Signs It’s Time To Upgrade to a Home Theater

Signs It's time to upgrade to a home theater- Sacramento CA

Five Signs It’s Time to Upgrade to a Home Theater

There’s nothing quite like having the house that everyone loves to come together at. Whether it be birthdays, holidays, or weekend events, it’s important to be proud of the home you’re in—a place where you can make new memories with the whole group. Home theaters have become increasingly popular, allowing families and friends to get together without going to the theater. But how do you make the decision to invest in a home theater system? Well, if you’re on the fence about it, consider these five signs it’s time to upgrade to a home theater. You can always contact Specialized Audio and Video in Sacramento for an estimate on our professional audio and video services. 

You’re Ready for The Financial Investment

While you’re eager to have your home theater up and running, it’s a good idea to budget for a home project like this. You’ll need a new television, surround sound, home theater chairs, and more. The average cost for professional wiring a home theater’s components is about $400. Of course, this can increase based on the size of your room and the components that will be necessary to complete the project.

Your Television is Outdated

Today, 4K TVs are the new best thing. If you haven’t purchased a new smart TV in the last year, it’s likely your television is already outdated. 4K is the new HD, and it’s definitely what it’s all cracked up to be. Our video equipment specialists highly recommend making the upgrade for your new home theater. The type of television you choose will make or break your new home theater. Read our most recent blog post about the Pros and Cons About UHD TVs.

If you’re hoping for a screen larger than 80″, you might want to think about investing in a home theater projector instead. It’s important to keep in mind that you’ll need a clean, white surface to project the image upon. If you have the necessary space, a projector will transform your room into a theater-like environment. Also, think about how you’ll exhibit your films to your audience. If you’re streaming, be sure your internet connection is up to speed.

Time for Better Surround Sound

Having the most up-to-date technology to produce the greatest picture possible is one component of a fantastic home theater, but having movies with excellent sound is the other component. If you’re in the market for a new sound system, it might be time to consider upgrading your living room to a home theater. One reason is that your movie sound can be contained in a single dedicated room rather than being broadcast across the entire house. Ensure that your room is soundproofed before cranking up the volume. This will ensure that you and your visitors can enjoy the movie without disturbing anyone else.

After that, you’ll want to locate a sound system that’s appropriate for your needs. Consider investing in surround sound since it will make you feel as if you are truly in the movie you are now watching. Contact Specialized Audio and Video to learn more about our audio and video products.

Ready for a Designated Space to Relax

Installing a home theater really elevates the overall house. Many Sacramento homes are designed to have the kitchen and living room connected. This can take away from the home theater experience. Our friends at Tureks Plumbing, a home remodeling company in Fox Valley, highly recommend investing in this home renovation project. This can raise the value of your home. Plus, who wouldn’t want a home theater? Investing in a home theater will give you a designated space to relax and unwind with family and friends. Finding the ideal seats might even make going to the movies a much more enjoyable experience than going to a regular movie theater. Our audio and video experts can help you custom design your home theater however you’d like.

Ready to Be the Hostess With The Mostest

With a home theater, you’ll most likely be the place where everyone wants to be. If you’re ready to host fun and engaging gatherings, it’s time to consider investing in a home theater system. Are you the type of family who loves watching the latest movies and television series? You need a new home theater! Pro tip: In order to truly replicate the theater experience, consider investing in a popcorn machine so that you may have a freshly popped snack while watching your show. 

Contact Specialized Audio and Video

Whatever the motivation may be, a home theater is a fantastic upgrade that will provide years of entertainment for friends and family. In your new home theater, you may relax and watch your favorite movie in luxury. Are you interested in home theater system installation? Specialized AV can help you with your audio and video needs. Contact us today to schedule an estimate!

 

Common Home Theater Problems

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Common Home Theater Problems

Home theater systems are the best for entertainment. However, when you have too many wires and devices, it can be hard to troubleshoot when things go wrong. Our Specialized Audio and Video team have experienced quite a few problems in our many years in the audio and video industry. Fortunately, we’ve picked up a few tricks along the way. Below, we discuss the common home theater problems Sacramento homeowners come across.

Home Theater: No Sound At All

One of the most common home theater problems users experience is no sound at all. If your speakers aren’t producing any sound, you’ll want to unplug your receiver from the power supply. The good news is that it is highly rare that you have experienced a total device failure. That would require every single speaker in your system to go out at the same time, which is unlikely. The next step is to ensure that your audio and video receiver is properly paired. If you’re using bare wire, make sure it’s firmly held down by the binding post screws, with no apparent excess wire. Assuming everything is in order and properly paired, the next best guess is that the issue is with a setting in your receiver’s program. 

