With so many options for audio/video systems available, there’s always the risk that you end up with a shoddy, low-quality solution instead of truly exceptional sound and visuals. For luxury homeowners throughout the Highland Park and greater Dallas, Texas area, it’s important to choose a brand known for achieving that high-end quality.

DeVance Electronic Lifestyle works with many of the finest luxury audio brands available, and of all those brands, there is one that we recommend most for high-end homes: MartinLogan. If you’re interested in learning what makes MartinLogan speakers the best, then read on.

Innovative Design for Superior Sound

There are many methods for designing speakers. The one you’re probably most familiar with is the circular cone or dome-shaped speaker. That shape is easy to manufacture and provides good quality sound, but if you’re interested in the best sound quality possible, electrostatic is a better design for you.

Electrostatic speakers work by converting an amplifier’s output to a high-voltage charge. The speakers are designed with an ultra-light, electrically conductive material that evenly disperses the audio signal throughout the room. Technical aspects aside, the important thing about an electrostatic design is that it overcomes the limitations on rigidity and uniformity that so often cause cone-shaped speakers to deliver a less-than-stellar sound performance. 

SEE ALSO: Explore What it Means to Live with Smart Home Automation

Getting started with smart home technology is incredibly exciting. You get to pick out devices and solutions that will make your home more beautiful, energy-efficient, secure, and comfortable! But before you start picking out the fabrics for your motorized shades, ask yourself this question: “Is my home ready for smart home automation?”

Many homeowners throughout the Prosper, Texas area don’t realize that standard electrical wiring may not cut it for advanced automation technology. Even new construction doesn’t typically come with wiring suitable for reliably operating smart technology.

But don’t despair! There’s a simple solution in the form of prewiring services. Below, we answer the most common questions that homeowners have about prewiring. 

What is Prewiring?

Many smart home contractors (including DeVance Electronic Lifestyle) offer prewiring services that ensure your home has everything it needs to support all of its smart devices—both now and in the future as technology gets more advanced. Typically, these services include an initial assessment to get an idea of the quality of your home’s wiring. Based on that information, we may run new wires that are capable of handling whatever your smart devices need!

Why is Prewiring Necessary?

Standard wiring in homes often doesn’t go beyond AC power lines, TV cables, and maybe some phone lines. However, the majority of smart home devices operate using low voltage cabling. If your home is wired with the right types of cables, the sky is the limit for what you can automate!

The modern boardroom is about more than just conducting meetings. It’s about collaborating with people all over the world, closing deals with key clients, and making strategic plans that could impact the company for years to come. If you’re relying on outdated or insufficient technology, you’re hindering your company’s ability to operate at peak efficiency and effectiveness.

Below, we cover the five technologies that are absolutely essential if you want a boardroom automation system that is reliable and capable of meeting all the needs of your Dallas, Texas area business.

SEE ALSO: 5 Commercial Audio Video Trends for 2017

1. High-End Sound System

Stop struggling to hear remote team members through weak, poorly placed speakers. A boardroom should utilize sound equipment that provides crisp, pure audio throughout the room. Brands such as Mark Levinson and Revel are a safe bet. These hi-fi audio systems are the product of decades of superior design and engineering. Your boardroom automation installer can strategically place the sound equipment and speakers so that you get perfect sound without any cords or devices cluttering up the room.

2. Lighting and Shading Control

Window shades or overhead lights aren’t typically what you might think about for boardroom technologies, but they should be. After all, the lighting in a room ties directly into the quality of your visual displays—too much lighting can wash out the imagery, but you still need a well-lit room to conduct meetings.

The new year is just around the corner, and savvy Dallas business owners have started to consider what improvements they want to make in 2017. While many of these planning sessions focus on increasing operational efficiency, you might want to consider an alternative approach: improving the customer experience. Whether you’re running a restaurant, a retail store, or a car dealership, creating the right atmosphere for a relaxed and happy customer is a key component of business success.

So how do you do that? There are many different ways, but some technologies are rising to the top. Below, we cover five great commercial audio video trends that we predict will hit it big in 2017. 

SEE ALSO: 3 REASONS TO UPGRADE YOUR COMMERCIAL AUDIO / VIDEO SYSTEM

1. Interactive Displays

Waiting in lobbies isn’t fun for anyone, but technology can help make the time go by faster. Interactive displays use motion or touch technology to allow guests to manipulate what’s on the screen. These customizable screens could be as simple as ambient art that reacts to hand motions or a trivia game that gives points for selecting the right answer. Restaurant patrons waiting for a table, children waiting for a dentist appointment, or key clients waiting for a business presentation—interactive displays can help all of them have a more enjoyable experience.

2. Serve Yourself Technologies

People know what they want better than any waiter or customer service representative could, so why not let them control the service experience? This “do it yourself” automation technology started out as a way for businesses to save money on staffing costs, but it turns out that customers actually prefer this approach. Common applications are ordering kiosks at restaurants or price check scanners at retail stores. You’re essentially giving your clients instant gratification. There are no delays or miscommunication—just an intuitive screen that provides simple options for your clients to choose from.