Summary
Research Synthesis Design Solution

Shopping 03

Research

03 Shopping

We visited two stores in Shadyside, The Listening Post and Let's Make Music. They both offered high-end systems integrated into the home and custom home theater installations. They ranged in price from about 10k to 100k. Let's Make Music seemed a little more modern and cutting edge, catering to a younger crowd. They even had a total house system that works with an ipod.

We noticed some of same themes come out in our shopping experience as our shadowing, mainly: Appearance, Access, Consolidated Control and Total Experience.

Major Themes:

Appearance

Quality Materials were used
Stainless steel
Matte black metal
Mahogany & Cherry
The Glow: Electric blue, Neon orange
Seamless integration of equipment
Speakers embedded in walls
Match surface textures
Custom paint colors

 

Access

Music servers hidden away
Instant access to all media
Rich metadata
“ Most of my customers with money don’t know how to rip a CD”

 

Consolidated Control

Hide the details…and the equipment!
UI is through separate, dedicated technology
Single-tap controls
“ Play DVD”, “Radio”
Single Room Focus- showpiece
Home theater is a place
Multi-Room Access
“ NPR follows you throughout the house”
Different volumes, content in each room

The Total Experience

Automation system
- Manages the many components
- Provides central access
- Reduces complexity

Whole-house control
- Automatic window shades
- Security cameras
- Lighting
- Climate / HVAC

 

Additional Infomation

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IID 2005 . Human-Computer Interaction Institute . Carnegie Mellon University