Ever requested quotes from similar companies for the same work, only to receive wildly different responses? It’s true of every industry, just as it’s human nature to gravitate toward the seemingly least expensive estimate. But that “savings” often proves to cost more, right? Here at Relative Home Systems, we work a bit differently. 

When it comes to crafting a dedicated home theater, we use the discussion of budget to help discover what our clients need and educate them on how to get there. We have 5 major considerations when determining potential costs for the entirety of the project. We’re using the opportunity of this blog edition to help you understand the process, but also so you know what to look for when requesting a quote for this type of home retrofit project…

1)      Design & Engineering – Without proper engineering and design, every subsequent dollar you spend is practically a gamble. While often not included in preliminary budgets, you cannot expect acceptable results, let alone something extraordinary, unless this process is accounted for. Don’t be left trying to figure how the budget suddenly expands due to needs for which you were not previously informed.

2)      Preliminary Construction – Whether you’re remodeling a particular room or building a new home from scratch, you have to determine your space requirements. Contrary to common practice, most of this cost should not be included in the “theater” budget. Framing, electrical, mechanical and other structural elements should be part of a separate construction budget. Specialty materials and additional labor are common requirements when constructing a quiet room, modifying ventilation, theater-quality lighting and other space changes.

No matter which room of your home you choose to enhance, a typical media room consists of a large viewing area and a high quality audio package. And don’t forget seating for all your guests to enjoy while watching this summer’s blockbusters. Want to integrate a media room in your home but aren’t sure if you have enough space? Relative has a few suggestions for making the most of any space or any media design setup.

Multipurpose Room
In today’s modern age, a media room can be integrated into a traditional living room, creating a cozy and enchanting space for your guests. A variety of large flat 4K televisions are available for big screen viewing in a small space. Do your kids always have friends over to play video games? Accompanied by a strong integrated network, your modern theater space can have multiple screens for a multiple player game room that everyone in the neighborhood will love. A media room that doubles as a playroom can incorporate a big screen that is only seen when in use. Relative can even install a large projector screen that retreat back into the ceiling. There are really very few limitations to designing whatever you imagine!

After-Hours (and Under-the-Covers) Cinema
For some, watching a movie before bedtime is the ultimate escape. Turning your bedroom into a sci-fi command bridge or a romantic comedy love nest is possible no matter the size of your space. Televisions can be mounted to various locations in a bedroom with limited space or installed using motorized lifts that return the screen into a closet or under the bed when not in use. Custom cabinets can also be built to hide televisions when not in use, while speakers can be hidden in walls or ceilings to blend in with your interior décor.

Small Home Theater
A short room, such as an unused portion of a basement, can be converted to a home theater as well – outfitted with a projector designed for a shorter viewing distance, and a dedicated screen wall. Relative can help you choose the right screen size for the dimensions of your space that won’t overwhelm your guests, yet still provides a cinematic feel. These dimensions will also be taken into account when designing a multi-channel surround sound system, as well as an integrated lighting system.

Relative works with Crestron Electronics to design and program a system that connects your media room to your overall home automation. Whether you live in The Woodlands, River Oaks, Tanglewood, Memorial, Bellaire, Conroe, or anywhere in the greater Houston area, and if you have any questions about smart technology for entertainment, security, green solutions and more, give Relative Home Systems a call!

Detailed attention is given to every aspect of your décor- so why not your lighting? Customized lighting is important for overall design, enhancing star pieces and flattering other furniture. With the variety of customized lighting and shading options available today, lighting that complements your décor is easier than ever.

Relative Home Systems knows that custom lighting can be used to enhance the natural beauty of your home rather than detract. Great lighting is the icing on the cake of a well-designed interior and can be created for any and every room, not just one location.  Want to know how automated lighting can not only reduce energy costs but spotlight your interior design skills? You’re in the right place.

