You’ve probably heard people say. “I’m not going to waste my money on home automation. I hear there’s new products being developed and I’m going to wait for them to come out before I buy. Why should I buy technology that’s going to be out of date soon?”

They probably think they’re being smart consumers, but there are a lot of reasons this is the wrong choice. It might be true if you were buying some of the earliest, cheapest kinds of home automation (like the ones that use the wiring in your house to carry the signal). But when you look at a true whole home automation system from one of the top manufacturers, there has never been a better time to buy.Here are some of the reasons you should be making the move right now:

Prices have already come down

Because of competition in the industry and the huge growth in the number of customers, home automation has never been so affordable. The price of a whole home system has come down dramatically in only the last few years. But it has hit a plateau that manufacturers can’t go below without compromising on quality. You can be confident that the price you pay now will be the same price you would pay in a couple of years.

Home Automation has caught up with your technology

Do you have a refrigerator that writes your grocery list, or fully motorized kitchen drawers? Probably not, and you probably have no plans to get them for many years. The current generation of home automation is perfectly suited to the life you are living right now – controlling security, adjusting climate control, giving you smart phone control of your house from off site, controlling all aspects of home entertainment. This is the real world that you live in, and home automation is ready to safely reliably and affordably control everything you use now and everything you will be using in the near future.

Quality home automation products are incredibly Future Friendly

Today’s home automation products are not like the old fashioned on-off switches of the first generation controllers. What you are purchasing is a system that is driven by highly sophisticated software and firmware. The same way you upgrade the operating system in your pad, laptop or smartphone, your home automation system is ready to be upgraded for whatever the future will bring. Top companies like Crestron and AMX produce technology that is unmatched in its ability to adapt to new devices and new uses. There are ten year old Crestron Series 2 controllers operating devices that didn’t even exist when Crestron built the controller. That’s what future forward technology does for you, It makes your home automation system a long-term investment, not an expense.

Money has never been so cheap

Many home owners take the option of financing their home automation system, often on a home equity line of credit. We are enjoying some of the lowest interest rates in history. Wise consumers know this is a great opportunity to make a purchase that will enhance their lifestyle for years to come and to pay for it as they use it with almost no interest.

There is never a wrong time to help the environment

We are all conscious of the environmental cost of generating electricity and heating our homes. Home automation is environmentally responsible. It is not just “greenwashing.” You will use less electricity and less fuel when your home is automated. That’s a fact. Why would you wait to show that kind of positive example to your children?

What price do you put on your family’s safety?

Most people now know the enhanced benefits to security that home automation provides. The ability to automatically alert the authorities, whether you’re home or not: Automated lighting that gives all your family members more comfort: State of the art glass break and motion sensing alarms that protect you 24/7. Do you want to wait until the security of your home has been violated, or do you want to be proactive and use all the technology available to make sure your possessions, and more important, your loved ones. are as safe as they can be?

If you wait for the latest model, you’ll never own anything

If people waited until technology was perfect, no-one would have ever bought a car or a television. Technology doesn’t need to be perfect to be good value. Instead, you should ask these questions. Is the technology proven? Is it at a fair price? Will I get years of service from it? If technology changes, will this change and adapt along with it? Home automation technology passes all these tests with flying colours. There has never been a better time to give yourself the electronic lifestyle you’ve dreamed of.

The next step is to chose the right partner to make your wish list into a check list. The experts at OneTouch Automation are ready to help. Let us design and install a whole home system that perfectly suits your needs and your budget. Call us today.

When people think of home automation the kitchen isn’t usually the first room that comes to mind. Home theatre is generally the first priority. But the kitchen can be a place where home automation shines. There are some conveniences you are probably familiar with that can do in the kitchen. Then there are some state of the are options that are so new many companies in the industry don’t even know about them. Lets look at the way we can spruce up what is often the busiest room in the house.

Audio

You want a good speaker system in your kitchen. Why? Think of all the time you spend there and how music can make it better. It could be lively music to make clean-up go faster. It could be romantic music to set the mood as you prepare a candlelight dinner.  Or it could be the news and traffic reports as you eat breakfast before your business day. An audio system controlled by a convenient touch pad should be part of your basic equipment.

Video

In the kitchen? Absolutely! From your favourite afternoon TV shows to calling up a recipe on the internet to pleasing the people who want their morning news on the television, not the radio, you will find that a screen in the kitchen will be in constant use.

