Home Movie Theaters

Most 18-year-olds grapple with the usual burning questions, like what to do after college graduation, what career path to follow, or even where to live. But college drop-out Gurbaksh “G” Chahal, an Internet entrepreneur (founder of BlueLithium and ClickAgents), already had several million dollars in the bank by that time. He was also on his way to even greater success. In the last year, he signed a book deal, and releases his memoir, The Dream.

Today, G owns a lavish $6.5-million penthouse in San Francisco that overlooks the San Francisco Bay. Three luxury apartments were combined for the residence, which totals 3,300 square feet. G had the privilege of being the first person to reside in the tower since Fox studios filmed a reality TV show about him and this space earlier in the year. To be camera ready, the penthouse got the full red-carpet treatment with an over-the-top budget and a cadre of decorators, painters, electricians, and architects working around the clock.

“There were days that 60 people were running around the place with their heads cut off,” muses Zayd Bhimla, one of the many people who worked on the project. Owner of Mr. Home Theater & Associates, based in the San Francisco vicinity, Bhimla handled the audio/video installation. He estimates that he put in more than 250 hours on the job, which began in January and finished in April. Since Bhimla had already done work for G in three previous residences, he was familiar with G’s specific tastes.

For instance, G likes the fashionable look of the Sony BRAVIA LCD HDTVs so much that they are the exclusive flat panel in the entire house. The centerpiece of the installation is the 70-inch Sony BRAVIA KDL-70XBR3 LCD, the largest in the BRAVIA LCD lineup. It’s positioned in the living room’s home theater. The TV, with a $33,000 price tag, has full HD resolution and a specified contrast ratio of 7,000:1. The KDL-70XBR also commands attention with an elegant piano-black floating-glass design.

Bhimla also outfitted G’s penthouse with five additional Sony LCDs. The other LCDs include a 52-inch display in the master bedroom, a 46-inch display in the billiard room, another 46-inch LCD in the guest room, and two 32-inch models in the bathroom and kitchen.

Since a stealth install was mandatory, Bhimla transformed the kitchen pantry into an A/V closet, which is where the components and wires are all hidden. Three Middle Atlantic rolling racks house source devices, printers, computers, and a networking system.

For his music, G loves his iTunes library and wanted to be able to enjoy his playlists in every room of the house. So Bhimla used the Apple AirPort Express system to stream music to speakers in every room.

The penthouse is tricked out with a Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player and a gaming lineup with a PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii. There are also six video cameras throughout the penthouse that monitor all activities so G can keep track of things at any time, whether he is at home or at a remote location.

With his many successes and big dreams, neither his residence nor his full-blown system is likely to be G’s last. We can’t wait to see what he dreams up next, because for him, the sky is the limit!