Home theaters are the best way to enjoy movies, TV shows, documentaries, sports games, and even video games from the comfort of your own home. There’s no more need to drive to the theaters to watch something on a large screen with crisp detail and immersive surround sound — that can now be achieved right at home.

One of the best things about owning a home theater is customizing the design, layout, and technology. With the help of a professional and experienced home theater company, you can build an excellent home theater. Here are four benefits of having a custom home theater in your Sandy Springs, GA, home.

We’ve written before in our blog about how there is no shortage of intelligent home devices and technology available wherever you look. For that matter, there is no shortage of smart home companies and integrators in the home technology space right here in the Atlanta area.

What distinguishes one company from another? How do you choose a smart home partner that understands all aspects of home technology? In this blog, we'll seek to answer those questions and to tell you why GHT Group should be top of mind for your next home technology project.

SEE ALSO: How Do You Choose a Smart Home Company?

We adapt to technology quickly, perhaps more than we realize. In the past 25 years, life has changed markedly with the onslaught of the Internet, which continues to connect not just people but almost every facet of our lives.

Sometimes, people rue the effect of technology on their lives and long for the "good old days" before it came along. They complain about the impact of technology, that all our "interconnectedness" makes too much of a 24/7 world.

However, technology can also enhance our lives in ways far better than the “good old days.” One of the latest features of LED lighting and lighting control is color-tuned lighting, and it promises to make your home’s lighting more natural and attuned to your daily rhythms.

It’s called human-centric lighting, and it’s brought to your Roswell home by Lutron, a pioneer in lighting control since the good old days. Read on to see how Lutron lighting control can enhance your wellness at home.

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.

If you are a Control4 system owner, congratulations. We don’t need to tell you about the convenience it brings to managing your home. And if you use advanced features like Mockupancy, you appreciate the extra peace of mind you get from the added security as well. Whether you use all of what the system can do or just a subset of it, your home is a lot smarter.

Like any technology, it sometimes needs maintenance and updating. We’re already accustomed to updates with manual and automatic updates on computers, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and many other popular smart devices. A comprehensive smart home system like Control4 is no exception; it occasionally needs some help to fix glitches and keep it running the way it should.

With such a powerful home automation system, you may also want additional capabilities added to your home as well. It might be an outdoor audio zone, expanded lighting control for a wing of your house, or simplified control of a new media room AV system. Any of those might involve some hardware and software and some integration to make it seamlessly blend into your existing setup.

So, where do you go for all of that? You aren’t required to go back to the dealer that installed the system if you don’t want to. Georgia Home Theater is your local Control4 Pinnacle Dealer (yes, that is the top tier) with a Control4 Certified Showroom in Marietta, and we’ve made significant investments to represent the best of smart home technology, audio, video, and more to offer you a complete “one-stop-shop” for all your home technology needs.

Read on to see how Georgia Home Theater can keep your Control4 system in top shape.

According to recent data from the National Association of Home Builders, 7-12% of the budget for home remodeling projects go toward electronics. Whether you’re doing a major remodel or a new build for your client, it’s no secret that smart home control and automation are high on homebuyer lists.

One of the most frequently requested smart home features is lighting control. Perhaps there is little surprise to that; lighting control is a feature whose merits are easy to grasp. It adds convenience for managing lighting throughout the house, can save energy, and can be an effective security feature as well.

So when you are building, moving walls, replacing cabinets, plumbing, and redoing electrical wiring, that is the perfect opportunity to integrate the infrastructure for lighting control. When it comes to lighting control, Georgia Home Theater recommends Lutron lighting control for your Dunwoody projects.

Read further to learn why adding Lutron lighting control is a smart business decision.

If you are an existing A/V Technology Solutions client, Georgia Home Theater would like to extend you a warm welcome to our family. Recently the two companies have joined forces, giving us even more resources across the Atlanta area to better serve you for all your home technology needs. We are particularly excited to add A/V Technology’s expertise with Control4 home automation systems, giving us an even stronger programming and support team for Control4 projects. 

As an A/V Technology customer, what does this mean for you? Don't worry; it means you have a stronger, larger company to continue serving your AV and technology automation installations as well as upgrades and additions. Keep reading to see how. 

