Reimagine Lighting, Audio, and Video for Your Backyard and Entire Atlanta Home

Summer is upon us, so what does that mean for folks in Atlanta? It’s time to soak up the sun and enjoy all your Georgia home’s outdoor space has to offer. Whether it’s basking in a warm summer weeknight with your family or having a weekend barbecue and pool party with friends, you should make sure your outdoor entertainment system is up to date with the latest equipment and technology.

Control4 is an industry leader in the home automation space, and their advanced smart technology can pair with your outdoor equipment to take your summer entertainment to the next level. Convenience, luxury, and fun can be at your fingertips with a Control4 system. We’ll walk you through some of their top solutions.

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?  

Often when you’re interested in a product or technology, you turn to the internet. You Google a product to see reviews, look up technical specifications, and read articles about features and tests. However, when it comes to smart home automation, it can be hard to take abstract specs and turn them into a complete understanding of the everyday solutions that smart tech offers.

Why? Because a true smart home automation experience is not about specs and features. It is about finding solutions to make your life simpler. So, if you’re considering adding something to your home, you may find it difficult to evaluate what automation technology can really do for you and which options will fit your needs and lifestyle. 

Our partner Control4 strongly believes that the customer should be able to see and feel what smart home technology is all about. To that end, they created the Control4 Certified Showroom program.  We are excited to participate in the program and have built a showroom right here in Atlanta, GA to let you experience the latest smart tech for yourself.

Visit our Control4 Certified Showroom to see, hear, and touch smart home automation for yourself. Let us know you’re interested in the chat box at the bottom of your screen and one of our Certified Showroom Professionals will respond.

What You’ll See

When you visit our showroom, you’ll get to see and use the smart technology in action. Control4 takes the different elements of smart home automation—lighting, entertainment, climate control, networking, and security—and blends them together seamlessly to create the effortless environment you want in your home. 

  May 31, 2017 - Framingham, MA - Electronic House, the leading information site for smart home consumers, announces the winners of the 2017 Home of the Year Awards, recognizing the best technologies, products, and services for the smart home.

"Our annual Home of the Year contest winners represent the finest implementations of smart home technology," says Electronic House editor Lisa Montgomery. "From creative integration of systems to innovative design and installation techniques, the winning home systems integration companies and projects serve as inspiration to any homeowner interested in incorporating smart elements into their own residences."

All entries were judged on integration and engineering, and specific ways in which the technology has enhanced the lives of the people who are using it.  

 Best Smart Home Less than $150K - Traditional Home

 Gold

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.

There’s no denying that 2016 was a huge year for smart home automation, but the biggest changes to the integrated technology landscape are still ahead. With the growing popularity of voice-control features and increased desire to turn every aspect of the home “smart,” we’re seeing plenty of developments that could radically alter your home this year. In this blog, we’ll highlight some new smart home features that you should know about. Read more after the jump.

See Also: Is Gesture Control the Next Smart Home Automation Command Method?

Voice-Controllable Security              

Security systems are among the most important aspects of any smart home solution because homeowners love to stay in-the-know about what’s happening when they’re at home and away. But as ultra-safe features like biometrics and remote-monitoring become more common, there’s a desire to make systems more convenient and user-friendly. And what’s simpler than voice-control?

We’ve already seen Alexa-compatible security systems, though it hasn’t made much noise in the security market. However, the announcement of a Homekit-compatible system debuting at this year’s CES, it could be the next big step in protecting your property.

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.

Home Theater Installation Plus Security

With Halloween behind us, Election Day having come and gone, we now turn our attention towards the fun holidays of the year: Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, and New Year’s. The coming two months present plenty of opportunity for merriment, family gatherings, and good times all around. The increasingly cold temperatures outside make indoor activities more fun, and encourage family and friends to gather round, enjoy a drink or two and take it easy. It’s the perfect time to bust out some festive music, sing along, and get into the holiday spirit. Doing just that has never been easier than with Atlanta Audio & Automation. Our home automation allows you to easily crank your favorite tunes or simply create some nice background music while you catch up and create memories to last a lifetime. Plus, with the recent addition of security systems to our arsenal of products you can now outfit your home with everything you need – home automation for lighting, heating, and audio, plus home security and security surveillance capabilities to ensure the safety of you, your family, and anyone you invite into your home.