Enhance Your Décor

A professional integrator such as RHS can construct your scenes of light in “layers” allowing you to assemble the perfect atmosphere with the touch of a button.  A room of featured artwork can be put on display when a guest arrives, simply by engaging a “showcase” setting.   Lighting control can help create a consistent design style throughout a home, replacing clusters of switches in various locations with simple control panels, set to pre-programmed settings, such as “high and low.”  With dimmers and motorized shades throughout your home, natural light can also be included as a complementary layer to an overall lighting control system for the best possible results.

Reduce Solar Gain

As the home automation industry continues to evolve with product advancements and integration technologies, Relative Home Systems is ready to bring our expertise to you! Our new blog is here as a resource to spotlight products and services that will have the most impact on your projects.

Our first spotlight, however, is actually on RHS(or Relative Home Systems, being…us). More specifically, we wanted to take this opportunity to present the advantages of working with an experienced Crestron Integrator.

Why Crestron?

The new home automation systems are sometimes called “Smart Home” systems or “Systems Integration.” Whatever the title, they are all referring to intuitive control of your home's subsystems, including audio/video, lighting, security, CCTV, motorized shades & drapes, pool/spa and more. Besides a consistent system-to-system look and feel which makes controlling your home easier, combining these subsystems into a unified control also greatly eliminates wall clutter. Thermostats are hidden in closets or a mechanical room and backup security keypads and pool/spa controllers can likewise be hidden.

Crestron is a world-wide leader in this home automation control, and RHS is one of a few audio-visual firms that can boast nearly a century of combined Crestron experience. This means that our staff has earned its stripes! Through intensive training and real-world experience, we offer the highest level of expertise and quality in programming our client's integration systems.

MainStreet America® is a year-round showcase of homes where people will be inspired, informed and empowered to build or remodel their home. Positioned as a truly innovative concept in shopping for new homes and related services, MainStreet America® premiers this Fall as the only venue of its kind in the country with dining, retail, entertainment and educational opportunities added to the blend of activities. Opening at a time of national economic uncertainty, MainStreet America® is located in Houston, Texas, one of the nation’s healthiest housing markets, a leader in job growth and rising consumer confidence. That makes Houston perhaps the perfect locale for unveiling a new beacon of hope symbolic of the promise that the American dream is alive and well.

There is a new destination on the horizon for consumers in the greater Houston area who are eager to experience a new and unique way of shopping for new homes, home products, and home services. Situated on a 14-acre site just south of The Woodlands on Interstate 45 is MainStreet America® (MSA), a multi-million dollar home product theme park. This innovative shopping venue can best be described as an inspiring world of discovery built around empowering educational technology and the home. MainStreet America® will be a powerful influence on consumer spending and will soon redefine how people shop for home products and services.

MSA is the culmination of years of study and research by owners Michael and Barbara Feigin. “MainStreet America® will be open year-round, seven days a week – the only perpetual showcase of homes of its kind in the country,” says founder/CEO, Michael Feigin. “But it’s more than a showcase of new homes … it’s an educational, shopping and entertainment destination centered on the home.” Twelve dynamic model homes, along with a two-story, 45,000 square foot Guest Center have been under construction for the past 15 months and are now slated for opening early November. From Old World Mediterranean to Contemporary Modern, the Park will feature a wide range of architectural styles, interior décor and square footages. In addition, each home is designed to operate as a retail furniture showroom. For the first time, consumers will be able shop for home furnishings within the full context of a completely decorated and functional home.

Visitors to MainStreet America® will begin their experience at the Guest Center where they can engage in a number of activities. From there they can embark on a self-guided tour of each showcase home, participate in a how-to workshop, or enjoy one of the many planned family and seasonal events. While in the Park, visitors can also access a complete list of home services — all under one roof. On site is a custom home builder, a full-service remodeling company, a mortgage company, interior design studio and a residential architectural firm. “One of the unique highlights of the park is that guests can access instant information on desired products in each showcase home through their use of our specially designed, hand-held Technological Education Device we call TED,” states Feigin. “The TED experience can best be described as online browsing combined with in-store shopping – taken to a whole new level.” Utilizing the latest in scanning technology, the TED device will allow users to wave over a programmed product tag to initiate audio and/or visual feedback. If you’re interested in a specific brick exterior, swimming pool accessory, surround sound system component, kitchen appliance, or even the radiant barrier found inside an attic – TED will access its brand name, list of features, provide buying information and create a virtual shopping list.