Navigate to the on-screen configuration menu and begin experimenting with various speaker settings. In certain cases, you may need to manually allocate speakers to specific channels. In others, the source material may be incompatible with the speaker setup you have. Regardless, experimenting with various settings can easily solve this problem. In certain cases, a total loss of sound is the simplest issue to fix.

Home Theater: My Surround Speakers Aren’t Working

Okay, this may seem obvious, but if your surround sound speakers aren’t working, try increasing the volume. In certain cases, audio and video may be lower on certain devices. Go to the receiver’s menu and see what the settings are.

If that doesn’t fix the problem, it’s time to dig deeper into your source material. The question you must ask is if your source material is capable of 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. If you’re listening to music through your receiver, it’s unlikely that most songs are only combined for two channels, not five or seven. Surround sound is becoming more common in movies and television shows, but it is not always present. If this is the case, you may need to configure your receiver to convert a 2.1 mix to 5.1 or higher.

Receiver settings vary, but you should be able to find this choice under something titled DSP Settings or something similar. Again, experiment with various settings to see if it makes a difference. You can always test a source that you know is capable of full surround sound to see if your receiver or speaker is the issue.

Home Theater: Staticky Speakers

Static is almost often an indication of a problem with the speaker connection. A wire may have become dislodged from its original place, and all that is needed is for you to wiggle it back in. Is the problem still not resolved? To further investigate the staticky speakers, we need to know if the static presents all the time or sometimes? If so, what exactly are they? Changing out different sources is a smart way to narrow down your choices.

If you’re using a Blu-ray player, try a different one or watch something on a streaming service and see if the static repeats itself. The process of elimination should assist you in determining which component of your system is causing the issue. If you use a power amplifier with your receiver, you can discover that the problem is with the link there, which is much more common than you would expect.

In the end, dealing with static is almost always a problem with a loose link, and once you know where it is, it’s pretty simple to repair. Unless, horror of horrors, your speakers blew because they were mismatched with your amp. You should review this guide to ensure that this does not happen again.

Home Theater: No Bass

Check out the frequency settings if your home theater has no bass. Setting your subwoofer’s crossover will also make a significant difference in how your bass is viewed. Begin at 80Hz and work your way up. If you still aren’t hearing bass in your surround system, it may be a connection issue. When interacting with subwoofers, there are a few things to keep in mind. Traditionally, the most popular locations for a subwoofer are in a room corner, away from the walls. 

Contact Specialized Audio and Video

As you can see, there are quite a few home theater problems. One way to avoid all of these problems is by hiring a professional audio and video company. DIY audio and video usually end up taking more of your time and money. Specialized AV in Sacramento is happy to help with your audio and video services. Give us a call today for a free consultation on our home theater design. 

Conference Room Technology

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Conference Room Technology

The conference room is usually the first thing you see when you walk into a corporate office. As a business owner, you should want to make a good first impression. When you walk into a corporate office, and you see a standard definition TV on a wobbly cart, you’ll know that they’re not committed to innovation and efficiency. Similarly, if you step into a conference room and see a 4K TV perfectly flush with the wall, you’d be impressed. In this article, our audio and video specialists discuss conference room technology must-haves.

4K Television

There are many items you can justify purchasing— furniture, computers, appliances. Unfortunately, a non-negotiable is a decent television. A large shared screen is needed for video conferencing and business presentations to function properly. And, though they are more costly, 4K TVs are significantly better than their 1K counterparts. Even if you don’t use the TV to play full 4K video, having 4K resolution is worth it.

If you can afford a 4K TV, you can possibly afford to hire an audio and video company in Sacramento to install it on the inside of the wall as well. This restricts easy access to the HDMI ports in the back, but if you use a wireless presentation solution, providing easy access to the HDMI ports is not needed.

Telephone

Although many of us use our smartphones to call people, landlines are still important. The telephone is here to stay, and you will undoubtedly need one for your conference room. You’ll need telephones that can provide clear audio, link several lines at once, and has hands-free capabilities (speakerphone and microphone included). Pro tip: avoid purchasing cheap telephones from Amazon. Instead, contact an audio specialist near me. 

