With all the new TV technology trends out there, it's easy to get caught up in the hype. When you're looking to get the most out of your home entertainment system, having the ability to stream content can be convenient, but there are several options from which to choose.
When you're looking to spend time outdoors enjoying the weather and your backyard setting, music is a must. With a well-planned system that can withstand erratic Tampa Bay weather patterns, you can create audio accompaniments for any outdoor activity. Here are a few things that you may want to consider when designing your outdoor sound system.
Today's homes are more technological than ever. Pools and spas, lighting, and even window coverings can be controlled with the push of a button. But, using multiple applications, and maybe even multiple devices to perform simple everyday tasks defeats the purpose of automation - convenience. Luckily, there's a better way to manage your increasingly high-tech home. Having various systems controlled by a consolidated home automation device allows you to control your home with ease.
With the birth of some exciting new TV technology trends and the likely death of others, 2014 is set to be a year of great flux for home entertainment. The AV industry is shaking off dead weight technologies, such as 3D televisions, that didn't end up being as revolutionary as some manufacturers expected, and replacing them with some truly innovative technology.
When designing a residential sound system, one simple mistake can drastically decrease your sound quality. You don't want to end up with a system that blows you out of the room, doesn't have the sound quality you were expecting, or does not put out the volume you were expecting, even with the volume turned all the way up. How do you avoid these mistakes? Here's a look at the some things you should never do: the worst residential sound system advice we've ever heard.
In the last five to ten years, the home theater industry got a lot right. High definition video has become readily available, and for the most part, a standard, with most mainstream channels broadcasting in HD. Surround sound has enabled new levels of realism, and the dream of a real movie theater experience at home became well within reach of millions of people. Today, the latest in home theater systems is built upon these advances to merge the home theater into the fabric of family life. The result is a more networked place where families can enjoy all types of media. Here are the four technologies that we think have changed everything.
With high-quality equipment uniquely designed for residential use, you can create a home theater for watching your favorite movies with unbelievable picture and sound in the comfort of your slippers. Whether you’re trapped in Jurassic Park, or running from a life-threatening boulder with Indiana Jones, you can achieve amazing things in terms of sound, picture, and atmosphere.
It's easy to focus on components, the perfect television, and other gadgets when designing your dream home theater, but any professional will tell you that one of the most important steps in making sure that your home theater is everything you want it to be is proper wiring.
With the NFL season fast approaching, it’s time to get your home ready with some of the latest equipment available to improve your gameday experience. If you’re looking to be the envy of your friends and neighbors, it’s important that you invest in the latest and greatest audio visual equipment. If you enjoy being the host of the party, you want to ensure that your guests have a great time. Technology has improved the gameday experience dramatically, especially over the last few years. From upgrades to televisions, surround sound, home automation and furniture, there are many ways you can guarantee your home becomes the place to be for premier sporting events.
The variety of devices that can be used through Control 4 technology is increasing exponentially. As demand grows, appliance, technology and entertainment producers are taking note. The statistics don’t lie. The average Control 4 home has 40 devices connected and some larger residences have over 250. Those that are new to home automation may not be aware of all of the devices that can be connected through Control 4. This technology is at the cutting edge of the industry and the options that consumers have will continually increase. Home entertainment, security and basic time savers are all becoming much easier with Control 4. Here are some of the features available in regards to entertainment and some new products you can purchase to take advantage of Control 4 home automation.
In the last few years, it has become anything but out of the ordinary for smart phones and tablets to be most people’s source of music. However, nothing can hold up to the pure sound quality of a home audio system. Since 1949, Mcintosh has been creating a legendary listening experience. Many famous musicians, recording artists and producers like the Greatful Dead, Earth, Wind and Fire and the Beach Boys have selected McIntosh audio systems for the rich quality of sound, to experience music the way it should be. The McIntosh founding fathers created a solid foundation based on sound business and scientific principles that continue to guide the company today and continue to provide stat of the art listening.
There are countless ways to utilize a home audio system in your home. Any room could benefit from a little McIntosh sound.
Control 4 offers the ultimate in home automation navigation. With several advancements and additional products becoming available, there are countless ways you can use this technology to make your life more relaxing, organized and secure. And let’s not forget about the fun you can have with Control 4 automation. With the ability to create different “scenes” that pair together the automation of several devices at once, personalized home automation is becoming reality. Here are some of our favorite ways to indulge in one of the great luxuries of the present, and future.
This is the best ceiling speaker I've had in my possession to date. It's built very solid but more importantly it sounds like a floor standing tower speaker.
The wireless speaker market as we know it didn’t really exist until Sonos arrived with its modular system of small speakers which could be bought piecemeal and configured around the house as desired by the user. In a world of expensive, low quality speaker sets with unreliable connections, Sonos went from unknown to beloved brand overnight. Sonos has fended off competition from more recognized names including Bose, Samsung, and LG.
When purchasing a TV, you want to educate yourself on the latest TV technology trends, so you can invest in the features that will get the most use in your household, and will be compatible with your favorite content, programming subscription(s), and devices. In our last blog post, TV Technology Trends: The Death of the 3D TV, we discussed a TV trend that we believe is on its way out. Now, let's talk about two trends that we expect to gain popularity in 2014.
Imagine being able to control every electronic component—this means lights, music, appliances, and even the “smart” locks on your front and back doors!—of your home whether you are there or not.
If asked to name the most popular streaming service, I am sure most people would say Pandora. I would guess most people that like to listen to music have heard of Pandora, Rhapsody and maybe even Spotify. These services are great because they allow you to listen to music on the go or at home without having to have the physical media, but what if you don’t want to start collecting music from scratch? What if you want to digitize your existing music collection?
Since we had a great response to our blog, “Digitizing Your Music Collection? Try Murfie,” we invited Tyler Stubbe from Murfie to give our readers an insider’s perspective on this unique streaming music service. Below, he explains how Murfie works, and what makes it an awesome choice for music lovers who want to digitize their collections.
Originally billed as a simple – if somewhat elegant – wireless lighting control system, the Lutron RadioRA 2 is actually a far more versatile total home control system that will amaze you with its range of capabilities. In addition to controlling the amount of in home lighting through the use of dimmers and other switches, the RadioRA 2 also affords remote control of the window shades and the thermostat settings as well as control of other appliances.
When it comes to home theater design there are several different types of televisions available for purchase. LED, LCD, and Plasma TVs are the most common types you’ll come across when working on your home theater design. Now this purchase is extremely important, as the television is often the central piece of equipment in any home theater.
Despite being one of those memorable, two-syllable words that rolls right off the tongue, Totem is largely unknown to the casual audiophile, much less the average consumer. Depending on who you ask, that’s either sad or just fine, as Totem Acoustics has been happily supplying its niche with a reliably clean and detailed sound for over 25 years.
