When you stop to think about it, we all have a somewhat intimate relationship with our lights. One of the first things you do when you wake up is turn on the lights and usually the last thing you do before going to sleep is turn them off. When you enter your home or walk into a room, what do you usually reach for? Yep, controls for the lights. You might like a bright room while your spouse prefers a more dimly lit space. Lighting is more personal than we realize. 

If you get the annual “telephone book” stack of Restoration Hardware catalogs you’ll notice one was dedicated specifically to lighting. Fixtures and table lamps have personality and there’s tons of options to suit any individual taste. With lighting being a personal matter, ACS has noticed in working with thousands of homeowners and hundreds of designers and architects that personalized control of lighting is often overlooked. If you’ve never thought about expressing your individuality with controlled lighting options, a technology integrator can make that happen. The process is fun too! 

An expert lighting control system allows you to get creative in all sorts of ways (from which light sources react to your commands to the design of the controllers themselves, and much more) that will uniquely express your personality and style. Whether you’re in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Westchester or just about anywhere from New York to Florida to California, your personalized lighting system will feel like a natural extension of your house when you partner with ACS; easily relatable and providing genuine value and enjoyment.

Customizable Interfaces

Controllers can be designed with a particular theme in mind; be it coastal, traditional, contemporary.. The many personalities of your household can be reflected in the lighting scenes you choose and the aesthetics of the device used to activate those scenes. Keypads can be color matched, architecturally finished, custom engraved, and the icons on smartphones, tablets and touchscreens can be labeled however you prefer, including different languages.

When IMAX bought ownership stake in Prima Cinema recently, it was like watching two good friends become a couple in your favorite romantic comedy: A match made in Hollywood!

Separately, Prima Cinema and IMAX are brands in which ACS have collaborated for some time. Prima allows subscribers to screen theatrically released films in their own homes, a popular option for many ACS customers in New York, Southern California, and the South Florida regions, while the IMAX Private Theatre solution began offering 2D and 3D systems (with floor-to-ceiling screens and state-of-the-art sound) for individual ownership just this year, and we’ve been a Certified Technology Partner since the beginning.

The agreement with Prima Cinema enhances IMAX’s ability to deliver a premium, end-to-end in-home entertainment experience, combining the best of IMAX’s immersive images and sound technology with the opportunity to view current theatrical titles.

While screening a new release at home has long been a wish for many film buffs, studios have hesitated to deliver first run films to the home due to concerns of privacy. However, Prima has recently signed deals with Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures as a direct result of their encryption technology to prevent illegal copies of movies.

Prima also provides exclusive at-home opening premieres for movies such as "Lone Survivor" starring Mark Wahlberg and Eric Bana, "About Time" starring Rachel McAdams, and "Dallas Buyers Club" starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner.

Welcome back to the ACS Blog!

After almost 40 years of providing audio and video solutions throughout the U.S., ACS understands that there are few things in life more exciting than the mere prospect of having your own private movie theater at home. Whether you are building a new home from the foundation up or converting an existing space into the home theater you’ve always imagined, ACS will walk you through the entire process. As anxious as you may be to get started, however, there is a lot to consider before beginning the build.

In this and future blogs, we want to offer 10 specific considerations; things you will want to have determined (or at least considered) to minimize your frustration throughout the process.

1. Your Space Options

Where do you plan to put it? Keep in mind, the size of the room will determine how large your video display can be, what projection system will work best, how many guests you can assemble, etc. The specifics of the room you choose are going to dictate quite a bit of the work. Such as: