Now that Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are making waves in the smart home automation market, many homeowners are beginning to experience the convenience of voice-control. But some manufacturers are looking beyond the coming months and trying to determine what comes next. For some, that just might be gesture control. What does that mean for your Georgia property? This blog may help answer that question. Read on for more.

See Also: Is Google Assistant the Next Big Thing in Smart Home Automation?

The First Steps in Gesture Control

While the perfected technology may still be years away, some manufacturers have begun taking the leap into gesture control. The latest adopter is smart thermostat company NEST, who have collaborated with eyeSight Technologies to integrate their optical system with their products. According to Electronic House:

“eyeSight Technologies is making it possible to operate a NEST thermostat with the introduction of  singlecue Gen 2. In the singlecue app, users can add Nest Thermostat as a climate device and create a new climate activity on their singlecue Gen 2 device. Once users sync their singlecue Gen 2 device with the app, they can control the temperature (up or down) by a simple wave of a finger.”

Remember the days when “direct-to-video” was synonymous with “low-quality”? Today that’s no longer the case with being able to easily access streaming services like Netflix and Hulu that produce celebrated original content, and higher-end services like Prima Cinema who put Hollywood blockbusters in your home the same day they premier in theaters. Maybe that’s why Apple is starting to make waves in the day-and-date streaming market. But what does that mean for your Atlanta home theater? Find out after the jump.

See Also: The Secret to Stunning 4K UHD in Your Atlanta Home Theater

Same Day as Theaters? 

As movie theaters start to wane and studios look for new ways to push out their content, your home theater stands to gain a lot. Now that Apple is entering the discussion, you may even be able to stream first run movies on iTunes. According to Bloomberg:

“21st Century Fox Inc., Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. and Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures all confirmed over the past week that they are looking to offer high-priced, home-video rentals of new movies shortly after they open in theaters.”

The autumn is the perfect time to integrate upgrades to your Atlanta home theater system. With the major holidays right around the corner – and don’t forget the Super Bowl hitting early next year – you’ll want to begin upgrading your space with full 4K UHD HDR picture quality. But not all systems are created equal, and there are some issues you’ll want to address before you can enjoy the beauty of higher resolution and color range. In this blog, we’ll show you what to look out for. Read more after the jump.

See Also: The Coolest Things Atlanta Home Theater Owners Will Love From CEDIA 2016

Cabling

The most common – and most frequently overlooked – issue with upgrading your system is ensuring the proper amount of bandwidth. Remember, 4K UHD offers four times the resolution of 1080p HD, and that means your cables need to support four times the information. Throw HDR into the mix and you could suffer from a downscaled signal or even no picture at all.

So upgrading your cables is essential. For any devices contained within the theater, say a local UHD Blu-ray player, you can connect them with HDMI 2.0 cables. For any hardware racked neatly in the basement, you’ll want to fortify your signal with fiber optic cables which, unlike HDMI 2.0, can transmit 4K signals over long distances.

Remember a few months back when we told you that there were big changes coming to your smart home automation system thanks to Control4? One of the biggest was compatibility with Amazon’s Alexa voice-control platform. Now homeowners can take advantage of the well-reviewed interface to easily enjoy the features of their integrated technology. But a successful product is bound to ignite competition. That’s appeared in the form of Google Assistant compatibility with Control4 systems. Find out how this is heating up the voice-control market after the jump.

See Also: Control 4 Now Integrated with Amazon Echo: What it Means

What is Google Assistant?

Much like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant is an interactive voice control platform primarily used for Google Home – a smart home hub similar to the Echo. This past October, Control4 announced that like Alexa and Amazon’s line of hubs, Google Assistant would also work with their latest update.

According to CE Pro:

With the winter holidays right around the corner, it’s time to begin preparing. Whether you’re inviting the family over or heading out of town this year, your smart home automation system can help you enjoy the season with ease. In this blog, we’ll show you how easy it is to take advantage of your integrated technology to make your guests feel welcome or ensure a safe time away from your property. Read on for more.

See Also: This Year, Give the Gift of a Custom Home Theater

How You Welcome Guests

If you’ve been following our blog, you know that your smart home system can help you make your spaces more comfortable. But it can also minimize the stress welcoming guests like friends and family from out of town. Even when you’re out of the house, your home remains hospitable to anyone you invite over.

First, you’ll need to assign your guests a temporary access code. This is a code that allows them entry via your integrated smart locks. When they arrive, you’ll receive an immediate notification. As they walk through the property, the occupancy sensors can tell the lighting to brighten their way and the thermostat can adjust the temperature to a more comfortable setting.