The Latest on Home Technology

Explore The Benefits Of Home Networking For Your Atlanta Home

Like many others in Atlanta, Georgia, and across the country, you and your family may be adjusting how you accomplish your day-to-day routines while quarantining at home. Instead of being in an office, you may be having to spend your entire workday inside your home. Your kids are probably learning how to do schoolwork remotely, and you’re most likely spending time helping them and parenting while also trying to focus on your own work.

Although we’re living in uncertain, difficult times, at least there are ways to make it easier. Having a strong home networking system is one of these solutions. Read on to discover what home networking is and some of its essential components.

Audio and video, new big screen TV, latest dolby atmos surround sound, TV and movies and streaming like never before!

With so many people still quarantined at home, May may not be quite the spring fling people were expecting -- or hoping for. But that doesn't mean that you can't have fun at home, and some cool new tech can go a long way to making the days go by faster while keeping you and your family entertained through the long hours of sheltering in place.

Whether it's what you listen to, what you watch stuff on, or HOW you watch and listen to stuff, Atlanta Audio & Automation put together a look at some of the coolest new technology that can help make your stay at home as enjoyable as possible.

See Also : The Starter's Guide to Whole Home Audio System

The world we live in today has become increasingly connected. Not long ago, most people only had a desktop computer and maybe, a laptop computer that needed access to the Internet or maybe a network-connected printer. In just a few short years it seems that every device in our lives can now communicate with other devices, store data on some remote location, automate some process, or allow us to communicate with each other in new and exciting ways. In fact, it is estimated that the number of connected devices will exceed 50 billion by the year 2020. It is not an exaggeration to compare a home’s network to the digital “backbone” of your home that all other home technologies rely on.

This means that the Wi-Fi and the local area networks (LANs) within people’s homes have become substantially more robust in a very short period of time. It also means that consumers may have negative experiences using networking hardware not engineered for today’s higher bandwidth demands and the massive increase in the quantity of devices. This has become abundantly clear, especially now when parents and kids are all working from home in this COVID environment.  This article explains why an enterprise-grade network is a MUST in every luxury home.

Outdoor TVs are the perfect addition to your backyard, patio, pool & spa. Entertain your family with a dive-in movie or sporting event. 

Now that keeping your internet service and home technology systems running is more important today than ever; we also understand the vital role of social distancing in slowing the spread of this virus. In order to achieve this balance, we are making a few changes to our service policies we want you to be aware of:

The team at Atlanta Audio & Automation is keeping an eye on all the latest news about the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and around the world, and we are taking all necessary precautions to keep our employees, clients and community safe during this time. Health precautions and protocols in line with WHO and CDC directives are taking place throughout our organization to reduce the spread of disease. Every day our team reviews up-to-date recommendations to ensure we’re doing everything to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Embrace the Power of Hidden Technology in Your Home Entertainment

With the rollout of a new generation of smart home tech, home audio and video has become more powerful and more accessible than ever before.

We recently worked with a client in Sandy Springs, GA who wanted a powerful home audio system without the unsightly wires and cobbled-together feel of even some of today’s most powerful audio tech.

Large speakers that give you the audio experience you crave can often take up far too much space and change the look and feel of the rooms of your home. When you’ve worked hard on your decor and the arrangement of each space, you want home audio and video solutions that integrate seamlessly with the rest of your home.

We were able to provide our client in Sandy Springs with a solution that allowed them to create beautiful soundscapes in their home without the tech dominating the space visually.

There are plenty of hidden tech options that allow you to integrate audio throughout the entirety of your home—here’s what we recommend.

Feel Like You’re Sitting Courtside with a Proper Home Theater or Media Room Setup

The time is near for collegiate basketball fans to turn their hearts and souls to the nearest TV for three weeks of NCAA frenzy. March Madness is a perfect reason to bring friends and family together within your Atlanta, GA home to celebrate camaraderie, conversation, and bonding over basketball. 

If you’re planning to be the host this season, consider these three audiovisual tips to ensure your home theater or media room is properly set up for weeks of immersive basketball viewing.

Become a Better Host with Immersive AV, Dynamic Lighting and One-Touch Room Control

If you strive to be a better host in 2020, we know just the solution to keep loved ones entertained: a home theater installation! Private theaters and media rooms bring the immersive experience of the cinema to your home so you can enjoy your favorite movies with family and friends at any time.

A custom home theater or media room designed by our experts at Atlanta Audio & Automation offers several features that are perfect for quality entertaining in your Alpharetta, GA home. Explore three notable features below.

SEE ALSO: The Perfect Home Theater Design for the Minimalist in You

Lutron Makes Shading Control Easy for the Whole Family

Like many smart home technologies, motorized shades are meant to make life simpler, more comfortable, and more convenient—from form to function. That means commanding the shades throughout your Atlanta, GA home should be effortless, too.

Lutron, a leader in motorized lighting and shading solutions, offers a variety of intuitive ways to control your window treatments that are easy for the whole family to use. Start planning the new year with motorized shades you can manage with wireless handheld remotes, in-wall keypads, the Lutron app, voice commands, or Control4. 

