As the sun rises, so do your shades. The lighting softly shifts from a warm glow as sunshine illuminates the room. Cue a morning wake up soundtrack and the latest news displays – all without effort.   

Your home is a stage for your life, but setting the scene shouldn’t be a herculean effort. With the magic of simpleHome Automation, setting the scene for your best life can be as easy as walking into a room.  

 Understanding Home Automation 

Creating Dream Spaces: Listening to Family Needs 

Personalization is the key to comfort. Your home should cater to the needs of you and your family, from the tools you need to the temperature and environment. With home automation, shifting environmental conditions to meet the needs of your family is easy, ensuring a space that always suits you, . Whether you’re snuggling up for a movie night or cooking a bountiful breakfast, the lighting, sound, and temperature of your space are set for the perfect ambience.  

Father’s Day is a couple of weeks away and if you’re stumped for what to give Dad, we have some gift ideas from our team at AVD. Present the man in your life with a gift certificate for a fully-equipped “man cave”/media room. Or give him one of the items suggested here. And, as man does not live by home electronics, automation and integration alone, we’re offering up some additional thoughts as a way to honor Dad this month – or anytime.

What man cave/media room would be complete without a big-screen TV? Bob Copeland recommends Sony’s new XBR 65A1E OLED Display. John Veloza suggests pairing that with surround sound that works in multiple locations like the Sonos system. Brad Smith suggests one of the Leon Soundbars to be mounted with the TV. Add a subwoofer, says Bob Riddle, and he likes JL Audio. Richard Mullin says an all-in-one remote is essential and recommends the Universal Remote Control. Bob thinks the Savant Pro Remote is a must have for ease-of-use and the coolness factor (just enough to make it fun).

What would our team members like to be gifted – related to business and not related?

Bob Copeland: DAC for Sonos Connect and time with family.

Richard Mullin: Apple TV and a pair of tickets to the new Odyssey cruise ship with dinner aboard.

John Veloza: A Control4 System and an Apple Macbook Pro.

Audio Video Design, a concierge firm for smart home technology, automation and integration, was recognized for professional excellence with a coveted Gold PRISM Award on October 12, 2017.

Hosted by the Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston (BRAGB), the PRISM Awards celebrate the finest projects and outstanding achievements of builders, developers, project owners, architects, land planners, marketing/advertising firms, interior designers, remodelers, and home technology contractors in the Greater Boston building industry.

AVD won a Gold PRISM in the category Best Use of Smart Home Technology  for their Cape Cod Cinematheque project. This year’s PRISM Awards Gala presented awards in nearly 80 different categories to honor accomplishments in the industry.

“We are delighted to have received a Gold PRISM Award from the Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston. In this business it is always a team that earns the honors. No one person can do this by himself. I thank my team here at Audio Video Design for the conscientious attention to detail and dedication to customer satisfaction,” said AVD President, Brad Smith. “We are grateful to our industry partners on this project: interior designer Barbara Kotzen, Kotzen Interiors; and Encore Construction. We enjoyed collaborating with them to create this spectacular home theater.”

BRAGB received almost 300 entries for the PRISM Awards this year, which is the highest number of entries in the program since 2007. A distinguished panel representing various segments of the building industry from across the country performed the judging. For more information about the PRISM Awards please visit www.prism-awards.com

‘Tis the season for giving gifts. It’s not too late to present the technophile in your life with something special from Audio Video Design! We even have great ideas for technophobes, too, because AVD makes your digital home easy.

Listen Up…

• May we recommend speakers from Bang & Olufsen? AVD now carries B&O products and can set them up for you. Our staff has recently finished B&O training, so our customers can relax and enjoy the holiday with great sound.Mid-century modern design lovers rejoice! We think this Beoplay A9 speaker is very cool. It offers 480 watts of powerful sound and wirelessly connects to everything! (B&O) Comes in a few color choices (black, white, and smoked oak. Covers are available in a variety of colors). 
• We have often touted the fun products from BlueSound. We think their wireless speakers bring the party to wherever you are! And we’re excited about their Pulse Soundbar. “The PULSE SOUNDBAR delivers a fully immersive sonic experience that brings any soundtrack to life in vivid, cinematic detail. Designed specifically to fit perfectly under your HD TV, the PULSE SOUNDBAR is the world’s first multi-room high-res soundbar to feature crystal clear, 24-bit resolution and audiophile-grade bass response – without a subwoofer. This is the soundbar your TV deserves.” (BlueSound)

• One of our new product lines, we recommend Golden Ear speakers. For this holiday gift giving season, why not give the Aon2 or Aon3 – exceptionally compact, ultra-high-performance bookshelf speakers that were originally developed for use a near-field monitors in professional mixing applications. Audiophiles, contain your happiness!“The design goal was to produce modestly-sized shelf or stand-mountable speakers that would achieve  accurate high-definition sonic reproduction, with superb three-dimensional imaging, comparable to that achieved by Golden Ear’s award-winning Triton Two Towers. Although they don’t have quite the awe-inspiring bass of the floor-standing Tritons, great care has been taken, and extensive technology has been incorporated, to ensure that the Aons can deliver a remarkably satisfying listening experience without the need for a separate subwoofer.” (Golden Ear)
  

Watch in Style

• Speaking of Bang & Olufsen, we love the BeoVision Avant model from B&O. A celebration of movement, this product is an unforgettable fusion of Ultra High-Definition (4K) picture and the iconic Bang & Olufsen sound that engages your senses.

• We’re also fans of the SonyXBR55930 TV. With its slim backlight Drive+, 4K HDR Processor X1 Extreme and Triluminos display, it looks as great as it works. Design conscious homeowners will love it!
  

And…more to love and share

• We’re also big fans of the products from Paradigm. This Millienia CT2 is high-performance design inspired by the award-winning Paradigm Reference MilleniaOne speakers, winners of Sound & Vision’s Product of the Year. It’s a fully powered audio/multimedia system, no receiver required! (Paradigm)

Happy shopping and happy holidays from everyone at AVD!

Enjoying the last lazy, hazy days of summer? Before you know it, Autumn will be here with football, school and falling leaves. We want you to be ready for what’s ahead with these suggestions for home technology in lighting, window treatments, WiFi and speakers, and finally home networks for computers.

As the weather turns cooler and the days begin to shorten, you can use your automated window treatments to keep the heat in – opposite of summer months when you use shading to keep the heat out and prevent furniture from fading. If you have one of our automated lighting systems with the atomic clock feature, your lights will automatically turn on earlier and adjust when Day Light Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 4th.

Did you know that switching to LED lighting will lower your electric bills? They last much longer and run cooler than other types of bulbs.  LEDs offer great illumination for tasks like cooking and homework. Most programmable lighting platforms have many options for dimming and a variety of colors, too.  So LEDs are cool in more ways than one! Visit the AVD Experience Center and play with our array of lighting solutions.

Turn up the volume: Speakers and WiFi