Audio Video

This is the stuff you use every day. Pandora in the kitchen while cooking, Napster on the deck with a glass of wine, watching the news in the morning, or watching a movie in the theater on Saturday night. Whatever you are doing, CAT will make sure it is easy to operate for every member of the family, and even for guests. We have considered including a “That was easy” big red button from Staples because it is just SO EASY to use these products after the Custom Automation Technologies team does their thing!

Home Theater

Do you want a dedicated space for watching movies? Let us visit your home and discuss your project. There are so many options! At Custom Automation Technologies we will take the time to learn your needs and taste in audio. We will explain the difference between a 5.1 and 7.2.4 speaker setup. We will look at the room dimensions and recommend a screen size, seating distance and multi-row seating options. We will discuss in-wall, on-wall, bookshelf and floor standing speaker options. We can even discuss lighting control, shade control and sound proofing.

Whether you want a large TV with surround sound in your family room for casual movie watching, or a dedicated home theater with a projector, big screen and the latest in surround sound technology, we can design your system to meet your needs and budget.

Ease of use is one of our priorities. We know you don’t want to worry about what source the projector and receiver need to be set to in order to watch something from the Blu-ray player, cable box, Apple TV or game system. Our universal remote controls allow you to press 1 button for each type of viewing and then the system takes care of making all the proper settings.

In the end, you will have an awesome home theater! For more information on our custom home theater installation services, contact us today.

Media Room

Maybe you want a more casual space to enjoy TV and movies. Let us set you up with a nice 5.1 speaker package and a universal remote. You will be amazed at the improvement over using just the TV speakers!

Is your room a challenge? Open floor plan and no walls for speakers? Finished basement below and no chance of running wires? Don’t worry, we have some pretty cool speaker options, and nifty wire running techniques, that just might allow you to get that surround sound feeling, even in a non-ideal room.

TVs

We sell and install TVs every day. We even install TVs that you provide. We can do a quick and easy installation of a TV on a stand, connect everything for you, and program the cable or satellite remote. Or we can do a more complicated installation where the TV may be on a stone wall above a fireplace, or maybe it’s an 80” TV on an articulating mount, or an outdoor TV on a brick wall.

We can take care of all the wiring, including installing an outlet behind the TV and putting your equipment in an out of sight location if needed. And don’t worry about seeing wires. You will never see any wires when we hang a TV on a wall!

One Remote

We want your TV watching experience to be enjoyable! You shouldn’t dread watching a movie because you need to use 5 different remotes, or because your teenager or spouse isn’t home to turn things on for you.

Let us remove all the frustration of enjoying a TV show or movie. With a universal remote, watching what you want is only 1 button press away. And, you only need the 1 universal remote. You can take all the other remotes off the coffee table and put them in a drawer.

Sports Bar

How about 3 or more TVs with the ability to watch something different on each TV, the same thing on all TVs, or a combination? Sure, we can do that!

Video Wall

A video wall is made up of multiple TVs, all mounted right next to each other. The idea is to create one large screen by using multiple TVs. But, it has other benefits too. Here are 2 examples using 55” TVs:

A 2×2 video wall (4 TVs) could display 4 separate shows, or they could be combined to display one show on a 110” screen.
A 3×3 video wall (9 TVs) could display 9 different shows, or be combined to display 1 show on a 165” screen, or 4 of the TVs could be combined to display one show on a 110” screen, with the other TVs displaying separate shows.

Video Distribution

A video distribution system allows you to share a common set of video sources among all the TVs in your home. For example, a rack in the mechanical room could have 5 cable boxes, 2 Apple TVs, a movie server, a camera DVR and a control system. A Blu-Ray player could be located in the family room for convenience. All of these can easily be watched on any TV if you have a video distribution system.

Centrally locating all of the sources alleviates the problem of having these devices in each room. For cable and satellite service, it reduces the number of boxes needed.

CAT understands the technology behind video distribution. It’s not simple (well, it is if you know what you are doing). There are various technical details that need to be considered, such as the resolutions to be supported and the type of wire being used. Let’s sit down together and discuss your needs and decide how to best distribute video in your home.

