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New Releases on an IMAX® Screen…at home?

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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.

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How many ways can ACS enhance your business?

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At ACS, we certainly enjoy working with residents to help make their home technology dreams come true. That said; what about business? So much of today’s connectivity and automation can be incorporated into your life at the office, not integrating these solutions is taking a chance on clients leaving with the impression that you’re out of touch. When you partner with ACS, your modern office guarantees you’ll make the best first impression every time.

How we work

Our goal is to accomplish your systems integration while maintaining your office’s interior design. We work with you, your architect, contractor and designer to incorporate everything seamlessly into your remodel, renovation or new construction project. Our goal of increasing the productivity within your newly-upgraded business can include one or more of the following services:

Conference Rooms: Plasma screens. LCD projectors. Video and audio conferencing. Why not bring all your network capabilities into the board or conference room? Boardroom control systems let you control a wide range of electronic equipment (audio, video, projection, lighting, screens, blinds, security and communication) from one central location.

Video Conferencing: Reduce travel costs with an in-person experience that can transform your business and allow you to make decisions faster. With real-time remote video conferencing, meetings can take place with true interaction between all participants. An effective telepresence platform is a great collaborative solution that improves your working relationships and productivity.

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With ACS & Control4 You Stay Connected Everywhere

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ACS is determined to be your resource for all things home automation. To that end, we wanted to focus this newest edition to our blog on a key integration partner; Control4.

Imagine receiving an alert from your phone while you’re away from home that says your garage door is open, and then it gives you the option of closing it. Or imagine pressing a button as you leave the house and your AC shuts off, your lights go out, and your alarm system powers up. Then, when you return home, another button push brings up the lights you have selected for that time of day, turns on your music or queues your television to your DVR. Such progress is no longer limited to your imagination and such functionality and ease-of-use has made Control4 a preferred entry-level solution for home automation.

Who is Control4?

Control4 is a Salt Lake City, Utah-based company that has made value and the customer experience its priorities since 2003. Control4 emphasizes usability within their product offerings, bringing you control over virtually everything in your home from almost anywhere you happen to be, whether you’re at the office across town or on vacation halfway across the world.

For an all-in-one home automation system, there are few packages that can beat the ease of use that Control4 provides. Keep in mind, this total automation system must be installed professionally by an authorized dealer, such as ACS.

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Home Lighting Control

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Looking for a simple way to improve your property appeal, make your life easier AND reduce your energy costs at the same time? Then ACS has your solution with home lighting controls!

If you haven’t explored how connecting your lighting system can add a whole new dimension to your life, consider: Imagine having your lights dim automatically, enacting preset “scenes”(like “dinner party” or “kid’s night”) so only the fixtures you need come on, in the colors you’ve set for that scene; imagine getting up at night and walking to the kitchen, and the lights in your path automatically fade on and off  so you don’t have to feel around for switches or startle anyone with excessively bright bulbs; or imagine your lights interacting with other home systems such as motorized window shades, security systems, thermostats and whole-house control and automation systems to maintain the temperature and economize energy use.

There are a multitude of systems available, in a variety of configurations and price points. ACS can offer a fully-wired system if you’re building a home or addition or new office space. Or you can opt for a wireless system that transmits commands over radio frequency signals instead of wires. A combination of the two works for many projects. We’ll recommend the solution that makes the most sense for your expectations, including options for:

Outdoor lighting

With astronomical timer, lights turn on automatically at dusk and adjust the settings to coincide with the changing daily sunset.

Photocell Sensors

Placed near motorized window treatments, these sensors read how much natural light is entering a space and trigger the opening or closing of shades or drapes to harvest daylight while protecting your valuables from excessive sun exposure.

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Welcome to our upgrade!

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You may have noticed some not-so-subtle changes to the ACS online presence. We are in the midst of an exciting expansion to further promote our national reputation as a factory-authorized and trained dealer and installer of the finest A/V, Lighting Control, Motorized Shading, Network and Home Automation equipment anywhere on the web. Part of that development includes this new blog presence.

