If you were designing your dream home, what would you put into it? Steve and Geri Recht, of Upper St. Clair, included an electronic system that brings to mind images of James Bond receiving a new device from Agent Q.
The Rechts' system is part stereo, part computer, part home control center. From various places in their home, they can push a button to turn on the sound, change stations, watch TV or even turn on the lights.
There are other control systems in the neighborhood but probably none as diligently researched as Mr. Recht's system. He spent days investigating the perfect system while building his home, including road trips to out-of-state vendors to examine their technology. His zeal gave Mrs. Recht pause, as she thought he might be going overboard. She worried he was spending too much time evaluating systems. She says she kept saying to herself "Why buy something so expensive, when I don't even know what it is?" She added, "Now it's my favorite part of the house."
When a visitor presses the doorbell, it rings through the sound system speakers. When it's time to turn in for the night, one button push can turn off lights throughout the house.
And there's the sound. The stereo speakers in each room can play local FM or AM radio stations or XM Satellite stations. CDs and DVDs are no trouble; and Mr. Recht has loaded his large library of CDs onto a hard disk drive, so he doesn't even need to get the CD.
The part of the system that really sets it apart is the remote control capability. In their kitchen, they have a wireless color flat-panel touch screen about the size of a laptop screen. From there they can change the music, create playlists and program the system. If they are preparing for a party, they can set up the speaker configuration to play the same music in various rooms; or they can set up the lights to create the perfect ambience throughout the house. This panel might remind you of a large screen iPod, because it allows you to flip through cover art of each CD that is downloaded from the Internet. (The Internet connectivity also allows the system to be remotely programmed by the vendor -- or by the Rechts when they're away from home.)
Smaller flat-panel touch screens adorn the walls of several other rooms, including in their master bath.
Hand-held remotes complete the control system. Unlike the usual TV remotes, though, these have small text screens with menus and messages that show up as you press the buttons. They are built around a system called Control4.
From the start, Mr. Recht had one goal guiding his purchase: to buy a system that his wife would be able to walk up and use the first day without training or user manuals. But their 6-year-old beat her to the punch, using the system as soon as it was installed and turned on.
Buying a system like the Rechts' can be hazardous to your pocketbook. With a price tag in the five figure range, it's a lot more expensive than putting stand-alone radios in several rooms; but it's more flexible. Mr. Recht found that he kept adding features that sounded good, even though they were beyond his original intention -- a tendency he called being overenthusiastic. And that drove up the price.
The only thing they seem to be missing is a home theater with cushy tiered seating. But before the tour is over, we pass an empty room perfect for that purpose.
First Published: February 23, 2008, 5:00 a.m.
