Westin Long Beach Hotel Hosts Local Businesses and Events in High-Tech Meeting Space Protected by Furman

Competition is stiff among hotels that want to host events and corporate meetings for local businesses. To attract the event planners and meeting managers, the Westin Long Beach Hotel in Long Beach, California, recently transformed its large ballroom into a 4-room convertible space with divisible walls. To further enhance the space, the hotel turned to local integration firm Spinitar to incorporate the latest audio system and technology. According to Rudy Zavala, Associate Systems Designer at the firm, the goal of the installation came down to three things: simplicity, functionality and reliability.

“One big ballroom is great if you want to host large receptions or conferences, but the ability to split the space into four smaller rooms offers the hotel greater revenue opportunities and opens access to smaller parties and budgets,” Zavala explained. “But it’s not as simple as just putting in some convertible walls. Separate rooms mean you need separate audio systems and control interfaces that can also function as a single unit when the room is fully open for a larger event. To do this we used QSC’s Core 500i network audio solution backed by the protection of a BlueBOLT-enabled Furman F1500-UPS to ensure smooth, effortless operation 365 days a year.”

Routing all the power through the Furman UPS boasts multiple advantages. Utilizing the BlueBOLT cloud-based power, energy and network management platform, the device enables Spintar to access the equipment at its power source from anywhere in the world using any Web-enabled device. In case of a locked-up device or system power issue, the integrators can do remote hard resets of the touch panels, amplifiers and network switcher, even the entire QSC system if needed, greatly reducing service calls. This provides efficiency for both the hotel and the integrator, saving them time, money and frustration.

Featuring Furman’s advanced Series Multi-Stage Protection (SMP) surge/spike protection circuit, Extreme Voltage Shutdown (EVS) and Linear Filtering Technology (LiFT), the F1500-UPS provides the hotel with professional-level protection, filtration and backup combined with features engineered specifically for the needs of A/V systems. Fully programmable, the unit features an intuitive LCD front panel interface, which displays valuable system and diagnostic information, such as battery time remaining based on current load and voltage input/output. Additionally, critical load management capabilities allow hotel employees to prioritize allocations of battery power to connected equipment while the unit’s programmable IR blasters provide safe shutdown of remotely based equipment.

“Easy-to-use is an all encompassing term,” Zavala concluded. “This means that guests must be able to walk in to the space and use the system right away, every time. Additionally, the hotel managers and staff should be able to operate the meeting rooms without worrying about complicated technology. The GUI we created for the audio system is a floorplan of the space, with each touch panel opening up to its section of the room, and all the other sections are available by simply flipping to the next page of the interface. This way presenters can quickly use the input panels to hook up a microphone, iPod, or video player to one section or the whole room, while setting volumes for each specific area.”

Best of all, the system is designed to be easy-to-use for the integrators themselves. Incorporating the Furman F1500-UPS into the system simplifies the configuration, ultimately saving Zavala and his team time and money through BlueBOLT remote power management.

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Core Brands Smart Technologies Afford Wounded Veteran Independent Living in New Smart Home

A wounded soldier’s return to civilian life may be one of the hardest life transitions in the modern age. Today, the Gary Sinise Foundation, with the support of Core Brands, other technology manufacturers, and on-site contractors, unveiled the latest in a series of specially adapted custom “Smart Homes” built through the Foundation’s R.I.S.E. Program, specifically to make everyday home life as easy as possible for severely wounded vets. 

Rusty Lee Dunagan always felt he would join the Army, and after the attacks on September 11, 2001 his resolve only grew stronger. In 2006 he enlisted and was stationed in Afghanistan. On September 21, 2010, Dunagan, who was 30 at the time, was training a group of soldiers on patrol when he encountered a roadside IED, causing him to lose both legs and his left arm. Today, after more than 30 surgeries, Dunagan and his family moved into a new Edmond, Oklahoma home that will give Rusty all the independence and comfort modern technologies and design can provide.

“In July of 2012, we received an email from Rusty’s Aunt, Susan Porter, sharing Rusty’s story and his rehabilitation process,” Gary Sinise Foundation Executive Director Judith Otter explained. “After speaking with Susan, Rusty, and his wife, Angie, we knew that we wanted to help this family heal and provide them with the home that they deserve.”