The Glory of a Media Room

Everyone approaches their home entertainment a little differently. With so many great ways to watch TV and movies, people have become accustomed to carving out their own unique way to settle down and watch in the comfort of their own home. One of the best ways to enjoy your home entertainment is by establishing your very own media room. With our help, it’s a cinch – we can have your media up and running with impeccable audio in no time. Our expert installation team is well experienced and can ensure your experience is unlike any other. A well-equipped media room engenders excitement, because everyone who clambers in knows they are going there for a treat.

Make your Holidays Special with Atlanta Audio & Automation

Whether you are throwing a big holiday bash or a small family gathering, we at Atlanta Audio & Automation wish you a safe, fun-filled holiday season. Be sure to browse our complete collection of services and products, from our delightful home automation products to our reliable security systems. We are happy to help make your holiday season better, safer, and more memorable than ever before.

Smart home automation is about bringing the highest level of convenience into your Atlanta property. With one touch, you should be able to command the lighting, shading, AV, security systems and more. So it’s no surprise that one of the fastest-growing manufacturers of smart home technology would also be a leader in developing systems that are easy to use and fully customizable. At this year’s Custom Electronics, Design and Integration Association convention – commonly known as CEDIA – Control4 announced big things for their new operating system. Learn more after the jump.  

See Also: New Tech to Change How Consumers Watch the Rio Olympics

New Connections

At the 2016 CEDIA show held this September, Control4 announced the latest upgrade to their operating system, the OS 2.9.  The new operating system comes complete with the “Connects with Control4” program, which allows as many as 10,000 connectable devices – including Sonos. This marks a big move for the popular wireless audio company, who famously has avoided getting wrapped up with smart home automation installers in the past.

Plus, one of the biggest developments in the smart home space over the past few years was the introduction of Amazon’s voice-controlled Echo. While many homeowners took advantage of the incredible verbal technology, they were oftentimes disappointed with the limited range of components it could control. That’s why it’s incredible that they’ve collaborated with Control4 to offer the best possible control options in your home.

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.

If you’ve been following our blog, you know that you can enjoy excellent audio throughout your home or in a dedicated listening room, as long as the conditions are right. Once you have the best speakers for your space, and a room specially treated for appropriate acoustics, it’s time to decide what to play on your sound system installation. Georgia audiophiles will want to take full advantage of all the music available to them. In this edition, we’ll detail the various ways you can enjoy music in your home.

See Also: Why Your Home Theater Needs Acoustical Treatments

Streaming Services

Among the most popular ways to experience music today are streaming services. The upside is that you have virtually endless amounts of music at your fingertips, without taking up any valuable storage space in your home or on a server. Spotify Premium offers a great selection of songs and albums, but other services like Deezer and Tidal promise high-fidelity tracks and exclusive content. The result is hours of music for your enjoyment.

Digital Music

It’s not uncommon for many experienced music lovers to talk about how MP3s are ruining music. The fact is, despite being very popular with younger audiophiles, MP3s are compressed files, meaning you lose a lot of the sound when you save music digitally in the format. The good news is that there are plenty of lossless file formats like FLAC, WAV and ALAC that make digital music sound as good as, if not better than, analog audio.

The biggest problem with lossless audio formats used to be their size. For many years, they simply could not be stored in a reasonable way, because the components were just too large. More recently, however, smaller storage devices have become available and affordable, so you can enjoy every detail of uncompressed tracks without missing a beat.

You know you want it; the eye-catching, pixel-popping clarity of Ultra HD. Today's home theaters won't impress anybody without the sheer spectacle of nearly 4K resolution. But achieving that beautiful look in your Atlanta private cinema is about more than just the latest television or projector display – your home needs the right infrastructure to support UHD content. In this blog we'll take you through the right equipment you'll need to get the most out of your home theater.

