Custom Home Entertainment | Shore Home Solutions

Dec 07

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Custom Home Theater Design & Installation in Salisbury, MD

TV vs. Projector: Which One Is Better for Your Home Theater?

By Tom Butler | Custom Home Entertainment, Home Theatre Systems |

New technology has taken home theater design and function to an entirely new level than it once was. As a result, you’ll have a lot of choices to make as you go through the process of putting your theater together. One of your first and most important decisions? TV or projector.

Like most technologies, there are pros and cons to both options. The most suitable choice for your home theater is going to depend on the specifics of your space and the type of entertainment experience you’re looking to cultivate. Let’s take a look at how some of the major components of TVs and projectors compare.

Comparing Size

Rather than the devices themselves, the size of the room you’re setting up in will actually be the biggest factor that determines whether a TV or a projector will provide a better-sized image. Projectors can produce larger images than TVs—and usually for a lower price. However, they need to have enough distance from the surface they’re projecting on to do so, so they might not work the way you want them to in smaller home theaters. You can consult with an audio and video technology contractor to find the best option for your home.

Comparing Quality

The quality of the image you see on your screen mostly depends on the brightness, resolution, and color capabilities of the device. The main issue that can affect the quality of a projected image is light. If there’s too much ambient light in the room, the displayed image will be washed out. If your home theater is windowless though, the contrast should be just fine and produce an image just as bright as a television. A TV will definitely be more consistent in contrast and brightness quality though. With enough distance, projectors and TVs are fairly equal in terms of resolution. TV colors do tend to be a little better with color accuracy, especially HDR models, but you can still get decent color quality in a projector for a better price.

Comparing Installation

Depending on the size and desired placement of your device, the installation can be easy or complicated for both projectors and TVs. Projectors are small and can be easily moved, but you may want to mount a screen (or the projector itself) to the ceiling or wall with brackets. A television can also be standalone or wall-mounted, but the mounting process is more involved than it is for a projector. For the best home theater experience, it is also recommended that you install a separate sound system for both devices.

Whether you decide a projector or a television is the best fit for your home theater, Shore Home Solutions can get you set up and ready to go in the entertainment space of your dreams! We can design and install your custom home theater using any devices or systems you’d like, as well as provide guidance for the best equipment and setup for your needs and vision. You can now enjoy watching or playing games in your entertainment space and display your favorite collections, like the Mini Katana Set.

Give us a call at 410-878-2448 to get started with your free consultation!

Feb 21

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How to Integrate Audio into Your Decor

By Tom Butler | Custom Home Entertainment, Residential Solutions |

So, you want to incorporate a high-end audio system into your living room, your finished basement, or even your bedroom but you don’t want to do it at the expense of your home decor. This might seem like an impossible task, but there are actually a number of ways that you can do it. If you’re looking for inspiration, you can see The Appliance Guys Sydney website for some great examples of how to seamlessly integrate technology into your home design. Also check the water system pipe to avoid water leaks in the basement and to maintain the dry wall. You can visit this website at https://www.foundationwaterproofingniagara.com/ for more information.

You can fill your home with rich sound when you’re watching a movie or listening to a playlist and, more importantly, you can do it without compromising your home’s interior design. Here are some ways you can go about doing it:

Install speakers into the ceilings and walls in your home

One of the most effective ways to integrate better audio into your home without screwing up the look and feel of your decor is by installing speakers for an audio system in your ceilings and walls. In-ceiling and in-wall speakers have become a lot more common in American homes in recent years because they’re capable of delivering amazing sound without taking up a single square inch of space. You can hide them in corners of your home so that no one will be able to see them, but they’ll certainly be able to hear them when they’re turned on.

Choose speakers that match your home’s decor

When you think about the speakers that typically come with a surround-sound system, you probably think about big, black boxes that don’t look very sleek. You can still find these kinds of speakers with many audio systems, but you can also find ones that have veneers that are designed to match the decor inside of many homes. It’s all about finding the speakers with the best veneers based on your home’s specific design. For example, if you have wall decor like a Rebel Cotton Flag, you might look for speakers with a rustic wood finish or a vintage look to match the style and feel of your space.