If you read any of our blogs, you know Georgia Home Theater represents a wide range of high-end home technology brands across audio, video, home automation, automated shading, lighting, and more. In smart home automation, we work with two top-tier solutions, Crestron and Control4. And on these pages, we’ve written extensively about why we think both are the most comprehensive systems available today for smart homes.

You may ask, where do Google Nest and their smart home ecosystem fit into what we do? First, many people love Nest thermostats and want them in their homes, both for their functionality and elegant design. They can be integrated well with a Control4 or Crestron system too.

But Google Nest ecosystem includes other smart home products, including smart cameras, video doorbells, and smart speakers. For some of our customers not looking for a full-blown home automation solution, these products are an excellent solution with a strong value proposition.

Here’s where Georgia Home Theater comes in. While the Google Nest product suite can be a DIY affair, not everyone likes to put all the pieces together or has the time to make it work correctly. In much the same way people have us to mount their TVs and set up AV control systems, as an expert smart home company we can also set up and integrate Google Nest products in your Roswell, GA home. We can ensure your Nest thermostat, smart cameras, and video doorbells work together to solve your home automation requirements.

Is Google Nest the right system for you? Keep reading to get to know more about these smart devices.

SEE ALSO: Why Working with a Smart Home Company is a Smart Move

Last month, we were excited to tell you about the latest Control4 smart home system, OS 3. Control4 did its homework in designing this new software: listening to both existing customers and integrators like Georgia Home Theater, then taking the best features from today’s mobile apps to make this an extremely easy system for daily use.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Judging by the popularity of YouTube, you could say that saying holds ever so true today. Along that line, we'd like to cover some of our favorite features in Control4 OS 3 that really shine - with a tidy how-to video compilation that will give you an excellent feel for how comfortable it is to use.

After you read and watch the tutorials below, you may just want to upgrade your current Control4 system in your Atlanta home. If you don’t have a Control4 smart home, then you’re still in the right place - Georgia Home Theater can customize one for you.

Since 2003, Control4 has been an innovating force in smart home automation. Their systems have always been intuitive, easy to use, and designed so that novice and experts alike can control their home environment effortlessly.

Smart home technology is moving ahead at a breakneck pace. Control4 understands that, and they have not stood still. They’ve listened to Control4 installers like Georgia Home Theater, their customers, and paid attention to the latest advances in the smart home world to build an even better version of the Control4 platform: OS 3.

In OS 3, Control4 made a huge leap forward to make its system even easier to use for homeowners like you. Over 1,000 enhancements have gone into the software to enable the ultimate smart home experience.

What do you need to know about OS 3 for the Control4 home automation setup at your Sandy Springs or Metro Atlanta property? Read on to learn more.

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.

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

Home automation makes controlling your home a simple affair. A touchscreen or your phone can command lights, audio, TVs, thermostats, and more to do your bidding. Sometimes, however, our hands are occupied. Sometimes our phones are recharging, or taking it out will immerse us in the thirty notifications we missed. At those times, we might just want to bark a voice command to get something done. Saying "I'm home," for example, could turn on a combination of lights in key areas and start a music playlist on your multi-room audio system. You might think that you need something like Amazon's Alexa, Google Home, or Apple's Siri to do that – but there's another option.

There’s a new voice home automation service that is going to make it even easier to control your Alpharetta-area or North Georgia home with just your voice. It makes it so easy and seamless that you may find yourself rarely reaching for a remote or your smartphone. It's called Josh.ai, and it will understand what you want to do as well as a personal butler.

You might be thinking at this point: What does Josh.ai do that I can’t do with Amazon Alexa or Google Home? Read on to learn how Josh does voice-controlled home automation differently.

The holiday season is upon us, and that means your energy bill is about to skyrocket. And we’re not just talking about the Christmas tree, either. The temperatures here in Metro Atlanta are dropping, and your bank account could be taking a big hit when January comes around.

Smart home technology is intended to make your life easier, and it can take some of the financial weight of the holidays off. (You’ll have to hit the treadmill for anything you gain from feasting on turkey and pumpkin pie.)

Motorized shades are an especially valuable smart home technology when it comes to conserving energy.

Read on to learn how these window treatments can lower the power bill of your Metro Atlanta home during the holidays and year-round.