Lighting

Good work light in the kitchen is important, but after the work is done you may not want it that bright. A zoned dimmer system is the answer. Energy efficient LED lights can brighten up the counters, while diffused ceiling lights give you good general illumination. Dim them any way you choose from your touch panel.

Appliances

Some parts of automating appliances can be very basic. For example, you can put power controls on devices like coffee makers that might be left on by mistake. Not sure if you left it on? Kill the power from anywhere in the world using your smart phone. On the other hand, you can start your coffee maker from the touch screen in the upstairs bedroom and have it ready by the time you get downstairs.

Now we get to some of the newer items. Maybe its time you got an internet refrigerator. What’s that?

Internet refrigerators, also called Net Fridges, are basically refrigerators with a connection to the Internet. Some have a full built-in computer complete with hard drive like the LG refrigerator, and others have Internet access through a limited number of applications like the Samsung models. They include a touch screen, speakers, and Wi-Fi connections to the Internet or your home network. Popular applications include: Memo writing, calendar scheduling (great for meal planning), accessing online and personal recipes, weather reports, listening to music and notification of low or expiring foods. Because of their connection to the internet, they can be integrated into you whole home system. The LG model will actually analyze what’s inside the refrigerator and suggest recipes based on what’s on hand. Once you have the recipe, the refrigerator can automatically pass the instructions on to your Smart Oven. The oven can also be monitored and controlled from off site by any smart device.

Biometric Drawers and Cupboards

We’re now arriving at the leading edge of kitchen technology. There is no need to pull cupboards and drawers open and shut. Brush the drawer or wave your hand and the door or drawer will open. The best know manufacturer of these systems is Anvil Motion, but other companies are getting into the business. Want to control access to a cupboard that has sharp knives, poisonous household products or alcohol? Add a biometric scanner to restrict access to only the people who can be trusted. Other features include an ‘intelligent memory’ that senses the need to close multiple drawers and reverses the opening order, and the ability to program cabinets to close as you exit the kitchen. Like all the devices we’ve talked about, touch screen control is also possible.

You may be thinking that you’ve been getting along fine with your kitchen the way it is, and you don’t need any of these “luxury” features. But when you think about it, not long ago dishwashers and microwave ovens were only found in the homes of the wealthiest people. Your kitchen has already had many updates since your parents’ day, and the technology will continue to change. If you’re doing a major home renovation, you may be replacing appliances anyway. Let this be your opportunity to get in front of the technology and give yourself a kitchen that will be a conversation starter and the envy of your neighbours. Let the pro’s at OneTouch Automation advise you on what technology is best for your electronic lifestyle. We are the experts in design, installation and service of whole home systems, including dream kitchens. Call us today.

Sometimes, nothing but the best will do. When it comes to media players, media servers and media vaults, there is one name that stands above the rest. That name is Kaleidescape. OneTouch Automation is proud to announce that they have been appointed as a dealer for this premium product.

The concept for Kaleidescape was born in early 2001. A small group of seasoned Silicon Valley entrepreneurs brainstormed the best way to serve up a rich cinematic experience in the home.

The Kaleidescape System

Kaleidescape’s founders began to research everything they could about the motion picture business, licensing, and the technology of digital audio and video to bring their audacious goal to life. This led to their design of the Kaleidescape architecture, several innovative hardware appliances, and the purpose-built software for these products known as KEAOS — the Kaleidescape Entertainment Appliance Operating System.

They discovered that with carefully designed hardware and software they could build a legal system that enables customers to copy their movies to hard disks for immediate playback anywhere in the home. This discovery led to the first Kaleidescape System which was introduced in 2003.

Today, the Kaleidescape experience is unrivaled. The company is known for its unwavering dedication to quality, innovation and customer service, and its unique movie server architecture. Kaleidescape Systems are installed in the finest homes and yachts around the globe. The company has also built and maintains one of the largest and most complete databases of information describing movies and music.

OneTouch is pleased that we can now offer this experience to our clients. Here are a few of the products Kaleidescape offers and what they do:

Servers

A Kaleidescape server stores an exact digital copy of your Blu-ray Discs, DVDs and CDs and streams movies and music across your household Ethernet to players throughout your home. Kaleidescape’s proprietary RAID-K technology protects against data loss. Multiple servers can work together to store thousands of movies and albums as a single collection.

Disc Vaults

Kaleidescape disc vaults make it fast and easy to add movies and music to your Kaleidescape System. You simply insert as many discs as you like, and walk away. Your Kaleidescape disc vault does the rest. Your discs are automatically copied onto your Kaleidescape System and are ready to be enjoyed throughout your home.

