Home Entertainment & Automation Services in Matthews, NC.
Home Entertainment & Automation Services in Matthews, NC.
Home audio and Video Services in Matthews, NC.  TV installation, Surround Sound, Home Entertainment Systems
6 Most Important Pieces of Info to Share with Your Tech Installer

Tidbits about your lifestyle, family and home can net a well-designed A/V and automation system.

A realtor wouldn’t dream of selling you a house without understanding your needs and wants (or “must-haves” as they’re known these days). The same goes for the professional who designs and installs A/V and automation systems into homes. In order to provide a customer with technology that will truly enhance the convenience, comfort and entertainment value of a home, he needs to learn about how those homeowners live in their home now, what they’d like to improve about the house and how they envision life in an automated residence, among other tidbits. (To see home tech requests achieved to their fullest, check out our Home of the Year Award winners.)

“It’s like peeling back an onion,” says custom electronics (CE) professional Tommy Kissell of Texas-based Eco High Fidelity, of his first meetings with prospective clients. “The more we know about a client, the better equipped we’ll be to design a system that suits their habits, routines, schedules and lifestyle.” So what are some of the areas you can expect your CE pro to ask you about?

The House Itself
Certainly, he’ll need to know whether you plan to automate an existing house, will be remodeling or would like to put the system into a house that’s on the drawing boards. Some of your first meetings with a CE pro could take place at your house; this will give the installer an opportunity to gauge the complexity of the job. He’ll need to see if there’s an attic, basement or crawlspace through which to fish cabling; if not, he may investigate other wiring avenues. He’ll be able to see first-hand if there are any materials like concrete and stucco that could make the project more difficult. Also, he’ll probably ask you about current technologies your home might already have: built-in speakers, a computer network, a security system? With a clear understanding of your home’s makeup, a CE pro will be able to determine the types of tools and manpower he will need to get the job done, and what types of products and systems—for example, wireless or hardwired—will work best.

Inconvenient Truths
Everybody can rattle off a few items they find annoying or inconvenient about their home. Maybe it’s the closet and bathroom lights that nobody bothers to turn off, or the tedium of locking up and shutting things off before bedtime. A CE pro wants to hear your pet peeves you so he can design your system that takes care of those trouble spots. Don’t hold back, and make sure every member of the family has a say.

Comfort with Technology
How do you use technology in your home now? For example, are you a fan of streaming music and video services? Are you a PC or Mac user? Do your kids do much of their homework online? What about mobile devices? Are they loaded with apps? A CE pro can tell a lot by your current use of and familiarity with technology. For example, if everyone in family is an avid user of an iPad, your CE pro may design a system that lets you use this device to manage and monitor your home systems. If you have thousands of CDs, then those might be prioritized within a whole-house audio system over streaming services, for example (or perhaps you’d rather pare down the collection and simplify to the streaming route).

Way of Life
Lifestyle is a big buzzword in the home technology industry, and for good reason. A candid discussion of your way of life will likely reveal the most important pieces of information a CE pro needs to design and implement a system so in sync with you and your family that you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it. At the very least, expect to divulge your household status (single, married, kids, elderly parents), your family’s schedule (work, school, travel), your social life (do you entertain frequently) and your hobbies (sports, exercise, photography, art collecting, etc.). If your daily routine involves a half hour on the treadmill, perhaps you’d like to have some music piped in over in-ceiling speakers rather than be tethered to an iPod; or maybe create the proper lighting environment for displaying artwork.

Aesthetic Preferences
Do you want to show off your home electronics investment or keep it under wraps? Your aesthetic preferences will help a CE pro decide whether he should install speakers that recess into the walls or models that stand out in the open, for example. If you like the idea of having all of the A/V components (amplifiers, processors, Blu-ray players, etc.) hidden completely from view, by all means tell your CE pro. There are lots of clever ways to hide technology.

