Audio-visual integration

The right sound and screen solutions could add practicality and wow factor to your home

If the idea of a cinema-quality TV experience and the ability to listen to different music in different rooms sounds like an appealing prospect, it’s probably time to look at investing in an audio-visual (AV) system. But the possibilities don’t end at streaming party music into the kitchen-diner, with the bifold doors flung back and garden speakers booming the same tunes out in sync. Here’s our guide to getting started with

AV – and how it can integrate with other smart tech.

TV & data

The wired vs wireless debate is perhaps no more furious than in the AV sphere, with so many mainstream wireless solutions available. But if you’re taking on a major project and having smart home infrastructure works done anyway, it just makes sense to run lines to every room. That means fitting both adequately-specified structured data cable and dedicated speaker cable. “In a large 500m2 new house, the material costs going into the infrastructure might be around £2,000. To my mind, that’s pretty insignificant compared to what you’re spending on the house,” says James Charasma from Sevenoaks Electrical Installations.

Remember, building in robustness is important. You might be ok about glitching your way through an online catch up of the latest episode of Great British Bake Off because the line keeps dropping on your ultra-cheap broadband; but if you’ve invested thousands into a top-end, ultra-high-definition 4K-ready TV streaming system, you probably won’t feel the same. “When installing the structured cabling, it’s important to avoid long runs and keep it clear of noisy environments, such as close to mains wiring,” says James. “This can cause interference that might result in picture drop-outs or artifacts appearing in your 4K signal, for instance.”

Think about future proofing your installation, too. “I’d always put a data cabling in for TV. You may not use it straight away, but your next television will be a smart one,” says Andy Moss from Moss Technical. James goes a step further: “If you decide to install cable that’s only adequate for 1080p HDTV now, you might run into problems when you decide to upgrade your TV and try to push full-fat 4K signal down it,” he says. “Fibre is the best way to distribute video signal; especially if you want to be ready for the 8K roadmap.”

Audio options

Wind the clock back 10 years and whole-house audio was something of a luxury; but today it’s being integrated into developments up and down the country. That’s partly thanks to the proliferation of affordable music streaming solutions from the likes of Sonos, which have made multiroom solutions much more accessible.

Getting multi-room audio right is still a real skill, though, not least because there’s a whole host of ways to deliver it – so you need to involve a professional. Do you really want music in every part of the house, for instance, or do you just need a handful of zones or perhaps a dedicated media area? How important is high-quality sound to you? Do you want to conceal the speakers in walls or ceilings, or would you prefer to make a feature of them? And that’s before you get into questions of budget, the acoustic qualities of individual rooms, how to control the setup and considerations such as preventing unwanted sound transfer between storeys.

What’s more, for all the popularity of music streaming, if you’re going for a fully connected home, then it could pay to take advantage of the fact your audio setup could do so much more. Fancy getting woken up in the morning by gently warming layered lighting, while your favourite radio station softly rises in volume? Or how about joining the dots to your access control setup, so if you are playing loud music, it can be briefly interrupted with a chime when someone rings the doorbell (just not in the kid’s bedrooms if they’re asleep). And if an intruder gains entry, your multiroom audio can be the siren for your alarm.

Smart tech is a fast-moving industry, so if you have the opportunity to put in future-minded infrastructure to make all these things possible, it makes sense – whether you use them or not at first. That way, you’ll give yourself the best chance of having a home that stays up-to-date.