Enhance the Beauty of Your Oahu Property with Smart Lighting

 
While the islands aren’t known for their big seasonal climate shifts, summer is still the perfect time to get out and enjoy all the natural beauty Hawaii has to offer.

Getting out and spending some time in the sun is a blast – but the fun doesn’t have to end when it sets.

Instead, why not make your summer nights special with outdoor cookouts, movies under the stars, and quality time with your property’s backyard and pool areas.

To make it all possible, it may be time to invest in advanced landscape lighting technology. Want to find out more? Keep reading.



See Also: Want a 4K Home Theater System?
 

Types of Fixtures

Landscape lighting is designed to work within a space, not dominate it with clunky components. That’s why many outdoor lighting fixtures are discreet and easily hidden within the natural foliage.

Many systems feature simple, directional lighting that help highlight the areas that you want to showcase. Some can be installed under stairs or along walkways to accent the existing look of your perfectly maintained backyard.

You can also install fixtures within your pool for added safety and beauty.

 

Connecting to Your System

Landscape lighting may exist in the backyard, but that doesn’t mean you have to re-learn how to control everything.

Most systems integrate seamlessly into your current smart home control ecosystem, allowing one-touch commands for every fixture – indoor and out.

Plus, when you integrate with a smart home system, you can set timers, combine controls, install sensors and other smart features that make using your lights a breeze.

 

Environmentally Friendly

Most modern outdoor lighting fixtures feature LED illumination. Those are beneficial for many reasons.

First LED are much more energy-efficient than their incandescent or fluorescent counterparts. They use up to 80 percent of the energy used to light them – unlike the other two which burn off most of the energy as heat.

Due to this, LED can last up to 11 years under normal use. Plus, LED lamps’ less frequent replacement  and recyclable materials means you won’t have to worry about your system’s environmental friendliness.

Exploring the Capabilities

When you add landscape lighting, you don’t just enjoy more lights. You can get the most out of your property and craft a uniquely beautiful look.

From arranging the lights in a beautiful, layered way that accentuates the parts of your yard you love, to adjusting the hue of your LED fixtures for a simple splash of color, there’s plenty to love about learning to use your system.

 
Want to learn more about landscape lighting? Reach out to us here, or just click the button at the bottom of your screen to chat with a real person right now!

Here are 5 Important Things to Consider

You’ve heard a lot about 4K, Ultra HD, and other terms.  You want that razor-sharp picture in your home theater.

Maybe you already have a home theater.  In that case, you may be wondering what you’ll need to upgrade.

If you don’t have a home theater system, the good news is you can plan to get new equipment with less concern about what will be compatible with the old.

Let’s look at five important considerations for achieving 4K home theater nirvana in your Maui home.



 
SEE ALSO: Why Should You Invest in a Professional Home Theater System

 

4K Screens: Flat Panel or Projector?

The traditional approach to a full-on home theater has been a ceiling or rear projection system, but recent trends have developed new options.  Flat Panels are now available up to 100 inches in size, with 75-85 inch models becoming quite affordable.  If you don’t like integrating projectors in your room, a large flat panel may be the way to go.  LED backlight dimming, OLED screen technology, HDR (high dynamic range) and Dolby Vision (Dolby Labs’ special version of HDR) offer incredible sharpness, detail, and black level performance.

Projectors have not been standing still.  There are many models to choose from that offer 4K resolution, but one of the things to watch out for is support for HDR.  Look for models that support both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, or at a minimum are software upgradeable for those features. Ultra short-throw projectors are also a viable option now; these models are more easily installed and calibrated than ceiling mounted or rear projection setups.

4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

The next generation of 4K Blu-ray is here, and the prices of players have come down to mainstream levels. More titles are being released in the 4K format, and many old popular titles are also being released in this format, as has typically happened before when the technology changes.  4K Blu-ray is a must for the best quality picture and sound in a theater.  While an increasing amount of 4K content is being streamed, typically the actual picture quality will not equal local playback from a disc.  Further, streamed 4K content will not have the highest definition sound formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.  Movies in 4K Blu-Ray will particularly wow you with their enhanced contrast and brightness.

