Technology is cool, right? Whether you want to surf the web on your smartphone or ask Alexa to order you a pizza, you can do more than ever with the devices in your Atlanta home. But with added convenience comes increased complexity – unless you invest in a system that simplifies everything for you. A Control4 home automation system can streamline the controls of every device in your house with a single, easy-to-use interface. Control4 seamlessly integrates all of your favorite devices for enhanced convenience. Read on to learn more.

The Devices You Love

Are you a fan of Sonos? Or Amazon’s Alexa? Control4 was among the first smart home manufacturers to announce compatibility with both. Why? Because they sensed a change in what homeowners want: instead of an exclusive system that only offers proprietary compatibility, users want to select the brands they love without sacrificing the convenience of a single control interface. In a recent press release, Control4 CEO Martin Plaehn said this:

“Everything working seamlessly together is central to the connected home experience, yet fluid interoperability remains the number one frustration for consumers, especially when bringing new connected products into their homes. The power of Control4… helps to remove that frustration and delivers the required orchestration and personalization of the connected home to every member of the family.”

Along with the aforementioned Sonos and Alexa, Control4 seamlessly integrates with Nest, Somfy and Lutron. It’s also Z-Wave certified, so it can control most Z-Wave devices as if they were native to the Control4 interface.

For the past few years, lossless audio has been slowly creeping into the minds of music fans across the country. First there were the lossless files like FLAC and DSD, but they were too big to store on easily-accessible hard drives. When high capacity hard drives began to shrink in size, streaming services began to dominate the market. For a long time, it looked like “better than CD-quality” sound was just a pipe dream. Today, two major streaming services, Tidal and Spotify, are competing to be the top lossless streaming service. Find out what that means for your Atlanta whole home audio system after the jump.

See Also: Is iTunes Gearing up to Replace the Movie Theater?

Spotify Hi-Fi         

First off, the big news from earlier this month: in order to compete with the announcement late last year that Tidal would be streaming lossless audio as part of its highest tier subscription, Sonos has unveiled their very own hi-fi streaming service, appropriately called Sonos Hi-Fi. According to The Verge, a number of Spotify subscribers were offered a chance to test the service in late February, including a new pricing tier for the upgraded subscription.

So it looks like Spotify is serious about the move to lossless streaming. That makes it the second service to offer high fidelity streaming after Tidal. Will this spark a new generation of streaming wars? And where does Apple Music fit into all of this? Only time will tell. Until then, it’s best to get your whole home audio system ready.

Last month we highlighted why Sonos makes a perfect addition to any secondary home theater, thanks in part to the wireless capabilities and compatibility with Amazon’s Alexa. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the new products and technology upgrades the wireless audio giant is releasing to take center stage in surround sound. If you’re looking for a way to enhance a second home theater in your Georgia property, or you want to begin building a small, entry-level system, this blog will show you where to start. Read more after the jump.

See Also: Using Sonos for Excellent Audio in Your Atlanta Home Theater

The Sonos Playbase

One of the big releases this year is the Sonos Playbase. The Playbase isn’t Sono’s first foray into home theater or media room tech – their Playbar remains a strong contender in the soundbar market. But the soundbase offers an added kick, particularly for homeowners with a smaller setup.

While the Playbar is designed to be mounted on the wall underneath a hanging TV screen, you’ll place your display directly on top of the Playbase. The added real-estate that the TV balances on is put to good use, with plenty of room to emphasize deeper bass notes. The result is a system that offers a lot of power in a relatively compact package.

Some companies measure success by how much money they make. Others by how many return customers they acquire. But when we look at our success, we have another measurement: how we give back to our community. We pride ourselves on serving Atlanta and the surrounding areas with accessible, easy-to-use Elan g! and Control4 home automation systems, but we also strive to do more for the people around us. That’s why we’re proud to share that we’re working with the Gary Sinise Foundation Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment (R.I.S.E) initiative to provide specially adapted smart homes to wounded veterans.

See Also: How Smart Home Automation Is Changing in the New Year

Smart Automation: A Helping Hand

When you think of a smart home, you might think of the convenience that comes with one-touch controls of your everyday devices. But for wounded veterans like US Army Master Sergeant Cedric King (Ret.) of Duluth, GA, who have given up so much in the name of duty, a smart automation system is the helping hand they need to complete everyday tasks.

We’ve partnered with Elan g!, Snap AV, Core Brands and Seura to help give Master Sergeant King a home that simplifies his lifestyle based on his unique needs. With a single iPad or iPhone he can control the security and surveillance systems, lights, shades, audio video, thermostats and more.

If you know anything about us, you know that we work hard to create the perfect Atlanta home theater experience. You can enjoy the sights of stunning 4K HDR displays and immersive Dolby Atmos audio in a dedicated space. But what if you want to expand home theater tech to another space – say a room above the garage or pool house? A wireless solution by Sonos just may be the answer. In this blog, we’ll explore the ways you can craft a secondary home theater with Sonos audio.

See Also: Home Theater Trends to Watch Out for in 2017

Perfect for Surround Sound

When building a secondary home theater for guests, space is always a major consideration. Often the same area will have to accommodate sleeping arrangements as well as entertainment options. That’s where Sonos shines, by offering unobtrusive audio equipment that can be placed just about anywhere.

The best part? Your guests can still enjoy full 5.1 surround sound. By combining a Sonos sound bar – which offers three distinct channels – a sub and two satellite speakers, your secondary home theater can sound great without cluttering up the limited space. You can even select between the substantial Play:3 or the top-of-the-line Play:5 for a fully customizable sonic experience.