Kaleidescape Players

You’re not limited to one room with a Kaleidescape System. You can expand to as many rooms as you like by adding players. Once you’ve added a Kaleidescape player to a room, you can watch any movie, even while someone else watches a different one or even the same one in another room.

Kaleidescape is an exceptional product that will appeal to the discerning home owner who truly appreciates quality. It can become a key part of a state of the art home automation system.  It is the perfect compliment to a top of the line whole home system by Crestron or AMX.

Let OneTouch Automation design that system for you. We can make your dream of a fully automated home into a reality. We turn wish lists into check lists. Call us today for a no-charge consultation and see how easy it can be to get the very best in home automation.

(Thanks to Kaleidescape for the information in this blog. Please visit Kaleidescape website for more about this amazing product line)

When we quote a system, even to very high end customers, the question often comes up “Can you do anything about the price?” We understand that. Even clients who want the very best in an automated home also want to know that they are being treated fairly. When a home automation system is installed, it is often done at the same time as a major upgrade in home entertainment, and therefore there can be a bit of sticker shock when all the figures are added up.

The answer to the money question is “Yes, there are some places you can save.” But there are also some parts of the system you won’t want to touch, even if it saves a few dollars. Let’s look at a typical system and see where you may be able to economize.

Save on Design

A proper design for the system will save you a world of trouble later in the process. You can pay a designer to do this, but one way to get around spending the money is to use a reputable full-service company that offers design services. If you bundle design, sales and installation with one supplier, you can negotiate a big discount or rebate on the design as part of the package and definitely save money. A warning: If the company you’re considering doesn’t supply or require a complete design before beginning the install, walk away.

Save on Labour

The best way to save on labour is to start with a really good design. A properly designed modern system will use less cable and more wireless equipment. That means a quicker install and less labour to repair any wall or ceiling damage from cable runs. This is one of the areas where paying just a bit more for the wireless option can save you big money on man-hours.

Save on Speakers

All speakers are not created equal. You don’t need the same speakers for background radio in the kitchen as you do for theatre quality surround sound in the family room. As you work with your contractor, make it clear what your expectations are for sound quality from every area of the house. You may find that a $100 speaker is just fine for the foyer and that may free up money for that awesome subwoofer in the home theatre.

Save on Touch Screens

It is important for a complete home automation system to have at least one manufacturer’s touch screen as part of the system. A hand held remote is a good idea too. Once you have those, you may want to look at i-devices for extra touch screens. While they have their limits (including long start-ups from sleep mode), for a few hundred dollars you may be able to get something that will do the job in place of a manufacturer’s panel that could cost in the thousands of dollars. The applications are easy to load and some basic control apps are even free. Tell the integrator early if you plan to use them so they can be properly added to the system.

Save on Home Security

You may have been tempted by the home security systems that offer ‘no money down and a monthly monitoring fee’. It sounds like the equipment is free, but we all know there is no such thing as free equipment. You are locking into a long-term contract that is charging triple the normal monitoring rate. You’re paying for that alarm equipment in the long run. Why not have your security system installed at the same time as the home automation system? It is an economical upgrade, (the installers will already be on site) you own the equipment and most of the system can be driven by the hardware you’re already buying. You may find that a system sending you alerts by text or e-mail is all you need, or you may want to install your system and then subscribe to an economical monitor-only service. It will still save hundreds a year compared to the ‘free’ system.

Save on Equipment

Home owners are always interested in re-using equipment they already have. That may be possible, but it also may not. You may have a big screen television, but the technology changes so fast that even a fairly new screen may not reach the standards of today’s units. It is very important to meet with your home automation integrator and discuss what pieces you may want to keep in the system. They can evaluate the age and condition of the component and tell you if it is worth the risk. This also comes with a warning. If you re-use a component and it fails, that will not be covered under an installer’s warranty. You will be on the hook for a service call. It may be cheaper in the long run to make sure the  entire new system is the same age and quality. Once again, you may be able negotiate a discount with the integrator if you buy a turn-key system that includes all the hardware.

Save on Upgrades in the Future

One of the least expensive things you can do is to have your integrator pull extra cable while the job is being installed. For a few cents a metre, you can have extra Cat6E cable inside your wall that could save you thousands in cable pull and drywall work in the future. Technology is coming that will require far more bandwidth than we need today. This is the most economical way to be prepared.