4K Streaming

You likely know about streaming devices like Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV.  All these vendors have 4K versions of their devices available now.  Apple, Amazon, and Google have varying amounts of movies and shows in 4K.  They all support HDR, but only Apple TV currently supports Dolby Vision.  Netflix has an ever-growing number of shoes and movies available in 4K.  Movie service VUDU (available on all but Amazon’s Fire TV) has a growing library of 4K movies as well.

AV Receivers and Preamps

If you’ve had a home theater audio setup for a while, chances are it’s not compatible with 4K.  You need support for passing HDCP 2.2 signals, which is the standard for enabling 4K video content.  If your receiver or multichannel preamp is not compatible with this, then it may make for some tradeoffs in your video source switching and audio playback possibilities.  We can guide you through those considerations, and decide whether your current equipment can be used in a 4K theater upgrade.

Networking and Internet

Last but not least, 4K video puts considerable demands on a home network.  If you want to stream or distribute 4K signals around your home – including your theater – you may need a router and perhaps cable upgrades.

If reading this has created more questions than answers, you are not alone.  There’s much to consider in planning a 4K home theater.  Contact us; we will guide you through all the choices to create the perfect Maui home theater for you.

 

We are super excited to have reached the top for each of these manufactures. We have been Lutron and Crestron dealer for over 20 yrs and Control 4 just over 2 years now. On-words and up-words we go.

 
                              

Optimize Your Network Infrastructure For Your Home Technology

We understand how essential your home network is to your lifestyle.

You access it every day, whether it’s to use your smart home technology, browse the internet or watch your favorite shows through streaming services.

When your network is underperforming, it can be a significant nuisance. We’re here to help you.

Below, we explore the solutions to three of the most common home networking problems we encounter in Oahu, Maui and throughout Hawaii.

Just keep reading to explore how you can optimize your home network today.



SEE ALSO: Is Your Network Strong Enough for Your Smart home?

1) Your Internet Access Speeds Are Slow.

It happens all too often: You’re waiting for a webpage to load and it takes far too long to appear, or you’re watching a Netflix video and it pauses halfway through to buffer.

Slow internet speeds are a nuisance to your day-to-day lifestyle, and we find it’s a constant issue for Hawaii homeowners.

So, what’s the underlying problem? It could be that your network can’t support a high amount of internet traffic from multiple devices, meaning available bandwidth is an issue.

Or maybe your network isn’t secure, allowing anyone nearby – including neighbors and passersby – to freely access your internet connection and take up your available bandwidth.

The solution is investing in a secure, password-encrypted network that can support a significant amount of simultaneous internet traffic; whether it’s from your smart home technology, mobile devices or computers.

2) You Get Spotty Wi-Fi Reception In Certain Areas.

Often, we will take on home networking projects in which the homeowner struggles to get wi-fi signal in certain parts of the property.

When we evaluate the network infrastructure, we’ll typically notice one router that provides the entire property with internet access. If this seems like a familiar issue to you, you’re not alone.

You shouldn’t expect one router to distribute wi-fi throughout your entire property thoroughly.

Instead, add wireless access points that extend internet signal to the hard-to-browse areas of your home. That way, you can enjoy high-speed wi-fi in every corner of your house.

3) You Aren’t Monitoring Your Network.

Not everyone has the time to review the status of their home network thoroughly.

But without occasionally monitoring your network, you could be missing out on critical firmware updates or threats to the well-being of your system.

That’s why Pacific Audio & Communications is here to help you. We can continually monitor your Hawaii home’s networking solution for you and ensure it’s always performing at optimal speed.

Should any threats arise, we will proactively assess and handle them for you. That way, you can sit back and enjoy your day-to-day network usage without worrying about security and infrastructure.

 
Interested in learning more about our professional home network installations for Oahu and Maui, Hawaii residents?

Reach out to our team of networking experts today by clicking here.