SEE ALSO: Why Your Home Theater Needs Acoustical Treatments

A Strong Network

If you want to control any part of your connected home, a strong network is key. Smart home technology – which is commonly referred to as the "Internet of Things" – needs more than just intelligent devices and happy thoughts to work effectively, it needs enough bandwidth to support every connection without slowing it down. The same is true for streaming your favorite content in Ultra HD.

According to content delivery network Akamai, only about 21 percent of U.S. homes had enough bandwidth to support 4K content in September 2015. But there's good news: your home simply needs a network upgrade to support all of those delightful pixels.

Summer is right around the corner, and that means the kids will be out of school, and you’ll soon start packing up for a big family vacation. The key to having a fun time is leaving your worries behind, but that can be hard if you’re concerned about the safety of your Atlanta, Georgia property. Luckily a smart home system can do a lot to alleviate the stress of leaving home. If you’re interested in staying in control of your spaces even when you’re miles away, read on to learn more.

See Also: Improve Your Daily Life With Smart Home Automation

Smart Locks

The last thing you probably do before leaving the house is making sure all of the doors are locked. But when you integrate smart locks into your automated system, your home is more secure than ever before. One touch on your smartphone or tablet will lock every entry way, simplifying your exit. Plus, when integrated with other smart components like integrated surveillance cameras and motion sensors, they can react – by locking automatically – when movement it detected around your home.

Integrated Thermostat

If you're an outdoor-type, you probably know that you can set up a beautiful entertainment system and enjoy excellent audio in your backyard and pool area. But a huge part of turning your Atlanta property's exterior space into a functional and fun environment is integrating home lighting control. It's important to remember that outdoor lighting is different from interior setups. In this blog, we'll give you some smart tips on enjoying the outdoors with elegant and long-lasting lights.

See Also: Take Control of Your Home Lighting For a Smarter, Safer Property

Longer Lasting Lights

When crafting an outdoor lighting solution, it's important to consider how long the lights will last. Inside, it's easy enough to change a bulb – even when you have to grab the step ladder and screwdriver – but what do you do when you have to drain the pool or fix other hard-to-reach areas?

The fact is, you don't want to burden yourself with bulbs that should be changed often. That's why LED lights are the perfect solution. Not only are they beautiful, dimmable and customizable, but they last a very long time. How long? If you left them on all day and all night, they could last up to 11 years without replacement.

In a connected world, a smart home automation upgrade to your Atlanta home seems like a no-brainer. One-touch controls of all the devices in and around your property make for a simple, streamlined and fun lifestyle. But many of our clients are hesitant to jump headfirst into the world of automation – after all, it seems like a major change to even the most basic functions of your home. That's why we've put together a number of tools to give you a sense of what it's like to live in a connected home. In this blog, we'll show you what you can do to research the smart home experience before you purchase.

SEE ALSO: Explore the Possibilities of Smart Home Automation

Get Familiar With Apps

One of the words you hear most frequently when talking about smart technology is "apps." Most smart devices function with a dedicated app that uses the technology already in your smartphone, tablet or computer and applies it to controlling the device. A system like Control4 or Elan g! offers the ability to combine multiple apps under a single interface. The company can periodically update your app to include new sources for control, meaning you don't have to purchase a new remote every time you want to add a new device. You can find a list of apps for all of your home control needs here.

Take a Look at a Virtual Demo

If you’ve been following our blog, you know we’ve told you about how home lighting control can enhance your home security and make your home entertainment more functional. Now it’s time to break down how smart lighting can give your media and game room more personality. Automated lighting does more than simply make it easier to see in your spaces – it defines the tone and sets the scene for any situation. That goes for everything from October’s Halloween horror-movie marathons to Sunday afternoon football, to late-night gaming between your kids and their friends. Read on to find out how smart lighting can make your media room more fun and exciting.

