Note: We originally wrote this popular blog post last year, before COVID-19 became part of every discussion and the stay-at-home lifestyle became mainstream. No one knows how long this pandemic or these stringent social distancing mandates will last, so it doesn’t surprise us that searches for smart home automation, lighting, integrated security systems and more have skyrocketed lately.

One of our favorite smart home systems, Control4, will elevate your at-home experience with its unparalleled convenience, seamless integration, and abundant security and entertainment features -- capabilities that you’ll appreciate both now and after this passes. Why should you work with a Control4 provider to make your time at home more pleasant? And how can you get started with a step-by-step approach, instead of building a top-to-bottom integrated home experience? Control4 offers impressive product updates year after year to make it more competitive in a crowded market. Keep reading for some of our favorite automation perks and how to bring them to your Georgia home.

Right now, many of us are hyper-focused on our home entertainment and automation systems since some of us aren’t venturing far beyond our property. Isn’t now the right time to optimize your automation and AV controls? Though hands-free control has grown more popular as we deal with the new coronavirus, sometimes nothing replaces the familiar control we get with a traditional remote control. Remote controls allow the tactile controls you’re used to, while backlighting features let you see how you’re navigating your remote, even if you’re watching in the dark.

Crestron released its TSR-310 and HR-310 remotes back in 2018, but Crestron home automation users enjoy their capabilities to this day. Click on our original blog post to learn more, and keep reading to learn some details about both remotes.

We have written before on these pages about many smart home technology topics. We’ve also written about how it pays to work with a professional company for your smart home and AV installations, as you need a reliable, trained team that stands behind their work.

What you might not know is how to go about choosing a smart home company to install the technology in your Alpharetta home. In this blog, we’d like to share with you four areas that can indicate the seriousness of a professional home technology integration company.

Ready to learn more? Keep reading below.

As the leading smart home technology integrator in the Atlanta area, Georgia Home Theater works with the top brands in home automation. We’ve written extensively on these pages about Crestron and Control4, two systems we work with that are the leaders in the field. Both are excellent and offer a myriad of options for controlling and managing smart homes.

We’re very excited to bring a new dimension to our Marietta showroom, just a short hop from Sandy Springs - the Crestron Experience. We’ll be showing a variety of home systems that can fall under the expert automation of a Crestron control system, including motorized shades, hidden technology, and discreet architectural audio speakers.

Are you as excited as we are? Keep reading to learn more.

We still have cable, satellite, and good old fashioned over-the-air TV, but it’s hard to ignore the incredible convenience of streaming video. There’s no major content network worth its well-deserved Emmys that doesn’t have a streaming video offering. HBO, Showtime, ESPN, CNN - they and countless others offer almost all content via on-demand streaming; some networks even offer streaming-only premium content.

You have likely heard of one or more of the most popular streaming devices. While smart TV capabilities are built into practically every new TV set, some are better than others. If you don't like the smart system that's native to your 4K TV, you can choose to use an external streaming device.

Since most TVs sold today are 4K-enabled, Georgia Home Theater believes you should only consider a 4K streaming device. They cost only a few dollars more than HD varieties and are far more future-proof. The leading devices in media streaming are those you’ve probably already heard of from Apple, Amazon, Roku, and Google.

These all offer a plethora of 4K streaming apps with a massive variety of content. What are the differences and which one is a better fit for your 4K televisions in Atlanta? Read on find out.

This blog has now been updated; you can view this updated post here.

Get to Know Crestron’s New TSR-310 and HR-310 Remotes

Our world is full of touchscreens. According to Statista stats portal, 2.8 billion touchscreen devices were shipped worldwide in 2016 alone. You have to work hard these days to find a human being on the planet that hasn’t been exposed to one. The reason is straightforward: Touchscreens present intuitive interfaces for people to accomplish tasks without resorting to a help manual. The smartphone in our pocket proves that they work for a host of applications.

As much as we all love touchscreens, there are some times when they are not always the best control experience. Touchscreens require us to look at the screen to make a choice or perform a gesture.

When it comes to A/V control, the majority of remotes still have real buttons. Vendors have added app control to smart devices – from sophisticated devices like A/V receivers to simpler ones like Roku Streamers – to extend the control capabilities and allow for an alternative form of control. There are people, particularly of younger generations that grew up with touchscreens, that might prefer the smartphone as a remote control, as it is virtually always with you.

For A/V control, sometimes the touchscreen is not the best option. For many people, adjusting the volume is easier by feeling for the right button on a hard-button remote. That way, you don’t have to look down at a screen or light up a darkened room during a movie. Transport functions like play, pause, and fast forward can sometimes be more intuitive with real buttons too. Lastly, your smartphone is doing other things than remote control, and switching or starting apps for a simple function can be tedious.