Projector

If your meetings are regularly attended by more than 20 people, a 4K TV, no matter how beautiful it is, might not be enough. Consider purchasing a projector and turning an entire wall into a movie screen. Aside from providing a larger picture, today’s conference room projectors also provide more light. They work clearly in both dark and lit spaces and are small enough to be portable. High-end 4K projectors will cost as much as $10,000 or even $20,000, so definitely consult with an audio and video specialist to see if this is a necessary purchase. 

Sound

Purchasing a 4K TV or projector without also purchasing a good sound system may be counterproductive. If the sound is muffled, the amazing 4K resolution would be even less impressive.

It’s necessary to make sure that the sound is good on both ends. So, in addition to speakers, you may want to invest in a few microphones and place them strategically around the conference table. Our friends at Headwaters Constructin Inc., a tilt-up construction company, recommend having your sound installed when initially building your conference room. This makes the sound that much better.

Wireless Presentations

Without a wireless presentation solution, your conference room isn’t complete. A corporate conference room that relies on cables and wires to link laptops to the TV or projector is simply not feasible in today’s world. To accommodate any laptop that enters the room, you’d run out of outlets. If you tried to use all wires and converters at the same time, your conference room may spark. It is always best to go wireless these days.

Contact Specialized AV 

If you need help with making your dream conference room come to life, contact Specialized AV in Sacramento. Our team will help you choose the right brands for your conference room. We’re happy to provide you and your business with an estimate on our services. 

The Benefits of Surround Systems

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The Benefits of Surround Sound Systems

A surround sound system is a must in every home. Improved sound quality improves the home entertainment experience significantly. With the assistance of a professional Sacramento audio and video company, you’ll be able to determine which device is best for you and properly install it. Not sure if you need surround sound in your home? Read the following to learn about the different benefits of surround sound systems.  

Surround Sound Creates a More Immersive Atmosphere

You may think a big flat-screen TV is all you need for watching the big game, but the acoustics are just as important. A surround sound system makes you feel as if you were there. The visual is brought to life by the use of surround sound. When your team scores a touchdown, you’ll hear everything. To make content more entertaining to watch, a surround sound device provides music depending on where it is coming from—behind you, to your right, to your left, and so on.

Exceptional Sound Quality

With a home surround sound system, you’ll be able to tailor the audio to your needs for customized sound quality. Surround sound offers a richer tone as well as the ability to customize the treble and bass settings. These settings are simple to update with a few dial adjustments or positioning changes. Increased sound quality from surround sound enhances the viewing experience.

Enjoy the Benefits of a Movie Theater

Enjoy the consistency of a movie theater experience without the inconveniences that come with it. With the advanced features of a personalized theater, you can enjoy the privacy and comfort of your own home! A cinematic home entertainment experience may appear to be a lavish pipe dream, but it is not as expensive as you may believe. Surround sound is becoming more affordable and accessible to the average homeowner thanks to advances in technology. It comes with a number of customizable features to fit a wide range of budgets.

Contact Specialized Audio and Video

If a home surround sound system is something you’re interested in, contact Specialized AV! We will help you decide which system best fits your needs and give you the best estimate. For safety reasons, it’s important that a professional install your sound system. Schedule with us today! Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date with our latest news!

Causes of Slow WiFi

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Causes of Slow wifi

Slow wifi can be extremely frustrating, especially if you work from home. Unfortunately, there’s no one way to fix slow wifi since there are so many different potential causes. If you’ve tried troubleshooting but can’t seem to fix the problem, consider the following causes of slow wifi. For immediate assistance, you can always contact Specialized Audio and Video in Sacramento.

Wrong Spectrum Band

Wireless networks operate on two primary frequency bands: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. These frequency bands have an effect on how far and fast data can move over wifi. The 2.4 GHz band provides slower speeds over a greater distance, while the 5 GHz band provides faster speeds over a shorter distance.

As a result, if you want the best wifi speeds, our AV experts always use the 5 GHz band. Experts agree that the more devices you have connected, the slower your WiFi will be. As a result, you can save the 5 GHz band for your most-used devices, such as your laptop.

If you have a dual-band router, you can only use both frequency bands. This router allows you to have two separate wifi networks – one for each pair. You can configure each of these networks to have its own name and password.

To find out if your router supports both wifi bands, go to the router’s settings tab. Then, ensure that both of your bands are turned on. You can also find the name and password for your 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks from this page.

Not Enough Bandwidth

The overall amount of data that can be transmitted over a network at any given time is referred to as bandwidth. That means that if someone on your network makes a video call, streams a movie, or downloads a large file. It can cause your wifi to slow down.

