Remote Control
With all these electrical items it comes as no surprise to learn that Arthur
has so many remote controls he could probably build a small house out of them
if he wanted to. So, to get round this problem, Arthur invested in a
universal remote control.
Arthur has a Marantz RC5000 touch screen remote control. It is a variation on
the popular Philips Pronto remote control and both remotes are pretty much
identical, alhtough lnewer models look quite different. Basically, the remote
control has a few "real" buttons and a big touch screen which can then display
any number of other buttons.
Out of the box the remote comes with a basic interface which can have minor
modifications and can learn all the commands from your exisitng remote control.
But by downloading some free editing software you can chamge the appearnce and
layout to pretty much whatevr you want. This includes adding graphics, changing
button shapes and sizes, screen navigation etc.
Arthur's remote is one of the very first models made by Marantz (it is closely
associated to the Philips Pronto range) and only has a 4 tone scrren (black,
white and 2 shades of grey) but there have been lots of new models made
subsequently including ones with full colur screens. The best site to find
information about universal remote controls has to be
Remote Central. They have lots of reviews and you can also download
other peoples configuartion files to load onto your own remote control.
Lighting Controller
When redecorating his living room and home cinema, Arthur decided to install a
multi channel remote control lighting system. There are numerous systems
available ranging from stupidly cheap remote control lighswitches to full
multiroom systems that are rather expensive.
Arthur chose a mid-range solution from
Futronix that only cost a few hundred pounds.
The P400 is an all in one light switch, dimmer and controller that has 4
seperate lighting circuits. Instead of turning individual lighting circuits on
and off you program in "scenes" which consist of differnet channels at
different brightnesses.
Arthur installed 4 different lighting circuits. The first consisted of 4 halogen
downlights, the second was three angled halogens to illuminate the walls. The
third circuit was some backlighting hidden behind the projector screen and the
fourth was a series of 3-pin sockets around the room into which Arthuir could
plug in addition lamps.
This is another great product althiough it does require some complicated wiring
that is quite different from how ordinary lights are wired into a lighting
circuit. It is not easy to just add this comntrolelr to you exisiting lights.
It is best installed when the room is being built (or as In Arthur's case,
re-built).
Arthur's Home Cinema Links