On the Clock
Prepare to have an idea of when you’d like the project started and finished. Do you want everything installed by the holidays? Is there a special event by which you’d like the project buttoned up? Based on answers to earlier questions, a CE pro is probably visualizing a system, but when you say you want it done in six weeks, he may have to rethink the plan, or may even bow out if you’re firm on the deadline. Be clear with your timeframe; be flexible if you can.

by Lisa Montgomery

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/6_most_important_pieces_of_info_to_share_with_your_installer/Learning_Center

Custom Installation Services, LLC – Call us for your free “Tech” evaluation! in Charlotte, NC and surrounding areas

 

Posted in 3D TV, APC, Apple, AppleTV, Audio Systems, Automation, Blu-ray, Bose Dealer, Central Vac System, HDMI Specs, Home Theater, Home Theater Design, Home Theater Setup, IP Cameras, iPad, iPhone, lifestyle, lighting control, Linksys, Low Voltage Contractors, Luxul, Media Rooms, Multi Room A/V, Netgear Routers, Network Setup, Outdoor Speakers, recycling, soundtouch, Structured Wiring, technology, Theater Seating, wave radio, Wireless Network | Leave a comment


Time to Tune Up Your Home Theater?

Make your old system new again

Home theaters have been around for some time now. Sure, the screens have become bigger and the speakers more powerful. Throw in a media streamer or server, and the way a home theater looks and behaves today is a lot different than it did just five years ago. So, veteran owners of home theaters, is it time to update? Should you invest in new gear? Or, maybe there are some simple tweaks you can make that’ll have your home theater humming like it’s brand new.

We asked a few seasoned custom electronics professionals (CE pros) for their recommendations. Some of the suggestions you might be able to do yourself; for others you will probably need the help of a pro. Regardless, “A/V systems need maintenance just like anything else we use daily, like cars, HVAC systems and computers. There will always be maintenance needs and costs associated with your system,” says Jason Voorhees of Cantara Design, Costa Mesa, Calif., Many CE pros offer home theater tune-ups as part of maintenance package. Expect to spend between $125 to $300 for the service, which may include just a few updates or many, depending on the system specifics.

Dust off your equipment: Dust can cause home theater components to run at a higher operating temperature, potentially decreasing their lifespan. Any components that have accessible filters (projectors, media servers, PC, etc.), should be cleaned once a year.

Audio Tuning: If you originally tuned your system (or had a professional do it) right after taking your speakers out of their boxes, it’s almost a given that the elastic properties of your drivers have changed over time. As the drivers loosen up from use, the sound they produce can change. It is probably time to re-tune.

Settings: Assuming your home theater system is 1080p capable, make sure all of your devices are set to output at 1080p, include satellite and cable boxes, Apple TVs, etc.

Brightness: One thing that can decrease over time is the brightness of your video display, especially that of projectors. Every display has some built-in picture modes; these settings are often called Vivid, Dynamic, Movie, Standard, 3D, etc. You may find that by simply adjusting a picture mode that you suddenly have a better looking video display.

Update: If your system isn’t 1080p and HDMI, it should be. You’ll open your theater up to a world of high-def and streaming services.

Calibrate: refocus and recalibrate the projector; recalibrate the surround-sound system.

Firmware: Install and test new firmware updates for every part of your system. The updates may fix bugs or may make new features available.

Seats & Curtains: Clean and test all of the theater seating, and repair if necessary. If the theater has curtains, they should be cleaned also.

Batteries and Bulbs: If any components use rechargeable batteries (remote controls, power supplies, etc.), test them and replace if necessary. Replace dead light fixtures.

Clean the Screen: Use a tape-based lint roller on the black fabric frame (if you have a fixed screen). You’ll be amazed at how much dust this material attracts. For a fixed screen use a soft horse-hair brush to gently brush off the screen surface. If you have a roll-up screen, bugs like to fly into the roller and get embedded into the screen. Call the manufacturer to determine what kind of cleaning solution is best.