Control4 has released more apps to be used with their systems to control your home even easier. With apps that help you find the remote that your couch swallowed to playing a game of movie trivia with your friends and family before the show begins, these Control4 apps allow to you to control this, control that…Shoot! Control it all with their seamless integration.

Click here to check out Control4′s 4Store: http://www.4store.com/?q=node/37

If you do not currently have a Control4 automation system but are interested in learning more, give us a call, 281-537-7373, to set up a demonstration at our Champions Experience Center.

Not sure what apps will work best for your life and system or how to download the apps, call our office more information, 281-537-7373.

As a Control4 Gold Dealer, we want improve your life with easy-to-use home automation the Control4 way.

GAYLE FALKENTHAL

SAN DIEGO, April 22, 2012 – Just when you thought you’d gotten a handle on social media by getting on Facebook and maybe giving Twitter a try, along comes Pinterest. It is the fastest growing social media website in Internet history. Yes, even faster than Facebook.

If you haven’t heard of Pinterest, it might be because you’re male, or over 40. Pinterest’s users are overwhelmingly women under 40, although men and older users are starting to catch up. It was launched quietly in March 2010, but really started taking off in the last year.

Pinterest is now the number three most-popular social network in the U.S., behind only Facebook and Twitter, according to Experian’s Digital Marketer Trend and Benchmark Report. Experian reports that Pinterest had 21.5 million visits the last week of January, which is 30 times the number of visitors over July 2011. It’s the fastest website ever to hit 10 million visitors. Pinterest beat its next-closest competitor, LinkedIn, in total visits for the first time in February:

• Facebook: 7 billion
• Twitter: 182 million
• Pinterest: 104 million
• LinkedIn: 86 million
• Google+: 61 million

And here’s the true test of Pinterest’s success: there are now a whole bunch of pornographic Pinterest imitations. You know you’re doing something right when people who put out smut think you’re worth copying.

We invite you to visit this year’s Bellaire New Home Showcase. The showcase is Saturday, May 12, Sunday, May 13, Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20, 2012.

Featuring homes from several of the top custom home builders in the Houston area, the craftsmanship and elegance of these homes is incredible.

We have had the pleasure for the last several years in partnering up with Bentley Custom Homes in providing the audio and video in their remarkable homes. We have installed a lavish theater room featuring an Epson 3D projector, Stewart Filmscreen 96″ projection screen with all equipment controlled with Control 4 at Bentley’s custom home at 5206 Willow.

For more information, go to http://www.bellairehomeshow.com/. The $10 admission benefits http://bellaireparks.org/.

We look forward to the opportunity of meeting you as we support these builders and the Patrons of Parks.

Someday your floor could be the only security sensor you need for the home, if IBM moves ahead with a patent granted on March 20, “Securing premises using surfaced-based computing technology.”

The patent describes a multitouch floor that can determine who is in the house, and what they’re doing. The floor senses the shapes, weight and number of feet on the ground so it can distinguish between parents, kids, infants, pets … and unauthorized visitors.

From the patent:
The system takes different actions based upon identifying which object is in a particular location. For example, if the system senses that a small child is in an “off-limits” location, such as a swimming pool or hot tub area, the child’s caregiver can immediately be notified to prevent the child from getting hurt. Similarly, if the system senses that the family dog has entered an area that is off-limits, such as a living room or bedroom, actions can be taken accordingly. If the owner is home, the owner can be notified with an alert in order to remove the dog from the off-limits location. If no one is home, a high-pitched dog alarm can be sounded in order to have the dog retreat from the off-limits location.

Smart Floors and Eldercare

The smart floors also could determine the position and movement of the home’s occupants, which has tremendous implications for home health technology, aging in place and telemedicine. If a resident falls and does not get up in a certain amount of time, the floor – like any other security sensor – could send a message to the home alarm, home automation or PERS (personal emergency response system) device to alert a family member or monitoring station.

One problem with traditional PERS pendants and wearable fall-detection devices is that users take them off at night or before showering, and fail to put them on again.