At OneTouch automation, we are professionals with a career commitment the industry. We always make it clear to our clients that a truly worthwhile system is a major investment, but it is also totally fair to expect value for your money. The designers at OneTouch Automation are there ito make sure that you invest wisely in a system that will create the electronic lifestyle you always dreamed of. Call us today for a no-obligation no-cost consultation.

Home automation has grown very quickly in popularity. From something only the wealthiest could afford to a regular part of millions of homes, automated control has now arrived in a big way. But many homeowners still think this technology is only for their primary residence.As prices become more and more competitive, wireless technology increases and vacation homes become better equipped, it’s time to consider automating your cottage, chalet or lakeside retreat. Of course, the automation needs of a vacation property aren’t exactly the same as those of a full-time residence. It is unlikely that you will install a 7- speaker home theatre in a cottage. There are, however, many things that home automation brings to the table that you may find appealing for a vacation property. Here are a few of them:

Security

This is the number one concern of vacation property owners. Many cottage owners have experienced the disturbing surprise that comes from finding that someone has broken into their property in the off-season. It is a bad emotional experience, but it can also be expensive. Vandalism and doors or windows left open to the elements can cause thousands of dollars in property damage. There’s no need for this to happen. If you have access to phone lines, the internet or satellite capability, it’s possible to keep an eye on the property all year. Window-break sensors and motion detectors can alert you at once to any intruder, human or animal. The very same security systems can protect you from intruders when you’re there. That can be an added comfort if you’re in an isolated area far from the authorities.

Lighting is also a safety factor. Wouldn’t you rather drive up an illuminated driveway to find a fully lit cottage? No problem. Just send the command with your iphone before you arrive.

If you rent your cottage, you may want to install a programmable number pad in place of the lock. No more keys to deliver or return when the place is rented, and you can change the code so no-one can copy your keys and use them later.

Protect your property

Intruders aren’t the only source of damage to vacation homes. Frozen water pipes, flooding in the spring, fire and many other hazards can damage your property. A home automation system can detect any of these problems and immediately alert you allowing you to contact local authorities or trades to deal with the emergency. With automated door locks, you can let them in when they arrive, all without going to the property. A lot of this can be done even in areas without internet access. Products like the Sensaphone 400 will perform many of these monitoring functions on a simple analog telephone line.

Irrigation control is also a good feature to consider. If you can’t get to the property for a few weeks, you may still want to water the lawn and irrigate the flowerbeds. Your cottage automation system can easily do it, either on a regular schedule or by a remote command.

Comfort

On a chilly night, who wouldn’t prefer to arrive at a chalet that has already been preheated before you get there? Your automated comfort control can keep the property at a temperature that protects it from ice damage. When you’re on your way, send the command to warm the building up and arrive to a warm cozy welcome.

While you’re there, make sure you take advantage of controlling the many devices you now use at your vacation property. Satellite TV, DVD players and video games are all regular parts of the summer lifestyle. Why not add a radio frequency gateway to the system and wirelessly control all these devices? You may want to add control of the temperature and the lights in the hot tub too.

And don’t forget zoned audio. Whether it’s background music or the latest marine weather report, it’s easy to have the sound you want in any room. Add an iserver and you can easily access your favourite summer songs on your ipod.

At OneTouch automation, we believe that easy control of your home or cottage is not a silly luxury. It is simply the logical way of using and living with today’s home technology. We want to show you how convenient and affordable it is to put all this safety, comfort and convenience at your fingertips. Call the experts at OneTouch for a no-charge consultation. We know you will get excited about how different your new automated lifestyle is, whether you’re in the city or the country.

In the world of technology, the only constant is change. Nowhere is that more the case than with video formats. Over the years, we have seen so many ways of viewing and listening to material come and go, and there always seems to be another one just around the corner. You may have already forgotten or never used some of them, but here’s a recap and roughly when they were actively promoted:

VHS Tape – 1978 to 2005
Betamax Tape  – 1975 to 2002
Laserdisc  – 1978 to 2009
HD-DVD  – 2002 – 2008
Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) – 1997-2012
Blu-ray DVD – 2001- ?