Enhancing Aesthetics with Shutters

In your quest for seamlessly integrating audio solutions into your home, don’t forget the impact of window treatments. Shutters offer more than just light control and privacy; they are an elegant addition to your interior design. These versatile window coverings not only match various decor styles but also enhance the aesthetic appeal of your home. With their timeless charm and customizable features, plantation shutters can effortlessly blend in with your surroundings, creating a cohesive and sophisticated look. So, when you’re investing in advanced audio systems, consider how shutters can complement your home’s ambiance, ensuring both sight and sound harmonize beautifully in your living spaces.

Look for speakers that are on the smaller side

Once upon a time, people thought that they needed to buy big speakers to get the big sound they were looking for in a home audio system. This isn’t true anymore! You can find plenty of speakers that are on the smaller side that will deliver even better sound than their much larger counterparts. It’s all about putting the right speakers in the right places throughout your home to get the sound you want without affecting your overall decor.

Do you need help integrating sound into your home without having it take a toll on your decor? Experts like sound engineers can set you up with surround sound setup and installation services.

Jan 23

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Smart Home Trends You’ll Most Likely See This Year

By Tom Butler | Custom Home Entertainment, Home Automation Systems, Smart Home Trends |

“How much ‘smarter’ can my home possibly get?” At this point, you might be asking yourself that very question. Smart homes have become all the rage in recent years with companies finding new ways to make everything from heating and cooling systems, furnace installation, and appliances to lighting and TVs “smarter” than ever before. To keep these systems functioning properly and last longer especially your hvac system, make sure that you schedule regular ac repair and inspection services.

For those contemplating the integration of these cutting-edge technologies into a new home, collaborating with house builders Sydney who understand the intricacies of both smart home systems and traditional home construction can be the key to achieving a harmonious balance. They can expertly blend the convenience of modern technology with the timeless qualities that make a house truly feel like a home for your family.

Here are some smart home trends you’ll likely see this year:

Video doorbells

By now, you’ve probably seen at least a few of your neighbors install video doorbells from companies like Ring and Nest outside of their front doors. People are on a quest to stop so-called “porch pirates” from stealing packages off their front porches. They’re also interested in keeping their homes safer by recording what goes on around them. So, you’re probably going to be seeing a whole lot more video doorbells popping up throughout your neighborhood.

Companies are planning to continue to push the envelope in 2019 to make products that will make your home even smarter. Then optical scanning technology has revolutionized the way businesses operate, enabling them to quickly and accurately capture complex geometries and surface details of their products. By leveraging optical scanning technology from Physical Digital, companies can enhance their design, manufacturing, and quality control processes with ease.

Appliances with touchscreens

Imagine checking out what’s going on in other parts of your home by looking at a touchscreen that sits over top of your stove or coming up with the perfect recipe for dinner by looking at a touchscreen that’s embedded in the front of your refrigerator. It’s not going to be too long before you’re doing these things. Most appliance manufacturers are finding innovate new ways to work touchscreens into almost all of their appliances.

Robots

Okay, so the “robots” that are going to be entering many homes soon aren’t like the robots that used to run around on The Jetsons. The world isn’t that futuristic just yet. But there are all kinds of robots capable of performing tasks that will be welcomed into American homes soon. For example, there are companies working on robots that can fold laundry. There are also companies working on robots that can prepare entire three-course meals. These robots could take care of many of the tasks you’re doing on your own right now!

Do you want to make your home “smarter” in 2019? Shore Home Solutions can help you do it. We offer home automation services that will tie all your various electronics together. Call us at 410-878-2448 today to hear about our smart home solutions!

Oct 02

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Things to Consider When Buying a Projector

By Tom Butler | Custom Home Entertainment, Home Theatre Systems, Residential Solutions |

Are you thinking about installing a projector in your home theater as opposed to a big-screen TV? There are lots of benefits that come with doing it. You’ll usually get a much better picture with a projector. You’ll also be able to customize the size of your screen and make your theater feel larger since projectors don’t take up much space. But there are a few things to consider before investing in a projector. Check them out below.