We’re going to be using this space to announce important ACS company news, spotlight preferred manufacturers and components, and generally keep in touch. If you have a need for custom electronics design and integration, whether for your home or business, this is going to be an excellent resource for you.

ACS has an expansive array of services, including:

  • Automated Shading
  • Home Theater Design
  • High End Audio
  • Lighting Control
  • Managed Home Networking
  • Integrated Living Solutions and much, much more!

 

With offices in the New York Metro region, Los Angeles and South Florida, ACS is among the largest residential Audio/Video, Lighting Control and Home Automation companies in the country. Anyone anywhere, from Maine to Washington, who’s looking for technology solutions that respond to their lifestyle while maintaining their home’s architecture and interior design, should give us a call! We’re here to build lifelong relationships with our customers and look forward to demonstrating our expertise.

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Why Upgrading Your Home Network Matters

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Having problems with home network lagging? ACS, the factory authorized and trained dealer and installer of the finest A/V, Lighting Control, Motorized Shading, Home Automation and Network equipment has the solution.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all developed an expectation to be wirelessly connected at all times. Everywhere we go, we look for updates on our smart phone, tablet or iPad, all while working on our laptop. We use these devices to access today’s vast array of digital media such as streaming music, HD video, or even accessing our home automation and security while away.

At the heart of today’s residences, a well-engineered secure wireless and wired network is essential.  As we continue to depend less on traditional entertainment sources (radio, CD, DVD, cable TV) and more on cloud-based entertainment (internet radio, Pandora, iTunes, Netflix, AppleTV, and others), along with Gaming, Remote Access to Work, and everyday on-line activities, a faster, more secure and dependable home network is essential.

High-bandwidth devices place increased pressure on home networks. To meet these requirements, service providers are delivering advancements in internet speeds, but many home networks aren’t equipped to make use of the speeds they offer. Technology evolves at such a rapid pace that we have to evolve with it or get left behind. Our homes need a strong network to meet the demands of the digital age.

Looked at another way; consumer networks were never meant to handle the high demands of the audio/video components currently used in modern homes or businesses. The results being unacceptable WiFi performance, data loss, constant reboots, product failure, and the always-annoying customer service phone calls to internet providers. ACS fixes that by providing industry-leading technology that combines wired/wireless data and IP power with local and cloud-based management.

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ACS: Authorized IMAX® Private Theatre Certified Technology Partner

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IMAX, the industry leader in immersive cinematic experiences, is now launching the IMAX Private Theatre system. The program enables select custom integrators across the U.S. to bring The IMAX Experience to their most discriminating clientele, and we wanted to take the opportunity of this blog edition to announce that ACS (with locations in Metro NY, Los Angeles and South Florida) is one of the first!

This new home theater system utilizes the same technology that IMAX uses in commercial multiplexes: a curved floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall screen; a high-resolution, dual-projection system that can accommodate 2D and 3D formats; and an audio system with laser-aligned loudspeakers and microphones that perform daily calibrations to ensure the highest quality sound possible. Altogether, the package is modeled after the relatively small screening room IMAX built in Santa Monica for filmmakers to see their movies in the immersive format before a general release.

Homeowners who can take advantage of this opportunity will have a team of IMAX specialists playing an integral role in the entire process, working alongside ACS to ensure everything is built to IMAX’s exacting performance standards while catering to your specific design preferences.


In addition to the main theater space, there must also be space for a projector room large enough to accommodate at least two projectors (5 feet tall, 2.5 feet wide and 4 feet deep) in an area separate from the screening room, and an equipment rack.  Each room is then custom-designed to IMAX specifications and engineered for perfection.


With ACS and IMAX, you’ll receive a peerless level of service and support to guarantee the best presentation every time:

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ACS: Ready to Step In on Your Behalf

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Talk to custom home technology professionals throughout the country and one common philosophy emerges: Taking over a project can be more trouble than it’s worth. Unless, of course, you’re talking to ACS.

