A lot goes into the process of adding a dedicated home theater to a property, and it’s helpful for homeowners to have a solid understanding of all the options available before they commit to the project. At DB Media Solutions, we offer many home theater services that combine together to provide a truly exceptional end result for our clients (and make the process as smooth as possible along the way). If you’re considering adding a theater to your home in Westlake or the greater Dallas, Texas area, then make sure you know all the services that your chosen theater company offers – you may be missing out on some vital steps in the theater installation process.

Initial Assessments

Any home theater company worth its salt will start each project with an assessment of the space and your goals for it. A dedicated home theater shouldn’t be a cookie-cutter product—it should be a reflection of your personality and desired media experience. During an assessment, your home theater expert will be able to get a feel for the space and the best equipment/setup to make your theater as good or better than a commercial cinema.

Project Management and Collaboration

High-end theaters are not a one-man job. More likely, there are a lot of different contractors involved in the process: interior designers, architects, electricians, AV experts, etc. And with that many cooks in the kitchen, it’s easy for plans to get off track. Your home theater company should take the reins on the project, providing guidance and managing everything so that all contractors are on the same page.

SEE ALSO: 4 Reasons to Invest in a Professional Home Theater Installation

Theater Prewiring and Networking

The type of wiring and cabling in your theater room can have a huge impact on performance. It’s important that your theater installer assesses your existing wiring and, if needed, upgrades the cables to support high-resolution audio and video. If you’re adding a theater to a newly constructed home, then be sure to bring in the theater expert early on so that they can do the wiring before walls are closed (this helps avoid unnecessary rework).

If you’ve been looking for a way to reduce your carbon footprint or lower your monthly energy bill, there are a lot of small changes you can make at home that can have a big impact. The good news is that with the right technology, many of these changes can actually make your life easier instead of more complicated. One of those technologies is a lighting control system. Studies show that electric lighting typically takes up to 25 percent of a home’s energy budget, so making improvements to lighting usage are definitely a smart idea. If you’re a homeowner in the Dallas, Texas area, then keep reading to learn the best approach to energy-efficient lighting.

Start by Making Your Lights Smarter

By smarter, we mean connecting all of the light fixtures throughout your home to a smart home automation system. This central platform makes it easy to monitor energy usage and manage all of the lights at once. From your smartphone or tablet, you can simply push a button and have all of the lights in the home (or just the lights in one room) turn on or off immediately.

Take Advantage of Dimmers

Once you’ve added the lighting control system to your house, you can start to do more sophisticated energy management such as dimming lights. In the typical home, lights have two settings: on and off. But there are many instances when you don’t need your lights blasting at full brightness. By using dimmers, you can get the best lighting for every occasion and save energy while you’re doing it. Using your control panel or remote, you can set the lighting in the room to 30 percent or 80 percent – whatever makes sense for that given moment. According to Vantage, one of the top manufacturers of lighting control systems, by dimming a 1500 hour incandescent lamp by 33 percent, you can make that bulb last nearly ten years.

SEE ALSO: Getting Started with Lighting Control

Use Lighting Automation

Another cool energy-saving feature of a lighting control system is automation. Using sensors, your lights can react automatically to different environments. For example, you could add motion sensors that detect when a room is unoccupied. After 5 minutes, the lights will turn off automatically to save energy, then turn on instantly if someone enters the area. Another type of technology to take advantage of is daylight sensors. These sensors track how much daylight is entering the room through windows. On sunny days, the system will dim the overhead lights so that the room is still well lit, then brighten the lights if the weather grows cloudy. Without you having to lift a finger, your home reacts to keep everything energy-efficient for you.

“Home theater system” is a term that can mean a lot of different things. You might consider the television, sound bar, and Blu-ray player in your living room to be a home theater of sorts, but it’s a very different movie-watching experience than what you would get in a dedicated home theater. For homeowners in the Colleyville, Texas area who really want the best audio and visual environment, here is the best approach:

Start with a Dedicated Room

One of the reasons why it’s so difficult to get that great movie quality in your living room is that the space isn’t designed for that purpose. Instead, the room is designed to accommodate other purposes, such as chatting with friends and family. The television’s placement is often an afterthought, based on where the sofa and coffee table look best. And there usually just isn’t a good place to install surround sound speakers.