The last two are the ones we want to talk about today. There are many people in our industry who believe the year 2012 is the year the DVD was as good as dead. They’re just waiting for it to be buried. Have people stopped watching movies? On the contrary. The movie business has never been so profitable. So, what are they watching? Here are the current trends from last year:
DVD rentals from stores – down 31%
DVD sales – down 20%
Online streaming of movies – up 94%

The pattern is clear. While there are still some videophiles who want the superior quality that comes from owning your own Blu-ray copy of a film, for the most part DVD is your father’s way of watching a movie.
Streaming is now taking over as the way-of-choice to watch movies. Netflix has over 25 million subscribers. Amazon Prime has 10 million. Hulu Plus is now pushing close to 2 million and growing all the time.
The affects of this will be huge, all the way from Hollywoood to your neighbourhood video store to your home theatre. In Hollywood, they have to deal with the fact that half a movie’s profit used to come from DVD sales. That is drying up fast. With the revenue from DVD’s fading, movie studios are now rely on opening weekend receipts and overseas sales. In the past, customers would happily pay $20 to have a DVD in their collection. DVD’s only cost pennies to manufacture, so almost all of the $20 was profit. Now viewers will instead pay $3.50 to watch a download and never think about the movie again. Neighbourhood video rental stores are disappearing quickly and being replaced by cheap rental kiosks in the supermarket. There are even illegal websites where pirated films are openly posted and otherwise law-abiding citizens go there and watch them for free.
So, what are we supposed to do now? Do we throw away our DVD players, sell our DVD’s at the lawn sales and move on to Netflix? The answer is “Not so fast.” The technology may have moved past DVD’s, but that doesn’t mean that people will let go of it right away. There are a number of things DVD’s do that still make them popular, and those features aren’t going away. Here are a few  of the things that people still like about this technology:

Home Movies
It’s very likely that the video of your child’s school concert will still be supplied on DVD. It is a cheap and easy format to reproduce, places like schools have invested in the technology to reproduce them and they will not stop doing that for at least the next few years.

Quality
Because of the heavy bandwidth demands of streaming video, much of it comes into your home compressed. If you’ve spent a lot of money for a home theatre, you don’t want the video itself to be the weakest link. Blu-ray still clearly outperforms Netflix.

Collectors Love Them
DVD is still the format of choice for buying a complete season of your favourite TV show. It’s also how you get a movie you enjoyed with all the extras like the director’s commentary.

You Can Get What’s New
Hollywood is holding back a lot of the really good stuff from the streaming services because they need to sell you those DVD’s. They will continue this for as long as they can get away with it.

This trend away from DVD does mean some interesting changes for home automation. In the past few years, a cornerstone of a very high-end home system was a media server. Some companies offered hard drives with memory in the multiple terabytes as they imagined consumers saving huge libraries of Blu-ray and DVD (as well as uncompressed audio CD’s, another format on life support). There will still be big demand for this kind of media server for a few years, and probably a small market for it forever. But it is now just as important to know what your system will do for you in terms of streaming, rather than storing. You need to know that you will be able to use the system to find what you need on line, and then make it easy to watch it streamed live or make sure it is easy to store temporarily to watch later.
That’s all the more reason to work with a home automation specialist. No-one wants to invest big money in dead-end technology and this is one area you need professional advice. You should also look for someone who represents the major brands like Crestron and AMX. They are future friendly companies that make sure their technology is always ready for the next format the industry throws at us.

Talk to the home automation specialists at OneTouch Automation to make sure the system you buy will be an investment that is format proof and ready to give you many trouble-free years of service.

A question that comes up again and again in home automation is “Do I have to hire a professional company to automate my home or can I do it myself using my own computer to drive the system?” That should be a straightforward “Yes/No” kind of question, but it’s actually a lot more complicated than that. The answer is “Yes, it’s possible,” but the answer may also be “No, you don’t want to try and do it yourself.” Let’s have a look at some of the benefits and pitfalls of attempting to do this as a home handyman project.
For starters, you are talking about using a home computer to run the system. Sales of PC’s are way down, because most people are moving into a tablet or laptop system. But you can’t run this type of technology on a computer you take with you. If this is going to run your house, it has to be on all day every day, when you’re on holidays, when you’re at work, when you’re asleep. That means the first thing you’ll need is a very sturdy computer to become the 24/7 server that operates your house.
Then you’ll need software. Here’s where it starts to get tricky. There are many different ways of controlling devices in a home. The big companies like Crestron and AMX have their own protocols, languages and methods that take years to master. You don’t have the time or money to learn these systems, so you have to look at something simpler.
Software like Home Director of Homeseer is often based on the assumption that you are going to use “X10” devices. There are many devices made for X10 control, including lights, thermostats and TV remotes. X10’s main trick is that it sends signals through the power lines that are already inside the walls of your house. That eliminates the need to run new wire, but it is also a system that can drop messages or misinterpret cable noise as a command (for example, turn on a light when you don’t want it on) The signal can also bleed into your neighbour’s wiring. A system called Insteon was devised to address these problems, but they can still happen.
If this is making you nervous, you could look at a system based on UPB (Universal Powerline Bus) which is a bit more reliable, but there just aren’t as many devices available for it. Maybe the answer is to go wireless.

