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Learn three upgrades you need to make to your Beverly Hills home

Our phones at DSI have not stopped ringing since most of our clients started quarantining at home. Most of our clients reside in Beverly Hills, the Westside, or Montecito, and they all have something in common: they do not spend a lot of time at home.   Between travel and a demanding work schedule, our clients are typically on-the-go at all times. Because of this, they realize that they have not paid a lot of attention to some of their home systems and are now finding out that they were not quite ready for this quarantine. Our days at DSI are filled resolving failed Zoom calls, interrupted Fortnite games, Netflix lags, non-working gate intercoms, Lutron meltdowns, Crestron, or Savant remotes on the blink, etc. When it comes to smart home automation, it is better to be proactive than reactive. Learn three aspects of your home that you need to upgrade in Beverly Hills, CA.

The first area of importance of the home technology system is the Wi-Fi and computer network. We have been urging our clients for years to splurge in this category to make sure their systems are robust, reliable, and speedy. Almost everything you use in your home relies on internet connectivity. The clients that have listened have had no Wi-Fi issues. If you are muddling through this pandemic with slow or non-existent Wi-Fi, here are a few things you need to consider:

1. Sign up for the maximum speed you can get from your internet service provider (Spectrum, AT&T, Frontier, etc.). Spend the extra bucks to get the speed you need. If you have not updated your plan in the past 12 to 24 months, it is time to call the cable company and see what speeds are available. Currently, Spectrum is strained on bandwidth, which is resulting in very low upload speeds that translate to difficulty with Zoom calls, viewing security cameras remotely, and a host of other issues. This is particularly true in homes north of Sunset where the infrastructure is strained.
2. If you want better response times for outages or equipment failure, consider upgrading from a residential to a business account . The level of service and responsiveness is markedly better.
3. Put in enterprise-grade hardware! Treat yourself to the best unless you enjoy hearing your teenagers scream at you because their connection dropped out in the middle of their AP test. Investing in great hardware results in better coverage, higher reliability, faster speed, fewer drop-outs, and the capacity for many users on the system at once. Although consumer products like Eero and Ecobee are excellent products for the average American home, Beverly Hills or Holmby Hills residents must realize they do not live in the average American household. The spaces are much larger, the construction denser, and the overall complexity of the home system is far greater. An average American home has about 8-10 connected devices. Our typical client has over 200 networked devices in the house. This is more than most small businesses. All systems (HVAC, Pool, Security, Audio, Video, Locks, Garage Doors, Lighting, etc.) are connected to the internet at some level. The gear you should be purchasing should be pro equipment like Ruckus, Access Networks, Cisco, Meraki, or the like.

The other weak point that our clients are discovering in their homes is their home theater systems. Pre-pandemic, the theater might have been getting minimal use or was a space that the kids mostly used.   The landscape has changed.   Who knows the next time we will feel comfortable sitting in a commercial theater?   With Universal, Disney, and Warner Brothers releasing some movies in the home at the same time they are in theaters, the importance of an excellent home theater experience is on the rise.   I know that many of my clients are having us update their theaters in preparation for Hamilton, the movie being released on Disney+ on July 3^rd (more than one year before it was meant to be released in theaters).   This and other movie events will make the home theater a space your family will want to spend more time in.

Here are a few things you can do to spruce up that home theater:

Get the Speed You Need When Working or Doing School from Home

Now, more than ever, you need a strong network that doesn’t lag or buffer when you’re online. With so many people across the nation staying home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, working from home has become a necessity. The same is true for schooling. Your family needs a high-speed, reliable internet to maintain some level of normalcy throughout the day.

If your network is a few years old, then you’re probably experiencing the frustration of slow speeds and a smart home system that is sluggish. DSI Luxury Technology performs complete home network upgrades for homeowners in Malibu, CA. Before calling your internet service provider (ISP) and spending money on an upgrade that won’t work, read our blog below.