Open the Task Manager to see which tasks are consuming a lot of bandwidth on your Windows device. You can do this by right-clicking on the Taskbar at the bottom of your screen. Then, from the pop-up menu, choose Task Manager.

Once the Task Manager is open, you can sort your tasks based on how much bandwidth they use by clicking on the Network column’s header. If you discover any tasks that are consuming an excessive amount of bandwidth, pick them and press End Task.

If you’re using an Apple device, you can use the Activity Monitor to identify tasks that consume a lot of bandwidth. To do this, navigate to the Applications folder and open the Utility folder. Then, at the top of the window, open the Activity Monitor and pick the Network tab.

To find the most bandwidth-intensive applications, sort by bytes (data) or packets sent or received. Then, at the top of the window, press the “X” to terminate any running processes.

Router is Outdated

One of the simplest ways to improve your weak wifi link is to replace your old router. In general, newer routers can have faster wifi than older models. This is due to the fact that older routers are typically unable to support newer wifi requirements. Ask our audio and video service experts which wifi router best fits your needs.

The Router is in the Wrong Place

If you have a new router but are still experiencing wifi “dead zones,” you should consider moving your router. Since router signals move in an outward radius, placing your router in a central position rather than a corner would provide better coverage.

Wifi signals can be transmitted both vertically and horizontally. This means you should keep your router in an elevated spot, such as on top of a bookshelf, or place it on a wall. Water and metal objects, on the other hand, block wifi signals, so keep your router away from refrigerators and fish tanks. It takes trial and error to find the optimal router placement, so test your wifi signal strength in various areas before deciding on a final location for your router.

Network Driver is Outdated

Your device uses a network adapter to link to the internet, which is supported by network drivers. These network drivers allow your computer’s hardware and software to communicate with one another.

Windows Update automatically installs the most recent network drivers on your device. However, these network adapter drivers can go missing, become out of date, or become incompatible with your current device. This can cause your wifi to lag.

If you have Windows 10, you can manually update your network driver by typing “network driver” into the Windows search box (the magnifying glass icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen). Then, in the search bar, select Device Manager and press the Open button. Right-click on the network adapter you want to update in the Device Manager menu and select Update Driver.

If you own a Mac, Apple can manage both device and driver updates. To ensure that your drivers are up to date, go to System Preferences. Then, pick Software Update and press the Update Now button. If you don’t see this option, your Mac is current.

Hire an Audio and Video Company

If you’re still unsure about your slow wifi connection after reading the article above, hire a professional. They can diagnose the problem and provide you with a quick solution. Our Specialized Audio and Video team is more than happy to help restore your wifi or improve the connection altogether. Learn more about our premium products and services today! Don’t forget to leave us a Google Review!

Planning Your Server Room

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Tips for Planning Your Server Room

In setting up a server room for your computer network, there are two important things to bear in mind: security and effectiveness.

You can spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars toward the best equipment but if you fail to house your server and related equipment in a suitable environment, you can end up shortening its lifespan — or worse, damaging your server.

Determining the Ideal Location for Servers

There are a few critical factors that you need to consider in determining a suitable place for your server.

First, you have to ensure that there is sufficient room for the area that will house your servers. That does not simply mean that the area you choose should have enough space for the equipment. You should also leave ample room for access to the cables of the computers.

If space is not an issue, it is highly recommended that you add another computer in the server room. This computer can be used for the configuration of the internet access, performance monitoring, and other tasks.

Prior to the installation of the server, it is a good idea to draw up a basic layout of the room. It does not need to be complicated but it should be highly detailed. Highlight the location of each component of the system and label each cable.

Designing Your Server Room

In planning the room, the first thing that you need to do is to get a fair idea of the space you will require. Make sure that you also take into account the space requirements of cabinets and racks. It is also highly recommended that you put a chair, table, and storage in the server room. Finally, remember to make allowances for the addition of new equipment in the future.

Then, go back to your initial plan for the room. When you have a clear layout for the room, the next thing that you need to do is to reconfigure the electrical set up of the room. Perhaps, you may need new electrical outlets or an upgrade of the ventilation. Enlist the help of an electrician or an HVAC professional if modifications need to be done.

Once the setup is complete, make sure that your staff knows that the room you have chosen now houses the server and is no longer used for its former function. Finally, make sure that access to the room is limited to prevent problems later on.

If you’re interested in Specialized AV’s audio and video services, contact us today! We’ve been proudly serving Sacramento valley since 2003.