Crestron has been in the A/V and home automation business since it began. They understand the control of devices and systems thoroughly. In this age of the screen, they still offer hard button remotes to allow the freedom to control your environment the way you want.

Read on to learn more about managing your A/V and home automation systems in the Roswell area with the the new, advanced TSR-310 and HR-310 remotes for your Crestron control system. These are not your average complicated remotes though – they are designed to be customized for you.

This blog has now been updated; you can view this updated post here.

When you think of home automation and smart home technology, do you imagine something that sounds both complicated and expensive? No doubt the underlying technology is sophisticated, as is most of today's consumer technology upon which we rely every day – like your smartphone.

Most likely, you find your smartphone as a device that is not complicated to use, and a boon to your daily life. That's because the system and apps use technology intelligently to simplify everyday tasks – whether it’s communication, managing your calendar and tasks, getting information on your finances, or the myriad of other things smartphones bring to the palm of your hand.

Home automation sounds complicated, but it is much the same as the smartphone. Some sophisticated technology under the veneer of a simple-to-use interface makes it easy to manage a host of functions in your home. The good news is that home automation systems are not an all-or-nothing thing; you can start small and scale up in functionality and size. It's much like your smartphone: You can do many things in the digital realm with them, but some people stick to basics like communication and taking pictures. You can always add more apps to do more, but you don’t have to.

If you haven’t dipped the proverbial toe into smart home technology, there’s no reason not to. You can start with something as simple as taming the pack of audio-video remote controls sitting on your coffee table. A Control4 home automation system would banish all those remotes in your Alpharetta-area family room to a drawer and replace it with a clean interface that makes your A/V setup work just the way you like it. But of course, it can do much more.

Keep reading to see how a Control4 smart home system can cinch those quick 8-yard slant passes, but also go long for the touchdown, automating your whole house.

Crestron is the oldest name in home automation. For over three decades, the company has been building sophisticated automation systems for home and commercial applications. Starting with control of audio-video systems in the early days, Crestron now offers a broad range of smart home control systems and entertainment – everything from complete whole home audio solutions to home theater, lighting control, motorized shades, home security, climate control, and more.

Crestron is known as one of the most customizable and scalable home automation systems on the market. No matter if your abode is a luxury townhome in Alpharetta or a 10,000-square-foot mansion in Buckhead, there is a Crestron control system that can automate it to your specifications.

Our name is Georgia Home Theater, but it doesn’t describe all that we do. Since 1989, we have been designing and integrating custom technology solutions for homes and businesses in Atlanta and throughout the Southeastern U.S. In the early days, home theaters and audio-video systems were certainly the core of our business. But technology has advanced rapidly, and we have moved just as fast.

Fast forwarding to 2019, our company now delivers a broad array of smart home technology solutions and employs over 30 professionals, and we operate two state of the art showrooms in Marietta and Buckhead. Whether you’re looking for smart home automation, HiFi Audio, a home theater, smart security, or all of the above, we are your one-stop shop for the best equipment, solutions, and services.

Want to get a flavor of what we can do as Metro Atlanta’s leading smart home company? Just read on to learn more.

For over 15 years, Control4 has been a leader in home automation technology. One of its greatest strengths is the breadth of its business. The company does business in 100 countries, its systems interoperate with over 12,000 consumer electronics products, and its channels include 5,700 custom integrators, distributors and integrators. When you choose Control4 home automation for your Roswell or Metro Atlanta house, you know you’re choosing home control technology that will be around for years to come.

Georgia Home Theater is proud to be a Control4 Diamond Dealer and Certified Showroom. We can offer the full line of Control4 home automation solutions from controlling a home theater to automating your lights, motorized shades, lighting, climate control, and much more. We pride ourselves on our service and in delivering a fully integrated solution that works the way you want it.

Recently, Control4 has introduced new capabilities to its system that put even more power in your hands. With the popularity of smart devices, consumers have grown more comfortable with the concepts of controlling smart devices under different scenarios and making them work better together. Traditionally, expert integrators like us would program this automation, as it could get very technical. Control4 decided to open up more of the power of its smart home control systems, making it easy for customers to customize their own automation routines. Control4 calls this new feature “When >> Then.”

You don’t need to use When >> Then to harness the power of Control4 home automation in your Metro Atlanta home. But if you are a bit more technical, and you like to have precise control over many functions in your home, When >> Then is a powerful – yet easy to use – tool to customize your environment. Read on to learn more about the exciting possibilities with When >> Then and Control4’s innovative 4Sight services.