When commissioned to design and install a high-end 7.2-channel home theater in the living room of an apartment in Sonnefeld, Germany, integrator HiFi Forum GmbH didn’t skimp on the components. The powerful system boasts a Krell Foundation 4K Ultra HD AV processor and Connect network streaming player. There are two choices for displaying video from a Cambridge Audio Blu-ray player, T-HOME media receiver, and Amazon Fire TV: a 50-inch Pioneer plasma TV or a JVC DLA-X500 projector with a Stewart Filmscreens motorized Cabaret ElectriScreen. Booming sound is delivered by a Bowers & Wilkins speaker system and a Rotel pre-amplifier.

The installation wasn’t without its challenges. For one, some components were intended to be on display, while others needed to be hidden away in custom furniture. In addition, the living room’s numerous windows compromised the acoustics, requiring HiFi Forum to utilize wall panels to achieve optimal performance from the multichannel sound system. And when it came to control over the high-end components, the requirements were also daunting. The entire system, in addition to existing lighting and shades, needed to be controlled by a single remote. To meet this challenge, HiFi Forum relied on control solutions from RTI.

The apartment’s control system is powered by RTI’s XP-6 control processor, in conjunction with a ZM-24 Zigbee transceiver module and CM-232 serial communication module. The homeowners control everything with the company’s sleek T2x handheld remote control. They simply select a source and the XP-6 executes all the macro commands behinds the scenes to power on components and automatically adjust them to pre-determined audio and video settings.

Lighting and shade control is integrated into the RTI system using RTX-22 RF converters from Corvo Technology. HiFi Forum placed an IR/RF converter next to the XP-6 and RF-controlled switches by the display and rear speakers. Lighting and shades can be switched independently using the T2x, with control also incorporated into macro commands. For example, pushing the “Play” button on the Blu-ray player also dims the lights for the movie.

“Thanks to the macro commands and custom interface we created in RTI’s Integration Designer® APEX programming platform, performing any home theater activity — whether is playing a movie or streaming music — is a breeze for everyone in the family,” said Heiko Neundörfer, CEO of HiFi Forum GmbH. “The homeowners are blown away that they have this level of control from one handheld remote. It is so simple and effective that they’ve completely banished all original component remotes from the living room.”