We go inside Fortress Seating for a behind-the-scenes look at how home theater seats are made.

I’ve always wondered about home theater seating: What makes it so different from regular everyday seating? How are they built? What types of materials are used?

I recently stopped by Fortress Seating in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. for an look at the art of designing, constructing and customizing home theaterseats. Every seat at the 25,000-square-foot Fortress warehouse is built from scratch. Integrators send in their specs and the Fortress team creates one-of-a-kind seating.

Gabi Wolper, vice president of sales, walked me through the entire chair-building process. There’s a lot that can affect the quality of a home theater seat. For example, Fortress uses solid wood and metal-to-metal connections to make the seats durable.

This tougher-than-nails approach is part of the company’s lineage. In the 1930s, Fortress built only metal desks and filing cabinets. It wasn’t until 1970 that it added office furniture to its lineup, and later seats for healthcare industry.

As a parent of a special needs child, I understand the challenges that come in trying to understand their world. From communicating to keeping a watchful eye, home automation technology is helping families care and provide for kids with special needs in more ways than ever before.ch 16, 2012. Now, who thinks Apple is still working on a TV?

With the help of a home automation Control 4 system, one family better communicates and cares for their son with Autism. As shown in the video below, home automation systems offer so much more than just lighting and climate control.

We give our thanks to Control 4 for providing such great products to help families unlock, understand and offer better quality of life for our children.

Amid the excitement over the New iPad was the barely mentioned Apple TV.
No this isn’t the iTV or Apple smart TV many thought was coming. It’s just an updated version of the earlier Apple TV, but it comes with some welcome updates.

The most important upgrade for home theater fans is the new support for 1080p video. You can get 1080p video from iTunes and other services and enjoy them in all their pixels on a 1080p display.

Apple TV is also integrated with iTunes in the Cloud. Any content you have in iCloud can be played over your Apple TV. With AirPlay users can stream from another iDevice to their Apple TV.

Photos: Apple’s Innovations Throughout the Years

Amid the excitement over the New iPad was the barely mentioned Apple TV.
No this isn’t the iTV or Apple smart TV many thought was coming. It’s just an updated version of the earlier Apple TV, but it comes with some welcome updates.

The most important upgrade for home theater fans is the new support for 1080p video. You can get 1080p video from iTunes and other services and enjoy them in all their pixels on a 1080p display.

Apple TV is also integrated with iTunes in the Cloud. Any content you have in iCloud can be played over your Apple TV. With AirPlay users can stream from another iDevice to their Apple TV.

Photos: Apple’s Innovations Throughout the Years

With the constant evolution of 3D technology, there is no need to only enjoy 3D movies at the cinema. The awesome technology of 3D viewing is now within your reach for your home with Epson’s PowerLite Pro Cinema 6010. This HD video projector has the capability to play back 2D and 3D content in full 1080p HD resolution and is certified by THX. And if that’s not enough, this projector offers an astounding contrast ratio of up to 200,000:1 and 2400 lumens color/white light output.

We just installed this awesome projector in our Champions Experience Center. The picture is amazing! Shooting crystal clear, coming at you images on our Star Glas screen for a 3D movie experience you never thought possible in a home theater setting.

Visit our Facebook Page for a special offer when you purchase a new Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 6010 3D Projector from Relative Home Systems.

With the constant evolution of 3D technology, there is no need to only enjoy 3D movies at the cinema. The awesome technology of 3D viewing is now within your reach for your home with Epson’s PowerLite Pro Cinema 6010. This HD video projector has the capability to play back 2D and 3D content in full 1080p HD resolution and is certified by THX. And if that’s not enough, this projector offers an astounding contrast ratio of up to 200,000:1 and 2400 lumens color/white light output.

We just installed this awesome projector in our Champions Experience Center. The picture is amazing! Shooting crystal clear, coming at you images on our Star Glas screen for a 3D movie experience you never thought possible in a home theater setting.

Visit our Facebook Page for a special offer when you purchase a new Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 6010 3D Projector from Relative Home Systems.