How much room do you have in your budget for a projector?

You don’t necessarily have to break the bank to buy a projector. You can get some projectors for right around $500. But many projectors cost a lot more than that and will come jam-packed with better features than their cheaper counterparts. You should figure out how much you can afford to pay for a projector and decide exactly what you want out of it before you start shopping around. If your budget is tight, you might find used but in excellent quality ones on Shoppok.

Are you prepared to properly maintain your projector?

One thing some people don’t realize is that you need to do some maintenance to most projectors. There are filters and bulbs inside most of them that could need to be repaired or replaced over the life of your projector. You won’t have to worry about this right away, but it is something that should be on your radar.

Are you going to mount your projector permanently?

There are some projectors that you can mount on a ceiling or wall permanently. There are others that you can move around from room to room if you want. Think about if you want to have your projector mounted so that it doesn’t go anywhere or if you want something that’s more portable.

Which sound system are you going to hook up to your projector?

If you’re setting up a home theater, you’re probably going to want to invest in a sound system, regardless of whether you’re going with a TV or projector. But with a TV, you’ll have the option of using the TV speakers for sound if you want. With a projector, you’ll need to buy speakers for sound since most projectors don’t have speakers built into them.

Choosing the right projector for your home theater can be a challenge. Shore Home Solutions can help you make the right decision based on your preferences and the design of your home theater. Contact us today to start the process of picking out a projector.

Aug 21

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Outdoor Home Entertainment Trends

By Tom Butler | Custom Home Entertainment, Residential Solutions, Surround Sound |

There are more and more people who are investing a lot of money into the outside of their homes and creating welcoming spaces with the use of wrought iron gazebos where they can gather with their friends and families. While the exterior of a home used to be reserved for a few pieces of patio furniture and maybe something like a fire pit, there are many homeowners who are now creating outdoor spaces outfitted with the latest forms of technology. If you’re planning on having a patio slab or stamped concrete, hire the best contractor, such as Wollongong Concreters. Some of them are also considering to install these high-quality, customizable premier portable buildings and modular structures like these portable buildings in Alberta to their outdoor spaces. You may also check out the mobile homes for sale on the Home Nation website for additional space.

Check out some of the best outdoor entertainment trends of 2018 below:

Strong lighting concepts

Outdoor lighting used to consist of flood lights and motion detectors. But these days, many people are opting to incorporate new forms of lighting into their backyards. From soft lighting that can be used to set the mood to bolder lighting concepts that cover entire walls, you can find many unique ways to add a high-end lighting system to your backyard.

Outdoor surround sound systems

There are lots of people who are still relying on Bluetooth speakers to provide sound in their backyard. Bluetooth has made it possible to incorporate portable speakers into the mix. But those who really love listening to music in their backyard space prefer high-end sound systems that have full range speakers and subwoofers. They can be used to bring the best sound experience possible to any outdoor area when they’re set up properly.

Outdoor “living rooms” equipped with TVs

The idea of installing a TV outside used to be ludicrous. But these days, it’s not uncommon to find “living rooms” with couches, wicker furniture or pedrali furniture items, fireplaces, and, yes, TVs in the backyards of homes. Families will often huddle around to watch their favorite shows and movies under the stars and experience TV in a whole new way.

Aug 14

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Importance of Home Theater Acoustics

By Tom Butler | Custom Home Entertainment, High End Home Theatre Systems, Residential Solutions |

If you’re in the process of planning out a new home theater, you’ve probably spent a lot of time thinking about the size of the screen you’re going to put in it. You’ve also probably spent a lot of time thinking about the surround sound system you’re going to install in it. You may have even let your mind wander and pondered how comfortable the chairs in your home theater are going to be.

While all of these things are important, the aspect of your home theater that you should really be concerned most about are the acoustics in the room where your theater is going to be located.

