If you’re interested in a music system distributed throughout your entire house , Sonos makes an awesome suite of streaming audio devices that are compact, stylish, and are simple to operate.Music at any Location
Each of the Sonos units connects wirelessly to your router so it can access your music library from anywhere in the house when connected to your favorite speaker, receiver, or other audio components. The beauty of the Sonos system is that each unit can also be controlled independently. So, blasting your favorite tunes in the workshop doesn’t affect what being played in the living room.Music from Multiple Sources.Connecting Sonos audio players with your digital music library is a snap. It can wirelessly interface directly with your PC, Mac or NAS and is compatible with all of the most popular audio file formats including iTunes, MP3s, Flacs, WAVs, and more.Another key feature of Sonos is access to an assortment of internet radio. You can chose from over 100,000 national and international stations including NPR, LastFM and SoundVision favorite, Pandora.Controlling Sonos Systems
Sonos audio systems are also very simple to operate. There are a few control options including the Sonos handheld controller, through your PC or Mac, or even on your iPhone or iPad.If you or someone you know would like more information on what you read here or have any questions, feel free to call our office at (415) 456-7000, send me an email or visit our website today.
Whole House Music, Sonos Style
A Breakdown of Home Automation Interfaces
As home automation technology progresses the options for Home Automation interfaces has grown. Choosing the right interface for your family can be a tricky decision to make. We’d like to explain some of the benefits of each type to help clear up any questions you may have and keep you well informed of the latest technologies.Wireless Remotes – Wireless remotes offer customers the comfort of a familiar method of control in an ultra portable package. An infra red universal remote is perfectly suitable for a simple home entertainment system. As the home automation needs grow an RF or WiFi capable remote like URC will be needed to expand the range and usage of features like shading or lighting control.Touch Panels – A touchscreen can offer much more flexibility, including video surveillance, additional control options, internet access, and complete customization. They provide graphic based control that covers a broad range of devices and systems. Touchpanels can come as wired or wireless.
- Wired - Wired touchpanels are often installed in the wall at a central or convenient location of the home. They can be used in conjunction with wireless touchpanels and keypads.
- Wireless – Wireless touchpanels can move from room-to-room and offer the greatest amount of flexibility of any home control interface. Like your cell phone or other portable devices it does need to be charged on a regular basis. iPad and iPhone software developers are quickly taking note and creating a multitude of home control apps, to even further expand the capabilities of home control. Click here to learn more about home automation apps on the iPad and iPhone.
Keypads - Keypads are a simple, but cost effective type of interface that compliments homes needing intelligent lighting and shading control at multiple zones. They can range from simple on/off switches to multiple options based on events (entertaining, dining, movies, etc). With keypads you lose many advanced features, but they are extremely easy to operate and maintain.If you or someone you know would like more information on what you read here or have any questions, feel free to call our office at (415) 456-7000, send me an email or visit our website today.
6 Awesome iPad and iPhone Apps for Home Automation
The iPad and iPhone are singlehandedly changing the world of home automation. With its ease of use, popularity and unmatched usability, software developers are jumping at the opportunity to develop home control apps. Here are a few of the very best apps we’ve found for ipad and iphone home automation.Crestron – Crestron Mobile Pro puts the critically acclaimed Crestron touchpanel user interface right on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, enabling all kinds of customizable control features. Expect the same high level of performance you’re used to with Crestron home control, but completely mobile.
DVR Remote – Forget to schedule your DVR to record your favorite show? No problem. Set up the recording while you’re at the office, on vacation, or anywhere else. DVR Remote is designed for TiVo Series3 DVRs. Also note that there are apps for DirecTV, DISH Network, AT&T and more.Lutron Home Control – This app allows you to interface with your RadioRa 2 lighting control system over a wifi network. Lutron also offers a Homeworks Light control app that can connect to your Homeworks system lighting control system over WiFi, Edge or even 3G network.Sonos Controller for iPhone – This app is a full-fledged Sonos Controller that works over your home WiFi network. Simply touch the screen to pick a room, point and flick to choose a song, and hit play to enjoy.Off Remote - Off Remote is a simple app that can tell your computer to Sleep, Restart, Lock and Hibernate or turn off. It’s designed to work on any computer in your local network. Great for energy management.Sherwin Williams Color Snap – This handy little app isn’t necessarily a home control app, but is very useful for the planning stages of a home theater remodel. With Color Snap you simply snap a picture from your iPhone of a wall or decoration and the app matches the closest Sherwin Williams paint color. From there you can create a custom color palette.If you have experience with any of these or other home automation apps please feel free to share!
