Learn Why AV Specialists is a Great Partner for Your Construction Firm

The process of building new homes and business sites is changing. As smart technology becomes a part of everyday life, it’s no longer an “after installation” project. Instead, clients want buildings to come ready to support the latest technology.

For construction firms throughout Tampa, Florida, this is an opportunity. By partnering with a low voltage contractor, you can deliver homes and businesses that wow right from the start with fully integrated smart technology. 

Completing the wiring and installation of smart technology during construction saves both time and money for the end client, which can be a clear competitive edge when vying for a project. The opportunity is there, but what’s the best approach? Here’s our take:

Nothing Beats Watching the Game on a Quality Home Theater System

With the 2017 football season right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to evaluate whether your home media setup allows you to enjoy game day to its fullest. Whether you want to add a home theater system to a dedicated private cinema, an outdoor theater, or a multi-purpose media room in your Tampa, Florida home, there’s no denying that a high-quality projector combined with surround sound speakers is the next best thing to sitting in the bleachers. Below, we cover the most popular devices and setups for football aficionados. 

A Smart Way to Cut Down Your Energy Bill Each Month

Ah, Florida. The fun weekends at the beach and snow-free winters come at a cost: blazing hot summers. If you’ve resigned yourself to paying ridiculously high energy bills each month to keep from breaking out into a sweat in your home, we have some good news for you. Here it is: your smart home automation system can help reduce your energy bill and cool down your home during these summer months. The key to cooler summer months lies in motorized shades. Whether you’re in Palm Harbor, Clearwater, or another Tampa area, you’ll want to keep reading to learn how this smart technology works.

Elevate the Worship Experience with High-Quality AV

If you’re considering giving your house of worship an AV upgrade, or perhaps preparing for installing a system in a new building, there are a few things you should know. The first thing is that the quality of the AV setup can make a big impact on the quality of the worship experience, so it’s important to make sure you’re doing it right the first time. We’ve been doing professional audio video installations throughout the Tampa, Florida area since 1995, and in that time we’ve learned a thing or two. Keep reading to learn the key to making your house of worship’s AV system perform well and reliably for years to come.

The Best Theater Experience Requires the Right Furniture

When you read about home theater systems and how to improve the movie-watching experience, a lot of articles focus on the 4K visuals or surround sound. And while those aspects are incredibly important, there’s also an element of the theater that often doesn’t get the attention it deserves: the furniture. That’s why we’ve put together this guide for St. Petersburg, FL homeowners that goes over the most common types of furniture and how to choose the best styles for your theater.

Sound Masking Can Make Your Tampa Office More Efficient

As anyone who works in an open concept office knows, noise can make it incredibly difficult to get anything done. From coworkers chatting in a nearby cubicle to office machinery running throughout the day, noise tends to run rampant in businesses. If you’ve grown to accept high noise levels in your Florida office as a fact of life, then this information is for you. Keep reading to learn about sound masking and how you can use it to easily get noise down to a healthy level.

If you’re like many of the people who have purchased a vacation home in the sunny St. Petersburg area, you’ve probably experienced the struggle of maintaining a second property from far away. It’s tough to make sure the house is in good condition when you live up north – you either have to hire someone to watch the property for you or fly down yourself to check on it. 

Fortunately, the latest trend for vacation homes solves this problem. The solution is to install smart surveillance cameras throughout the home. These cameras offer many more benefits than you might think. Keep reading to learn why they’re a smart investment for your vacation property.

1. Peace of Mind

Is your vacation home okay? Has there been a leak or a break in? Did you forget to lock the front door when you left it last? Everything is likely fine, but that doesn’t change that nagging worrisome thought in the back of your head. Smart surveillance cameras allow you to immediately put your mind at ease. Simply pull out your smartphone or tablet, open up the app, and select the camera you want to view. Instantly, you can see real-time footage of the home and know exactly what is going on in each area.

2. Easier Property Management

Instead of paying a property management firm to monitor the vacation home on a regular basis, you can use the cameras to check on things in seconds. For example, you could use the camera footage for the outdoor areas to see if it’s time to schedule lawn maintenance. The week before you’re scheduled to visit the vacation home, check through each surveillance feed to see if any areas need cleaning or repairs.

SEE ALSO: Is A Home Surveillance System Worth It?

The workplace can be quite chaotic, and the last thing you want to worry about is figuring out how to set up and control the technology. When you have an important meeting, you need to make sure the system is working and easy to use. Otherwise, you may end up looking disorganized and unprofessional. The team at AV Specialists is experienced on how to customize your boardroom with the newest technology. We'll make it easy to operate and intuitive enough so that anyone can figure it out. Continue reading to learn more about our boardroom automation solutions.

Find the Home Theater Installation Style that Meets Your Needs

Everybody wants a space in their home where they can enjoy the latest Oscar-winning flick or Netflix original show. But there are a lot of options in how you design that space. The two most popular options are to do a dedicated home theater installation or a multipurpose media room. Each option has its own merits, which we’ll discuss below. Maybe you’re building a new property in St. Petersburg, FL or simply renovating an existing home in the Tampa area—whatever the reason, keep reading to discover which media experience is the best fit for your lifestyle and personality.

Smart Home Automation and Alexa are a Perfect Match

The Amazon Echo really is an amazing device—just plug it in, connect to Wi-Fi, and enjoy having your own voice-controlled assistant! The smart device hit more than 10,000 unique skills in February of this year, so there certainly are plenty of things you can take advantage of.

