Couture Digital has upgraded, and now maintains, a Crestron Smart Home system for Fulford Farm, a custom-built property on the Oxfordshire. Our work includes the reconfiguration of a home cinema that, at the time of installation, was believed to be Europe’s most expensive facility of its kind.
Designed by James Gorst Architects, the 28,000 square foot property has 38 audio visual zones, intelligent lighting, motorised shading, HVAC, and extensive security and CCTV systems to cover 88 acres of gardens and land. All systems have been integrated for simple control through a custom Crestron Smart Home system with 23 touch panels.
FULFORD FARM
The latest technology available, for discerning clients.
A few years later, new high-profile tenants moved in. Couture Digital was retained to upgrade the entire system again and reprogram it to meet a more demanding specification. This work had to be done in a very short timeframe and with minimum disturbance.
The system was upgraded to the latest technology, including a 4k video distribution system, state-of-the-art audio, and the latest user interfaces. The home cinema room was also reconfigured to create a commercial-grade system.
Couture Digital first got involved when we were asked to make a support visit to service the existing Crestron automation system. Not only did our certified Crestron engineers efficiently resolve a long-standing problem, but they also put forward various suggestions to improve the system’s overall performance.
As a result, Couture Digital was awarded a contract to upgrade the system and provide ongoing maintenance.
A reference Datasat AV processor and an audio correction system were installed, as well as a Digital Projection 4k Laser projector. The projector delivers bright, stable and colour-accurate imagery with the dual lasers producing a stunning 27,000 lumens.
The main challenge that Couture Digital had to overcome during the upgrade was working with the existing structured wiring. As well as being out of date, it used unusually long cables due to the property size. These were hard to manage and maintain and resulted at times in weak data signals.
The wiring challenge was overcome by repurposing existing cabling, optimising system design and introducing network switches midway along the longest cable routes to boost data signals.
To deliver the outstanding performance required by the clients, our design team specified Digital Projection’s signature laser projector. This posed an extra challenge because at over 100kg it was extremely heavy. We engaged a structural engineer to design a steel frame that was strong enough to hold the projector but compact enough to fit the space allocated.
Another unusual feature of this assignment was that the property was used for both residential and commercial purposes, meaning that the security aspects alone constituted a complex project.
Our team successfully overcame all these challenges and exceeded the clients’ expectations. The upgraded cinema set-up, in particular, offers an experience that is far superior to most commercial cinemas.