The iPad and iPhone are singlehandedly changing the world of home automation. With its ease of use, popularity and unmatched usability, software developers are jumping at the opportunity to develop home control apps. Here are a few of the very best apps we’ve found for ipad and iphone home automation.
Crestron - Crestron Mobile Pro puts the critically acclaimed Crestron touchpanel user interface right on your iPhone, iPad oriPod touch, enabling all kinds of customizable control features. Expect the same high level of performance you’re used to with Crestron home control, but completely mobile.
DVR Remote – Forget to schedule your DVR to record your favorite show? No problem. Set up the recording while you’re at the office, on vacation, or anywhere else. DVR Remote is designed for TiVo Series3 DVRs. Also note that there are apps for DirecTV, DISH Network, AT&T and more.
Lutron Home Control – This app allows you to interface with your RadioRa 2 lighting control system over a wifi network. Lutron also offers a Homeworks Light control app that can connect
The iPad and iPhone are singlehandedly changing the world of home automation. With its ease of use, popularity and unmatched usability, software developers are jumping at the opportunity to develop home control apps. Here are a few of the very best apps we’ve found for ipad and iphone home automation.Crestron - Crestron Mobile Pro puts the critically acclaimed Crestron touchpanel user interface right on your iPhone, iPad oriPod touch, enabling all kinds of customizable control features. Expect the same high level of performance you’re used to with Crestron home control, but completely mobile.DVR Remote – Forget to schedule your DVR to record your favorite show? No problem. Set up the recording while you’re at the office, on vacation, or anywhere else. DVR Remote is designed for TiVo Series3 DVRs. Also note that there are apps for DirecTV, DISH Network, AT&T and more.Lutron Home Control – This app allows you to interface with your RadioRa 2 lighting control system over a wifi network. Lutron also offers a Homeworks Light control app that can connect to your Homeworks system lighting control system over WiFi, Edge or even 3G network.Sonos Controller for iPhone – This app is a full-fledged Sonos Controller that works over your home WiFi network. Simply touch the screen to pick a room, point and flick to choose a song, and hit play to enjoy.Off Remote - Off Remote is a simple app that lets Sleep, Restart, Lock and Hibernate or turn off any or all computers in your local network. Great for energy managementSherwin Williams Color Snap – This handy little app isn’t necessarily a home control app, but is very useful for the planning stages of a home theater remodel. With Color Snap you simply snap a picture from your iPhone or iPod of a wall or decorations and the app matches the closest Sherwin Williams paint color. From there you can create a custom color palette.
to your Homeworks system lighting control system over WiFi, Edge or even 3G network.
Sonos Controller for iPhone – This app is a full-fledged Sonos Controller that works over your home WiFi network. Simply touch the screen to pick a room, point and flick to choose a song, and hit play to enjoy.
Off Remote - Off Remote is a simple app that lets Sleep, Restart, Lock and Hibernate or turn off any or all computers in your local network. Great for energy management
Sherwin Williams Color Snap – This handy little app isn’t necessarily a home control app, but is very useful for the planning stages of a home theater remodel. With Color Snap you simply snap a picture from your iPhone or iPod of a wall or decorations and the app matches the closest Sherwin Williams paint color. From there you can create a custom color palette.
Fall 2010 HD Living – Available Now!
The Fall 2010 issue of HD Living magazine has been mailed out to select homeowners around the North Bay area. If you weren’t one of the lucky ones who received one in your mailbox, don’t worry! We have your online copy available right here.In addition to an updated profile all about SoundVision, some of the other topics inside this quarter’s issue of HD Living include:
- Lifestyle Control: Touch screen devices for home automation
- Home Networks: A complete guide to home networking
- The Everything Gadget: How the revolutionary iPad is reshaping home entertainment and control.