But get this: late last year, Experian did a survey to find out exactly how people were using Amazon Alexa. The most commonly tried skills were setting a timer (84.9%), playing a song (82.4%), and reading the news (66%). Those are useful skills, but if you want to do more with your Alexa in your St. Petersburg, FL home, then it’s time to explore smart home automation. Keep reading to learn about these creative ways to put voice control to work.

Learn about the ROI of Surveillance Cameras

A home surveillance system is something that few Clearwater, FL homeowners would object to having, but the main thing holding them back is usually cost. However, what you may not know is that it’s quite easy to recoup the cost of surveillance cameras. Unlike a traditional security system, surveillance cameras don’t have to come with recurring monthly costs, which means the benefits quickly outweigh the initial investment. So what are those benefits, and are they worth taking the leap and upgrading your home? Read on to find out.

An Outdoor Sound System is the Perfect Option for Florida Businesses

Last month on our residential blog, we talked about how to avoid common mistakes when setting up an outdoor sound system. Of course, homeowners aren’t the only ones who can benefit from outdoor sound. The residential guide is still applicable for business setups, but today, let’s go one step further to talk about the best ways that businesses throughout the Palm Harbor or Tampa, FL area can use outdoor audio to their advantage.

5 Steps to Superior Sound in Your Belleair Home

There’s a lot more to producing high-quality audio than simply plugging in some speakers. A great many factors can affect how music sounds, and each one of these things needs to be considered during the installation process. If you’re considering adding a sound system to your Florida home, then keep reading. We’ll go over our process as audio video installers for ensuring that your system is set up for success.

Private theaters are a wonderful addition to any home in the Belleair, FL area. As much as we wish home theater installations happened at the snap of a finger, the process of creating truly exceptional theaters is a complex one. Fortunately, we’ve honed that process over the years to get a high-quality result without any hiccups along the way. Keep reading to learn our approach.

SEE ALSO: Get the Full Cinematic Experience at Home with a Private Theater

Step One: Goal Assessment

There are a lot of different types of home theaters out there. While some people may want the traditional look and feel of a dedicated home theater, others may want a multipurpose theater with a pool table and virtual golf setup. That’s why we start every home theater installation by discussing your goals for the room.

Will you be using it to watch TV with your family? Immersing yourself in the latest Oscar Best Picture? Cheering on your favorite sports team? The answers to all of these questions will influence the type of theater that is best for you.

Step Two: Room Assessment

Before we can start picking out projectors or theater seating, we need to understand the size, shape, acoustics, structured wiring, and other variables of the room. We’ll base our recommendations on the unique aspects of the space. For example, some rooms may need acoustic treatments or soundproofing. For rooms with windows, we’ll explore blocking out the window or adding motorized window shades.

Embrace Outdoor Audio at Your Florida Property

Spring is right around the corner, and Tampa is already experiencing gorgeous weather that makes us all want to head outside. What better way to enhance your patio or backyard than with an outdoor sound system? Before we get into all the ways that outdoor audio can improve your life, let’s talk about the importance of setting it up the right way. Below, we cover three common mistakes that people tend to make when adding an audio system to their outdoor spaces.

Put Your Smart Home Automation System to Work

Smart home automation technology is amazing. It’s fully customizable and can do so many different things. But the big question is this: are you taking advantage of your system’s full capabilities? If you’re ready to go past simply turning off the lights using your phone, then read on. Below, we cover some fun ideas for going beyond the basics with the automation system in your Palm Harbor, FL home.

Explore the Possibilities for a Home Theater Installation

If you’ve been looking for a way to make your home stand out, there’s no better upgrade than adding a dedicated home theater. A home theater installation gives residents in the Tampa, Florida area the opportunity to enjoy movies and shows in the highest quality possible without ever having to leave home. To learn about the possibilities for creating that perfect environment for movie-watching, read on.

Add Motorized Shades to Your Smart Home Automation System

The modern smart home can do so many things. You can control the lights throughout your home, adjust the volume on all televisions simultaneously, and access real-time surveillance footage while you’re halfway around the world, to name a few. So how do motorized shades fit into your Belleair, FL smart home? Keep reading to learn how smart shades can make your life easier and more comfortable.

These Video Tutorials Show You the Best Ways to Use Smart Home Technology

Smart home automation technology is incredibly complex. Everything from your window shades to your televisions is all connected to a single system that manages your Tampa area home flawlessly. However, just because you have intricate technology running your smart home doesn’t mean that it has to be confusing or difficult to use. We design our systems so that you can adjust each room’s settings with a push of a single button.

But if you want to go beyond the preset options in your smart home, you don’t have to wade through a 100-page user manual! We want our clients to be completely comfortable with their new home technology, which is why we have just unveiled a library of helpful training videos. These tutorials are designed to help you get the most value out of your investment in smart home automation technologyand better visualize all the possibilities for personalizing your system.

In just a minute or two, these quick videos show you how to perform everyday actions with your Control4 or Sonos system. Here are some of our favorites:

Marantz is a Must-Have for High-End Sound Systems

Choosing an audio brand is a big part of adding a high-quality sound system to your home. The right brand can make your home feel like a concert hall or amphitheater, with you sitting center stage for the performance. Here at AV Specialists, one of our favorite audio brands is Marantz. Read on to learn more about this innovative audio company and how their AV equipment can enhance the listening experience in your Clearwater, Florida home.