Welcome to Our Smart Home Technology Blog

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.

Getting that perfect gift for friends and family is a challenge. If you’re at a loss for what gifts to buy this holiday season, we’re here to help. As Southlake, Texas’ smart home automation experts, we stay on top of the latest trends in tech devices. This gift buying guide covers the best smart tech for both current smart home owners and people considering upgrading their homes.

For Current Smart Home Owners

If the person you’re trying to buy for already has a smart home, then they’ve probably already got a full set of gadgets and controls for every room. But don’t fret! Unless their smart home system was installed very recently, there’s one component they probably don’t have yet: voice control. Amazon Echo and Echo Dot are small devices that are easy to add to existing smart home systems, allowing you to control your home using just your voice!

In addition to asking Alexa’s normal capabilities, you can use the voice-controlled interface to initiate different smart home “scenes” that have saved settings for the best lighting, music, temperature, etc. for any given activity. For example, as you leave home each morning, just say “Alexa, turn on ‘Away.’” In response, your home’s lights will turn off, the shades will close, the music will stop, and your smart security system will lock the doors and turn on the alarm.

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

For Homeowners Just Getting Started

As wonderful as a full smart home automation system is, you don’t need all the bells and whistles right off the bat. To help friends and family dip their toes into the convenience and comfort that smart technology has to offer, consider getting an individual device that works great on its own but can also become part of a full automation system in the future. In addition to Amazon Echo, here are some other great devices:

In the coming months, you’re likely going to get a lot more use out of your televisions and music systems. From Christmas celebrations to Super Bowl parties, it’s important to ensure your whole house audio/video system is ready with top-notch sound and visual quality. If you think the system in your Dallas area home might not be up to the task, keep reading to learn about all the latest upgrades you can take advantage of.

SEE ALSO: What is Whole House Audio Video?

4K Ultra HD Displays

4K Ultra HD is quickly becoming the standard for televisions throughout the USA. The TVs have four times the pixels of regular HD TVs, and the difference in visual quality is like night and day. When 4K televisions first debuted years ago, their high cost and lack of content filmed in 4K meant that they were typically only found in the homes of technology early adopters. Now, however, 4K TVs are quite affordable, and almost every new show or movie is filmed in 4K. You can even now watch live sporting events in 4K, creating such a lifelike picture, you’d swear you were sitting in the bleachers. 

So whether your Thanksgiving tradition is to watch the Macy’s Day Parade in the morning or cheer on the Dallas Cowboys in the afternoon, upgrading to 4K is a sure-fire way to make the experience more enjoyable.

Multi-Room Music Systems

Music is an integral part of creating the perfect atmosphere for holiday parties. Instead of fumbling around with multiple remotes, struggling to get all of the different stereo systems throughout your home to play the same songs, upgrade to a multi-room music system. With a multi-room setup, you can easily choose your favorite Christmas playlist and enjoy high-fidelity music in every room of your home.

Lighting and shading control is often considered a must-have aspect of any smart home because of how much convenience it adds to your lifestyle at home. If you’re considering adding lighting and shading control to your Texas residence, it can be tough to know how to get started. Keep reading to learn the main aspects of lighting and shading control so that you can start taking advantage of its benefits in your University Park or other Dallas area home.

SEE ALSO: Top 3 Benefits of Lighting and Shading Control

Choose Your Brand

When it comes to lighting and shading control brands, two companies stand out far above the rest: Lutron and Crestron. Some control systems only control lighting or shading, not both, which can make the system more complicated. That’s not the case with Lutron and Crestron. The great thing about Lutron and Crestron is that they both provide so many different options: roller shades, wireless dimmers, skylight shades, touchscreen controls, and more.

From the same company, you can get everything you need for a complete solution. And beyond the technical aspects of the control system, Lutron and Crestron also offer window treatment design elements. You can look through their extensive collection of different fabric types, colors, and patterns to find the best options to match your home’s décor.

Pick Your Locations

The types of lighting and shades you choose will depend greatly on where you put them. It’s important to get the right lighting and shading materials for your lifestyle and the purpose of each room – blackout shades for a media room, but transparent shades that simply reduce the sunlight glare will serve the client better in rooms with a gorgeous view. After you decide which rooms you want to have lighting and shading control in, a DeVance Electronic Lifestyle expert will be there to offer advice and guidance on selecting the best materials for each space—considering everything from what the ideal fabric type would be to reduce UV damage to furniture on through to the final selection of light fixtures to accentuate your artwork.