The home was built with Rusty’s mobility at the forefront of the design. “As the 23rd surviving triple amputee, Rusty needed a home that allowed him maximum mobility in his wheelchair,” Otter continued. “Due to the nature of his injuries, Rusty does not use prosthetics, so this was the key component for helping Rusty regain his independence.”

The Gary Sinise Foundation relied on individual, corporate, non-profit donors, in-kind sponsors, and the local community’s support to make this project a reality. “I worked closely with the Gary Sinise Foundation and an incredibly supportive group of manufacturers, builders, designers and contractors who donated their time, their skills and their products to make this home a reality and give Rusty as much control over his home life as possible,” said Joel Berrettini of IT and Media Solutions, who installed much of the life-simplifying electronics in the Dunagan’s new home. “The main way the family experiences these technologies is through the ELAN control system that allows them to control their lighting, heating, TV, music, security and door locks from touch panels mounted throughout the home, ELAN remotes, even their iPad.”

With everything in the home custom-considered for Dunagan’s use, it looks a bit different than your average Oklahoma home. The doorways in this single-floor residence are all four feet wide and are completely flat to making moving from room to room easy. The kitchen island and some countertops are up to 10 inches lower than standard, the master bathroom has a vanity with room underneath for his wheelchair to get up close, and the wheel-in shower has a tiled bench so he can get in and out completely on his own. But according to Dunagan, even the little things take some getting used to.

“I was left-handed,” Dunagan said, “so when I was doing rehabilitation I was almost starting from scratch with my right hand. I’m a righty shooter and I used a computer mouse with my right hand, but not much else. I spent time each day in rehab writing out of a textbook just like I did in grade school, and it was really important to me. As of this January I’m working for a local Oklahoma Congressman as his military liaison, attending functions on his behalf and handling a lot of veterans affairs, which keeps me busy. It’s good to be working and helping other vets acclimate to civilian life and get their deserved medical care and benefits.” 

To minimize obstacles in the new home, builder Jim Bowers designed it with six exterior doors, four to the backyard and two to the front. Dunagan and the family can get to the backyard from the master bedroom, the great room, a hallway near the main living area, and the kids play room. All six of these doors, plus the interior garage door, have Qwikset electronic door locks that automatically lock and can be accessed through the ELAN system, and can send alerts to the owners by email or text message when a door is opened. 

Dunagan continued, “Adapting to civilian life is challenging, because you lose some of the camaraderie, structure and support the military provides, so any little thing that makes our lives easier and gives me more time to spend with the family, or not worrying about the house, is a big bonus. Plus, now that I work with the Congressman I get to be involved in a lot of military events again, so I’m thrilled to be able to contribute as a member of the community.”“The first thing I did when the Gary Sinise Foundation told me the home would have smart home tech was check it out on YouTube,” Dunagan said. “My wife and I were amazed at what modern technology can do in homes, and it was even more surprising in person. Something like electronic door locks is a huge deal, because it means I don’t have to go check each door at night to make sure the house is safe. I can just open the app, and if any doors aren’t locked, I can lock them wirelessly from anywhere.”

If Dunagan wants to see what his kids are doing while he’s at work, he can view the five-acre property on the ELAN mobile app thanks to eight outdoor surveillance cameras and an Interlogix Concord4 security system. Berrettini actually took the covers off the cameras because they were white and stood out so much, and hand painted them to match the home’s exterior brick. The final safety measure in the home is a first for the Gary Sinise Foundation – a safe room designed to withstand Oklahoma’s notorious tornadoes. Built completely from concrete and connected to the home’s generator and ELAN system, this room provides the family an escape from the elements in the most dire situations.

“We wanted to ensure that Rusty had maximum mobility and independence when he was home,” Gary Sinise Foundation Senior Construction Project Manager Scott Schaeperkoetter stated. “In order to do this, we had to properly identify each adaptation that needed to be included in the home. For example, there is a possibility of extreme weather in Oklahoma, so we had to make sure that all of the necessary safety precautions were taken and that they were all accessible to Rusty.”

Berrettini added, “Another challenge we faced was the remote location of the home. That’s why a generator was an absolute necessity, and why we chose to install satellite TV and satellite internet service for the family. This way they have the knowledge that they will always have power and always be connected, no matter what the weather or circumstances might be. There are little things like this that we take for granted, and out here in Oklahoma some extra things have to be considered.”

