Home automation and audio-video technologies are, by their nature, flashy and exciting. Unsurprisingly, many AV companies in the Greater Boston area offer deals, promotions, and promises just as glitter. Because of this, selecting an AV company might seem overwhelming. How can you separate the substance from the hype?

Whether you’re shopping for a Sonos multi-room speaker system or full-scale automation for your new home, here are a handful of questions that you should ask before choosing an audio video company.

Do They Value Customers’ Time?

Home automation and related technologies make life more efficient. If the process of installing and maintaining these smart home systems becomes time-consuming, though, how “smart” is it, really? A quality AV company makes customers’ lives easier. This could mean guaranteed response times, skilled email and phone support, or top-flight preventive maintenance to head off problems before they begin. A truly excellent audio video company ensures that you enjoy your in-home technology as much as possible.

Are They There When You Need Them?

If you need help operating your home technology, your audio-visual company should be there for you. Look for skilled service managers and technicians who are available when you need them. A leading audio video company will offer comprehensive phone and email support and remedy issues through remote diagnostics. When on-site AV service is needed, choose a company that offers guaranteed response times. Life can’t be put on hold until the next available appointment. The best AV companies know this and are there when you need them.

Do They Listen to You?

Look for an AV consultant who is interested in your needs, not just the services they can sell. One of the first questions they should ask is, “What do you need your home to do that it’s not currently doing?” A great AV company will ask the right questions and create innovative solutions for your home, lifestyle, and budget.

2018 Hex vom Dasenstein. Baden.

Just lovely. Light color, plenty of glycerin, and medium-bodied. This wine has a nose of strawberry and soy with more strawberry plus cherry, black tea, and forest floor in the mouth. It’s finish is long, slightly sweet, and peppery. This wine went very well with our ratatouille and Moroccan lamb stew. The bottle is embossed and hand-painted, and at USD $21, this is a bargain!

Thanks again to friend Luiz Alberto for suggesting many years ago that I drink Spätburgunder more often. I am consistently delighted!

As your Boston leader in home automation and smart home solutions, AVD is redefining what it means to work smart right here at our Westwood headquarters! In the past year, we’ve taken bold steps to change the way we work. By focusing on better, not bigger, we’ve saved space, reduced waste, empowered our employees to work more efficiently, and enriched our customer experience here in Westwood. Curious how we’ve done it? Read on!

A Digital Leader Ditches Paper

An industry-leading home electronics company going digital? It makes sense to us! Over the past year, AVD has become a paperless workplace. By converting all of our documents and records to digital, we’ve realized twofold benefits. First, we’ve eliminated the need for dozens of file cabinets and bankers’ boxes, reclaiming that square footage for a more valuable purpose. Second, by going digital, we’ve greatly reduced our company’s paper waste. Whenever we’re in a position to help the environment, that’s something everyone here can get behind.

Thinking (and Working) Outside the Box

AVD employees increasingly take advantage of flex work and telecommuting options on the job. In addition to facilitating a healthy work-life balance for our team members, this sort of flexibility in scheduling has allowed us to combine and reduce employee workspaces here at headquarters. Gone are the accounting bunkers and cavernous warehouses of old. Through remote work and Just-in-Time ordering, we’ve reduced our accounting and warehousing footprint by half. So, who’s benefitting from all this streamlining? We’re glad you asked!

Winning Big by Thinking Small.

By going paperless and streamlining our accounting and warehousing operations, AVD is now operating more efficiently than ever. With all the resources and space we’re now saving, we’ve been able to give back. Not only are we producing less waste, which is better for our planet, but we’ve been able to donate 30 filing cabinets to a local police station and contribute office desks and chairs to a customer’s start-up. Perhaps the biggest winner, though, is the AVD customer. Thanks to our reduced footprint, we’ve expanded and enhanced our Westwood Experience Center. Here, customers and those who advise them—architects, designers, and builders—can immerse themselves in the technologies and systems we offer. At the Experience Center, customers can see, hear, and touch our full range of products. Hidden TV’s, automated lighting and shading, incomparable speakers, home theater fixtures, and more: everything is on display. In reducing and reimagining our workspaces, we’ve EXPANDED our customer experience. As far as we’re concerned, there’s NOTHING smarter than that!

2019: The Year of the Television?

TV’s reigned supreme at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Today’s AV consumers have witnessed a remarkable television evolution in their lifetimes. When furniture-cased models and their massive projection descendants gave way to flat screen technology, we marveled at displays that seemed like science fiction made real. TV manufacturers are still pushing the boundaries of what’s possible— with truly remarkable results. Curious? Read on to discover some of the jaw-dropping new TV technology unveiled in Las Vegas.

LG Is On a Roll

Want a TV that’s only there when you need it? LG’s Signature OLED R rises to the challenge— literally. Capitalizing on OLED’s inherent flexibility, OLED R rises from its sleek aluminum case with the touch of a button, spooling back into hiding when not in use. When its stunning display is retracted, OLED R capably serves as a Bluetooth sound system. With 4.2-channel Dolby Atmos audio, audiophiles won’t be disappointed! If you prefer state-of-the-art audio video with a minimalist aesthetic, start saving for OLED R’s arrival (late 2019).

8K TV’s: Is It Upgrade Time?

8K TV’s made waves at CES 2019, but are they worth the investment? 8K refers to a television’s resolution— specifically, how many pixels its display contains. More pixels result in a clearer, more lifelike picture. For TV’s over 40-inches, 4K, with nearly 4,000 horizontal pixels, is now the industry standard. With 8,000 horizontal pixels, 8K is a whopping improvement on the industry standard. Up close, the pixels of an 8K display are virtually impossible to distinguish, resulting in a video that’s incomparably clear and bright. Read about Sony’s 8K technology.

LG, Samsung, Sony and others will bring 8K to US audio video consumers in 2019, but is it worth the investment? While 8K is a remarkable technical achievement, it’s important to remember that none of the programming we love (films, live sports, streaming content, etc.) is available in 8K yet, and this isn’t likely to change soon. Also, you’ll need a really big TV (think 80+ inches) to notice any real difference between 4K and 8K. So, unless you have one heck of a living room, it’s probably sensible to admire this technology from afar, at least for now.