There are two distinct approaches -- no, philosophies -- to turning on the lights in Douglas and Lina Leonovicz's Old Metairie home.

Lina accomplishes this task the way most of us would: walking over to a nearby wall and flicking a switch.

Douglas, however, will have none of that manual nonsense. He is far more apt to commune with small, rectangular color touchscreens mounted in the kitchen or front hallway.

Pressing an icon here, sliding a finger there, the retired vascular surgeon can prompt anything from a soft glow to a brilliant glare in whichever space he chooses. He is a Jedi of illumination, rendering a 6,000-square-foot home into a playground for his watt-driven whims and wishes.

It's not just mastery of darkness and light that beguiles Leonovicz, 48, who delights in summoning up music no matter where he happens to be, rock standards thundering forth from speakers installed discreetly in the ceilings.

When Larry and Stacey Newcomb moved to Jonesboro, AR and built a new house, Larry knew he wanted flat screen TVs, and Stacey knew she wanted a pool for the kids. What neither of them knew was that they could control their entire home from their iPads and iPhones. Then Ryan Heringer, president of Jonesboro-based Sound Concepts, showed them the IP-based ELAN g! Control System.

"When we first met to discuss the technology that could be incorporated into their new home, the Newcombs simply wanted to know what I could do for their audio/video systems," said Heringer. "So I showed them the ELAN g!Mobile app and how it controls the audio/video, and then continued explaining all the other possibilities with the ELAN g! Control System. By the time I told them they could turn off every light in the house at once from an iPhone or iPad, they didn't want to live without it! And that's what is so great about the g! system — customers love the g!Mobile app and once they see it, they've got to have it."

According to Stacey Newcomb, they call their new home the "Magic House." They use iPads to dim the lights, turn on music, and adjust the heat and air conditioning, while an ELAN TS Series touch screen is set in the walls of nearly every room of the house. Stacey has the system set so all house lamps automatically turn on at 5 p.m. and turn off at 10 p.m., eliminating the need to walk through the house to make sure all the lights are off before retiring for the night.

From a peace of mind perspective, the Newcombs can be assured that their twin daughters are home on time with the ELAN g! Control System, which tells the user which TVs and lights are on, and informs them when people enter or leave the house, and through which door.

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.

Award-Winning Homebuilder Makes Elan g! System Standard For Every New Home He Builds

After installing the ELAN® g! Entertainment and Control System in the award-winning Power Haus in 2011, Florida homebuilder Josh Wynne has decided to include a base ELAN g! system in every new home he builds. With the help of Mark van den Broek, President of SmartHouse Integration, Josh is providing every new client with a customizable, completely intuitive and easy-to-use home control system that offers iPhone, iPad and in-wall touch panel control of every core system in the home, from the lighting to the audio to heat.

“Homebuyers today want technology that can simplify things they do and improve their quality of life,” Wynne said. “By including a base home entertainment and control package with the ELAN g! system, Mark and I are giving clients a taste of the possibilities. From now on, every new client of mine is going to be able to use an iPad to control their six-zone audio system, lights, HVAC, pool controls, irrigation and security system. And we let them know right from the start that the possibilities really are endless—they can add to the system now as they see fit, and even prewire for future upgrades.”

1. Invest in a Whole House Audio System.

You'll be able to hear your favorite holiday tunes all over the house. Our systems can stream songs from your smartphones, which is a great way to get all of your friends and family to participate in picking out the music or set up a holiday playlist on Pandora, Spotifiy, or Mog.

2. Hang a Soundbar.

Mounted below a flat panel TV, a soundbar speaker will clear up the floor space (if you are using floor speakers with your TV now) and aim the audio directly at your ears, just as it should be.

3. Automate It.

During the busiest time of the year, it's hard to remember the basics, like turning down the heat before bed or shutting off the lights and turning on the alarm before you race out the door. A wireless home automation system can do the mundane while you focus on the merriment. We use the ELAN g! Home Entertainment and Home Automation system and Lutron lighitng control systems which can add so much value to your home while greatly enhancing your quality of life.

4. Put an IP Camera by the Door.

Able to be accessed from an app on your mobile phone, tablet, or from your integrated home automation system. The IP camera can give you a heads up to carolers at your front door or a special delivery by the UPS team.

5. Trim the House with LED Lights.

Wrapped around your Christmas tree or attached to the exterior of your house, intelligent LED lights can do more than just twinkle brightly. They can cycle through a ranbow of colors or pulse to the beat of a holiday tune.

Take a look at this video shown on the TODAY show yesterday.   It was showcasing SunBriteTVs which are the only true outdoor TVs in the world designed and built for all-weather use.  They are designed, engineered and assembled in the U.S.A.

We are a  local authorized dealer of SunBriteTV.   To find out more about these outdoor TVs and other outdoor entertaining options like outdoor planter speakers or rock speakers for your backyard.  Give us a call or make an appointment to come by our show house.

If you're building a new home or remodeling an existing one, you're probably wondering how, or if, the latest conveniences of home automation might figure into your plans. As always, we recommend getting together with a home technology professional who can show you options and answer questions.

To help get you started, here are 10 reasons why home automation is here to stay.

1. Control your home from anywhere.

And by that we mean control all kinds of systems - lighting, security, heating and cooling, appliances, AV entertainment and more - from a smartphone or tablet.

2. See your home from anywhere.

You can't put a price on peace of mind when you're away from home. With smart-home integration, cameras in and around your home can be accessed from a smartphone or tablet so you can see what's going on no matter where you are. Choose basic, single-view cameras or more sophisticated models with motion-triggered recording and remote-controllable pan/tilt/zoom.

3. Go crazy with convenience.

Why get up from the couch to see who's at the door when you can access the front-door camera on your TV? And instead of running around the house turning the lights off before you go to bed, use an app on your phone to turn 'em all off at once.