This shouldn’t be news to anyone, but your average home contains more “smart” devices than ever before. Nest thermostats may have brought the trend to the mainstream, but Alexa, HomeKit, Sonos, and others have taken that momentum and run with it. You might think that adding a few of these devices would take you to the pinnacle of the “Smart Home,” but is there anything that is missing from these consumer or DIY devices that is available in the professional systems like Control4, ELAN and Savant? Let’s take a look.

Who ever said bigger isn’t better has never walked the TV area at CES, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Reporters and news programs can give a misleading view of what CES has to offer, as they tend to focus on the ‘concept cars’ rather than the ‘production cars’ of technology. Last year, the stories about LG’s rollup TV and this year’s Samsung's swing-into-portrait-mode Sero TV fell into that bucket. Yet underneath all the hype, we find some real changes coming to TVs, and many of them are available today.

I often wonder “Why do we welcome technology more in our cars than in our homes?” After all, let’s go back to the last time you approached your car:  You probably pressed the button on a remote that unlocked the door and disarmed the alarm.  As you pull back on the door in your car, the light conveniently comes on for you inside and the seat moves back.  When you sit down, and either put your key in or press start, the seat moves forward as the steering wheel moves down and towards you.   As you take a drive down the road, your favorite music is just a single button press away on the six presets.  Why doesn’t your house do all this? 

In our homes, thousands of products are available to give you the same experience as in your car; people just don’t know about them.  For example, there are ways to install a remote on your keychain that unlocks your door and disarms the alarm.  It’s also rather easy to install a simple keypad beside your entry door.  These six buttons act as “presets” for you and your home.   Much like the 6 buttons on your car stereo, press the #1 or “Welcome” button, and your house takes on the setting that you prefer, like having the lights illuminate the path to your bedroom closet, your thermostat change to “comfort mode,” and your favorite music to start playing throughout the house. 

Does calling for help on your smart home problems give you Technical Support Derangement Syndrome?  It’s frustrating for anyone, especially when dealing with a luxury custom integration company, that all you hear is:

• “I’m sorry. The person you need to speak with isn’t in the office at the moment. Can I have him give you a call back?”
• “Let me make a few calls and get back to you as soon as I can.”
• Or the dreaded “Hold please,” only to be left hanging for an inordinate amount of time.

If that’s what you usually hear, then you may not be calling the right people. The problem is not that they don’t want to help; it could be that they may simply lack the technical knowledge necessary to help you solve your problem.  Also, the person answering the phone at your integrator’s office may be in the middle of entering invoices, have guests in the lobby that need attention, or is otherwise distracted, making someone else’s experience way less than stellar.

Video conferences can be an incredible tool for collaboration and sharing information across long distances, but they can also be massive time sinks and wasteful. It all depends on how well your system works and plays well with others.

What if there was a better video conferencing system available, one that brought all your devices under one umbrella with simple controls? There is, and it’s called Crestron Flex. With powerful technology and easy-to-use controls, Crestron Flex is the perfect antidote to your troublesome video conference solution. In this blog, we’ll show you why Crestron Flex is ideally suited for businesses in Atlanta and other nearby parts of Georgia.

Sometimes, the quality of speakers must be experienced to be truly believed. When expo visitors first hear pure sound quality pulsing through the drivers of Bang and Olufsen speakers, they understand the difference that high-quality engineering can make.

CEDIA’s B&O booth showcased their magnificent BeoLab 90 tower speaker (more on this later!) right outside their exhibit, drawing in thousands of audiophiles in search of pristine audio quality and superior design. Inside, showgoers also found audio delights like the Beovision Harmony, whose speakers unfolded around a TV in graceful slow motion.

“Every project I’ve worked on is designed to streamline and simplify the user experience,” says Brian Bjørn Hansen, senior manager of retail development for North America. He continues: “That is how we define luxury at Bang & Olufsen. We place the human experience at [the]center of technology.”

Want to try these design-savvy Bang and Olufsen speakers within your Atlanta home? Keep reading to learn about three models we love!

Though it feels overwhelming to think of the holiday season while it’s still September, there’s something about the last four months of the year that makes them seem as though they speed by. Once Halloween is over, we fly into Thanksgiving and right through the holidays.  

If you’re about to entertain, your goal is to provide a best-in-class guest experience. We can think of few better ways to do this than adding light to the celebration. With the right design strategy, expert installation help and some tools from Lutron, you’ll turn your home into the holiday hangout everyone talks about next year.

Be ready for anything with a smart lighting system that enriches the home with the holiday spirit, no matter which one you’re celebrating. We’ll start with Halloween and each subsequent event, giving you some ideas for your Atlanta, GA, home. Curious? Read on to learn more!

Last month was an exciting one for fans of AV technology. We didn’t just get to experience the Consumer Electronics Design and Integration Associations’ annual expo and all the wonderful new devices soon-to-be available for your Sandy Springs, GA home. We also hosted our very own Audio & Video Outdoor Entertainment Open House, where we showcased some of the best backyard AV systems available today.

If you missed out on the fun, you don’t have to worry. In this blog, we’ll highlight some of our favorite systems for you! Keep reading for more.

We’re not going to lie to you: The DIY industry wants to make you think that there’s something superior about going it alone when installing technology into your Atlanta, GA, home. We believe that notion couldn’t be further from the truth, and you’re about to see why.

As installers ourselves, we’ve seen robust benefits to lending our customized advice, expertise and  support. Further, our technical know-how complements our knowledge of design and dedication to the customer experience, giving us the artistic talent it takes to install the most beautiful and functional integrations. Read on to see why you should enlist BRAVAS Atlanta, North Georgia’s premier home automation company to help you with your smart home. In this blog, we’ll highlight three specific benefits that we can provide.

As August winds down, many people start thinking of cooling temperatures, back-to-school activities and, consequently, the imminent end of many people’s favorite season -- summer. 

However, given the balmy climate we enjoy here in Buckhead, GA, homeowners don’t have to worry about the warm-weather fun ending so soon. If you’re considering an outdoor speaker system, find out why you have plenty to look forward to when the temperatures (finally!) drop and the leaves turn.  

In this blog, we’ll explore how you can take your outdoor audio entertaining from summer to fall without a hitch, and why now’s the perfect time to install a new sound system.