Plus much more. It’s all waiting for you in the Fall 2010 issue of HD Living Magazine!
5 Reasons Why We Love Pandora Internet Radio
Here at SoundVision HQ we all agree that Pandora is one of the best ways to get our daily music fix. We assembled our top 5 reasons why it’s among our preferred choices for internet radio.1. Intelligent, Personalized Radio Stations
Pandora radio puts the control in your hands by giving you the ability to create your own personalized music stations based on your favorite artists. The Pandora software analyzes your artist preferences to produce a completely individualized station. The detailed musical analysis stems from the results of the Music Genome Project. According to Pandora the Music Genome Project was started to“Capture the complex musical DNA of songs using a large team of highly-trained musicians.”As far as control, Pandora allows users to pause or skip songs. There’s also the ability to give a song or artist a thumbs up or thumbs down and even bookmark songs for future reference. For those that want even more options, Pandora has advanced features for combining multiple stations, adding variety, deleting songs from a station, and even sharing a station with a friend.2. Its FreeThat’s right; Pandora is indeed a free service. However, there are few upgrade options available for those that want even more advanced features. The free service limits its users to 40 hours a month. If you happen to go over 40 hours, it only costs $.99 to receive unlimited listening for the remainder of that calendar month. Not a bad deal considering their vast library of artist and songs.For $36/year you can also upgrade to Pandora One. This upgrade features unlimited listening hours, zero advertising and higher quality streams.3. Mobile Music
If you’re looking for music on the go, Pandora is a terrific option. Imagine having an entire library of music on your smartphone without the hassle of syncing hundreds of hours worth of music. With Pandora, it’s all streamed and works with most current smartphones including the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and much more. Here’s a full list of compatible phones.4. Easy Home Theater Integration Pandora radio isn’t just tied to computers or phones. These days, Pandora is available on a staggering array of devices. Some of the most popular devices include iPads, Blu-Ray players, Sonos audio systems, internet-ready receivers, and much more. Each device makes great use of Pandora’s intuitive interface and control options. Here’s a full list of compatible devices.5. Artist Profiles
Users get access to bios, pictures, and discographies for artists played on Pandora. This is a neat little feature for anyone wanting to get a brief history lesson on any particular artist or album. It’s a handy tool for discovering new artists as their played on your custom stations.Pandora is truly one of the best services out there for internet radio. Between the large selection of devices that support it and the shockingly intelligent engine driving the software, Pandora radio is a service you take advantage of.
Home Theater Upgrade in 6 Phases
Phase 1: The first order of business was to clear out the old TV, AV gear, and shelving to make way for a more streamlined AV cabinet.
Phase 2: The next step was to place the Polk speakers and subwoofer in the cabinet for a compact, but well balanced system. The cabinet also provides clean cable management for the speaker wire and cables.
Phase 3:Following the speakers placement, we placed the Wii game console, Denon turntable, Sony Blu-ray player and Comcast HD cable box in the cabinet for an easy connection to the receiver.
Phase 4: After all the cables were fished through the cabinet we wired them up to an Integra surround sound receiver.
Phase 5: The Samsung Plasma HDTV was then installed and the Wii motion sensor was mounted on top of the display.
Phase 6: The final step was to mount the acoustically transparent panel doors onto the cabinet for a clean finish. The Universal Remote was then reprogrammed for simple operation, then the audio system and TV were calibrated for optimal performance.
Final result is a cleanly designed, robust and reliable, easy to use media system that fits into the room’s décor.
Apple Unveils Streaming-Only Apple TV
Apple’s music event on September 1st brought great news to home theater enthusiasts with the release of a new Apple TV. The new Apple TV boasts a stripped down form factor about ¼ the size of older models. This is in part because there is no longer local storage and Apple has stripped down the A/V ports to just an HDMI and Optical audio jack.In terms of functionality, the new Apple TV works as a streaming only device. Therefore, there’s no longer a need to worry about managing storage or syncing an iTunes library. Movies and shows are streamed directly from iTunes as rentals. In addition, Netflix streaming service is now supported with this new model. The best part, is that there’s still the ability to wirelessly stream music, video and photos from your computer at blazing speeds.
