smart automationIn our blog, we write a lot about how a home theater enhances your movie- and sports-watching experience. One aspect that we rarely touch on, though, is how it affects gaming. With the recent announcements of the 4K-capable Playstation 4 Pro and Xbox One S, now’s the perfect time to begin planning your video game upgrade. But how does smart automation improve your gaming? We’ll show you after the jump.

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Earlier this month, Sony announced they would be taking pre-orders for the Playstation 4 Pro, according to The Verge:

“The console — codenamed Neo, which the company discussed in brief just ahead of E3 in June — upgrades the three-year-old PS4 hardware with a faster processor, better graphics, and support for 4K resolution. It launches November 10th, and it will cost $399.”

The new version of the system will also sport HDR compatibility, an upgraded GPU and an improved clock rate. Sony’s console also currently supports Dolby Atmos, and the new version will as well, making it an excellent addition to a modern home theater setting.

In November 2014, Amazon revealed their latest foray into the world of technology and electronics with the Amazon Echo. It serves as the first major-brand smart speaker, boasting a voice-driven interface capable of voice interaction, music playback, alarm setting, streaming podcasts, and providing weather, traffic, and other real time information. The Echo responds to the name “Alexa,” and provided the first peek into what the future could be for users around the world. It essentially took some of the basic functions iPhone users are familiar with from Siri, and adapted them to an in-home speaker.

Amazon Echo and Control 4 Combine Forces

Recently, Amazon Echo made the next step in its own evolution by integrating with the endlessly useful Control 4 system. When Control 4 burst onto the scene in 2003, it served as a leader in smart home automation and home entertainment systems. By meshing it with the Echo, homeowners are able to do much more with their Amazon device – adjust room temperature, shade position, lighting control, security management, and play music, among others.

Atlanta Audio & Automation offers a range of smart-home solutions—including audio, video, lighting, temperature control, security and communications—that let you control your home’s entertainment.  Our award-winning smart systems by Control4 seamlessly integrate into your home giving a new lifestyle experience by connecting everything from climate control to security and manageable by remotes or mobile device. Our entertainment systems can be custom built for projects from single rooms to entire homes and the benefits are endless when you add together comfort, savings, convenience and peace of mind.

See Also:  What is it Like to Live in a Connected Home?

We’ve combined our professional expertise with solutions from top manufacturers like Control4, Sony, LG and Sonos. As we make entertainment systems easy to use and sound fantastic, homes become more comfortable, energy efficient and families feel secure. Inspired by ideas that promise comfort, Atlanta Audio & Automation has been delivering personalized entertainment solutions for homes and businesses in the Atlanta area for over 18 years. Contact us or visit our experience center and we can give your home the smart it deserves.

“We offer entertainment and automation solutions for a smarter home.”   Come visit us at our showroom, and we can demo how home automation can simplify your life.

Whether you’re stepping out of the house on an errand, packing the car up for summer vacation or simply locking up before bedtime, the security of your home is always on the top of your mind. Home lighting control, coupled with a robust security and surveillance system, can enhance the safety of your property while allowing you to keep an eye on every corner of your spaces. Read on to find out how you can utilize smart lighting to keep your home and property protected throughout the day and night.

Keep Track of Movement With Motion Sensors

There’s no better way to keep track of your property than motion sensors. As movement is detected, the area is flooded with light to give you a crystal clear view of your yard or porch. By integrating your home lighting system with your surveillance cameras, you can have fully-lit, real-time footage streamed directly to your television, computer, tablet or smart phone. Expecting a late-night pizza delivery? Know the second it arrives, and answer the door without getting off your couch via your HD intercom. Motion sensors are the perfect solution for the nighttime snacker who wants to stay safe and aware.

Stay Home Even When You Step Out

As you make your way out of the house, the simple touch of a button on your tablet or smartphone can set your home to “Away” mode. More than just a way to conserve energy by powering down the smart devices not in use, the “Away” mode can be programmed to make it seem as though someone is at home at all times. Lights alternate at intervals throughout the rooms of your house, turning on and off regularly – and based on your actual usage habits – to give the impression the house is in use. By integrating smart shading with your lighting control system, you can create an even more realistic facsimile. At home or away, keep your smart home occupied.

 From the time you wake up in the morning to the moment you go to bed at night, smart home automation can transform the way you experience your daily life. Open your eyes to a better, more comfortable morning atmosphere, and lay your head down with a sense of added security for a restful night’s sleep by integrating smart technology throughout your home. Read on to discover the ways you can increase the comfort, entertainment and safety of your home with smart automation.

Wake up Refreshed

Imagine: when it’s time to get up in the morning the shades in your bedroom begin to rise automatically. Music begins to filter into your room via your whole home audio system. You wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day ahead. The music follows you down the hall and into the bathroom where you’re greeted with the morning news on your Seura mirror television. Make your way downstairs to the kitchen and gather your family for a healthy breakfast with an HD intercom system. With smart home automation, your morning is simplified and your day gets off to a great start.

Set the Scene for Movie Night

The lights go down and the sound rises. From overhead a projector and screen simultaneously drop from the ceiling. Without getting up from your comfortable, custom-built seat – positioned perfectly for peak surround sound performance – you select the biggest summer blockbuster via your tablet’s touch screen. You hit play, and that’s when the magic happens: you’re transported into a world of cinematic bliss. And you’ve done it all with a few buttons on a single device. A dedicated home theater is one of the most exciting, and most rewarding, applications of smart home technology – one that lets you experience home entertainment like never before.

Select someone locally. Find a professional home theater company within a 50-mile range of your home. You are more likely to have an installer come by and tweak your system, if need be, when you are within a reasonable distance.

 Ask for a link to the home theater installation company's Web site or for some images of recently completed installations. Also, ask to visit the home theater installers' showroom to provide you with living examples of their workmanship. Check our our portfolio. Here at Atlanta Audio we have a 6,000 square foot showhouse that showcases home automation, home theater options, whole house audio, lighting control, media rooms, video surveillance, and much more. Call us today to set up an appointment or visit our website at www.atlantaaudio.com.

Ask for references on finished projects that are similar to what you have in mind for your home theater and are relatively within the same cost range. Ask the homeowner about how the installation company works and how satisfied they are with the finished results. Visit our customer testimonials to get an idea of what our customers say about Atlanta Audio.

Find out how an installer works. For example if you are a neat freak and your professional installer is very proficient in plasma and audio technologies but can seem a little scatterbrained or sloppy, your working styles may not connect.

Before beginning the work that both of you agreed upon, the home theater company should provide you with a complete signed contract that details pricing, equipment specifications, deliverable dates if your project runs in phases and a payment structure. Final payment should always occur upon completion of the project.