Test Tone: How do you know if a tweeter or a crossover is blown on one of your speakers if you don’t spend 20 minutes doing a simple test tone sweep on each speaker? Not sure if the tweeter is working? Put your hand over the tweeter and listen to the speaker. If the sound doesn’t change, you probably have a problem. Your listening tastes may change too, and by calibrating yearly for level, distance and speaker position (if your speakers are moveable), you’ll be able to tune-up according to your changing tastes.

Delete: Spend 10 minutes deleting channels you don’t watch from your DirecTV or cable TV on-screen guide.

Reboot: Reboot your DVR every 2 months. You might be surprised at how much faster it will operate.

New Additions: Many older home theaters have a set-top box, a DVD player and a local library of content on a media server, but may not have a streaming media player. It’s time to get an Apple TV, Roku or some other device that can stream content to your home theater. This might also involve reprogramming your remote and adding new cabling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Lisa Montgomery

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/time_to_tune_up_your_home_theater/D1/

Custom Installation Services, LLC – Your Home Theater Tune Up Specialists Charlotte, NC and surrounding areas

 

Posted in 3d movies, 3D TV, Audio Demos, Audio Systems, Automation, Blu-ray, Flat Panel TV's, Gaming Systems, HDMI Specs, Home Theater, i-Pad, IP Cameras, LED, Media Rooms, Multi Room A/V, Music and Movies, Outdoor Speakers, Panamax, Sports Bar, Structured Wiring, technology, Theater Seating | Leave a comment


Netflix 1080p Timeline: When Will it Come to CE Devices?

The existing universe of 1080P Netflix devices includes the Sony Playstation3, Roku 2 XS and XD, WD TV Live and now LG 2011 Smart TVs and Samsung Smart Hub enabled devices, according to Tech of the Hub.

Netflix launched 1080p streaming in 2010, but we’ve barely seen it in smart TVs, networked Blu-ray players and other common CE devices from top brands such as Samsung, LG and Tivo.

Netflix 1080p was supported exclusively by the Playstation 3 when it launched last year, and since then has trickled out to media players from Roku and Western Digital. Netflix only this summer released a software developers kit for everyone else, and those everyone elses are finally incorporating the technology into their new and legacy devices (via firmware upgrade).

That’s good news for Netflix Watch Instantly lovers, but might be confusing as well.

As Tech of the Hub suggests:

The toughest part for the consumer is distinguishing the differences between all of the Netflix enabled TVs, Blu-ray players and streaming boxes at retail stores. All of them have the same Netflix logo on them. So, you can’t tell which Netflix boxes support 1080P, surround sound and subtitles.

The blog site has reached out to several major brands to determine when they will enable 1080p Netflix streaming for their CE devices.

Here is an overview, but check out Tech of the Hub for more details.

Samsung updated its Netflix app two weeks ago for Smart Hub-enabled Blu-ray players, TVs and home theater systems.

LG displays with Smart TV have been updated as well, with other LG devices following this month.

Netgear’s new NeoTV NTV-200 will support Netflix 1080p next year.

Pioneer’s Blu-ray players will not support 1080p for Netflix.

TiVo is working on 1080p Netflix streaming, but won’t say when it will be commercially available.

The big question is: Will Netflix raise its rates again when 1080p becomes universally available?!

By Julie Jacobson

http://www.cepro.com/article/netflix_1080p_timeline_when_will_it_come_to_ce_devices/?utm_source=CEPWeekly&utm_medium=email

Custom Installation Services, LLC – First choice for low voltage wiring in Charlotte, NC and surrounding areas

Posted in 3d movies, 3D TV, Blu-ray, Flat Panel TV's, Gaming Systems, HDMI Specs, LED, Low Voltage Contractors, Media Rooms, Music and Movies, News, technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment


Custom Installation Services, LLC | P.O. Box 132 Matthews, NC 28106 | 704-400-8701 | dmiller@cis-nc.com
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