The homeowner had no intention of spending a little extra money. All he wanted was a pop-up television that could disappear into a cabinet. The installer didn't push. But what he did next helped close the sale of an upgrade that eventually led to a long line of lucrative referrals. It all happened because the customer uttered one threeletter word. “WOW”.

Jim Antoni, the owner of Mastercraft Furniture in Chicago, has built custom cabinets and installed motorized TV lifts for more than 15 years. A decade ago he says clients were giddy about hiding bulky or flat screen units until they wanted to watch their favorite programs. Now that the disappearing act is commonplace, Antoni makes it a point to demonstrate an even greater advance in home entertainment: a hi-tech system control box.

The sophisticated new control box, operated by a remote, is not merely an assortment of jazzy bells and whistles designed to entice consumers to spend more. Rather, the 21st Century innovation is worthy of WOW because it is quietly expanding the way homeowners experience and integrate audio-visual elements in bedroom, family room and kitchen designs.

“Sometimes clients just want a TV in a cabinet. But in certain situations, I talk them into installing one of the new system control boxes. Weeks later they call back and say, 'Jim, that's the best decision I've ever made.' Referrals have been good, too, because they tell their friends. The world is becoming more and more automated.”

Indeed. The ability to make a flat panel television turn on, lift and then swivel 360 degrees may not seem like one giant step for mankind. But consider how it applies to home life. With the push of a button, the swivel function may allow one unit to serve a variety of angles in both a kitchen and living room. “A TV that can turn around 360 degrees is flexible. You can watch from a couple different rooms. And the lift only uses up about ten inches of space. So it can fit into almost any cabinet or buffet or book case,” says Antoni.

Also, as master bedrooms take on the double duty of sleeping area and den, home dwellers can watch TV in bed or swivel the unit toward a couch or set of easy chairs. Then, of course, when it is time to turn off the lights, the flat panel LCD screen can be concealed in a cabinet, ceiling or behind a painting on the wall.

The key is sophisticated electronic controls. The innovations not only satisfy clients, they are also reliable and easy to install. When Antoni began using lifts and controls in his cabinets, he played the field. He soon settled on the 50-year-old firm Auton Motorized Systems.

“I used a couple different brands but I felt Auton was the best. The gear mechanism is a simple meshing of gears and the tracking system – the bearings – is smooth. And now thanks to audio integrators the sound starts when the TV appears. I've never had them fail. I've never had a call from a client with a complaint. The less calls the better.”

THE PRESIDENTIAL WOW!

Everyone likes control. Everyone likes to push buttons to get results. Even business people and vacationers who treat themselves to the presidential suites offered in leading hotels. Jaime Diaz, production manager for Westwood Interiors in Los Angeles, builds cabinets and installs TV lifts and systems in the high-end rooms at luxury hotels. He fully appreciates the convenience and adaptability a swivel function bestows. “If you're sitting in a corner of the suite, you can turn the TV to face you. You could be in various areas – the mini-bar, bedroom – and its automatic. You push a button. It defeats the purpose of having plasmas all over the place.”

But it is the Auton control box that makes him think, WOW. Especially when compared to older generations of the remote control. With RF, Infrared and low-voltage remote and control box interface options, the user can be out of the room and still make things happen. Many things. The new system can accommodate up to seven remote control programs that include DVD, Play Station, TV cable services and more.

Diaz says the new system began to “take off” a little more than a year ago. He believes the A/V integration innovations will garner mass appeal, much in the way the early versions of the remote control eventually gained universal acceptance. “We were used to getting up and changing the channel. Now we do it by pushing a button. These days, the swivel feature attracts an automatic response. That leads to a discussion about all the other features.”

Those features and benefits include adjustable limit switches that permit a specified range of TV movement; gear guards that prevent wires from getting tangled in the lift mechanism; and an emergency manual override to be used in the event of a misplaced remote. In addition the MFC (multi functional control box) offers two pre-sets so the unit will swivel to its programmed preset all with a touch of a button.

The uses for the hi-tech motorized systems are limited only by the imagination, says Diaz. Although installation in presidential suite bathrooms hasn't happened yet, he won't be surprised when it does. Wow.