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Revolutionized User Experience

Crestron believes that the heart of control is the user experience. Through their development of Crestron OS 3, the operating system behind Crestron Home, they put the user first and designed a revolutionized app that’s more responsive, beautiful, and user-friendly than ever before.

From your smartphone or a dedicated Crestron touchscreen, you’ll enjoy a seamless room-based experience, with all devices in that room available at your fingertips. See the status of every room at a glance, tap on a room to make changes, or access custom room and whole-home scenes at the top of the screen to quickly set everything the way you want it at any time.

More Personalization

Add a personal touch to your system by using photos of your home to represent every room—and edit their names and photos when needed. Do you have a lot of rooms in your house but mainly use four or five of them? Room Favorites allows you to select your most frequently used rooms to display at the top of your rooms list for quick and convenient access. The app also features Quick Action items at the top of every room to display what you use most so there’s no need to drill through a bunch of menus.

Crestron Home makes it easier than ever to create and modify smart home scenes, with no programming experience required. You can also seamlessly manage and control multiple properties from the same app. Want to check the status of your vacation home or guest house? Just swipe to your property in the app and adjust the thermostat, check that the security system is armed, and more.

SEE ALSO: What Do You Need for an Epic Media Room?

Retractable TV Mount for Better Views

While it’s best to install your TV so that the center of the display is at eye level, some rooms don’t allow this because of impeding structures like fireplaces. If your TV is installed above a mantel, it may be too high for comfortable viewing. In this case, consider a TV mount, which allows you to pull down the screen manually or with a remote and swivel it to your desired position so that your TV is in perfect alignment with your eye level. When you’re done, a quick button tap puts your TV back in place.

Hidden Display to Keep Eyes on Décor

If your media room also serves as the dedicated space in the house for hosting friends and family, you may not like having a big black wall-mounted screen distracting from your interior design when you’re not watching TV. Instead, consider a TV that transforms into beautifully framed artwork when turned off, like the Samsung Frame. Or conceal the display entirely by opting for a motorized projection screen that hides in a discreet cassette in the ceiling and reveals itself when you’re ready to use it.

Custom Media Furniture to Store Components

AV components stack up fast, causing unwanted clutter and wiring beneath your display. What’s the point of choosing a hidden display if your cable box, Blu-ray player, media server, and streaming device are in plain sight? Media cabinets solve this problem by storing and supporting your gear in a modular, ventilated cabinet that features sliding or removable rear panels for easy access to components and wiring. All that’s left to see is a beautiful, custom-finished credenza.

SEE ALSO: What to Consider When Finding the Perfect Home Projector Screen

A 2.4:1 Cinema Format Screen

First and foremost, you need a projector screen that matches the aspect ratio of the content you plan to watch. For cinephiles, that means a 2.4:1 screen. Because most of the content you’ll be watching in your home theater will be movies and streaming television, you’ll benefit most from this screen size.

You may wonder what this means for 16:9 content, like sports and news. If you also plan to use your home theater to watch the Cubs or keep up with local headlines, you could invest in two motorized retractable projector screens if you want to avoid black sidebars for the occasional 16:9 content.

Plus, when paired with a projector that features an anamorphic lens, you can automatically move between aspect ratios with zero inconvenience.

A 4K Projector with an External Anamorphic Lens

Speaking of an anamorphic lens, what is it? And why do you need one to create a true 4K UltraWide cinema experience? First, “anamorphic” simply refers to the cinematic format technique of shooting a widescreen picture. An external anamorphic lens externally attaches to your 4K projector to stretch or compress an image so that it displays properly based on aspect ratio.

SEE ALSO: Get the Ultimate Control4 Home Automation Experience

What Does Pinnacle Status Signify?

The exclusive Pinnacle status is awarded to dealers who have developed long-standing partnerships with Control4 and have purchased $1 million worth of Control4 products to serve their customers throughout the lifetime of that partnership.

This proud achievement signifies our expansive and proven expertise in programming everything from one-room smart home systems to comprehensive whole-home solutions that meet the unique needs of Chicagoland homeowners.

“Our team at Avidia is proud to be a distinguished Control4 Pinnacle dealer and looks forward to continuing to use Control4 as our primary platform to provide personalized smart home experiences for our customers.” – Matt Cwiokowski, Sales Director, Co-Owner

What Does This Mean for You?

While many Control4 certified dealers are highly technically competent in delivering Control4 smart home solutions, Pinnacle dealers are especially committed to best-in-class design and programming work and have a reputation for providing unparalleled customer satisfaction year after year.

SEE ALSO: Now Is the Perfect Time to Install an Outdoor Speaker System

The Best TVs for Shaded Spaces

The Veranda 4K HDR TV series from SunBriteTV is perfect for areas that don’t see direct sunlight, such as a fully covered patio or outdoor kitchen. Like all SunBriteTV and Séura displays, the Veranda series is specifically built to withstand water, insects, extreme temperatures, and debris. Choose display sizes ranging from 43 to 75 inches and enjoy up to 50% more brightness than standard indoor TVs.

Séura also offers a TV line for shaded areas called the Shade Series 2. These 4K HDR TVs are available in sizes ranging from 43 to 75 inches and boast slightly higher brightness than the SunBriteTV Veranda series (700 nits vs. 400 nits). What’s more, a Séura Shade Series 2 TV comes with a 2-channel outdoor soundbar—though you can purchase a weatherized soundbar from SunBriteTV to fit their displays, too.

