If you love the idea of hearing your music in every room of your Lake Oswego home, then a whole house audio system should be something you are considering. These days, audio technology gives us many choices for that, but there are pros and cons to any solution.

How do you make a decision? Several factors will determine in which direction you'll want to go. The first, as almost always, is budget. There are a plethora of speaker options for whole home audio, from straightforward wireless speakers to high-end audiophile speakers and distribution systems. The second criteria may be how much you care about sound quality.  Many solutions deliver good sound quality, and some higher end ones will clearly be a cut above the rest. The other main decision is the interface.  How will you access your music? Do you want to use your smartphone or tablet, or would you like a dedicated controller? Do you want redundant controls like wall-mounted keypads or a traditional AV remote? Do you want to call up your music on a large TV screen?

For the right way to think about these considerations, just keep reading.

Whether you’re trying to avoid tripping over shoes left at the foot of the stairs or illuminating the perimeter of your property, lights can help make your nights a little safer. Featuring both indoor and outdoor solutions, Control4 Smart Lighting can brighten up your home with ease. Thanks to centralized control, customizable configurations, When >> Then personalization, and more, you’ll never have to walk into a dark room or yard again.

How can Control4 keep your Portland home safe? In this blog, we’ll explore the important role your lighting automation system plays in the safety and security of your home.

When you think of an intercom you probably imagine a clunky eyesore with limited capabilities circa 1985 and, given the technology we have today, it’s not something you'd expect to consider as an upgrade for your home. But with so many new ways to communicate, we need to redefine the “com” in intercom. That’s exactly what Control4 has done with Intercom Anywhere. Not only does Intercom Anywhere let you speak with anyone in any room, but it also lets you see and control what’s going on in your home while functioning as a highly effective video doorbell. Read on to find out all the things it can do for you.

Home networking might seem to be simple. With a modem to access your Internet service, and a router — both often provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) — you can get wireless networking in your home, both between devices and connecting to the Internet. But if you have a larger home or have many smart devices, the standard solution from your ISP may not work well in all areas. While there may be settings you can tweak in your router to improve performance, networking is a very technical area, and few consumers know how to do this, or fix something when it doesn't work. Indeed, some consumers don't even know how to change the initial default password for their wireless network – which is a security hazard waiting to happen.

The number of smart devices that are being connected to home networks is exploding every year. Smart lights, cameras, speakers, thermostats, appliances, streaming devices, and TVs all need robust networking for proper operation. You may not even remember how many devices you depend on that are connected to your network. But when the network falters, you end up noticing. Your high definition and 4K video may buffer incessantly or freeze, your smart speaker can't do anything because it lost its connection, or your smart camera can’t send any alerts video feeds. More serious issues might come up, like being unable to operate your smart lock — hope you have the key!

If you have a smaller house or perhaps can tolerate the occasional hiccups from your network, maybe you can get by without professionally installed and optimized home networking. But if you want to run a smart home with many devices, you rely on your network for security features, and you need high bandwidth for work and entertainment at home, you would be wise to consider professional installation services and equipment for your home network.

At Encore Audio-Video, we work with Pakedge for installing high-performance home networks in Portland, OR. Why? Because Pakedge is part of Control4, our smart home solution partner, and they offer business-class performance for your home networking needs. Read on to learn more about how Pakedge networks stand out from the rest.