Upgrade Your Media Room or Home Theater Design with a Display from Screen Innovations

Creating the ultimate movie experience in the comfort of your home requires state-of-the-art audio and video technology to deliver the latest in vivid picture and immersive sound. But as more homeowners invest in quality media rooms and dedicated home theaters, design also plays a critical role in order to complement home décor and personal styles.

That’s why our team partners with Screen Innovations to deliver cutting-edge projector screens that not only blend in with your media room or home theater design but also add to the beauty of your spaces.

Explore three wow-factor screens from Screen Innovations below and decide which would work best in your Alpharetta, GA home.

Create the Perfect Scene for Any Moment with a Control4 System

You may be familiar with the unrivaled benefits of a smart home. A home automation system can dramatically simplify your daily routines, strengthen your home security, elevate the way you relax and entertain, and even help you live greener. But incorporating smart technology in your Atlanta, GA home can feel overwhelming if you’re unsure where to start.

If you want a solution that makes your life more convenient and your home safer, more comfortable, and easier to enjoy, then we recommend you start with smart lighting control from Control4. Get the details below.

There’s a lot of equipment that goes into creating a top-quality home theater. The list begins with a projector, a display, and a speaker system, but those are just the basics. You must also consider source components, an AV receiver, a control system, cabling, seating, acoustics, and much more.

If you practice feng shui or prefer a minimalistic style throughout your Atlanta, GA home, we understand why a home theater system could seem like the perfect way to clutter your house with bulky, intrusive technology and disturb an otherwise sleek interior design. However, there are plenty of solutions that can complement any minimalistic style while delivering the home theater of your dreams. Explore a few clutter-free solutions below!

SEE ALSO: Tired of Clunky Tech Cluttering Your Home? Here Are 4 Ways to Hide It

Gear Be Gone

Our team at Atlanta Audio & Automation specializes in custom home theater designs for any unique style, no matter how simplistic. We work with world-leading brands to offer homeowners intelligently concealed solutions that hide excessive wiring, source components, bulky speakers, and even do away with that pile of remote controllers.

Consider a custom ceiling soffit to hide your projector or select a projection screen that retracts to the ceiling when not in use. Motorized lifts are also a notable option to conceal speakers, displays, and other equipment until you’re ready to use them. What’s more, say goodbye to that big rack of AV equipment that typically lies underneath or beside the projector screen—we’ll create a dedicated AV closet hidden behind moveable wall panels or artwork so that it stays completely out of sight.

The benefits of a whole home audio system are endless, especially when you’re a music fanatic. Whether you have tens of thousands of songs in your personal collection or you’re a fan of streaming music apps, Control4 gives you the power to control your entire Atlanta, GA home’s musical experience with a button tap on a touch panel, keypad, remote, iPad or your smartphone.

You’ll be able to group your audio by room, stream through Pandora, and connect via AirPlay in no time! In this blog, we present a starter’s guide to controlling your home audio with a Control4 system. Keep reading to find out more.

 SEE ALSO: Everything You Need to Know About In-Ceiling Speakers

Audio Grouping

Are you enjoying music while playing with the kids in the family room? Why not distribute audio throughout the whole home so everyone can enjoy the music? Use your Control4 device to easily spread the joy throughout your Atlanta home by adding a room or area to the audio grouping. From the “Add Room” screen, choose which rooms you’d like to play music in, as well as quickly control volume, muting, and the power. If you’d like to play different music in different locations, you can set that up as well!

Pandora

Are you a Pandora fan? This music streaming system is great for listening to your favorite songs and finding even more artists with a similar sound. There’s no need to juggle multiple music apps when you have a Control4 integrated whole home audio system installed in your Atlanta living space. Simply select the “Listen” icon on your Control4 smart device to manage your Pandora, Rhapsody, TIDAL, or other audio apps. Once you tap the Pandora app, choose your favorite Pandora station tailored to your tastes.

Every homeowner has unique safety and security needs for their property, but there are several basics you should know before you begin to add home safety features to your Alpharetta, GA home. Some homeowners opt to go the DIY route by adding one smart device at a time, creating a Frankenstein’s monster of a security system where all of the devices don’t cohesively function as one robust unit. Several apps are necessary to run that type of system setup, and you’re left switching between apps on your smartphone just trying to turn the alarm off.

A custom installer can solve that fragmented system problem by designing a fully integrated home safety system.  

This blog will cover the essentials for which smart devices you should consider when selecting home security features in your Alpharetta, GA home. Keep reading to learn more.

SEE ALSO: Can Your Security System Do These Things?

CAMERAS

Usually, when people think of motorized shades, they're envisioning traditional roller shades. Despite the name, though, smart shading solutions from Lutron include a wide variety of models, fabrics, and designs, including popular drapes and blinds. All models offer control from the device of your choice, hem alignment, and ultra-quiet motor technology. Lutron’s Sivoia QS comes with the options outlined below. Once you get a better understanding of what you can add, it’ll be easier to find the ideal solutions for your Alpharetta, GA home.

SEE MORE: Are Wireless Shades the Best Option for Your Home?

