Welcome to Our Smart Home Technology Blog

“Are you ready for some football?”Are you ready to watch the Dallas Cowboys or any of your other favorite teams play? If you don’t have season tickets, now is the time to check your family room or dedicated media space to make sure it’s has the best features this football season. You may want to upgrade your TV from HD to UHD, change your soundbar to a full surround sound system, or perhaps you need a better remote control for all of the games and shows you watch. In any case, we have everything you need to enjoy this year’s roster of sports entertainment. Keep reading to find out what our best recommendations are for a new media space or home theatre system. • Update Your Media Room or Home Theater with the Newest TechMost football fans will admit that you can enjoy the action better on a TV than at the stadium. We currently are featuring The Frame TV in the showroom (Samsung 65” Frame 4K UHD TV), which displays like a beautiful piece of art when the TV is not being viewed. You can choose from a plethora of art designs or you can add in your own from your photo collections or other source. And when you’re watching the game on The Frame, not only will it feel like you're right on the field with the players, but you'll also be able to tell the smallest difference between a player being inbounds and a football crossing the goal line.The one thing going for the stadium experience is the crowd environment, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised how you can recreate some of that ambiance with a Dolby Atmos surround sound system. You'll not only be able to hear the thud of every tackle but listen to crowd noise surrounding you from all sides. You'll feel like you're in the stadium without having to deal with the heat or bad view.

Since we live in a connected society, having a reliable Internet connection is more important now than ever before. The average American household has a local Internet service provider, modem and router to connect all of their smart devices and stream content, but sometimes this simply isn’t enough. Why would you need an upgrade? Read this blog to discover the reasons why you may need a better solution and why you need a professional home network installation in your Dallas, TX home.

SEE ALSO: A Strong Network is the Foundation of Smart Home Automation

1. You have a smart home system, or many smart devices.

If you own a smart home or are thinking about hiring an integrator to install one, a professional home network is a requirement, not an option. Or, if you have a dedicated home theater or multiple smart devices like a smart thermostat, you’ll need one too. High-bandwidth devices like 4K TVs and smart speakers put a lot of pressure on home networks, and simply purchasing a faster Internet speed won’t solve the problem. You need a local professional to place routers in the right locations and provide commercial-grade hardware. Higher-quality networks use faster CPUs and memory to process multiple connections at once, and advanced thermal management to keep equipment cool. They also can handle a greater number of connected devices and the intense network traffic.

2. You live far away from network service areas or have large objects blocking a signal.

If you live in a more remote location outside of Dallas, Texas, or if your home is surrounded by buildings or trees, your connection may not be reliable. Concrete structures and other objects can block service, and certain locations can make accessing the Internet especially difficult. We can assure you that it doesn’t matter where you live, we can find a solution and install a network that meets all of your smart home’s needs. We even have cell phone boosting equipment so that you can get a better cellular signal in your unique location. Our team will work with you to provide a wireless network than works for you and your budget.

3. You stream a lot of content.

If you use streaming services like Netflix or Spotify every day then you’ll need a strong connection to support all of that content – especially if the movies are in 4K or if the music is high-res. It is a fact you can access more music, movies, and games when you have Internet access. However, these shows will often freeze, lag, or have extremely poor-quality picture because the Internet connection isn’t strong enough. You might be paying for the fastest IP speeds, HD quality movies or hi-fi music, but it won’t be delivered without a proper network inside your home. A professional network quickly and easily solves this problem. You’ll never experience slow download speeds or poor quality content again. You can come home after a long day of work and relax with your favorite program instead of getting frustrated over poor connection.

What do you want the focal point of your home to be? To draw attention to a piece of art, a beautiful rug, or an antique chair you need to eliminate the distractions. In the interior design world, technology tends to be an obstacle. Designers are always trying to hide all of the tech since it can be an eyesore. Too many switches will create “wall acne” and cords, wires, or unsightly black boxes don’t exactly match the theme for your McKinney, Texas home. In this blog, we will focus on how to make certain elements of your lights and shades disappear with smart home automation. Keep reading to learn all about it. 

SEE ALSO: 5 Household Items to Make Smarter with an RTI System

Smart Shades

For this part of your home you won’t be hiding the roller fabric, or drapes, you’ll be hiding the motor that moves the shades up and down. Some motorized shade companies install a big box on the top of the window, which can look like a giant obstruction on the wall. To solve this issue, DeVance hides the motor in an enclosure—which is like a pocket inside the wall. You won’t see the motor or wires at all, instead everything is hidden and your family can focus on the beautiful fabric over the window. Smart shading also eliminates those hanging cords used to adjust the curtains. Instead, you’ll use a small remote control or your mobile device to open or chose them.

Smart Lighting

While the rest of the country might be enjoying a few more chilly days, Texas is in full summer mode, with the sun blazing! If you’ve been meaning to get outside more often and soak up that vitamin D, the smart approach is to set up your patio or backyard as the perfect spot for entertaining. Instead of driving somewhere just to enjoy the outdoors, you can simply step out the back door!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before you can start entertaining friends and family in an amazing outdoor area, you need the right outdoor entertainment. Keep reading to learn about the best approach to an automation and audio/video system for your Celina or Prosper area home.

What You’ll Need

When setting up an audio/video system outdoors, there are some factors you need to consider that aren’t usually an issue with an indoor system. For example, as rare as rain is in Texas, you wouldn’t want a sudden rainstorm to completely fry your television or sound system. Another issue that’s far more common is having the electrical components overheat on those summer days. Even dust and wind can compromise the performance of the equipment.

Because of these factors, we suggest TVs that are specifically designed for outdoor use, unless they are adequately protected from the elements by a custom cover or enclosure. Here are a few of the brands we’ve found to have excellence performance and reliability:

For Televisions:

If you want 4K Ultra HD visuals on a sleek, thin display, the best brand is Séura. You might have heard of Séura in the context of hidden technology since they also provide excellent mirror televisions, but their outdoor TVs have the same level of quality. Séura’s weatherproof TVs are actually able to adapt to the amount of natural lighting in the space, so you get a great picture on both sunny and cloudy days.