Viewing entries by
Glen Keoghan
We dont often repost others work on here as we are big believers of communicating our way of doing things and sharing our local thoughts and experience on topics but I read this last night and so many points struck me as being relevant as I recall conversation after conversation with potential clients and clients who get in touch with us after the house is completed asking us to fix issue after issue.
I often get asked home much does a whole home music system cost? I will attement to answer this question here for you.
In the intrests of not trying to write a "War and Peace" length narative of all home audio platforms out there we will just cover several popular music systems. This will give you a good overview and feel for developing a realistic budget.
Before we delve deeper into how much a music system for the house costs I will break down the components that go into making up a whole home audio system as this will make more sense once you understand how a solution is built.
There are generally 4 parts the make up a whole house music system.
One of the first questions potential home automation customers ask when they call our company is: How much does Home Automation cost? Although this is a very difficult question to answer, I will try to do my best here to explain general pricing guidelines.
1: It's going to be complicated and difficult to use.
2: I cant make simple changes myself
3: I did not get what I was promised and it's still not finished
4: I installed a system and now that brand is not manufactured anymore and I cant get parts.
5: Who owns the code? Can you update my system as I cant get hold of the crowd who originally installed the system?
We often get asked if cables are necessary in the age of 'wireless everything'.
The truth is - cables are more necessary than ever.
As a day job, a lot of my time is spent making internet access easier faster and more accessible in every part of the house for my clients and their family members. But with this new 24/7 connected home, there also comes a level of responsibility to help educate parents on how to go about limiting access for some members of the household without affecting others? Why is this important?
Our new Home Tech Experience Centre is now open at 40 Mokoia Rd Birkenhead Auckland. Visit us to experience the latest in home automation and experience an integrated technology living space.
See Apple Homekit in action and experience it in a real world environment.
Check out our Control4 experience with full voice control.
Open 9am-4pm Monday - Friday and Saturday by appointment.
How does smart home security safeguard you?
Our smart home security technology can replace your keys with advanced hardware and proactive cloud technology. With a smart lock integrated into your smart security system, you'll enjoy better access control without sacrificing any convenience.
1. Did I secure the house?
t happens to all of us. You're at work – or a hundred kilometres into your family holiday – and you're suddenly convinced that you forgot to arm your security system or lock the door.
Instead of spending your work hours or relaxation time debating over whether to head home, or to call a neighbour and ask them to check, you can use your Control4 app to put these problems to bed.
We were thrilled to see smart home systems featured on The Block Australia tonight. Ben and Andy brought together heritage features and cutting edge technology in their bathroom reveal. The judges were amazed with the voice activated control of the lights, taps and even a privacy panel in the glass door.
Let's turn our attention to NZ homes. New homes built in the NZ have experienced major changes over the past decade. Better insulation, improved air-tightness, zonal heating and, love it or hate it, massive increases in value.
One part of the home that has not evolved to meet new, modern living standards is your household wiring. It's no exaggeration to say that the majority of new homes are wired no differently than they were back in 1997. Twenty years of unused telephone sockets, two decades of television points being stuck in the corner of the room, twenty years of aerial splitters lurking in the roof and two decades of service providers like Chorus or Sky installing ugly cabling on the outside of your house because no one had the foresight to consider where set top boxes or routers will go.
Amazon's Echo was released in the UK last week, introducing Amazon's Alexa voice assistant into homes across the UK, It's been available in the US for some time but Amazon was not releasing it into other markets for their own reasons. I had heard encouraging things about it from US and UK colleges, and Control4 had released a few drivers for it so when I was in Dallas two weeks ago I grabbed one for myself to put it through its paces in NZ and see if this was a product with potential or a gimmick and if Alexa could work just as well for us Kiwis.
Smart doorbells are the next trend in home automation, and they can be seamlessly integrated into your existing system. Don’t just get alerted when you have a visitor; use high-quality micro-cameras to see who’s on your doorstep right from your smart device — no matter where you are. Here are two connected doorbells you should consider to increase the convenience and security of your smart home.