SEE ALSO: How to Upgrade Your Outdoor Music System

Discreet Speakers Let Your Landscaping Shine

We love Coastal Source for outdoor audio because of their high-quality performance and cutting-edge weatherproofing technologies. Plus, they offer an array of options for homeowners who want dedicated sound around the patio or evenly dispersed sound throughout their expansive backyard.

Their bullet speakers are winning contenders for homeowners who want to blanket their backyard with high-quality sound without settling for obtrusive components that steal the attention from otherwise beautifully tailored landscaping. These three-inch solid brass speakers mount discreetly among your gardens and foliage, blending with lights and other landscaping fixtures throughout your property.

SEE ALSO: Want the Ultimate Home Theater Experience? Start with Design

The Pinnacle of Architectural Loudspeaker Design

If you’ve experienced MartinLogan’s most ambitious floorstanding hybrid electrostatic loudspeakers, then you likely have a high benchmark for audio performance. Fortunately, you can experience that same level of accuracy and impact from an in-wall speaker when you choose the Masterpiece CI (custom install) speaker series from MartinLogan. The Masterpiece CI series is a tribute to the acoustic innovations of their iconic electrostatic speakers that put MartinLogan on the map.

The Masterpiece CI Statement 40XW in-wall loudspeaker is a testament to this achievement. With 16 tweeters, 16 midrange drivers, and eight woofers arrayed in a line-source design, the Statement 40XW delivers jaw-dropping levels of full-spectrum output even in the largest listening areas.

Its superior components and innovative design eliminate most of a room’s performance-destroying sound reflections, resulting in highly accurate and distortion-free sound. Enjoy a broad, enveloping soundstage with lifelike rendering of the most subtle audio details in all your favorite movies.

SEE ALSO: Want the Ultimate Home Theater Experience? Start with Design

Turn Your TV into Artwork

The Frame by Samsung is a sleek and innovative TV that features 4K resolution and QLED display technology when turned on. When turned off, the magic begins. The Frame transforms into beautiful artwork. The Frame’s Art Mode allows you to elegantly exhibit your personal art collection or any number of works of art from world-renowned institutions. From classic paintings to breathtaking photography, you can revitalize your everyday space with art as soon as you’re done watching TV.

Showcase Your Home Décor

The Frame complements large and small home spaces and blends in with photo or painting collages. You can showcase it as a centerpiece or hang it among your framed artwork and pictures. Say goodbye to messy wires that seep out from your TV to your devices with Samsung’s One Invisible Connection, a single wall-mounted TV cable that discreetly carries AV and power from your TV to the Samsung QLED Connect Box, which can be installed behind the wall in an AV back box or within a media cabinet.

The Frame comes with a variety of customizable bezel colors to fit the style of your room. Their built-in magnets make them easy to change out as you see fit. Choose a conservative screen size at 32 inches or make a statement with the 75-inch model.

Elevate Your Viewing Experience

The Frame isn’t just revolutionary digital art. It’s also an innovative 4K television chock-full of features. Samsung’s Quantum Dot technology reveals over a billion shades of color, bringing images to life from every angle. Its Adaptive Picture technology automatically senses surrounding light and adjusts the screen’s brightness and contrast so that your viewing experience is perfect at any time of day.

SEE ALSO: 3 Signs You Might Need a Home Network Upgrade

The Ultimate Home Cyber Security Protection

Sophos is a multi-layer security software solution that defends all your connected devices. From advanced ransomware protection to AI-powered malware protection with deep learning, Sophos protects your devices from a multitude of threats. Sophos not only secures your Windows or Mac computers but protects your tablets and phones, too.

Powered by artificial intelligence, Sophos is designed as a complete cyber protection system that is always up-to-date on the latest threats and is easily managed from one intuitive cloud-based platform. When you choose Sophos, you receive the same industrial-grade security that’s used by Fortune 500 companies—right at home. Sophos offers expert, 24/7 protection against frustrating phishing attempts, viruses, privacy threats, password theft, risky websites, hacking, and more.

Why It Matters Now More Than Ever

According to IT consultancy Intellectual Point, hackers attack a computer in the US every 39 seconds. Businesses face over 4,000 hacks every day via ransomware alone. As technology advances, hackers are turning to artificial intelligence and machine learning to trigger automated cyberattacks that can compromise secure systems without human intervention. That’s a scary reality to live and work in.

The glut of digital data and continued transition to remote work call for advanced cyber security measures now more than ever. When you sleep on proper cyber protection, you’re not only putting yourself at risk but your employees and business as well, leading to potentially catastrophic consequences. Ensure unwavering protection from cybercrime by working with a professional home network installation company like Avidia.

SEE ALSO: How Many Ways Can You Control the Lights in Your Home?

Tailored Lighting Solutions for Any Size Home

Start small in one room or integrate smart lighting control throughout your entire home with Lutron lighting systems. Lutron offers multiple lighting control solutions perfect for any space and budget. Plus, their control systems are easily scalable, so if you want to begin in the kitchen and bedrooms but expand to other areas later, you can.

Wired and wireless dimmers, switches, and keypads make commanding single or grouped lighting fixtures simple by replacing standard wall switches with dimming and integrated control capabilities. Lutron also works seamlessly with your Control4 home automation system so you can integrate your lights with other devices and control everything from the same interface.

Reap the benefits of tunable lighting that changes in color temperature and intensity to mimic natural light. Ketra tunable LEDs, now part of the Lutron portfolio, can be fine-tuned to color temperatures ranging from 1,400K to 10,000K, bathing your home in the perfect lighting for any task or time of day.