What is it like to live in a truly smart home?
Join us to #C4Yourself. Thursday, May 31 from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Imagine this. A simple voice command arms the alarm and locks the doors on your way out to work. A quick tap puts your house to bed, rolling back the temperature, closing the shades, and turning off the lights. The phone in your pocket tells you when the kids are home and ensures that the garage is closed. This is living the smart life with Control4.
On May 31st, enjoy an evening in our showroom to get a taste of how smart technology is changing the way we live in our homes. We’ll show you firsthand how automation can be personalized to the needs and desires of any individual or family. Our professionals will demonstrate how Control4 solutions deliver orchestrated smart home experiences that make homes safer, more convenient, comfortable, and enjoyable.
Bring your friends and family.
There are few things that add more value to your home and are more enjoyable than a home theater. When you want a true movie theater experience, right in your own home, a projector and screen is the only way to go. Many homeowners think the most important component of their home theater is the quality of projector that they choose. And, while your projector quality and features is certainly important, it is important that you do not forget about the quality of the screen. Yes, you heard us right, the screen.
Choosing a high-quality screen for your home theater projector can make all the difference in image quality. Screens come in a variety of sizes, made of various materials, installed in a variety of ways, and each small decision you make about your projector screen will impact your viewing experience. Just think about it, if your screen is wrinkly or wiggling around while you are trying to watch a movie, your mind will be distracted and your overall viewing experience will be diminished. CNET explains how little features that may seem innocuous, like screen gain, actually make a huge difference in your home theater projector screen quality, “All screens have a “gain,” or how much more they reflect light compared with a uniform reflecting surface (called a Lambertian surface). So a 2.0-gain screen reflects twice as much light than a 1.0-gain screen…sort of. Essentially what’s happening is the screen “focuses” the light. So instead of the projector’s image reflecting in all directions (a perfect Lambertian surface), more of it goes in one specific direction (ideally, toward your eyeballs). This doesn’t mean that a 2.0-gain screen will make a projector’s image twice as bright as the same projector on a 1.0-gain screen, but it will be brighter.”
Further, you will need to determine whether or not you want to use a white screen or a gray screen. This will depend on how much control you have over the light in the room. If there may be a little light, a gray screen may help improve the image quality and viewing experience. Only a high-quality screen can provide a high-quality viewing experience so it is worth the investment when designing a custom home theater.
There are many advantages to installing a home theater in your home. It is endlessly entertaining, aesthetically pleasing, adds value to your home, and is just fun! And, while there are many ways to incorporate a home theater into you home, regardless of home size, there are certain things that make any home theater exceptional. One of those things is custom home theater furniture.
When you want to make your home theater feel like you are watching a movie in a real movie theater, custom home theater furniture can make all the difference. Most furniture simply is not built to enhance the movie or television watching experience. To feel like you are really at a movie theater you want your furniture to be exceptionally comfortable but also very functional. When you design custom home theater furniture, you can add the features that most enhance the movie-going experience for you. Do you want to be able to recline? No problem! Do you prefer individual seating to couches, you can do it! Do have a uniquely shaped room for which you need your furniture to accommodate but also maximize seating options? Do you want food trays or drink holders? Do you want theater style seating with multiple rows and heights? There are so many ways to enhance your theater with furniture. You can have tables, bar height tables, recliners, couches, drink holders, or any combination of furniture and features that you want when you choose custom home theater furniture.
Home theater furniture is uniquely designed to blend comfort and function. Many home theater furniture options even have smart options built in so that they can be integrated into your audio/video automation. Your home theater automation can be programmed so that, at the touch of a button, the lights dim, the projector screen lowers, your chair reclines, and your movie begins. Custom home theater furniture is the perfect addition and ultimate luxury in any theater.
