Hi Jas77, thank you for your message.
If you are going to be bothered reading this long post I think you need to make a brew!
I have been machining some stainless steel today and sit at my computer for long periods with ear protectors while the machine does it's stuff.
Anyway, my philosophy and approach to custom installation is based on aesthetics and the premise that your property is primarily a home and AV equipment should have a minimum presence other than the displays.
There should be no unsightly fixings such as metalwork and visible wiring behind TV's even when viewed from the side.
re. 'I just want the rooms to look simple, uncluttered and finished brilliantly'
I specialise in excellent finishing quality and will advise you how to achieve that.
I will be happy to give your installer any tips if needed.
There are not that many who are prepared to give the high level of attention to detail required for the finishing side so I recommend you always ask for examples of their work before making a decision.
re. me perhaps briefing your chosen installer.
mmm .... can't see that working.
Every CI. has there own way of doing things and I think most are extremely competent so I can only see any input from me being minimal or at least indirect.
Re. the technical side.
Well everybody has their own methods but AV switching and third party control are always my second preference for residential AV installation.
I also prefer distributing AV signals in their raw format (IE. HDMI cables and distribution) and avoid CAT cable solutions as much as possible.
I duct everything and NEVER EVER plaster over a cable even CAT 5!
My approach to AV installation is total common sense to me but unconventional and a lot of work to most other people on the forum.
Anyway, this is the way I advise people to go and here is a simple analogy based on my experience of a typical lifestyle.
Say you start with only two rooms in your house with a SMART TV /sound system in each and multiple sources in a AV hub positioned eg. under the stairs.
The rooms could be family room/living space and Master bedroom, the two rooms you spend your life in.
Sources under the stairs include 2 SKY HD boxes, Blue Ray, Nas drive, Playstation, CCTV and Nintendo Wii etc.
80% of the time you come home from work, pickup the SKY/Cable TV remote,
view and control the same and maybe go to bed to watch the end of a TV programme or movie.
If it is a movie or something where you want to enjoy 5.1 surround sound you may pickup your AV receiver/sound system remote control in either room.
BTW. I put sub woofers under the bed in bedrooms.
Weekend you may have a lie in, watch TV, a movie, play games etc.
Other times you may plug your laptop/iPad in to your AV wall-plate positioned above the bedside table or in a convenient place in the family room and watch something you downloaded.
WARNING, be careful when using the web cam built in your Samsung ES series SMART TV in the master bedroom!
I have a few funny stories to tell on another day.
When you are in the mood you will pickup the TV remote and use the plethora of features including downloads to your TV hard drive or NAS drive and other internet related functions.
Friends and family come round so you plug in your camcorder/USB drive into same AV plate and show off your home movies/photo's etc.
Your childrens friends visit and have just purchased a PlayStation 5! (save you buying one) so you plug that into same face plate.
Input allocation and available sources on your SMART TV would be : HDM1 = SKYHD BOX1, HDMI 2 = SKYHD BOX 2, HDMI 3 = PlayStation with an auto-switch for the HDMI input on the AV plate, Component input = Blue Ray DVD, Video input 1 = Nintendo Wii, Video input 2 = CCTV, USB = on plate for flash drive/memory card etc., HDMI input faceplate = iPad etc, SVGA input on plate = Laptop, All Free-view Digital channels are obviously all available as well as any network devices IE. NAS drive, streaming TV or video off the net and the TV hard drive if fitted.
Most people will not require any more programme material so what is the point in buying a HDMI switcher etc. to select sources when you have a HDMI and AV switcher built in the TV!
As your budget permits you start to bring other rooms online using the ducting system you spent money on rather than a control system which isn't at all neccessary at this early stage.
For now if you can be bothered you are able to control your TV, SKY Boxes, sound system, SMART TV and lighting using the totally free applications available for the iPhone/iPad.
In reality your wife and rest of family will probably not be bothered and simply pickup the TV or SKY remote.
I know I am being a little sexist, generalising about lifestyle and individuals requirements but the point I am trying to make is, all this is achieved using a simple distribution approach without the expense of a control/switching system.
IMHO. with few exceptions and considering 'bang per buck', control systems are mainly underwhelming and you are bound to revert to proprietary remote controls for certain functions.
At this point third party control systems are still not a complete solution for residential unless you want the installer to specify all the AV kit and even then there are idiosyncrasies which in my opinion are unacceptable.
My approach is to let the client buy whatever TV's etc. they fancy and it is my job to connect everything
including legacy kit and get the maximum out of it.
I have yet to see a third party control system, even high end, deliver every facility my customers enjoy as standard with my systems using manufacturers remotes operating TV's and AV equipment.
Anybody who has tried to control say a SKY box from a tablet (including iPad) with their inherent lag in response and the awkwardness of having to keep looking alternately at the tablet display and TV will tell you they quickly revert back to the proprietary SKY remote for speedy, efficient and familiar control.
Another point with control systems which is often overlooked is as soon as you purchase a new piece of kit you may have to hire the programmer again.
When you swap TV's etc. with my system they are obviously plug and play.
Although this is an AV analogy, the same applies to lighting.
You can start with cheap and cheerful light control and graduate to high end whole house inteligent light control when you are ready and budgets permit.
I was involved with a project in 2007 where we ducted the entire house and due to budget restraints the family moved in with one SKY HD box in the garage and one TV in his lounge.
March 2012 he has multiple TV's, sound systems, two home cinema systems, a motorised TV coming down from the Master Bedroom ceiling, a high end CCTV camera system with designer 10" monitors (built in walls) in the kitchen, hallway and master bedroom (including 6 individual camera select buttons built in said monitors), AV face-plates most rooms, NAS drives/AV sources etc. in the AV hub in the garage, LED illuminated inset iPhone charging/playing music through house stations, Lutron Homeworks 8 which controls lighting, curtains, plasma lifts, sun blinds, black out blinds for the cinemas, (he started in 2007 with GET wireless lighting and regular manual switching)
All this has been phased in with little or no cutting, plastering and decorating required for the AV upgrades other than in the relevant room.
Just as well because he has beautiful floors and ceilings decorated to a very high standard.
Not one AV switcher or third party control system in sight!
We have considered using Control 4 for the cinema systems which lend themselves to macro solutions but the client can't stomach ponying up the cash at the moment for a one button solution that closes the blinds, fires up the projector, switches the sound on etc.
You can see his point, the two cinemas are operating OK using the prop remotes.
The light scene is set, blinds close and the projector fires up using one button on a Lutron wallstation anyway.
He does however love the IPad free apps for light control and setting up the SKY planner.
So where do we go from here?
This particular client is so used to everything he has no intention of investing in any control system at the moment.
Most rooms are operated the same where his wife, mother and father can easily operate a TV and Sky remote.
I was into control systems ten years ago but had to give up on them at the time due to too many problems with Macros and unreliability.
I have been hoping that technology would improve over the years, manufacturers would cooperate with third parties and I would be able to start selling complete control solutions to my clients.
It seems to have gone the other way and manufacturers don't cooperate. It appears that only high end and very competent programmers are able to decipher proprietary codes to enable the design of usable control systems that operate on only specific makes and models of AV kit.
I have said this before.
I was at CES 2012 in Jan and all major companies are releasing free apps to control their equipment.
They, like me see the future of residential AV systems consisting of SMART TV's at the centre of operations, controlled by proprietary software on proprietary tablets.
Steve