EHX Fall Unveils Plans for Outdoor Living Spotlight

There will be a dedicated outdoor technology area for the first time at Electronic House Expo (EHX) Fall 2008 in Long Beach, Calif. on Nov. 4-7.

If IDOD Designs, the sponsor and designer of the area, has its way, the Outdoor Living Spotlight will be so authentic it will make EHX attendees feel like they just stumbled outdoors, according to Michael Vetrovec, co-owner, president and CEO of IDOD Designs.

IDOD has designed outdoor technology exhibit displays at landscaping shows, but "EHX will be our first custom integration show," Vetrovec says.

EHX organizers tasked IDOD with designing a 20-foot x 30-foot natural habitat, of sorts, for outdoor products.

"Unfortunately, at most shows, outdoor products have to be displayed out of context of its environment or in a controlled sound environment," explains Jim Wagner, general manager, EH Events.

"To overcome this, we are replicating three unique outdoor settings, each with distinct usage, audio/video and lighting requirements."

Outdoor Living Spotlight

The Outdoor Living Spotlight will demonstrate integrated solutions for an outdoor dining area, a kitchen and a nighttime outdoor theater. Some of the exhibitors include:

• Polk Audio — outdoor speakers
• Lux Entertainment — all-weather TVs
• Universal Remote Control
• Eaton — outdoor intercoms

It's still early in the design process, but Vetrovec shares his design and some ambitious goals for the area.

Nighttime/Daytime Areas
Vetrovec hopes to give attendees the illusion of being outdoors at night, as well as being in sunlight.

"We would use blackout fabric and create a shadow box. There would be fabric walls and ceilings that find their way up to the 'house,'" he says.

"I'd also like to have a 'twinkly' ceiling, but I'm not sure if we'll implement that."

Deck Living
Outdoor speakers will be displayed on or near a deck that Vetrovec hopes to incorporate. He also hopes to include a see-through Plexiglas portion on the deck to let attendees see how the wires are run.

Waterfall
"We'd love to have a waterfall," Vetrovec says. "This would put an exclamation point on the outdoor atmosphere." It's dependent, he says, on whether IDOD can secure a landscape partner.

Grassy Knoll
What's a backyard without a lawn? Vetrovec hopes a landscape partner will provide artificial grass, plants, plant boxes and dirt.

Cool Breeze
To drive home the sensation of being outside, Vetrovec would love to use an air-conditioning device to provide a "cool breeze" as attendees step to the outdoor area.

Outside House Façade
The feeling of being outside is relative and, therefore, requires an inside alternative. Vetrovec expects there will be a house or at least an appearance of the outside of a house.

Why IDOD Designs?

IDOD has a lot invested in outdoor technology. The young company — launched "within the last six months," according to Vetrovec — manufactures housings for outdoor A/V products.

It has a line of trellis-looking products that helps projection screens and speakers look more natural when displayed outdoors. "When the projector isn't on, it's not obvious that it's a projection screen."

IDOD hopes to show additional prototypes at EHX. "There's a center channel stand that we'll have in time for the show that can either be a planter box or a place to sit," Vetrovec says.

"We're most excited about a birdhouse projection box. You can actually put a projector into something that looks like a birdhouse. The photo lens is where the bird would come in and out."

It may seem like IDOD's products are bizarre, but Vetrovec says they address a rising consumer demand. He and co-owner Scott Barca were integrators for several years and had seen an increase in the number of requests for outdoor systems."More people seemed to be expanding their outdoor areas, trying to create a warm, comfortable environment out there," Vetrovec says.

"More customers had been requesting outdoor speakers and that grew into more requesting video systems, access to their Kaleidescape [servers] and all that stuff."

Though demand was growing, the problem, according to Vetrovec, was that there weren't products on the market to facilitate the design of an aesthetically hidden outdoor system.

"So we'd be engineering all that stuff on the fly and hoping that it works," he says.

Vetrovec and Barca approached John Tragoutsis, owner of a woodwork design company. Tragoutsis came on board as co-owner/chief designer and the manufacturer was underway.

Outdoor System Design

In addition to manufacturing products, IDOD also provides integrators with system designs.

"There are a lot of installers that need help; they don't know how to hide speakers [outside], run wires [outside] or work with landscapers," Vetrovec says.

"We want to be a full support mechanism for installers. We want to create a social network that people can trust to go to for information on outdoor installations."

Designing the EHX Outdoor Living Spotlight, therefore, wasn't much of a stretch for IDOD, since it does the same thing for its dealer partners' outdoor projects upon request.

Vetrovec says IDOD is "still nimble enough to turn around designs quickly" by shooting off a PDF document. He adds that the designs can serve as an invaluable tool during integrators' proposal process.

IDOD gets the information it needs to create designs several different ways. Often these projects are part of a larger renovation or new-construction. So, landscape drawings are already available from another contractor. IDOD can work with those plans and incorporate audio/video products, wiring, etc.

The homeowner's input is obviously paramount.

"We have a question-and-answer document that integrators can use to get information, and we can train them on asking the right questions," Vetrovec says. "We can also talk directly to the client if they wish."

In outdoor retrofit situations, Vetrovec asks integrators to take as many photographs as possible and get dimensions of the outdoor area.

IDOD isn't charging its integrator partners for outdoor system designs at this point. Since the company is so closely aligned with the growth of the outdoor technology category, it wants to make sure outdoor products are installed to the satisfaction of clients.

"We're just trying to build awareness," Vetrovec says. "If you need help with designing, we're not charging for that. Long term, there will be a design fee. Right now, we're just making sure our products are getting installed properly."