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Words of Wisdom

Malcolm Stewart co-founded hi-tech custom installer Kensington Home Technology in December 2005. Malcolm had been refurbishing high-end residential properties and spotted a gap in the market. 'I was struggling to find companies to install home technology for clients who didn't want to spend a fortune,' he says.

Malcolm's golden rule for home technology is to get the right wires installed at the building or refurbishment stage. 'We don't believe in spending silly money,' he says. 'But if you're re-plastering anyway then you might as well get the right cabling in. Then you can do whatever you like with the technology, now and in the future.'

Wireless technology has its place too though - particularly when clients aren't planning to refurbish. Malcolm sells countless Sonos wireless hi-fi systems. And he always installs wireless networking as well as wires, so clients can use laptops anywhere in the home without plugging them in.

'GET THE RIGHT WIRES INSTALLED DURING BUILDING OR REFURBISHMENT

While some clients understand what's possible with technology, the majority don't 'They want to know whether they should get multi-room hi-fi, or how many Sky boxes they need,' says Malcolm. 'We sound them out, try to figure out what they want, and then offer them a range of options rather than inflicting an expensive system on them.'

For Malcolm, the hot technologies right now are HDTV (high-definition television) and IPTV (internet protocol television). HDTV gives you a much better picture than standard definition television, while HTV uses a broadband internet connection to deliver television and movies on demand.

But Malcolm is advising clients not to buy Blu-ray or HD-DVD players just yet, because it's hard to tell which, if either, of these new highdefinition discs will take over from DVD. There's no point buying currently as there aren't many discs out and the players are bound to get a lot cheaper,' he says.

Malcolm Stewart is co-founder of Kensington Home Technology, a custom installation company