The acoustics of a home theater are important because they’re ultimately going to make or break your viewing experience each time you sit down and watch a movie, TV show, or big game. The acoustics are going to determine how good your speakers sound, which will impact your experience as a whole. If sounds are muffled during a movie or you don’t sound like you’re right in the middle of the action during a football game, you’re going to be distracted by it and what’s on the screen won’t even matter.

The company that’s helping you install your home theater should make acoustics a priority. They should come up with a great plan as far as where to position the speakers for your surround sound system. But more importantly, they should also help you control the reflections in your home theater to make the most of your system. If you have frequencies from your sound system bouncing all over the place and reflecting off everything, it’ll hurt the sound quality of whatever you’re watching and make you wish you’d spend more time focused on acoustics.

Shore Home Solutions can focus on home theater acoustics and tame the reflections in your room to improve sound. We’ll start by taking your room dimensions into account and find ways to work speakers and subwoofers into the mix to deliver sound you’ll love. By placing an extra subwoofer in a room or rethinking speaker placement, we can make your home theater even better than you could have ever imagined.

Call Shore Home Solutions at 410-878-2448 today to start designing and building the home theater of your dreams.

Jul 24

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Advancements of 4K Ultra HD

By Tom Butler | 4K Ultra HD, Custom Home Entertainment |

Are you thinking about adding a new TV to your home at some point in the near future? Rather than going with a regular HD television, you should consider going with a 4K Ultra HD option instead. When you select a 4K UHD unit, you’ll get to enjoy several benefits that you simply won’t get with an HD TV.

The biggest benefit that you’ll get to enjoy with a 4K UHD TV are the pixels that come jam-packed into it.

4K TVs have a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, which equals out to almost 8.3 million pixels overall. That’s about four times as many pixels as HD TVs, which have 1,920 x 1,080 pixels or about 2.1 million pixels. The pixel difference is staggering and results in a much clearer picture on 4K UHD TVs. You will see every single detail imaginable on a 4K UHD TV screen when you turn it on.

One of the other benefits of 4K UHD technology is that it works remarkably well with bigger TVs. And with the average TV size clocking in at around 47 inches right now and expected to grow bigger in the years to come, that’s obviously a good thing. There is also a lot of 4K content available at the moment with Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, and others getting in on the 4K action. It shouldn’t be long before 4K UHD is the standard and allowing everyone to see crystal clear pictures on their TV screens.

At Shore Home Solutions, we know that it’s an exciting time for people to be purchasing TVs for their homes. 4K UHD TVs and OLED TVs that offer 4K resolution have become some of our best sellers recently because of the amazing pictures they provide. If you want to see what all the hype is about for yourself, reach out us to install a new TV in your home. Call us at 410-878-2448 today for more information on 4K UHD and OLED TVs.

May 31

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LED vs OLED TVs

By Tom Butler | Custom Home Entertainment, LED vs OLED TVs, Residential Solutions |

For years now, those looking to purchase a new TV for their home have been forced to choose between LED and plasma TVs. But with plasma TVs recently bowing out of the equation, most of the TVs on the market today fall into the LED category. There is one exception, though—the OLED TVs that just started shipping to customers a few years ago.

Organic Light Emitting Diode TVs, better known as OLED TVs, might sound like they’re similar to LED TVs. But the truth is that they couldn’t be any more different. Rather than being illuminated by an LED backlight like LCD TVs, all of the pixels used within OLED TVs illuminate themselves, which usually results in a better picture for those watching them.

LED TVs do typically win out when it comes to brightness, even though both LEDs and OLEDs are plenty bright no matter how light or dark a room might be. However, OLED TVs have proven to be far superior in many other areas. For example, the black level of an OLED TV is better overall than that of an LED TV. OLED also beats LED is categories like contrast ratio, viewing angle, and uniformity. And while you could call several categories, like resolution and refresh rate, a tie, OLED is clearly presenting LED with the most competition it’s received over the last decade. It shouldn’t be long before OLED TVs become a staple in many American households.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the power of OLED, Shore Home Solutions can show you some of the OLED TVs we’ve installed in homes in the past. Call us at 410-878-2448 today for a free consultation!

