Needless clutter, broken signals, and uneven audio are just a few of the problems usually associated with a home theater system. Designing your own system on the fly using equipment found off the shelf can end terribly. Video signals need the right cabling, speakers need to be expertly laid out, and a professional needs to ensure that all components are compatible. On the whole, there needs to be a comprehensive plan in place to create an immersive entertainment space in your Westlake, Texas home. 

1.Prepare a Comprehensive Plan

If you learn one thing in this blog, make it this: it’s all about the planning. Whether you’re installing a fire alarm or a home audio system, the best results will come if you lay out every possible detail in advance. Come up with an answer to these questions before getting started:

• Do I want to use a television or screen?
• Will I be transmitting HD or 4K content?
• How many people will my theater seat?
• What kind of stylistic theme do I want to have?

In future blogs, we'll go in depth into some of those questions to help you understand how your answer can impact your home theater installation.

2.Invest in the Best Equipment

Developments in smart technology have changed the way we interact with our homes. Whether you’re investing in full automation or smart lighting, it’s all about creating intuitive solutions that make your space more beautiful and efficient. Since it’s one of the easiest to install and it involves technology we use every day, home lighting control is usually one of the first smart systems embraced by homeowners. In this blog, we'll take a look at some of the ways it helps you upgrade from the traditional wall switches cluttering up your Southlake, Texas home.

Dedicated Touchpad: Instead of dealing with a handful of switches on the walls, all of your fixtures can be accessed from a user interface on a dedicated touchpad. At the press of a button, choose the room you want to manage and which fixtures you'd like to adjust. You can either turn lights on and off or change their intensity. With a Vantage system, you can adjust lights from 0-100% to find the setting you like best.

Mobile App: If you already have a smart device that you’re comfortable with, you can use that instead of a touchpad. The same interface found on your touchpad can be used on a smartphone or tablet. The mobile app also comes with one huge perk: remote access.

You can access your home lighting control system even when you’re away. Notice that you left a light on when you left the house? You can turn it off using your phone no matter where you are.

Sensors: Occupancy sensors have been used in commercial lighting for years, but are just recently transitioning to the residential market. If your home lighting control system realizes that a room has been unoccupied for an extended period, all the lights can automatically turn off.
Daylight sensors are also used. These types of sensors work by ‘stabilizing’ the amount of light in a room. Once natural light reaches a certain threshold, your lights will dim or shut off to avoid using artificial light when it’s not necessary.

The smart home revolution has arrived in full force. Much of the movement revolves around smart gadgets that promise automation, acting without you having to input information. There are products available for every corner of your Dallas, Texas home, from a refrigerator that lets you know if you've run out of beer to security cameras that activate when they sense any movement. While some gadgets are admittedly more practical than others, there’s no better whole-home solution than a smart home automation system.

How do these systems differ from devices you can buy off the shelf? They bring all your technology together and get it to work as one. Through a Savant Systems solution, you can have control of your lighting, security, entertainment, climate and more at the touch of a button. Sensors and schedules are the primary ways smart devices create automated responses. In this blog, we explain how both work best in a connected home.

Sensors

Sensors are the main way automation happens in smart devices. Your lights turn off when a room is unoccupied. A thermostat notices you’ve walked into the room and adjusts the temperature. What a smart home automation system adds to this dynamic is that all your technology reacts to a sensor's message rather than just one device.

Instead of just having a camera recording when a sensor is activated, you can have the lights in the room turn on as well to get the clearest images possible. When you return from work, it’s not just the climate that adjusts. As soon as you walk into your foyer, the room lights up and the television turns on to your favorite channel so you can settle in after a long day.