In 2013, Smashbox Cosmetics founder Davis Factor increased the size of his Los Angeles home to 6,200 square feet after purchasing the adjoining property. As part of the upgrade to the estate, a reliable home automation system was required for intuitive control over lighting, shading, and streaming audio throughout the vast space, in addition to home theater components. Unfortunately, the chosen solution delivered unreliable performance, and, with its inability to properly integrate systems, was far from user-friendly.

Fast forward to June 2019. After years of frustration, Factor has finally thrown in the towel on his control system. He contacts CW Technologies — formerly CW Motorsports, a 12V audio integrator who worked on all of Factor’s vehicles — to give his home a technological makeover. After assessing the situation, they recommended replacing some of the home’s existing gear with higher end equipment, and utilizing RTI solutions throughout for control and automation.

“For Davis, it was essential that the new control system provides what he previously lacked — ease of use and bullet-proof reliability,” said Carlos Warlick, president of CW Technologies. “RTI control solutions certainly meet both of these criteria, but what really sets them apart is their Integration Designer programming software. We didn’t want to rely on outsourced programming for this project, as we needed to quickly handle any split-second changes Davis might request. With Integration Designer, we can easily tackle systems of any complexity.”

The home’s control system is powered by RTI’s XP-8v control processor, in conjunction with an additional three XP-3 control processors, four RM-433 RF receivers, and a PCM-4 Ethernet multi-purpose I/O control module. Throughout the house, RTI is controlling a Lutron RadioRA 2 lighting and shading system and 22 zones of Sonos and Audio Control dsp amplification via IP drivers. In the home theater, a combination of IP, RS-232, and IR is utilized to control an AudioControl processor, Digital Projection projector, Da-Lite motorized screen, Apple TV, DirecTV and Spectrum receivers, and a Sony Blu-ray player.

The homeowner and guests interact with the system using T2x handheld remote controls in the home theater, two guest bedrooms, living room, and master bedroom; T4x handheld remote controls in the kitchen, office, gym, and master bath; and an iPad running the RTiPanel app. In addition, to providing complete control over lighting and shading, and access to Sonos Favorites and volume controls, the interfaces feature one-touch scenes like “Relax,” “Bright,” and “Movie Time” to instantly set the right lighting in each space of the home. All control devices feature custom graphics based on the Aleera GUI template.

“Davis has been blown away by his new control system,” said Warlick. “He’d been living with the old solution for years and never knew that control could be so simple and reliable. With RTI, he is finally able to truly enjoy the modern marvel he calls home.”