Music

We all enjoy music. It helps us concentrate. It helps the time go by faster. It brings back memories. It just makes us happy! Let us make you happy by installing a state of the art music system in your home.

Easily listen to your favorite music in any room, and even outside. YES! ANY ROOM! Play music from your phone, your computer, a hard drive, or from one of your favorite streaming services, such as Pandora, Napster or Spotify. We can optimize your whole home to become your own personalized and customized concert venue!

You can play the same music in multiple rooms, or each room can play something different.

Use your tablet or mobile phone to select the room(s), the music to play and to control the volume. Or we can install touchscreens in key locations for an awesome user interface that is always on and ready for you to use.

If you have an older home with volume controls in each room, we can upgrade your system to allow for the ability to play the latest streaming services. We can even divide your larger zones (made up of multiple rooms) into smaller zones so that each room can play something different if desired.

More about our Audio Systems and Equipment.

Easily listen to your favorite music in any room, and even outside. Play music from your phone, your computer, a NAS drive, or from one of your favorite streaming services, such as Pandora, Napster or Spotify. Heck, we can even let you play music from a device using a headphone jack or a CD player if you haven’t quite joined the streaming revolution.

You can play the same music in multiple rooms, or each room can play something different.

Use your tablet or mobile phone to select the room(s), the music to play and to control the volume. Or we can install touchscreens in key locations for an awesome user interface that is always on and ready for you to use.

Are you having a Buckeye game day party? We can let you play the audio from the game in all your rooms and outside so no one misses the action.

If you have an older home with volume controls in each room, we can upgrade your system to allow for the ability to play the latest streaming services. We can even divide your larger zones (made up of multiple rooms) into smaller zones so that each room can play something different if desired.

If you have an existing music system, but want to extend it to other rooms or areas, we can do that too. We have wired solutions and wireless solutions to make the new rooms/areas seem like they have always been a part of the system.

Speakers

We have all kinds of speakers, in all price ranges and in all shapes, sizes and colors. We even have speakers that are totally invisible.

We have the traditional indoor speakers that are flush mounted with a paintable grill, as well as bookshelf and floor standing speakers.

For outside speakers you can choose from such shapes as a rock, frog, planter, light, mushroom and more.

Some speakers are stereo speakers, allowing you to get stereo sound from a single speaker.

What kind of system do I need?

This is a tough question. Only you can answer it, but we can help. It depends on your lifestyle and how you intend to listen to music. Aesthetics may be important and so you may choose a system just because the user controls fit best with your decor, or because you don’t want any controls on the walls. Many times it simply comes down to budget. Call us and we will be happy to discuss your project and help you decide on a system that is perfect for you.

Some things to consider before we talk:

How many people live in the house that listen to music?

If there are only 2 people living in the house then ask yourselves if you ever want to listen to different music at the same time.

Decide in which rooms you want to have music. Are the rooms all close to each other and sound easily travels from one room to the other? Or are the rooms/areas separated so you have the ability to play something different in each area (first floor, lower level, deck/patio, garage)?

How do you intend to interact with the system? Will you use a mobile device? Do you want a touchscreen on a wall? Do you want volume controls in each room? Do you want to control some of the source equipment’s functions from each room?

Where will the music come from? Streaming? If so, which streaming services? CD player? Cable or satellite box? Do you have music on a computer or on your mobile device?

Where do I want speakers?

Again, this is a question that only you can answer. But, here are some things to think about and some suggestions.

Where are you when you want to listen to music?
What are you doing when you want to listen to music?
Do you entertain?
Here are some common rooms/areas to locate speakers.
Kitchen
Great room
Dining room
Living room
Master bedroom
Master bath
Basement / Rec room
Bonus room
Office / Den
Guest room
Garage / Driveway
Pool or Hot Tub
Outdoor patio
Children’s rooms are not usually included in the whole-house music system. This is because most kids have their own music system and want to listen to their own music. However, it is possible to install whole-house music speakers in a child’s bedroom and provide an interface (wall jack and/or switch box) that lets the child choose between a source that is part of the whole-house audio system, or use the music system in their room.