Still with me? If you choose to do your own wireless system, you can look at open-source technologies like Zigbee. You still have to be careful, because even though all Zigbee is supposed to be the same, the truth is it isn’t. A better bet might be to try Z-Wave. It’s controlled by one company so there are fewer compatibility issues. What does it take to make a device work? Let’s imagine for a moment you are using Homeseer on a PC and you want to control a light wirelessly on Z-Wave. Here are the instructions for setting it up, as described by Zack Stern in PC World:

Let’s say you want to configure a hallway lamp. Attach a lamp module to your outlet. You’ll use a Z-Wave remote to connect the lamp module to your Z-Wave network: Position the Z-Stick Series 2 (or a similar computer adapter) next to the lamp module. Push the button on the USB adapter, and then push the main button on the lamp module. The two will pair, and the USB adapter will store this information for the PC.
Turn your lamp on, and connect it to the Z-Wave module. (The lamp should stay dark.)
Connect the USB adapter to your PC. Install any driver software if needed, and import the lamp details into the HS2 software. You configure the software in a Web browser (which is great for accessing the HomeSeer PC from a networked computer of any OS). Click through to the Interface tab to attach the Z-Wave USB adapter.
Most important, be sure to configure the correct COM Port. With the USB adapter attached, open Device Manager and pick Ports. Check the port number of the USB stick, and enter that back in the HS2 configuration page; if you have the wrong COM Port, the software won’t show the adapter, and it won’t reveal a clear error either. When you’ve configured the software properly, you can import the details about the Z-Wave lamp module. You can now control the lamp from your PC, turning it on, shutting it off, and setting the brightness.
Once it’s installed, you might want to control it from offsite with software like GoToMyPC.

Did you feel comfortable with those instructions? That project is described as an “easy” one. I know there are some of you who will read that and say “No problem.” If so, you are probably the best candidates to take on automating your home as a hobby. But whether you think you’re ready to do it or not, be prepared for a system that still isn’t up to Crestron standards. When you use the real thing, you get leading edge technology that will do so much more than turn lights on and off. When you use a professional home automation company, you will be getting an experienced designer to develop the perfect system for you based on your needs. You will be getting a free-standing system that doesn’t depend on your PC or the internet to run. And you will be getting the technical support of someone with a career commitment to this technology. A simple system as a weekend hobby could be fun, but when it comes to true whole home automation, some things are just worth paying for.

The experts at OneTouch Automation are here to help. We are dedicated to selling you no more and no less than exactly what you need to give you the electronic lifestyle you want. Contact us today for a consultation.

When you work in an industry like ours, it’s sometimes easy to make the assumption that everyone knows the value of what we do. I was at a business breakfast last month and one of the guests at my table honestly said, “I’ve been living in my house for twenty years and it seems to work fine. Why should I spend a lot of money on something I’ve never had and I don’t think I need?”
We can’t think that everyone knows how great an automated home is. We need to face the fact that when any new technology comes along, it usually replaces something that is already there and usually working pretty well. Electric lights replaced gas lamps, cars replaced the horse and buggy. But those old technologies never stopped working, and you can go to parts of Pennsylvania where gas lamps and horses and buggies are still in use every day. If we want people to experience all the benefits of home automation, we have to be able to tell them in a few words why they should part with their hard-earned money for something they never had before and aren’t sure they need. Let’s see if we can state our case:

Convenience
It’s always best to lead with the strongest reason. You may have never had this technology before, but there is a lot of other technology already in your house that you never had before, and home automation is the way you get it under control. Unless you want to join the Amish in Pennsylvania, you will be dealing with a houseful of new gadgets with new ones appearing every year. High efficiency furnaces, LCD screens, blu-rays, satellite television, streaming audio, streaming video, your kids’ video games, energy efficient dimmable lighting – there’s always something new coming. Do you really want to spend your leisure time becoming an expert in how to integrate and control all of this? Wouldn’t you rather live in a home where all these things respond simply and easily to your needs, not theirs? Push one button to close all the shades or all the lights. Uses simple convenient controls for the rapidly growing selection of home entertainment.
You didn’t have home automation twenty years ago, but you also didn’t have six or seven remote controls you don’t understand on the coffee table in the family room. New technology has amazing benefits, but only if you can control it. We make that easy.

