Low Budget Home Theater That Doesn’t Lack In Impact.
They started the transformation of this ‘bachelor pad’ by using a fixed frame Stewart Filmscreen piece mounted to the wall via custom made, single arm wall mount. This floating 110″ screen provided the perfect opportunity to utilize our iSky uRay LED to capture the viewers attention. Used as bias lighting, the iSky uRay more than fills the 18″ void between the back of the screen and the wall. Beyond that, it also exemplifies a great use of relaxed bias lighting.
No need for extra dramatic lighting here, Admit One opened up some easy to use iSky Blue uRay LED tape and applied it to the back of the screen – it was very easy and accurate. Plus the iSky uRay tape is a great way to add drama to an environement without the need for a control system.
Keeping in form with the understated, industrial aesthetic of the loft, iSky uRay LED offers another layer of depth as a simple, but eye popping attention grabber.
We’d also like to add, since this installation this room is no longer a ‘bachelor pad’ since the client recently got married Way to go Admit One Home Cinema. They do it all: Home Theaters, Media Rooms, Home Automation, Home Security, and now…Match Makers! Here’s to hoping they don’t have to add Marriage Counselors to the list. Keep it up guys!
Be sure to check out the Admit One site to see more of their spectacular installation work: Admit One Home Cinema.
To learn more about Bias Lighting, and how it can help your viewing pleasure, make sure you are following our blog and/or twitter feed. We will be posting information regarding the benefits of Bias Lighting and how you too can impress your friends and clients with this easy “out of the box” add-on to any home theater or bonus room.
Residential hallway with color changing “Clouds”
So this is a private residence in downtown Chicago. We’re working on the cove lighting in the hallway that will have color changing RGB LEDs. There will be four more “Clouds” like this one around the remaining space to be finished in the next couple weeks. The full system will be controlled by a remote.
Justin from iSky installing the equipment.
Finished install. Nice and out of the way = minimal upkeep.
Cool lighting around the "Clouds"
Favorite color that really highlights the "Cloud" effect. When the other lighting is complete this will look awesome.
FAQ: Why use LED illumination?
More and more designers, architects, and home theater professionals are finding practical and creative uses for Light Emitting Diode (LED) illumination. This is due the advantages offered by LEDs over incandescent light sources — including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smalle
r size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability.
In addition, modern versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths with very high brightness.
Due to the lack if IR/heat radiation produced by LEDs, they are being used increasingly for home theaters (iSky Panels and our cove lighting options), plus additional applications such as sustainable traditional and landscape architecture, aquariums, artwork lighting, stage lights, and medical lighting.
LEDs are used for decorative lighting as well. Uses include but are not limited to indoor/outdoor decor, limousines, cargo trailers, conversion vans, cruise ships, RVs, boats, automobi
les, and utility trucks. Decorative LED lighting can also come in the form of lighted company signage and step and aisle lighting in theaters and auditoriums.
‘The Spirit of Progress’ project completed & unveiled
‘The Spirit of Progress’, also known as Diana,– iSky was thrilled to enhance a recognized piece of Chicago history and architecture on top of the former Montgomery Ward building. Last night we put the finishing touches on this project, and joined others in the ‘The Spirit of Progress’ status’ architectural lighting unveiling. Take a look.
The finished work! View from the top of One River Place (formerly the Montgomery Ward building)
Traditional spotlight on the roof of the building pointing up to the tower and statue.
More of the lighting setup. This was on the interior of the tower to make maintenace easy.
View of our completed work from the street level. She looks great, doesn't she?
Using fiber spots to illuminate an iconic Chicago tower-top statue
Earlier this week we took on challenge of lighting the 16-foot tall ‘The Spirit of Progress’ statue that caps off the 4-story tower on top of the 80-story One River Place condominiums, in Chicago’s historical Montgomery Ward Building.
Here's a close-up of the statue. It's a draped figure of a woman bearing a torch and balancing on a small globe called the 'Spirit of Progress,' atop the old Montgomery Ward building.
The 'Spirit of Progress' can easily be seen high on Chicago Avenue during the daylight hours. So our goal was for it have the retain the same beauty after the sun had set.
The unusual installation was complicated by the statue's precarious location. Because of this we also needed to provide a lighting solution that makes maintenance easy.
