Outdoor Living Spotlight Showcases Outdoor HTiB

There is a patch of "Brady Bunch” style grass, a grill, a deck, a faux house and a picnic table. The Outdoor Living Spotlight at EHX Fall 2008 isn’t just about creating the illusion of being outdoors.

It’s also about presenting integrators with unique selling propositions, according to Michael Vetrovec, co-owner of IDOD Designs which designed the Outdoor Living Spotlight.

“It’s a great time to be talking about this stuff,” he says, alluding to a need for integrators to diversify their offerings during a housing and credit crunch.

The Outdoor Living Spotlight features all-weather products from sponsoring manufacturers:

• Polk Audio speakers
• Lux Entertainment TVs
• Universal Remote Control and Eaton intercoms

As IDOD was designing the Outdoor Living Spotlight, it brainstormed a new product which is on display in the zone. “It’s basically an outdoor home theater in a box,” Vetrovec says.

The 10-foot x 10-foot concoction is a 5.1 surround sound home theater display that can easily be placed in clients' outdoor area. The version at EHX Fall isn’t a final product. Vetrovec says the bases of the columns will be the company’s planter-style speaker stands.

“Wire management is already taken care of,” Vetrovec says, pointing out that wires can be run through the columns.

The outdoor home theater in a box will cost dealers between $4,500 and $6,000, Vetrovec estimates. “It includes basic speakers and a basic projector for that price.”

Integrators that don’t want “basic” projectors or speakers can buy the system for a lower price and include their products of choice, he says.

The Outdoor Living Spotlight also features IDOD’s unique line of outdoor-geared display products. For instance, IDOD has a flat-panel TV stand that looks like a trellis, so it appears natural displayed outdoors.

Among the more interesting products is a birdhouse that is actually a front-projector case. This product provided a hiccup as Vetrovec was assembling the Outdoor Living Spotlight. The projector he was supposed to use didn’t ship, so he is using an ill-fitting projector. Instead of actually showing integrators, he’ll have to explain how the projector lens is directed through the small bird hole.

Shown is an early prototype of IDOD's outdoor home theater in the box on display at EHX.