Choose a Color

Over the past few years, LED lighting has begun to dominate the market. It’s a brilliant way to save energy and gain directionalcontrol over your lighting fixtures. But one feature has gotten us pretty excited: the ability to change the color of your lighting with the touch of a button.

In 2012, Philips launched a new line of light bulbs under the name Hue, giving homeowners the ability to change the colors of their lighting in any room was a hit, and it ended up spawning a whole new market for smart bulbs. But there’s one ability Hue bulbs have over the competition – they can be controlled by a Control4 home automation system.

That means simple, intuitive and integrated controls of your entire media room’s lighting with a single interface. When it’s time to begin the scary movie festivities, dim the lights around the screen and turn the ones in the back of the room blood red or ghoulish green. On game day, pick the lights that best represent team colors. With thousands of color options to choose from, there’s no limit to how you can customize your spaces.

 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.

When you upgrade your home with smart automation, you know that you’ll have unprecedented access to entertainment throughout your house. Home entertainment system distribution is important – no matter what kind of 4K television you have and what kind of surround sound system you install. It’s what puts all of your favorite entertainment at your fingertips. Read on to find out how you can have access to nearly endless entertainment throughout your home. 

Endless Entertainment in Your Home Theater

You’ve got all of the right components in your home theater. You have a beautiful 4K projector with a screen that produces some of the deepest blacks available. You have an excellent in-wall and in-ceiling surround sound system that envelops you in auditory bliss. You even have integrated floor lighting that comes on as the overhead lighting is dimmed, so you can see where you’re going without disrupting the picture. So now all you have to do is choose the right movie.

Stream content directly from online services like Netflix or Amazon Prime, or choose from a vast digital library of your favorite films – all from a central hub in an unused closet or basement. You can even keep a Blu-Ray player in the room, so you won’t have to leave the room to pop a disc in. And if you’re enjoying a midnight movie but decide you’d rather finish it in the comfort of your bed, pause it and pick it up exactly where you left off on your bedroom TV. Home media distribution makes accessing your movies and television fast, fun and easy in every room of your house.

Music Throughout Your House With Whole Home Audio

Smart home automation is revolutionizing the way we interact with our homes and all the devices in it. With so many functionalities to choose from, we can design and install a control system configured to do as much or as little as you want. Because these systems offer scalable solutions, we can easily add control in the future as your Buckhead, GA home and your family change. Come help us celebrate the opening of our new Experience Center on June 27.

Are you new to home automation? Are you considering adding a home theater or media room? If you’d like to experience first-hand how smart technology could change the way you live your life, stop by our new showroom for demos on both indoor and outdoor entertainment options, smart home control systems, and ways to hide technology so that it blends seamlessly with your decor. We’re located at 631 Miami Circle in Atlanta. (link is temporary since site is still under construction)

Have control at your fingertips

Smart home automation makes your world and your family’s world simpler. With control systems like ELAN g! and Control4, you’ll be able to protect your home with a security system, turn on and off lights, adjust the temperature, and control all the media throughout your home. Smart home automation will blend into your lifestyle and allow you to create “scenes” that complement the way you live your life.

Dolby Atmos propels you into the story

If you’ve been dreaming about recreating the experience of going to the movies at home, you’ll want to hear the ultimate sound experience from Dolby Atmos. The 3D speaker configuration used at cinemas across the globe can now be part of your home theater. You’ll feel like you’re a part of the action as the sound comes alive. There are a number of factors that contribute to how your home theater performs, including the size and shape of the room and of course the speaker setup. We invite you to stop by our showroom and experience complete sound immersion.

Technology that won’t disrupt your décor

Want a TV in your master bathroom, but don’t like the way it looks? With a Seura TV Mirror, you only see the TV when you want and a have a mirror that rivals ordinary vanity glass. Seura offers screens for other rooms in your home and are as large as 65 inches. Add elegance to your mirror screen with frames and lighting patterns. Come by our showroom and experience true magic with vanishing TVs.