Central Coast Audio Visual

Smart home technology is taking off, but consumers are confused by all the apps needed Read more: http://investorplace.com/2014/08/home-automation-aapl/#.U_zNqPldXXQ

Seen from U.S. 101, northern Santa Barbara County looks to be mostly vineyards and cattle ranches, with majestic oak trees scattered across the dry rolling hills. Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-santa-barbara-fracking-20140818-story.html#page=1

Here's our scoop on this classic California beach town, including ice cream that's basically heaven in a cup Read more: http://www.movoto.com/blog/opinions/move-to-santa-barbara/

Forget sitting in a crowded theater with sticky, dirty floors and talkative moviegoers. Watching movies in the comfort of your own home on a screen just as large as a movie theater equipped with surround sound is becoming increasingly more popular. If money is no object, your home theater can look like anything that strikes your fancy, from the "Pirates of the Caribbean's" Black Pearl to your own personal Bat Cave or just a luxurious home away from home. "The Batman, Pirates and Star Wars-themed home theaters are definitely 'money is no object' theaters," says Lou Cerbone, owner of New York Audio Video Design, based out of LaGrange and Mahopac. "You don't see them that much, but if someone wanted something that crazy, it would be in a really large room. The beauty of home theater is that there are so many different room sizes, and you can design a themed room, or a theater made out of rustic barn wood or an ultra-traditional home theater with ...

Dolby's latest advance in surround sound technology, Atmos, debuted in movie theaters in 2012, but now that it's coming to the consumer market the maximum number of home theater speakers has jumped way up, to 34! Of course, that's at the extreme high-end, most Atmos home theaters will do fine with "just" nine speakers, which is a traditional 5.1 channel home theater array, augmented with four Atmos "height" or "overhead" speakers that will produce a more immersive sound experience with Atmos encoded films, played on an Atmos enabled receiver. Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer, Yamaha and other brands will release Atmos receivers in the coming months. Read more: http://www.cnet.com/news/whats-the-optimum-number-of-speakers-for-your-home-theater-1-to-34-and-counting/

In 2012, Pennsylvania-based Mignatti Cos. was looking for a way to differentiate its new homes and position them as “high-tech,” smart homes with great value. Adding energy management capabilities was also a key to the marketing message the company wanted to create for the homes. After researching possible options, the company added Honeywell’s Tuxedo Touch wireless controller. Read more: http://www.sdmmag.com/articles/88923-builder-differentiates-new-homes-with-automation-security-offering

While almost every other piece of the consumer electronics business has gotten wired and then wireless over the last 10 years, home security systems have remained stubbornly low-tech. Burglar breaks glass, cops get pinged, end of story. When you get home, all you can do is hope your house is still in one piece. That's about to change, and home security systems are becoming as high-tech as the smartphone in your pocket. While the natural progression of technology is partly driving that trend, it's also getting a boost from the housing bust. Read more: http://phys.org/news/2010-10-home-high-tech-counter-housing.html