May 07

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What to Know Before Having a Home Theater System Installed

By Tom Butler | Custom Home Entertainment, High End Home Theatre Systems |

So you are ready to bring your movie and television viewing experiences to the next level with a high tech home theater system… smart move! Movies these days have upped the ante when it comes to special effects and sound technology, and you will want to enjoy every minute.

Before you decide to install a theater system, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Think About the Room

Before you even start to set up a home theater center, you want to think about the room you will be putting it in. The proper room will do wonders to get the most out your system. Ideally, you will have a rectangular room with as few doors or windows as possible. This should also be a carpeted room as bare wood or tile work to reflect sound waves and muddy the sound. To really kick the room up a notch, put some thick curtains over the windows or install a folding awnings Melbourne to provide that perfect amount of darkness. You also need to make the whole space comfortable by hiring a seattle gas furnace repair contractor to install or service your heating system.

Decide on the Television

When it comes to the television for your new theater, we suggest having OLED TVs installed. OLED TVs give you darker blacks and truer colors, making it an exceptional option for home owners who are looking for image quality above all else in their new home theater.

Decide on the Projector

Although TVs are the most common option for home theaters, video projectors deliver a really big screen viewing experience. Similar to TVs, you have the choice of 720p, 1080p and 4K options. There are many advances to 4K video projectors, such as increased resolution, HDR and wide color gamut. All of these advances have elevated the TV viewing experience.

Decide on the Sound

You will have to start with a point of entry for all of your speakers in the form of a receiver. This is an excellent way to centralize your home theater system, so be sure to get one that will have all necessary inputs. Most people go with a receiver.

You also have the option of a preamp/power amp combo device. This hub can provide more flexibility when it comes to switching out or upgrading your devices. It also does wonders for isolating interference that is often caused by having multiple components working at the same time. From there, all you need is your choice of loudspeakers and a good subwoofer.

At Shore Home Solutions, we take pride in our home theater design and installation services, and we would be thrilled to help you better your movie viewing experience. We want to personalize your experience, so we will talk with you to learn your expectations so we can design your own personal home theater at a fair cost. Contact us today to set up a consultation!

Mar 19

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Upgrade Your 1080P AV Systems to the 4K Super Ultra HD

By Tom Butler | Custom Home Entertainment, High End Home Theatre Systems |

4K Super Ultra High-Definition TVs have made it more fun than ever before to watch movies, sporting events, and other programs. The picture on a 4K TV is absolutely stunning, and it will put your old 1080P AV system to shame. But before you can start enjoying all of the benefits that come along with 4K, you will need to make some serious upgrades.

Check out some of the parts of your home theater system setup that will likely need to be upgraded.

Your TV

This one kind of goes without saying, but if you’re going to set up a 4K super ultra high-definition system in your home, you’ll need to start by purchasing a 4K TV. It will allow you to enjoy the best picture you’ve ever seen.

Your streaming system

Do you currently use cable tv services, a Roku streaming stick, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, or one of the other streaming systems? Unless you just purchased it, it’s probably not capable of handling 4K. You will need to upgrade to the latest model so that you stream in 4K. You also may need to upgrade your internet as a whole to take advantage of your 4K TV.

Your AV receiver

While some of the newer AV receivers are 4K compatible, there’s a good chance your current one won’t work with a 4K TV if it’s a few years old. Older soundbars won’t work with new 4K TVs, either. To enjoy all the benefits of a 4K system, you will want to make sure your receiver works with your new TV.

Your cables

There are some current HDMI cables that will work just fine with 4K content. But not all HDMI cables can do it. Those cables that are too old or even too long might not be equipped to handle all of the data necessary to keep a 4K system up and running. They will need to be updated before you can get a clear picture on your screen and enjoy shows on your TV.

As you can see, upgrading your 1080P AV system isn’t as easy as just swapping your TV out. You could end up having to change all of your equipment around, but it will be well worth it in the end! Shore Home Solutions can help you make the change and show you how incredible 4K technology can be.

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