With three Lutron thermostats, 67 light switches and nearly 30 motorized QMotion window shades throughout the home, the family can customize their environment to be the most comfortable at any given time. Programmed schedules provide a daily balance of lighting and heating, while any room or light can be adjusted with just a few taps in the ELAN mobile app. This convenient control scheme extends to the home’s four TVs and multi-room audio system as well. Even when the family is in the backyard, Dunagan can use his iPad to play his favorite music on the outdoor audio system while he monitors the yard’s sprinkler system through the app to ensure his lawn gets enough water. 

The backyard will be a haven of sorts for Dunagan, with two ponds that will be stocked with fish and a large swath of area for his kids to grow up in the great outdoors. The five kids will inhabit three bedrooms, with the oldest in her own room, the two middle-aged boys sharing a room and the two youngest sharing a room. Everyone can use the audio and video components of the ELAN system, and it’s easy enough for even the 5-year-old to choose his movies and music.

“A big part of what we do at the Gary Sinise Foundation is raise awareness for the issues that our servicemen and women face while engaging communities to support their hometown heroes,” Otter concluded. “We were so thrilled with the incredible support from the local Edmond community and thankful that many national partners, such as Core Brands, provided key technology to help us complete this project. Rusty now has as much independence as possible in his home, which is a huge success for everyone involved.”  

To download hi-res images, click here.

Core Brands Selected to Provide Control, Audio and Connectivity Solutions for LEED Registered Sunset Green Home Building Project

Underscoring the increasingly important role its brands are playing in the construction of smart home building projects, Core Brands today announced that it has been designated the exclusive provider of control, audio, and connectivity solutions for a new LEED registered home currently under construction in East Quogue, New York within the Town of Southampton, New York. 

According to Core Brands Director of Business Development Joe Lautner, Core Brands will provide ELAN®, Panamax®, SpeakerCraft®, Sunfire® and Xantech solutions to the home, which will showcase state-of-the-art sustainability when the project is completed this summer. 

“More and more, Core Brands solutions are being selected by smart home designers and builders who are looking to create living environments with the smartest, eco-friendly control and functionality,” Lautner explained. “The award-winning ELAN Control System continues to set the bar for smart home control that is intuitive, flexible and easily scalable for future upgrades. SpeakerCraft and Sunfire offer the very best in multi-room audio and home theater audio performance, and nothing comes close to Panamax protecting advanced electronics and Xantech in delivering robust, reliable connectivity.  We are proud to be associated with this LEED-registered home project.”

Sunset Green Home is a sustainable, energy-efficient new home construction project registered through the LEED® for Homes Green Building Program with the certification goal of LEED platinum.  The LEED certification program is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of green buildings.  

The project team members combine expertise from multiple disciplines, including technology solutions providers, architecture, landscape architecture, custom home building, energy modeling, sustainability consulting, and LEED program administration.  “This multidisciplinary team structure is critical to successful integrated project delivery, which is a cornerstone of the LEED for Homes green building program,” Erle stressed.  “We are proud to have Core Brands become part of our team.”

According to Kim Erle, LEED AP Homes, the decision to build a sustainable LEED certified home was made after the original 1940’s era beach cottage was damaged first by Hurricane Irene and then, devastatingly, by Hurricane Sandy.  “When we decided to rebuild this home after Hurricane Sandy we wanted to build a new home that would stand as a model for green residential building in a region where homeowners are increasingly calling for environmentally friendly, healthy and energy-efficient homes,” Erle said today.  “We wanted to align ourselves with partners that share the same commitment.  Core Brands absolutely shares our vision and our commitment to be an environmentally responsible member of the community and we are proud to select them as our control, audio and connectivity solutions provider.”

The 3,600 square foot home now under construction incorporates sustainable products, materials, and technology into every part of the home and it includes solutions from, among others, AdvanTech Flooring, Anbrook Shingles, ATAS Aluminum Roofing, Hydrazzo Swimming Pools, Axor and Hansgrohe Fixtures, Beam Alliance Central Vacuums, Boral Tru Exterior Trim, Bosch Refrigerators and Dishwashers, CertainTeed Gypsum, CoverStar, Daltile Tile and Stone Products, DEL Ozone Chlorine, DuraVent Chimney Pipes, Duravit Bathroom Furniture and Ceramics, Eldorado Stone, EmPower Solar, Franke Kitchen Systems, Grace Ice and Water Shields, Hafele Products, Huber Engineered Woods, Integrity Windows and Doors from Marvin, Liberty Cedar, Mitsubishi Cooling and Heating, Nantucket Beadboard, New Castle Building Products, Simpson Strong-Tie, Tech Lighting, Thermador, TruStile Doors, Uponor, VentGrid, Walk Green Wood Products, Zehnder America, Zip Systems Sheathing and Tape, and Zodiac.