Environmental Responsibility
We have become painfully aware that we have been making a mess of the earth and leaving it for our kids to clean up. We are also aware that it isn’t right. But we have an opportunity to go in a different direction. With well-designed home automation, you can add the new technology you want to your home, and actually use less resources than you’re using now. Sophisticated thermosat control that minimizes the use of heat and air conditioning is just the start. High efficiency lights that dim when their not needed and shut off if the room isn’t used: Appliances that can be programmed to respond to variable electrical rates, so your dishwasher goes on when the rates are low, saving peak time load on the electrical grid (and also saving you money): Motorized shades that react to the season and the time of day to give you the best home comfort with the least energy. Home automation is one way you can show that you are prepared to do your part to help the planet.

Security
We’ve talked about the obvious aspects of security before. Things like alarms and video door phones are becoming common. But we can do even better. How about an alarm system that not only sets off an alarm if it detects and intruder, but also turns on every light in the house and even makes the lights outside your house flash on and off? How about a fire alarm system that not only sounds an alarm, but also automatically shuts off the heating or air conditioning to help stop the fire from spreading, then lights an exit path out of the house? How about a doorbell that takes a picture or video of every person who comes to your door and e-mails it to a secure place in the cloud? How about a system that sends you an e-mail if your latch-key kid hasn’t checked in at home after school? How about a system that warns you if an elderly relative forgets to turn off the stove or lets the bath overflow? Everyone wants to live in a safer home. Home automation is one way to make it happen.

At OneTouch Automation, our passion is to work with you and make sure that total control of your home will enhance your convenience, improve your safety and make your home “greener.” We can tell you the why’s and how’s of this exciting technology, and you can tell us when you want to start experiencing your home in a whole new way.

There was a time when the only option for big screen video in your home was projection. You may even remember the earliest kind of projector. It was the CRT (which stood for Cathode Ray Tube), it had three huge lenses in red, green and blue and was so dim it was sometimes projected on silver screens to try and brighten the image. It was also almost impossible focus. Some of them weighed as much as 80 kilograms. Basement ceilings needed special bracing to take the weight.
The next generation of home theatre projection was LCD. Smaller, cheaper, lighter and brighter, it became the standard for home theatres everywhere. It has its drawback (short life expectancy, expensive lamps, noisy fans) but folks still loved it. Then came DLP. Even smaller, these digital projectors gave us amazing contrast and saturated colours from “colour wheel” technology.
We would probably still be using them, but something happened that proved to be a game changer.
All of a sudden, projectors and plasma screens started to disappear. Especially the plasma screen, which was a heavy, expensive, energy sucking monster. Plasma and projectors were being elbowed out by the LCD screen. Cheap and cheerful, the LCD may not have had the same smoothness of motion that the plasma image did, but it weighed a fraction as much and cost way less.

Suddenly, with only a few exceptions, the LCD screen was king of the home theatre market. The available sizes continued to grow to the point where a 96” diagonal LCD at $10,000 can replace a plasma screen that may have at one time cost $80,000.
That could be the end of the story right there. Why would we be looking at going back to projection? I can tell you that in three initials – LED.

Several companies, including LG, Optoma and Sim2 have introduced new LED projectors for home theatre. Why is that such a big deal? Using Light Emitting Diodes instead of a regular lamp changes almost everything. First, they’re almost noiseless. Second, they are environmentally friendly. They use almost no power and generate almost no heat. And here’s the kicker. The LED lamps are designed to last 30,000 hours. That’s three times the life of some LCD screens. They aren’t super bright, but home theatre projectors never were. The Sim2 Mico line is already becoming a favourite of integrators. With its high definition image, small size and competitive price, it is the go-to LED unit for many companies. They are available right now with a Canadian distributor supporting them.
So, you ask, why bother? Weren’t we doing fine with LCD? Well, yes we were and for most applications we will continue to do so. But with this low-maintenance, long lasting, power saving option, we can go back and look again at why people wanted projection in their home theatres in the first place. The truth is, it has many advantages that we may have forgotten:

Big Screens
Projection is the by far the most efficient way to get really large images in high definition. In theory, if the room was large enough, you could have a 300” diagonal projection system, but that isn’t realistic. However, a 120” is definitely not out of the question.

Small Screens
Conversely, if you’re trying to fit a screen into a smaller space or an odd sized area, projection is still your best bet. By moving the projector and the zoom lens, you have many more size options available.