SEE ALSO: 5 EASY STEPS TO BOOST YOUR HOME AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

It All Starts With Your Router

Something as simple as router placement could be the reason for slow performance. For the best signal, your router needs to have “line of sight” for all your devices. If it’s hidden behind the couch or tugged away in a closet, the signal will suffer. So, put it out in the open. It may not complement your home décor, but you’ll hopefully enjoy better connections and even faster internet speeds.

Wouldn't it be nice to watch the latest Hollywood blockbuster at home with friends instead of behind texting tweens? In the new post-COVID world, our desire to see the latest movies in our home is growing by leaps and bounds. Have you some serious cash into the best home theater system equipment like JBL Synthesis, Steinway Lyngdorf, Meyer Sound, or Wisdom Speakers? Well here is the low-down on how to avoid the theaters altogether but still be able to watch movies in your Los Angeles home the night they come out in theaters.

THE BEL AIR CIRCUIT

I build many theaters for a lot of Hollywood heavyweights who have the extreme luxury of getting brand new films delivered to their home on the day of the theatrical release. Want to watch the next Batman movie in your jammies instead of fighting the lines at Christmas? Well, my entertainment pro clients can do just that by becoming a member of the Bel Air Circuit. The Bel Air Circuit isn't an official organization but really a phrase for those that have studio connections and professional cinema gear in their home. The typical requirements of entry are that you register your theater as a professional cinema with the film labs / distributors like Technicolor or Deluxe, and that you are in the entertainment industry with enough clout to get studio heads to approve adding your name to the list. Not all members get all films... or all studios. Sometimes DC or Marvel titles are limited. Sometimes certain directors make their titles less available to the circuit. Those with juice get all the studios and all the titles.

The equipment you need is not made by Samsung, LG, Vizio, or any of the video brands you may already know. Companies like Christie, Barco, Dolby, and NEC specialize in the D-Cinema equipment you will need to be a part of the Bel Air Circuit. These are the same projectors that you would find at the Arclight or AMC. The picture and sound with this pro equipment can be extraordinary.

RED CARPET CINEMA

So what if you aren't a Hollywood hotshot? Well, the next best thing to the Bel Air Circuit is Red Carpet Home Cinema. This is a device that gives you access to new theater releases but in a very consumer friendly way. Think Apple TV on steroids. The uncompressed picture and sound blow away any content on any streaming service, bar none. New releases and phenomenal quality come at a price though. The hardware sells for $15,000 and the movies run $1,500+ per title. This may seem like a big price tag but our clients consider it the equivalent to a nice dinner and bottle of wine. It actually also might pencil out if you are taking a birthday party of 8 year olds to Despicable Me 5.

BeL AiR CineMA

Bel Air Cinema is a company that gives you the Bel Air Circuit experience without having to be a Hollywood hotshot. To get movies the day they are released in theaters, you simply need to join the club. The fees range for this service, but this is the most expensive option out there. The benefits to using this service is that Bel Air Cinema delivers content in the same way that studios deliver to the theaters. This means that you get the very best quality image and sound available. Note that you must have DCI-compliant hardware just like if you were in the Bel Air circuit (pro projector and sound equipment). This means a hardware investment somewhere around 100k+. So for those of you without Hollywood connections and a desire to have the best, Bel Air Cinema may be the best fit.

Explore How Smart Home Technology Can Enhance Your Health 

Many of our Beverly Hills customers are intrigued by automation possibilities for their smart home, but we’ve found that they aren’t clear on just how advanced the technology really is or how much it can potentially improve their wellness or sense of comfort.

If you live in California and haven’t had a chance to check out all the possibilities for smart home automation or integrating wellness-focused tech into your life, it’s time to take a look at what smart tech has to offer.

Complete Centralized Control of Your Home

Most of our customers understand how smart tech can work piecemeal throughout their home. In fact, it’s probably the case that you’ve got several pieces of smart tech in your house right now.

Most of our customers have an Echo Dot or Apple HomePod, and many of them have a Nest or a Ring Video Doorbell, but it’s often the case that their smart tech hasn’t been seamlessly integrated to work as a cohesive whole.

What happens when you have complete control of your home? You can start to do some really incredible things with automation.