JS Audio Video

Turn Your Refund into Fun!

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We all love that day. A check in the mail from Uncle Sam. I can personally relate because it’s a time for me to look into new projects and discover what’s new in the tech industry. Whether its a 2-channel speaker system which could be used for a variety of purposes, an outdoor speaker system, all the way to home automation, there’s something for everyone.
So let’s face it, the way we watch, listen and interact with our media systems have changed drastically in the last few years. Internet-connected equipment including door locks, temperature control, audio/video, lighting, shades, security and even pool control are sweeping the nation. And don’t get me started on voice control, that’s a topic for a different day! Automation systems like Elan and Control4 are the backbone to connected devices. With an app via any smart device, you can control each device with ease. The beauty of it? It’s expandability. Start with one room and add rooms or devices at your own pace! It’s the best way to build an infrastructure that will house the inevitable rise of connected electronics so they work in harmony.

See what your tax dollars and JS Audio Video can do for you!

 

From April 15th-30th, save up to 10% on all outdoor A/V systems when you mention this email!

Make Outdoor Entertainment More Fun!

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Parties are Better with an Outdoor TV and Speakers!
With warm weather right around the corner, what can you do to “up” your backyard audio video game? Outdoor TV’s and speakers! These TV’s bring a whole new life to your outdoor space! Not only can they stay outside and brave the elements during both summer and winter, but they can be in direct sunlight with no distortion of the picture. This is something a regular indoor TV cannot do (as much as we want it to!). With a waterproof compartment for the cable connections, these TV’s can stay outside for years. Watch your favorite media while relaxing outside. How can it get any better?
Outdoor Speakers!
Have your favorite music play while working, or entertaining outside! Whether it’s background music or some serious listening, outdoor speakers can be a good compliment to an outdoor TV, or just by themselves! There are several different ways to go about this, ranging from on-home speakers to landscape speakers that seemingly disappear.  Whether it’s upgrading an existing system or a brand new one, call us today for a free consultation!

Multi-Room Audio! (Not Just Sonos)

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Multi-Room audio is changing the way we listen to music. It’s never been easier to control what you’re listening to from smart devices most of us have today. Streaming services such as Pandora, Spotify, SiriusXM radio and many more are giving listeners an almost endless amount of music right at their fingertips. TuneIn radio gives you local, national and even international FM/AM radio stations. No static, no white noise, clean clear digital radio. To achieve multi-room audio, there, of course, must be a speaker(s) in the room. There are a few ways to go about it. If you’re framing your house, running speaker wire and other types of A/V wires to have in-wall or in-ceiling speakers, it’s your best bet. If your house is already sheetrocked, our professional installation team will guide wires inside the wall with minimal to no mess. In-wall and In-ceiling speakers’ grill can be painted to match the décor of your room, no wires to be seen. Driven by an amp controlled by a streamer (in which there are many, see below), they can sound as good as the traditional box style speaker and can be used for a complete surround sound system.

The alternate root is to have a plug-in, networked speaker(s) throughout your house. But there is a caveat. These types of speakers still require power to operate, and really are not aesthetically appealing. That said, they can be used in the right situation. There are many Wi-Fi and networked streamers out there, such as Sonos, BluSound, Heo’s and Play-Fi just to name a few. Each has its own sound, operation, and compatibility. Some can support High-Resolution audio with accurate reproduction; some can be used as background music with good sound quality. They all operate from your Wi-Fi system, which vastly increases the amount of data instead of being sent by Bluetooth, giving you much richer sound. There are usually different sizes of networked speakers, some for smaller rooms, some for serious listening. You can group them together, or separately and play music in one room or speaker, and play something completely different giving you great flexibility. You have complete control of your audio, with ease.

So there it is, a brief insight into home audio.

It’s changing the way we live!

 

Growing Technology: Fiber Optics!

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What’s the deal with Fiber Optics?