The Sunset Green Home is scheduled to be open to the public in late Summer 2015. 

NanoLumens® Installs the World's First Native 4K 2.5 MM Display at the New Telstra Customer Insight Center in Sydney, Australia

NanoLumens® (www.nanolumens.com), a leading manufacturer and marketer of visualization solutions, today announced the installation of the world’s first native 4K 2.5MM display, part of a larger NanoLumens solution, at the newly redesigned Telstra Customer Insight Center (CIC) in Sydney, Australia.

Spanning 3600 square meters over the entire second level of Telstra’s 400 George Street office in Sydney’s Central Business District, the new center houses a 300-person auditorium, workshop and collaboration spaces, partner pop-up installations, a restaurant, and many hands-on technology demonstration areas featuring state-of-the-art business solutions. 

Andy Bateman, Director of Segment Marketing at Telstra, explained that the new center was designed to bring together leading-edge technologies, innovations and insights to shift customers’ expectations of what’s possible in their business – and how Telstra can help. “We care about developing deep, consultative relationships with our customers to deliver value that goes well beyond sales of products and services. The types of solutions that will drive growth and productivity for our customers are abundant, but rely on bringing together the right mix of partners, designers and system architects. The Customer Insight Center is about bringing all those elements together and co-creating the right solution to give our customers a competitive advantage.”

NanoLumens worked with its regional sales representative, Digital Place Solutions (www.digitalplacesolutions.com), and Portland, Oregon-based design firm Downstream to achieve the goal of realizing a digitally intimate experience through the creation of three unique digital connection zones. The zones consist of a 300-seat auditorium whose focal point is the NanoLumens NanoSlim Engage 2.5MM native 4K display. The 7.5-meter X 7.5-meter display — nearly 25 feet square — is the very essence of digital intimacy, bringing incredibly high resolution images into the theater. That theme is extended to the center’s Partnership Hub — a Stonehenge-like assembly of three 4.5-mm pixel-pitch NanoCurve displays (3.02m x 4.3m, 3.02m x 8.3m and 3.02m x 3.46m) that go from floor to a reflective ceiling and create an immersive space where product and services solutions take on both intimacy and immediacy. 

The center’s Insight Ring, which uses a 1.87m x 7.34m NanoCurve display in 4.5MM pixel pitch, accomplishes this immersive effect within a unique curved space that is enveloped by a circular enclosure that’s suspended at 17 degrees in the center’s newly created visitor reception area to convey at once a sense of intimacy and openness. There, visitors will be welcomed with bits of their own information, such as their names and titles, via RFID-enabled badges given to them by Telstra. Information about products and services useful to them will be shown on the same display.

“Based on our unique abilities and expertise in custom visualization solutions, NanoLumens was able to deliver a complete visual solution at the highest level of design and reliability, while staying true to the customers vision,” noted Almir DeCarvalho, NanoLumens Vice President of Strategic Accounts. “All aspects of this project were custom, from the seamless, curved LED walls that make up the Partnership Hub and Insight Ring to the NanoLumens LED Theater Wall — the first 2.5MM LED display capable of receiving a true 4K signal. In collaboration with our partners, we custom-designed and engineered the displays in the United States and prepared them for final assembly by Telstra Ivision across the world in Australia, on time and on budget.” 

NanoSlim Engage is designed to allow customers to engage their audiences up close and personal.  The new high resolution, large-scale visualization solution from the industry leader in visualization solutions comes backed by an unprecedented corner-to-corner six-year warranty and is designed to serve as the ideal display solution for board rooms, command and control centers, and other areas where clear and up-close viewing is required. It is also the first LED display solution able to be both front installed and front serviced. The installation at Telstra marks the first time that this solution has been installed in a customer environment.

“This is one of a series of important new installations that are now underway in Australia and New Zealand,” DeCarvalho said. “The region is a major focus of our expansion efforts, both now and over the next several years.  Stay tuned to what follows because we have some very exciting projects underway!”

For more hi-res images, click here.