Consumer electronics is one of the fastest evolving segments in all of the electronics industry. The demand for thinner, light, higher resolution televisions with lightning-fast processors has created a new breed of displays.

If you consider how radically video technology has changed in the last 20 years alone, it should be no surprise that televisions are now living up to the futuristic movie scenes we all watched on the big screen.

So while the race for the thinnest display on the market has some people choosing form over function in terms of video quality, we suggest taking a more logical approach…

Television Lifts

Choose what all the videophiles have for years…Plasma. Just picture your plasma screen set it in motion with a popup or drop down lift, concealed in a custom piece of furniture for the ultimate in home technology. Cabinet Tronix offers a vast selection of traditional and contemporary cabinets that are transformed to house your flat screen television.

Statistics show that the number of property crimes in Conroe, TX, has continued to be above the national average over the last decade, http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Conroe-Texas.html. Although Conroe’s property crime rate has not dramatically increased over the years, the numbers are still staggering.

If you are one of the savvy few home owners that arms their monitored security system, congratulations to you! Let us help you on a few things you can do to help improve the overall security of your home.

• Make certain that all operable doors and windows are connected to your security system by using the Chime function on the keypad.
• Have contacts installed on all overhead doors, outside A/C units, gun and jewelry safes.
• Request voluntary home security survey to check the overall security of your home. Check with your local police department to see if this program is available in your area.

Due to the amount of domestic burglaries, home owners insurance rates continue to increase.  One of the largest deductions (up to 15%) any home owner can receive on their insurance rates is by having a monitored home security system that is armed while away and while at home. Discounts do differ with each insurance company. Contact your agent to see what all is required to receive a discount and to see how much money you can save each year. Check out this article on Your Conroe News’ website: click here

Don’t become a victim and a statistic. Be proactive with your family’s security. Don’t put peace of mind off another day.

Statistics show that the number of property crimes in Conroe, TX, has continued to be above the national average over the last decade, http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Conroe-Texas.html. Although Conroe’s property crime rate has not dramatically increased over the years, the numbers are still staggering.

If you are one of the savvy few home owners that arms their monitored security system, congratulations to you! Let us help you on a few things you can do to help improve the overall security of your home.

• Make certain that all operable doors and windows are connected to your security system by using the Chime function on the keypad.
• Have contacts installed on all overhead doors, outside A/C units, gun and jewelry safes.
• Request voluntary home security survey to check the overall security of your home. Check with your local police department to see if this program is available in your area.

Due to the amount of domestic burglaries, home owners insurance rates continue to increase.  One of the largest deductions (up to 15%) any home owner can receive on their insurance rates is by having a monitored home security system that is armed while away and while at home. Discounts do differ with each insurance company. Contact your agent to see what all is required to receive a discount and to see how much money you can save each year. Check out this article on Your Conroe News’ website: click here

Don’t become a victim and a statistic. Be proactive with your family’s security. Don’t put peace of mind off another day.

iPads are fully-capable wireless tablets, that not only run control system apps for your home, but can also control your home while you are there or away.

Most top manufacturers of residential control systems are offering iPad specific control apps that are capable of the following:

Lighting-Adjust your lights without leaving your favorite arm chair or your bed. You can adjust individual circuits or bring up global scenes.

Climate Control-Raise up the heat or bump the air down before leaving work and let your A/C go to work while you sit in traffic or run your afternoon errands. Your house will be ready when you return home.

Security-Remotely disarm your security system and then reset for your housekeeper or repair man.

Kaleidescape is the Ferrari of media management for CD audio music and DVD/Blu-ray movies. No more trailers or FBI warnings to postpone your entertainment.

Your media data is stored on enterprise grade hard drives (with raid back ups) and accessed with an incredible on-screen menu that resides on a proprietary operating system that is purpose-built to do one thing only, and to do it right. No URL’s, no viruses, no word processing.

Access your music and movies quickly. With the choice of cover art or list views for music and movies, finding exactly what you are looking for is done in a snap. Search your collection easily with search feature tools and several specialty tabs like “Collections”, “Favorites” and “Newly Imported”.