Vision Audio Wins 2009 Windows Media Center Ultimate Install Contest

A project that features 30 audio zones, 13 video zones and full integration with a Crestron control system won the 2009 Windows Media Center Ultimate Install Contest.

It took Lubbock, Texas-based Vision Audio four years to complete the 17,000-square-foot home installation. “One of the hardest parts was keeping up with technology as it evolved over those four years,” says general manager Dustin Anderson.

Microsoft announced Vision Audio as the winner during a CEDIA Expo 2009 press conference in which it announced a Windows 7 enhancement making it easy to add digital cable tuners.

Gordon Van Zuiden, whose company cyberManor won the 2008 award, was present.

Vision Audio’s winning installation integrates:

• Six Windows Media Center-based servers
• One Windows Home Server
• Five dedicated theater-style rooms
• 12 media racks
• 98 speakers

At the heart of the home’s system is a Crestron control system. Anderson integrated the home’s subsystems through Crestron and the entertainment devices using Autonomic Mirage Media Control software, which runs on multiple Niveus Pro Series Servers. It enables Crestron and Web-browser control of media playback on the servers.

The client’s music, movies, online content and digital photos are on a Niveus Cargo running Windows Home Server, allowing whole-home access via keypads, controllers, PCs or 13 video displays. The homeowner can sit at any computer in the house and add, watch or listen to content, as well as manage climate, shades, lighting and the pool heater.

The Winner Gets …

Anderson will receive a prize package sponsored by Microsoft and the Media Center Integration Alliance (MCIA) including:

• A trip for the winner to CEDIA Expo 2009 in Atlanta
• A trip for the winner and a guest to Microsoft headquarters including airfare and two-night hotel accommodations in Seattle, with a campus tour and a $1,000 cash prize
• Niveus Media Server — Rainier Edition HD, powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor and Intel ClearVideo HD video technology
• 160GB Intel X25-M Mainstream SATA Solid-State Drive
• Autonomic Media Control Server EX with PolyTune
• A photo shoot of the winning installation

Microsoft and MCIA also award the winning customer the following:

• Xbox 360 Elite with four wireless controllers
• Xbox 360 Media Remote
• Four Xbox 360 games
• One-year Xbox LIVE subscription
• Two Zune digital media players (8GB and 120GB) with a home audiovisual kit

Check out photos of the award-winning installation.