It's 'All In The Family' For This Minnesota Crew When It Comes To The Elan g! Entertainment and Control System

At some point in life everyone can experience tech envy — that transformational moment when you see a friend with a cool new gadget and think, “Wow, I need that right now!”  Well, for this family who all work together at a family-owned company in Avon, Minnesota, this all-too-familiar feeling didn’t stem from a simple iPod or TV purchase, it arose from experiencing firsthand the amazing capabilities of a full-fledged ELAN® g! Entertainment and Control System. 

Scott, who first had an ELAN control system installed in his new home in 2008 and recently upgraded to ELAN g!, loves using his iPhone to control his lighting, heating, security, surveillance cameras and media, and even likes to play pranks on his wife when he’s on business trips, like switching the channel on the TV.  Much of his family and relatives live nearby, and they work together at a family-owned company, so Scott was eager to show off the system. When everything was said and done, custom integrator Cybermation, Inc. ended up installing five full home control systems and an a/v system in the homes and businesses of Scott’s family and friends.

“Scott was so in love with his system that it became contagious—everyone that he showed this life-changing technology to decided they had to have it too!” said Cybermation CEO Tom Ardolf. “He showed them what he could do with iPhone, or PC, or the in-wall touch panels, and they were hooked. This business has always thrived on word-of-mouth referrals, and the easy-to-use g! system takes that idea to a whole new level.”

When Scott’s brother Chris saw his award-winning g! system, he fell in love with the sleek, powerful HR2 multimedia and home control remote, which provides classic television remote controls plus full access to every home system integrated with g! through its 2.4” touch screen.  Though he was no technology expert, Chris saw the value and simplicity of home control and had Cybermation install the ELAN g! system in his home, too. 

Now Chris has 8 HR2 remotes for TVs all over his home, which also let him control the home’s 12 zones of audio, Lutron Homeworks lighting, HVAC, security system and several surveillance cameras located throughout the home’s exterior.

“I love the media functions of the g! system, and it makes so many things at home so much easier to do,” Chris said.  “It makes shutting down the house at night a breeze, it lets me check on the house when I’m not home, and it’s especially cool when we sit down to watch TV or a movie.  All I need is the HR2 remote, and we can watch anything we want from the Kaleidescape or on TV.  There’s no wandering around in the dark because I can turn off the lights and adjust the heat or air conditioning right from the couch, and everything is quick and really easy to use.”

Cousin Tom visited Scott’s home and was equally impressed with the home control capabilities, and soon enough he was the proud owner of a full g! control system, complete with a Kaleidescape Media Server, several automated TV mounts, and even a golf simulator. 

When Scott was ready to upgrade his 2008 system to the newly-introduced g! system, he asked Cybermation if they could transplant his existing system into his father’s house, which they were more than happy to do.

Lastly, after hearing the entire family swoon about their new smart homes, their co-worker Ken revealed that he’s known about the awesome power of home automation for years, and in fact had an ELAN system installed in his home in 2007, a full year before Scott did.  That’s why when he saw the iPhone integration in the new g! system, he immediately recognized the potential for his sports training facility.  Utilized primarily by hockey players for training purposes, the facility is now equipped with an ELAN g! system that gives Ken Internet-accessible video surveillance, multi-zone audio distribution, and even allows the athletes to dock their iPods and listen to their own music while they practice and train.

“The g! system is just as useful in my training facility as it is in Scott’s house,” said Ken.  “Scott uses it to control everything, and I use it here because it allows my guests to listen to their own music, lets me monitor the security system from the road, and makes it easy to expand the system in the future, which I’m planning on doing soon.  Everyone that trains here loves being able to just dock their iPods and go, and they think it’s as cool as I did when I put the older ELAN system in my home in 2007.  It’s amazing that the g! system lets me check the surveillance cameras on my iPhone even when I’m away from the building, and it really helps give me peace of mind.  We even keep the parents in the action with a 50-inch TV in the lobby that displays the cameras feeds from the training areas.”

Available starting at $2,000 for a single-room, four sub-system control solution, the ELAN g! Home Entertainment and Control System can be expanded quickly and cost-effectively to enable whole-home control of every system.  ELAN g! provides users with the most uniform and intuitive icon-based control from their favorite devices, including TVs, touch screens, touchpads, PCs, iPhones, and iPads. And the system's IP backbone makes it just as easy to control the system from across the room—or across the globe.

The ELAN g! System has been awarded a 2011 Residential Systems Magazine RESI Award, a 2011 Custom Retailer Magazine EXCITE! Award, a 2011 CE Pro Magazine BEST Award, a Platinum Level 2011 CEA Mark of Excellence Award by the Consumer Electronics Association and a 2011 Gold Level Electronic House Magazine Product of the Year Award.

About ELAN Home Systems: Since 1990 ELAN® Home Systems has been an industry leading manufacturer of innovative, award-winning Multi-Room audio/video systems. ELAN systems were the first to integrate audio, video, phones and third-party products to create a seamless, easy-to-use "whole house" solution. ELAN systems and products are distributed through a comprehensive channel of select Dealers and Distributors throughout the United States, Canada and more than 58 countries worldwide. ELAN Home Systems is part of The AVC Group.  To learn more, visit www.elanhomesystems.com.

About The AVC Group, LLC:
Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, The AVC Group, LLC (www.theavcgroup.com) is a portfolio of pre-eminent manufacturers and marketers of state-of-the-art consumer and commercial audio, video, and control system solutions. The AVC Group is comprised of the following industry leading brands: NILES® Audio (www.nilesaudio.com), ELAN® Home Systems (www.elanhomesystems.com), Xantech® (www.xantech.com), ATON® (www.atonhome.com), and Sunfire® (www.sunfire.com). The AVC Group, LLC is a subsidiary of Nortek, Inc.'s (www.nortek-inc.com) Home Technology Group.