When you are working with any type of electronic equipment, a power surge could occur at any time – day or night. Power surges happen in both residential and commercial applications. Angie’s List explains what exactly a power surge is and how it can lead to damage, “A power surge is basically a spike in your home’s electrical current. The spike is very brief, usually lasting less than a thousandth of a second, but it can still cause damage to your home and appliances…A power surge can occur for several reasons. For example, high-power electrical devices can create a spike in the electrical current when they’re switched on or when their motors kick on. Refrigerators, air conditioners and even space heaters can cause a power surge strong enough to damage electrical systems…Lightning strikes are another common cause of power surges. A lightning strike doesn’t have to occur near you to cause a spike in your electrical current. In fact, striking close to a power line can cause a spike. A single strike can cause a spike strong enough to burn out a computer monitor, router and even your television…A power surge can damage or destroy home appliances, and in a worse case scenario, start a house fire…The bad news: The typical surge protector is not strong enough to protect your electronics and appliances from a lightning strike.”
So, while the typical surge protector may not be enough to protect your home from a power surge, and certainly not enough to protect a business in the event of a power surge, there are surge protectors that are strong enough to provide the protection that you need. Angie’s List notes that you should look for a surge protector with 600+ Joules of protection, but a professional surge protector will likely provide even more than that. Generally speaking, if you are protecting large electronic equipment (computers, home theater equipment, etc.) you want a surge protector with at least 2,500 Joules of protection. Consult an experienced and knowledgeable electronics installation company who can offer their expert knowledge when choosing the right professional surge protection from your electronics and other equipment.
If you have ever gone to a big box store with the mission of purchasing an HDMI cable, you probably saw that there are many different HDMI cables from which to choose, and they come in a huge array of price points. How do you know which HDMI cable is right for you unique application and is there really a difference between an inexpensive, low-end HDMI cable, and an expensive, high-end HDMI cable? The answer – it depends. Yes, there is a difference but whether or not you experience any difference depends highly on what you are using the HDMI cable for.
When it comes to home theater equipment, you want to ensure that you are getting the highest quality sound and video from your system. When you have invested in a high quality home theater or audio/video system, the last place you want to skimp is the HDMI cable. For a minimal expense, a high quality HDMI cable can make a noticeable difference in the video and audio quality. To understand what makes an HDMI high quality, Digital Trends provides some helpful insight into HDMI certifications, “‘Cables are rated by speed,’ Jeff explains. ‘There are only two certifications: The original HDMI 1.0 Standard cable, designed for the first HD transition, so 720p, 1080i support, which are very rare now.’ ‘With the introduction of HDMI 1.3 we doubled the bandwidth from about 4.9 Gigabits per second to over 10 Gbps, and these cables are called ‘High Speed HDMI’ cables. Any cable that claims to be high speed must support the full bandwidth.’ ‘HDMI 2.0 makes the signaling method more efficient, so with the old method, a High Speed HDMI cable could handle 10.2 Gbps; now it can handle 18 Gbps.’
That means that existing High Speed HDMI cables, which should always be labeled as ‘High Speed,’ both on the packaging and the cable itself, can handle 4K content at 60 frames per second. If you’re buying a new 4K TV and you already have a High Speed HDMI cable, then there’s no need to buy a new one. ‘People don’t realize, but we actually supported 4K at up to 30fps back in 2009,’ says Park. If you have a High Speed HDMI cable then you’re set for watching anything up to 4K right now, and the price is not going to impact the picture quality. But are there other, valid reasons for spending more on a cable? There are major durability differences between different cables and many manufacturers offer additional features, beyond the ability to carry an HDMI signal, that could add value and cost’ says Park.”
A high quality HDMI cable does not necessarily mean purchasing an extremely expensive cable, it just means buying a well-made High Speed HDMI cable that is compact, durable, and from a reputable company. If it looks flimsy and cheap, it probably is and it may not last very long or provide the quality that you want. Invest in a well-made, high-end HDMI cable and it will provide better image and signal quality and ultimately better support your custom home theater system.