By using fiber spots, we eliminated the need to crawl out the window to perform the necessary maintenance associated with standard light bulbs.
The fiber is illuminated with a 250W Metal Halide bulb tucked safely inside the tower under the sculpture.
That said, we still had to do part of the installation outside the building. (So glad, this isn't me up there.)
Job almost done! We're coming back next week to add two traditional flood lights to illuminate the remainder of the statue.
Fairview HiFi Provides “Starry Campground” Setting
The audio/video home theater pros at Fairview HiFi – an iSky Panel dealer in Burlington, Ontario, Canada – began a this comfortable and family friendly home theater installation with just a bare room that contained an existing fireplace and a question from their clients about “starry ceilings”.
Fairview HiFi was more than up to the challenge. They recommended a 12” x 16” ceiling (using our 4×4 panels) following the contours of the room. The panels were perfect for the size of this installation and were easily customized to fit the irregular angles needed in the front section of the room. Fairview HiFi took the project a step further, by recessing the panels and tucking away rope LEDs giving the overall work a sky-like effect. To make the iSky ceiling even more dynamic for their clients, Fairview HiFi installed remote light switches they programmed for several moods from low level for movie watching to higher visibility for cleaning up popcorn. The home owner’s favorite mood was just the simple glimmering star lighting.
“You can hear the sound of crickets as soon the mood is turned on. The kids camped out under the stars for days (and nights) right after the install. We mused about it being a great sounding campground. Help from the iSky guys made the install incredibly easy (psst, don’t tell anyone!),” remarked Larry Crosty of Fairview HiFi. “In the end, the theater owners were absolutely delighted by the look.”
We recommend visiting Fairview HiFi’s site to learn more about their excellent services and brands. We can attest they’re a pleasure to work with and their knowledgeable team of experts can turn any client’s audio/video vision into reality.
Light+Build Show: Best new package in LED Light Engines.
Every big name company is proclaiming it has the best new package in LED Light Engines. GE has one, Philips, and here you see Osrams four different Light Engine Packages. Each of these manufactures hopes that OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufactures…other companies that make light fixtures) will adopt their package as the next standard in lighting.
Philips incredible showing at Light + Build show.
Phillips Solar Street Lamp at Light+Build Show 2010
Everything about the Philips booth is LED. For the most part, they have successfully taken every lighting application and converted it to LED. Not just switching out an old incandescent lamp for an LED retrofit, but rethinking the way that fixtures need to be designed in order to take full advantage of an LED package. Besides the LED themselves, there are two other key components, thermal management (getting the heat away from the LED – heat shortens the life of a LED) and optics (how the light is harvested from the LED and then displayed.) The next layer is control. Controlling the out put based on environmental conditions or situation. Street lights that are at full brightness during evening commute, but dim afterwards to conserve electricity and lamp life, but then brighten when motion is detected. Or say lights at a bus or train stop. They are in full illumination for 20 minutes prior to a train or bus arriving, then stay on for 5 minutes afterwards then at which time they dim down or go off.
Go here to see even more images from the Philips exhibit.
Gramophone Gets Creative with Sci-Fi Themed Home Theater
After addressing a few practical requirements, the client and Gramophone had fun with being creative. The client was very pleased with the outcome of the project as it became a dream home theater come true. According to our dealer’s sales manager, by dimming the lights it feels like “you’re actually watching a movie up in outer space.”
Admit One Creates Award Winning Home Theater
One of our favorite iSky dealers and a nationally recognized premier home theater firm, Admit One took on the task of transforming an old boring game room into this elegant yet knockout space.
Admit One wanted to provide their clients the “wow” factor of a glimmering star ceiling, but did not want to do it the traditional way by drilling into or replacing the ceiling. In addition, the homeowners were excited about the ascetic and acoustic value of a star ceiling, but not thrilled with the estimated cost and time add-on for the project. Admit One, provided the ideal solution…iSky Panels.
Our panels provided the desired acoustical treatment and helped add depth to an already rich looking coffered ceiling – while keeping project within budget.
This work garnered Admit One industry recognition by TechHome Builder and the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) – and highly enthusiastic feedback from their client.
Please visit Admit One’s site to learn more about their great team, service offering, and numerous industry awards.