That’s why it’s best to let your living room be a living room and leave the media systems to a dedicated room. A dedicated home theater is optimized in every way to be perfect for movie-watching. The seating is arranged for easy viewing of the screen, and surround sound speakers envelop you with immersive, robust audio.

Add in the Right Equipment

Not all home theater equipment is created equal, and the best speakers and projector for your system will depend on a variety of factors, such as the size and shape of the room. That’s why you should always leave the decision of selecting equipment in the hands of a home theater professional. A professional installer will be able to design a solution with the right mix of devices. Generally speaking, your home theater system should include a 4K Ultra HD projector and screen along with a Dolby Atmos surround sound system.

SEE ALSO: How Can You Upgrade Your Home Theater System?

If you’ve decided to add an outdoor sound system to your Texas property, then let us start by saying that is an excellent choice. Outdoor audio is a great way to get more use out of your patio or backyard, whether you’re big on hosting parties or simply relaxing by the pool. Of course, you’re going to want to do some research on the best brands and installation tips before you move forward. That’s why we’ve put together this quick guide that will help you get started. Learn about the best options for your Dallas home, then give us a call when you’re ready to move forward!

What You’ll Need

Your first thought when it comes to outdoor audio is probably speakers, and while you’ll definitely need those, there are some other aspects you might not have thought of. The sound system should also include a subwoofer, amplifier, control system, and wiring. We typically run cables underground so that the sound system has power without impacting the look of your outdoor space.

SEE ALSO: 6 Must-Haves for Your Outdoor Entertainment System

The Best Outdoor Audio Brand: Sonance

There are a lot of brands for outdoor audio, but our go-to choice is Sonance. Their SONARRAY collection of subwoofers and speakers create exceptional sound and have never let us down when it comes to durability in the harsh Texas weather. The satellite speakers blend into the surrounding landscape—place them among bushes, flowerbeds, and paths. 

Figuring Out Your Speaker Layout

Once you have the audio equipment, it’s time to install it. But where should you put speakers? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is entirely dependent on the unique layout of your home. But generally speaking, you want to space the speakers out around the most commonly used areas of your backyard or patio. For many homes, the right approach is a circular layout with the speakers pointed inward (this keeps the audio from projecting toward your neighbors, who might not share the same music tastes that you have).

It’s common to talk about all the ways that smart window shades can benefit you and your Fort Worth, Texas home—energy efficiency, beauty, convenience, and so on. But what’s less common is information on the ways that motorized shades bring about those benefits. If you’re interested in learning about the technology that makes regular window treatments smarter, then read on. 

SEE ALSO: 3 Reasons to Invest in Motorized Shades for Your Home

The “Motorized” Part of Motorized Shades

Instead of the standard curtain rod you’d typically find in a home, smart window shades have rods with tiny motors in them. These motors either run on a track (for drapery) or cause a circular motion for roller shades. These motors are connected to a central technology system so that you can easily control if the shades are open or closed. One of the key features of quality shading brands like Lutron and QMotion is that their motors are practically silent, so you don’t have to listen to an annoying buzz anytime you want to raise or lower the shades.

The Control Methods

Obviously, one of the biggest advantages of smart window shades is that you never have to manually draw the shades open or closed. Instead, you use one of the many smart control methods available. Choose just one or all of them to add to your smart home automation system:

• Remotes: A simple, elegant remote can be used to adjust the window treatments. Just add it to your coffee table or nightstand and then push the up or down button whenever you’d like the shades adjusted.
• Phone or Tablet: You can also get the same effect as a remote straight from your smartphone or tablet. Just open up the app and select whether you want the shades open or closed in one room, a few rooms, or the entire home.
• Wall Switch: We can easily swap out the standard light switches in each room with a version that includes options to control both the lights and the window shades. The control options are personalized, and the switches come in a variety of styles to match the room’s décor.
• Wall Console: For a more sophisticated control approach, we can replace the standard wall switch with an in-wall touchscreen console. From this touchscreen, you can easily set the right shading, lighting, temperature, etc.
• Voice: Nothing beats the effortlessness of controlling a room with just your voice. By adding in a voice control device like Amazon Echo, you can simply say “Alexa, close the window shades,” and it will happen.

The Automation Possibilities

As nice as it is to be able to open and close the shades at the push of the button, the real magic happens when you integrate other systems in your home, such as the lighting or HVAC systems. With smart home automation, you don’t have to worry about controlling the window treatments—they open and close automatically depending on factors like the lighting and temperature levels in the room.