Hopefully we have all come to terms with COVID-19. While things are starting to look better, we are not free of the virus and none of us are sure when we will be. Over the last few months, customers, partner and our own team have noticed five solution areas that are getting more questions and focus.  If these are interesting to you, we would love to show you how we can help.

Networking, Network, Network

If there is one element of home technology that has been the most taxing in 2020, it is our home networks. For many of us, poor home networking was something we were able to live with. So, one room did not get great coverage – maybe you did not much use that room. Until now.

For many families, almost every room in our homes has become an office, a classroom or just somewhere to escape. Each of these uses probably requires more networking that we had planned on so you can stream, zoom and collaborate. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) might want to sell you faster service but that is probably not the problem. As we discussed in a previous blog, even if you got to the top of range, a 1 Gb internet connection, it might not solve your issues.

At BRAVAS, we are often being asked to do a network evaluation and suggest ways to improve both speed and coverage. The approach we normally recommend is to replace the cheap networking equipment that probably came from your ISP with components designed for use in a busy online home. A careful design and implementation can make all the difference, without having to upgrade your internet speed.

Home Office

If working from home is going to be the exception not the rule, we may need to rethink our home offices. We have shared before some ideas to update your home office: It all comes down to light, sound, video and a comfy chair.

At BRAVAS, we can work with the space you have to make it a better office for you to work in and better for those trying to watch you on that Zoom screen. We even have suppliers who can integrate your teleconferencing system into your home automation platform.

Private Cinema

It did feel like the idea of home theaters was, for some people, a thing of the past. With all cinemas and theaters closed, we have been streaming movies and TV shows at home like never before. Maybe it was the latest series on Netflix or watching all the Avenger movies on Disney+. While we all have big TVs and fancy soundbars in almost every room, these do not give the same experience.

With the public cinemas not yet scheduled to open for most people, we have seen a growth in interest of private cinemas.  Additionally, some companies are even distributing the movies that would have shown in public straight to pay-for-view – especially family films like Trolls World Tour, Scoob! and Artemis Fowl.

The benefits of a Private Cinema are about maximizing the experience. That means better, bigger picture, support for latest sound systems, darkness and comfy chairs. Even in relatively small spaces, a lot can be done to bring the multiplex to your home. Oh, and the snacks are much cheaper!

Your Outdoors

As we move from the dog days of summer to the warmer fall, many of us will be spending more time outside. There is no reason we can’t bring that technology experience you have inside, outside with you. Fall is a great time to consider installing or upgrading outdoor speakers, installing a TV that works in bright sun light and even rethink your landscape lighting.

When you work with BRAVAS, we can make sure all of this is integrated into your home automation platform. The same way we can automate the technology in your home, we can control the outside too. While we are at it, we can also explore some of the new home monitoring and surveillance cameras to give you the same security you enjoy in your home, across your whole property.

Remote Service and Support

Finally, we have seen an increased focus on remote service and support. We all know things can go wrong but even if you are willing to wait for a technician to come to your home, you may not always to want them in the house.

At BRAVAS, our teams have been focused on remote management for many years. In some cases, we can see the problems before our customers do and in others, we respond to a call with our service team. With customers’ approval we can connect to the home, check the system out and often reboot the offending piece of technology. Often that simple reboot fixes a problem, thus saving a wait for our customers and a call out for our technicians.

Working Together

These are just some of the projects we have been working on over the summer and COVID months. If one of these sounds like something you would be interested to know more about, just contact us and we would love to show you how we can help.