The Apple TV is scheduled to go on sale in September, with a starting pricepoint of $99.
What’s the Difference?
This week, we thought we’d switch it up here on the SoundVision ShowTimes blog and let one of our technicians do the talking. I sat down with our Lead Technician, Kenny Meligan to chat about some of his experiences with other companies in the industry in comparison with SoundVision. Kenny also offers up some advice on choosing the best custom electronics integrator for your next project. Kenny has been a Lead Technician and Control Systems Programmer for over 5 years and has worked with a number of different integrators.Kenny thanks for chatting with me. In your past experience with other companies how did a typical day begin?
At other companies my day would start by being briefed on the spot about the day’s job. The boss would always prepare the schedule at the last minute in hopes of just throwing bodies at projects. There was rarely a plan of action and never any scope of work, design meetings, or project checklists given in advance.
Sounds like a tough start. How did that affect the projects?
Well, once I figured out where I was going for the day I’d go into the warehouse to stage the equipment only to find that we didn’t have half of the parts needed. On a few occasions I remember informing the boss, and he said, “I forgot to order that. Tell the client that it’s backordered.” So, I would leave the shop with no information on the project, very little parts, and a lie to tell the client!Once I arrived at the site, I’d rummage through my set of inferior tools and prepare to start work. There wasn’t much in the way of documentation which resulted in way too much time on the phone with tech support or my project manager. That was just to get up to speed on the project and figure out how the system is supposed to work.
How was your experience with the other technicians and support staff?
I found that often times at most other companies my coworkers weren’t CEDIA certified and had little experience. So, that meant a bit of babysitting onsite. The kicker was that after a long frustrating day onsite I’d finally get back to the shop to find my boss drinking a beer and acting as if everything was great.
Techs ensure their vans are kept well organized.
How is it different here at SoundVision?
SoundVision always stresses process and preplanning. Our schedules are literally booked weeks in advance. Each project gets a project binder that we take onsite. The binders include everything from scope of work, project management checklists, to wiring schematics & floor plans. At SoundVision we always follow a carefully laid out set of tasks and milestones for each project. In terms of parts, we have a purchasing manager who orders all our parts and stages them for us each morning. Our vans are always fully stocked with the right tools for the job. Continue reading “What’s the Difference?” »
Netflix Streaming Video
Did you know that Netflix subscribers have access to a large selection of streaming movies, shows, concerts, and more?Internet ready Blu-ray players like the Samsung BD-P3600 and current generation game systems can connect directly to your Netflix account and stream unlimited video content to your home theater.Netflix just announced two great additions to their service.
- Starting this September Paramount and Lionsgate movies will be added to the Netflix streaming roster.
- The Netflix App for iPhone was just released giving mobile access to streaming content on iphones, ipods or ipads.
3D TVs and ESPN
ESPN 3D has just announced the first 3D college games to be broadcast on the new network. 
- Boise State vs. Virginia Tech
- Miami vs. Ohio State
- Clemson vs. Auburn
These games have initial honors with more 3D college and pro games to be announced. We think that 3D will become the viewing option of choice for die-hard football fans who want an immersive viewing experience.ESPN 3D Website
ESPN 3D has just announced the first 3D college games to be broadcast on the new network. Boise State vs. Virginia Tech; Miami vs. Ohio State; and Clemson vs. Auburn have initial honors with more 3D college and pro games to be announced. “Jaw dropping,” is how David Berman, Director of Training & Public Relations of HTSA explains the experience. “3D will become the viewing option of choice for die-hard football fans who want an immersive viewing experience.” And the bigger the better. Berman notes that to truly enjoy 3D football, the screen needs to be big. Samsung, for instance, is offering a mammoth 55-inch C9000 LED LCD HDTV. “The 3D experience takes you out of the stands and places you in the game,” says Berman. “It’s the most fully encompassing, true to life football experience available until holograms become a reality.”