Space Saving
You can actually mount a projection screen closer to the wall than an LCD screen. The projector can be tucked out of the way in the ceiling.

Money Saving
For a really large image, projection is by far the cheapest way to go, even less expensive than LCD.

Better Wide Angle View
Many people feel that the viewers off to the side get a far better experience with projection than they do with LCD, as LCD is subject to a very sudden drop-off of brightness once you leave the area in the middle of the screen.

A True Theatre Experience
Admit it – there is nothing like darkening the room and watching a projected image. That’s what the cinema experience is all about. Add a motorized curtain in front of the screen, and you don’t just have another blu-ray showing, you have an event.

When the time comes to build your home theatre, don’t forget that LED projection just might be the option you’re looking for.

OneTouch Automation is your home for every kind of integration technology, including home theatre. We make it our business to stay ahead of the latest trends in technology to make sure the system you get – LCD, Plasma, Projector – is the one that is exactly suited to your budget and lifestyle. Call us today to arrange a visit from one of our home automation professionals.

In the home automation industry, you often hear the word “convergence.” It’s a very important concept. It’s that place where many different technologies come together and interact with each other. Sometimes it can change our entire lifestyle. Television did that in the 1950’s. It wasn’t just radio with pictures. It changed the entertainment industry, the way our houses were built, the schedule that people operated on and our world view. Sometimes, it got the whole world watching something like a moon landing at the same time.

Now, television is about to take on a whole new function. We are especially aware of this in industry, as it will mean managing many different types of signals and making them accessible to everyone, including people who have no technical skills. But to understand what TV will be,, you have to understand what it was. We used to think that TV was something that showed a broadcast signal, and groups of people watched it from a distance of more than three feet. That was not the same as a computer. It showed on-board software or internet signals, and was viewed from closer than three feet. All that has changed. The television is now merging with many technologies that will make it a very different experience. Here are some of the many things your TV is about to do:

TV as the telephone

The emergence of Skype has been a game-changer in communication. In the future, you will answer the phone with your touch pad and, if you allow it, it will not be a voice call, it will be an internet video call. Psychologists tell us that video images cause almost as powerful a connection as seeing someone face to face. Seniors are among the fastest growing group using this technology as they realize they can see far off children and grandchildren face to face.

TV as the shopping centre

At a time when retail stores are lucky to grow 1% a year, on-line purchasing is growing at a rate of 8.6% a year. The pace of this may increase as gas prices rise, big box stores go under and delivery systems become more sophisticated.

TV as your classroom

Your television is the lecture hall of the future. On line education is growing at the rate of 12.9% a year, far faster than classrooms. Even the oldest colleges and universities are now offering degree courses on line. Some are offering the chance to do courses on line for free that would cost thousands of dollars if taken in a classroom

TV as your cinema

Home theatre was once a toy for the wealthy few. Now, home theatre is affordable for virtually anyone. The movie industry may be making more money than ever, but it is because of up-charges for things like 3D, not because they are selling more tickets. The new place to watch movies is in your own home. Four-K TV will rival the cinema experience, and the new models will be in wide distribution by this Christmas. Add in Netflix, and your home is your movie house.

TV as your doorbell

Why jump up to answer the front door? Just switch the TV to the video door phone, see who’s there, talk to them and then, if you choose, unlock the door.

TV as your arcade

This one is already here, but it’s changing. Cloud gaming could soon make the console obsolete, but will require huge bandwidth. Gesture control will mean you’ll have to design your room to make space for golf, baseball and martial arts in front of the screen.
Games with look-around 360 degree technology (think full motion Google maps) will mean surround video – a screen on every wall.

TV as your computer

As people time shift by watching streaming video, watch new programming on YouTube and follow player tweets during the big game, the line between TV and Computer has become increasingly blurred. With wireless keyboards now an inexpensive option, why move to a desk to surf the internet?

All these functions are either here now or just around the corner. So how to you control a device that does this many things, plus regular cable TV and satellite? Simple. You call the professionals at OneTouch Automation. We are the masters at making remote controls disappear and replacing them with touch screens that are easy for anyone to use – from kids to seniors and all ages in between. Replace all the buttons and hassles with a touch pad that has simple buttons like “shopping,” “Cable TV,” “Games” and “YouTube.” We give you the power to take this incredible technology and do what you really want to do with it – enjoy it. Talk to your OneTouch representative today. We’ll make TV, and your whole home, into a place where technology makes your life safer, simpler and better.