Roller Shades

Roller shades are by far the most common motorized shades installation. Different color and fabric options let you customize them according to both your preferred style and their overall application.

Go with sheer shades to protect your space from UV rays while enjoying the view. Opt for blackout shades in home theaters or bedrooms to keep all light from coming in. Dim-out shades offer a little more privacy than sheer ones but still provide some inside lighting.

Summer has come to Atlanta, and with summer comes backyard cookouts, lazy days hanging out poolside and warm summer nights perfect for enjoying the company of friends and family. And the ideal complement to the sizzling sounds of the grill, the splash of the pool and the chirping of crickets at night is outdoor speakers.

With the right outdoor speaker setup, you can enjoy your favorite music while tanning by the pool or listening to the big game as you grill. One of our favorite outdoor audio brands is Origin Acoustics, so today we’d like to highlight their landscape speakers and what makes them special. If you want to enjoy the highest-quality outdoor entertainment at your Atlanta home, keep reading to learn more.

SEE ALSO: What is the Best Way to Take Your Entertainment Outdoors?

BOLLARD LOUDSPEAKERS

Origin’s collection of Bollard Loudspeakers (pictured above) are some of the best outdoor speakers available today. Bollard speakers are an excellent first purchase when building an outdoor audio system, or they can make for a worthy upgrade.

Having the right equipment is vital when taking your favorite entertainment outdoors. Employing indoor speakers and TVs will result in lower quality and damaged equipment. You can get more out of your outdoor spaces during the warmer months with products that deliver the ultimate quality and withstand extreme weather and debris.

Are you curious as to where to find the best outdoor speakers and televisions for your Alpharetta, GA home? Read this blog to learn about two of our favorite manufacturers: Origin Acoustics and SunbriteTV. Do you want to watch the baseball game on the patio or listen to music while you lay out in the backyard? Each of these companies offers a wide range of products to meet all your outdoor entertainment needs.

SEE MORE: What is the Best Way to Take Your Entertainment Outdoors?

Outdoor Sound System

No outdoor entertainment solution is more popular than a dedicated sound system. Anyone can take a portable speaker outdoors or mount a couple on the exterior wall, but to cover the entire space efficiently, you need a dedicated outdoor sound system. Not only do you need products designed for outdoor use, but also the right layout to make them work.

Do you want to hear music on your patio? Then Origin Acoustic's Bollard Loudspeaker is an excellent option with an omnidirectional sound that will cover the area evenly. With a 70-volt amplifier behind it, you get great reach and power to overcome ambient noise.

Very few technology upgrades are as simple and rewarding as adding motorized shades to your home. Even just adding a few throughout the house will reduce your monthly energy bills, make your TV sessions more enjoyable and enhance your family’s privacy. Not only that, but motorized shades reduce clutter by eliminating the need for cords and wands to manage them.

If not installed correctly, though, motorized shades can bring some dangerous clutter of their own. Once you add the shades, you need to power them, which in a worst-case-scenario means messy wires running from the window to the nearest outlet. 

Wireless battery-operated shades offer one excellent alternative for a more streamlined installation. You can also go with professionally installed hard-wired solutions with wires hidden behind walls. Once you read this blog outlining the pros and cons of each option, you’ll be able to gauge which is the best one for your Atlanta, GA home. 

SEE MORE: Why Your Shades Need to Be About More Than Just Style

Should You Go with Battery-Powered Shades?  

Whether you’re trying to avoid tripping over shoes left at the foot of the stairs or illuminating the perimeter of your property, lights can help make your nights a little safer. Featuring both indoor and outdoor solutions, Control4 Smart Lighting can brighten up your home with ease. Thanks to centralized control, customizable configurations, When >> Then personalization, and more, you’ll never have to walk into a dark room or yard again.

How can Control4 keep your Atlanta, GA home safe? In this blog, we’ll explore the important role your lighting automation system plays in the safety and security of your home.

Control4 Unifies and Simplifies Lighting

Control4 Smart Lighting simplifies use of all your lighting fixtures with centralized control from a smartphone, tablet, wall-panel, or dedicated controller. Its easy-to-use interface lets you dim or ramp up the lights in one room, multiple rooms, and throughout the entire property with a few swipes or with a simple voice command.

Completely customizable, Control4 can orchestrate and unify even the most expansive lighting systems. Imagine automating smart lighting fixtures throughout the yard, in the pool, on walls, under the stairs, and along pathways that can be scheduled, triggered by motion sensors, or set to come on at sundown. Imagine being able to control and even modify lighting scenes around your home from anywhere—whether you’re in the garage or on vacation. Total home control and peace of mind is possible with Control4.

When >> Then Lets You Adjust and Personalize

Not sure which routine or lighting scheme works best for your lifestyle? With When >> Then, a feature of the new OS 2.10.4, you can adjust and personalize your lighting scenes and other smart home settings without having to contact a pro. For instance, if you’ve become concerned by mischief in your neighborhood, you can intensify your outdoor lighting and set all perimeter lights to turn on automatically when you lock the door at night so you never forget. With When >> Then your home is yours to command.