We have been in talks with a funeral home owner looking to revamp and do some changes. This guy owns hi,self 20other fhomes and slowly but surely wil use us in all 20 . I knw that funera homes are a niche and ive never worked on one so id like opinions from ppl that have worked on them. What do you guys suggest we offer him ? Since i know that ppl here have worked on it i am saying what do you suggest that i would not think of ? id love some opinions.

How about:

A large display in the entry/reception area so families can play a slide show of photo memories.

Distributed audio so that comforting music can be played before and after services.

Cameras for both security and some inside to be offered as either - ways to view the services from outside or over the internet as well as to record and offer the service on DVD.

A computer kiosk in the entry/reception so guests may sign in and leave a message for the family - possbily tying into an online service or social network.

Alarm system.

Lighting control so event lighting vs clean up vs other can be easily switched.  Also providing energy savings.  Possibly bump it up a notch from there and integrate HVAC as well to allow for monitoring of energy consumption by the owner at any time.

A small mixing board, mic and speakers installed so live music can be easily accomodated.

Head sets for the hearing impaired.

Projector and screen for services requiring video presentations.

The more services they have to offer the more the facility can have either add-on sales or possibly be used for other functions.  Although I’m not sure who would want to hold a function at a funeral home - maybe the monthly goth club meeting.

Hey Losboskie,
I’ve done 3 funeral homes, but before I tell you how we handled it, I had to put down my dog, Dinosaur, yesterday, She would have been 20 years old this December 1st. Because I love animals more than people, I’ll be giving her a full service at a pet funeral home & cemetery tomorrow.

In any case, regarding the audio portion, a 70 Volt system is probably the easiest, most profitable, and least expensive to the client since you’ll require many speakers in different locations. As Morgan suggested, get a mixing board and then integrate a wireless microphone system so people can speak from a podium type of setting. I’ve also used Logitech Squeezboxes as sources.

Video is just as easy by mounting a flat panel TV hooked to an inexpensive Blu Ray player so mourners can bring photo DVD’s or home movies if they wish of the departed. (Especially if it’s a closed casket ceremony)

As far as unique goes, we also did one of the owners homes and we installed all of his components into a casket for him. The amps were all placed in the bottom, and to access his A/V media server all he did was lift the head lid portion. As morbid as it sounds, it quite the, “talking piece,” of his home that he shows off to everyone. BTW: The casket cost more than a fully equipped Middle Atlantic rack. Not to mention, wire management was extremely easy as it was all run under the satin lining, and the system is ventilated through the bottom. Most people whom have never had to pick out and purchase a casket don’t realize that the bottoms of them rise up and down via a hand crank to lift the body for viewing. More expensive versions also offer a bottom left/right tilt.

Lastly, while performing the pre-wire, don’t send the, “weak of heart/stomach,” into the basements. In NJ, it amazing to see all of the, “shipped,” caskets, (bodies included), that come from Florida. Due to Florida’s high water table, they don’t bury their dead down there. Since my parents live in Florida, I tell them that when they go, I’m just going to board up the windows and put a cross on the roof.

I apologize for throwing in a little humor, but my dog meant everything to me and I need to snap out of it.

Hope all is well and speak to you soon,
Dave

Dave,

I am truly sorry . I know how you feel; My dog blue past away he was a samoyed and misdagnosed for 3years by the idiot vet! It was one of the hardest things of my life . I loved that dog more than humans without question so i know how you feel.

Losboskie,

We talked to an integrator about funeral home installs a couple years ago. Not sure if this helps or not.

http://www.cepro.com/article/recession_proof_integration_funeral_homes

Steve,

Thanks but the article just says the guy found a nice niche with it but he dosent really elaborate on what he does for the home. I googled him and I actually think he went out of biz.

eh, thought it was worth a shot. just found an article that briefly talks about a system in a funeral home. again, it’s not too in-depth, but maybe you could reach out to the company who did the install. just a thought. don’t shot the messenger.

http://www.videoscope.com/avsys-digisign/av-system-installations/funeral-home

Steve Crowe - 04 November 2010 12:01 PM

eh, thought it was worth a shot. just found an article that briefly talks about a system in a funeral home. again, it’s not too in-depth, but maybe you could reach out to the company who did the install. just a thought. don’t shot the messenger.

http://www.videoscope.com/avsys-digisign/av-system-installations/funeral-home

Thanks Steve!

Boskie,

Here is an eerie one, Augmented Reality (AR) apps for your portable device.  The app uses GPS, the acelerometer, and your phone camera.  Point the camera at a grave and a digital image of the person and their bio appears over the realtime view of the graveyard on your screen to show you who is buried there.  I had seen a theoretical mock up of this that was striking.  See the pic here although this pic shows glasses with a built in Heads Up Display(HUD) (portable device would be much easier to implement with current state of technology). . .

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8N_Iy44CLww/SxKouhAUgKI/AAAAAAAAAtM/fRoIDuTH_X8/s1600/augmentedrea.jpg

We have done some AR work for other experiments and written some AR model programs etc, not quite like this though. . .