master the controls easily, all things electronic were placed under the control system’s command: the heating and cooling system, the Jacuzzi, lights, gas fireplaces, motorized window shades, surveillance cameras, and every audio and video component, including, of course, the 85-inch TV.

Being able to easily access a central rack of audio and video and components from anywhere in the penthouse was of huge importance to the owner.  From the control system interface the owner can choose from Apple TV, DirecTV, Blu-ray to watch on any of 11 TVs, ranging from 22 inches to 85 inches in size. A HDMI matrix switcher and HDMI baluns enable 1080p video to be distributed to each of the displays over Cat6 wiring. High-resolution views of the cityscape, captured by two Axis cameras, can also be displayed on any TV or iDevice.

In addition to the massive plasma, the large penthouse has several other TVs all networked to the control system for content.

Similarly, the homeowner can select from a library of music (his iTunes account or AppleTV) to play in any or all rooms, most of which were fitted with in-ceiling and in-wall speakers.

The great room audio was enhanced further via a surround-sound preamp. As part of the control architecture, the preamp can be accessed from any iOS device, giving the owner the ability to tweak from a menu of onscreen controls the surround fields, DSP and delay time and other advanced settings for an enhanced listening experience.

One simple interface allows control of the lights, TVs, music, fireplace and more.

To learn more about how Quality Audio Video (QAV) in Denver, CO can help you control your home from an iPhone or iPad contact us today at  (720) 323-7878.  QAV specializes in home automation systems which include control of systems such as heating and cooling system, Jacuzzi, lights, gas fireplaces, motorized window shades, surveillance cameras, and every audio and video component, including, of course, the 85-inch TV mentioned in this article:-)