This is the question of today’s modern digital world. In the past, we would go over to our CD library, pick a few CDs to throw into our CD changer and hit random. Today, music services provide the same fast and friendly use while adding more music than you’d ever want to listen to. But the question remains, which one should you pick? We have gathered our thoughts on the major music streaming services and how they can be integrated into an existing audio system. Before deciding which music service is right for you, ask yourself the following questions:
Home Technology Professional.....
Hello! Is it me you’re looking for? A Lionel Richie classic from the eighties and also a question we ask our new customers.
New builds, renovations and home improvements have involved the same group of tradespeople for decades. Builders, roofers, plumbers, electricians and decorators are just a few of the usual suspects but how many projects use the services of a Home Technology Professional? What is a Home Technology Professional (HTP or Home Tech Pro)?
It’s probably easier for me to describe the kind of services a HTP can provide using scenarios our customers tell of everyday.
It's no secret we are huge Netflix fans here at Smart Installations given we have been helping our customers unlock the benefits of streaming video services long before Netflix entered the NZ market. But there are some cool things in this recent NZ herald article that we thought you might like to know about. I have often marvelled at the library size and often use the search function to find specific content but this little gem will take your searching to a new level.
In the mood for a cerebral war movie? How about a Spanish horror film from the '70s? Or are you down for a binge on bellydancing flicks?
Turns out you can search for very specific things on Netflix.
More than 20,000 codes used by Netflix to categorise TV shows and movies have been revealed by blog site whatsonnetflix.com.
Using the codes allows you to make very specific searches under key subject lines - like 'Werewolf Horror Movies' (75930) or 'Stand-up Comedy starring Cedric the Entertainer' (155).
It works like this: Log into Netflix, then insert your chosen code at the end of this URL: "http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/******"
While Netflix lets you search for films and TV shows using key words, and groups its content into various categories and subcategories, the codes show just how specific the streaming site is when it comes to grouping its content.
Even New Zealand movies gets its own code - 63782. That includes nine films, including Once Were Warriors, Eagle vs Shark and Boy.
Read the full list of codes here.
• Stunts and general mayhem: 3050
• Spanish-Language Horror Movies from the 1970s: 2637
• Critically-acclaimed Cerebral War Movies: 4230
• Coming-of-age Movies for ages 11 to 12: 535
• Werewolf Horror Movies: 75930
• Bellydancing: 3054
• New Zealand Movies: 63782
• Children & Family Movies starring Ashley Olsen: 1329
• Stand-up Comedy starring Cedric the Entertainer: 155
• Suspenseful Action & Adventure starring Wesley Snipes: 3637
- nzherald.co.nz
With the influx of the Internet of Things, many companies are jumping on the home control bandwagon; meanwhile Control4 has been perfecting it for years.
We don't believe that home automation is one off-the-shelf device or app that is designed to control your bedside lamp and another that gives you the ability to ramp up the temperature.
It's about ONE scalable system, with ONE central "brain," and ONE app that gives you the ability to control it all. The great thing about the Control4 HC-250 is that you aren't hooked into a subscription service or required to purchase many additional components to obtain control over the third-party household devices that you already use on a day-to-day basis.
You just might be surprised with what you can get from just one small box. We invite you to take the One Device Challenge, give us a call or drops us an email 0800 021 711 or sales@smartinstallations.co.nz
The search for the strongest wi-fi signal in the home is often a frustrating walk around your house. I've lost count of the amount of customers who have complained to us before we start a job that their wi-fi is only good here, here or here! Wi-fi should be consistently available in all corners of the home, including outside. It's so simple to improve your wi-fi.
Conserving energy at home shouldn't require you to sacrifice comfort or make you feel deprived. Smart energy conservation shouldn't require a change of routine or lifestyle or create a lot of extra work. With an automation system at the helm of your house, you don’t need to be uncomfortable or inconvenienced to conserve energy, as the system is able to operate the lights, thermostats, and other power-hungry devices with the utmost efficiency. The system empowers you to easily shave money
TV distribution is changing, over the years there have been a few options from using RF distribution and using a 'remote extender' to control your Sky box, all done pretty easily and cheaply albeit in standard definition.
However with the latest Sky HD box, the manufacturer has chosen to remove the RF out connection which used to accommodate for such a simple system. The end result is that Sky would like you to have a Sky set top box at each TV, using a multiroom subscription.