Unlike copper, fiber optics has the capability to pass tremendous amounts of data. Fiber optic Internet service has been growing exponentially over the past few years. I am sure you have heard Verizon touting a “100% fiber-optic network”. That may be the case on telephone poles, underground cables, and even into their distribution panel in your house. But once it leaves that distribution panel, it’s converted back to copper. Their network is built on fiber, but most homes, even newer homes, still rely on copper such as coaxial cable to transmit and receive data. So you may ask yourself if they ran fiber optics everywhere but my home, what’s the point? The answer is simple, a future-proof infrastructure. They are gearing up for what will inevitably be a massive demand for speed and bandwidth, not only for the Internet but cable TV and phone lines as well. With more Internet-connected devices coming into homes such as thermostats, doorbells, home automation and door locks (just to name a few), the number of connected devices is growing. But the use of fiber optics is already here. It’s being used for audio/video cables that can be run long distances copper just simply can’t. As far as what you pay for fiber or copper, they are pretty close in cost.

So What’s the Verdict?

Simply put, fiber. It’s the future!

What can you do to take Advantage of this Growing Technology?

Building a new home or remodeling? Looking for the proper cabling for your new advanced devices? Come in or give us a call today to discuss what fiber can do for you! We guarantee you’ll be amazed.

 

 

On the Cutting Edge: OLED Technology

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Our next subject is a technology that is changing the way we watch our media. The OLED panel uses cutting edge technology; physically changing the way the image is produced. First off, lets get to what it stands for. OLED is an Organic Light Emitting Diode. We are all familiar with the Light Emitting Diode part of the new TV (LED) but what makes the pixel organic? In fact, how is the word “organic” being used to describe the TV? To describe OLED, we must mention “LED” panels. While the backlighting is LED, the front panel is still an LCD screen. Panel manufacturers then put sub-panels between these two pieces, giving you features like HDR. For this reason, LED TV’s will always be thicker, with a more pronounced physical form. High end LED TV’s will have a full-array of LED’s, giving that TV the ability to shut off certain zones creating a more dynamic contrast, and greater color. Motion rate will be a blog all on its own! The OLED TV is built in a completely different way. It uses special coatings of organic compounds that are arranged in such a way that so when an electric current is sent through it, it illuminates. In order to create black levels, those pixels simply shut off. Because of these features, Plasma TV lovers, look no further! The color, contrast and motion rate (and everything in-between) is truly a sight to be seen. Come by our showroom to experience the latest and greatest audio/video technology available!

What’s the Deal with 4K?

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The topic I want to discuss today is probably the most basic of all the questions out there; what is 4K? First, 4K and UHD are synonymous. There is no difference between the two as they mean the same thing! 4K or UHD (Ultra High Definition) refers to how many vertical and horizontal lines or “rows” of pixels a TV has. A pixel is a small dot on the front panel of the television that together with the other pixels, make up the image on the screen. The more tightly packed the pixels are, the greater the resolution. A 4K TV typically has 3840(vertical lines of resolution) x 2160(horizontal lines of resolution). This gives you a little over 8 million effective pixels on a 4K TV. Obviously this number changes based on the size of your TV, but the proportions and ratios are always consistent; the pixels per square inch will never change. In comparison, the “Full HD” or 1080 resolution was the highest TV resolution available to the consumer just a few yeas ago. That TV had 1920(vertical lines of resolution) x 1080(horizontal lines of resolution). This totals a little over 2 million pixels. A Full High Definition TV has 2 million pixels, the Ultra High Definition has 8 millions pixels. Eight divided by two… 4! 4K was born and has been taking the world by storm ever since.

Welcome to the JS Audio Video Blog!

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By now, you must have heard of at least some of these buzzwords high-end electronic manufactures are using in their advertising. 4K UHD, HDR, OLED, 10-bit panels, quad-core processors, 4:4:4 color, and so many more. But what do they all mean? Better yet, what do they mean to the person who either wants to invest in a whole home automation system, or the person who just wants an amazing picture, stunning audio and an easy way to control everything? In the next few blog posts, I am going to explain the in’s and out’s of most of these features and how they affect the ever evolving world of technology we all seem to find ourselves in. Being informed on these new technologies is going to help you make a smarter buying decision, which you won’t regret in the long run.