Smart Home and Luxury AV Myth Buster

We decided to cover this subject “Smart Home and Luxury AV Myth Buster” as we deal with this virtually every day. Despite a rise in awareness of the smart home and luxury AV market in the design community and the wider world, there are still a few myths that continue to be associated with our industry. Prestige Audio clears up a few of the most common. 

Smart home and home cinema systems are hard to operate and understand.

One of the most widespread concerns is that systems are only suitable for ‘techy consumers’ who are good at understanding technology. This could not be further from the truth. 

Our systems are designed so that any member of the family or indeed a visitor will be able to operate easily using a simple icon-based interface on a dedicated controller or on an already familiar smart device/phone. To make systems even simpler to operate, they can often be personalised using icons of tasks that need to be actioned like watch or listen. Simply press ‘watch’ and the system asks you if you want to watch ‘Sky’ or ‘terrestrial TV’, the system then turns on all the required equipment, making the whole process easier with less remotes or button presses. The technology behind the system may be complex, but the interfaces we create to operate them could not be more straightforward and user-friendly.

I want you to visualise a room with 8 dimming light circuits. A conventional system would require 8 dimming rotary switches on the wall, difficult to use, not the most beautiful solution and once you have a setting you like, virtually impossible to replicate, or a simple smart lighting keypad with up to 8 (or in some cases more) pre-set scenes at the touch of a button, with a built in room thermostat to control both heating and cooling!

Will systems become obsolete?

Another common question is that once invested in, will the system eventually become obsolete and need changing? Advancements in technology in both hardware and software mean this is not the case. As far as hardware is concerned many manufacturers have moved to a modular system where products can be physically upgraded by the introduction of new components simply and quickly. 

On the software side, home automation systems and in fact some hardware products can be upgraded entirely in the digital realm allowing each system to gain the advantage of new functionality with no disruption or physical upgrade needed to the installation.

It is very difficult to create an entirely future proof product or system, but our sector is leading the way and looking to extend the life of our customer’s investment as far as it can possibly go. As a reference we still have Crestron and Lutron systems fully operational in homes that were installed 15 years ago.

Smart Home and Luxury AV are only for younger consumers.

Another myth that we often hear is that because our systems are ‘technology led’, they are only really of interest to younger consumers dialled into all the latest types of smart tech. 

The assumption is that because some generations have not grown up with ‘smart tech’ (smart phones, voice assistants etc) they are uncomfortable with technology, uninterested or both. However, we find this assumption to be very far from the truth. Our customers come from all different backgrounds and age groups, and because we make our systems extremely easy to use, assuming you need an interest in technology in the first place is a mistake. The only desire a customer needs is to want to have their home more efficient, more beautiful and more enjoyable and easier to use.

Smart home and home cinemas impact on the aesthetic vision for a home.

The design community are naturally concerned by any potential impact on their vision for the customer’s home. Introducing audio-visual hardware or giving a whole room over to a home cinema may ring alarm bells.

However, once a conversation begins, any fears are dispelled as we can explain the multitude of ways that the system can be completely hidden in the fabric of a home so there is zero impact on the interior vision for the property. 

Our systems can also often provide aesthetic waypoints that enable the designer to add to and enhance their vision for the property. Elegant smart control points that replace the traditional light switch for example can be created in many different types of materials and finishes matching the visual scheme of the property. Many designers are also embracing the world of home cinema which gives them an entirely new palette on which to paint bold visions that their customers love or create a more subtle visual language that reflects the rest of the property.

Smart home and cinema systems are hard to maintain.

Any high-performance piece of equipment will need some kind of maintenance, this is true of many sectors. Take a high-performance sports car for instance, you would not expect to purchase one and never need to have it serviced. The same is true for all of the projects we are involved with. We maintain and service all our customers valued systems and have had many of our customers on our books for decades.