Project takeovers happen when the original firm is either unable to complete the work, or maybe even goes out of business mid-build. This can be frustrating for the client (to say the least), but it can also be treacherous territory for a company that jumps in to complete the job. Since the takeover firm didn’t order the components, they don’t hold the original warranties. Without being involved in the initial pre-wire or technical design, the new integrator is starting from scratch while the client anticipates the project is close to finished. It’s easy to see why integrators hesitate getting involved. Thankfully, ACS has a solution at the ready.

Due to a variety of circumstances, ACS takes over an average of 2-3 projects a month. Why, when so many view the act of completing another professional’s work a thankless job at best? Maybe it’s because, after nearly 40 years of custom electronic design and integration, ACS has the process and the people to make it right for those in need of expert assistance.

Ex: Last year, ACS lost a bid to work on a home. These things happen and there are never any hard feelings. However, after many months of planning and progress, the integrator who won the bid was no longer able to work on the build. Worried about what would become of the investment they’d made so far, the client reconnected with ACS to see if we could help.

As is the procedure, we completed a full investigation of the project. To everyone’s relief, ACS determined that the only issue unresolved was the HVAC. We provided a quote for the completion, the new client readily agreed, and ACS was able to complete the work they required to get their system working.

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How Far Does Technology Integration Experience Get You?

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Why does experience matter? It gets you invited to the Netherlands, for one thing.

ACS has a client for whom we’ve integrated 4 different homes. It just so happens that the client’s 5th home is a 95-ft yacht…and it’s being built in Amsterdam. You can’t win them all, right? Well…

While the client explored integration options overseas, a priority for the family was for the controls within the yacht to have the same look and feel as the other homes on which ACS had previously worked. This meant viewing the same menu – regardless of the location – to set the music or raise the shades or view the status of any room in that home or across the globe. To aid in this endeavor, the client brought their world-renowned yacht builder to Los Angeles to review the systems in the 85,000 sqr ft home in Beverly Hills (which also happened to be the most recent work ACS had completed on their behalf).

This location has the advantage of the features that have made ACS a Crestron Gold programmer. More than a decade of development has gone into our template, featuring options many integrators don’t make available as their base offering. ACS has found it’s easier to include more options (and edit out what isn’t optimal for the client) rather than add what we consider basic functions at an additional cost. To demonstrate, the client took quite a bit of pleasure adjusting the volume in surrounding rooms while we conducted our meeting, as well as showing off the “home-at-a-glance” feature that displays the status of every zone from a single screen.

After the meeting, ACS was asked to review the company chosen for the integration overseas. Frankly, it was a quality organization, and we didn’t feel it made sense for us to be involved to any greater degree. However, there’s a peace-of-mind component to all such work. So, when the client offered to fly us to Amsterdam for 3 days to review the system with the chief engineer, who were we to argue?

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From Coast to Coast

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When you decide to upgrade your home or business technology, selecting the right contractor is one of the most important decisions you will have to face. It’s a choice that remains with you long after the instillation portion of the project is finished. That said, with every company telling you that they are the best option for your job, what does ACS bring to the table that separates us from the competition? So happy you asked!

Everywhere You Need Us to Be
ACS has offices in the three largest residential and commercial regions in the United States (Metro NY, Los Angeles and South Florida) and has been delivering cutting-edge technology to these high-end markets for nearly 40 years.
No matter where you are or where you need the work performed, ACS has the history, experience, and focus to give you the results that will keep you coming back.

Qualified and Prepared
At ACS, we focus on having the best-trained installers in the industry. We have over 100 knowledgeable and reliable employees nationwide, with every job receiving its own project manager and a visit from a member of our executive team. This attention to detail can take more time than many of our competitors are willing to offer during the initial phases, but we’ve found that a higher percentage of customers (95%) are happy with the initial version of their plans as a result of this more meticulous process.
 
Recognized for Excellence
CE Pro Magazine rated ACS on of their Top 3 companies 7 years in a row, as well as the #1 Installer in the Country. We’ve won awards for Best Home Theaters, Best Technical Design for Media Rooms, and were featured in Robb Report magazine as one of the best integrators in the business. Every job receives our distinctive “white glove” treatment, and the accolades we receive year-after-year simply validate our commitment to best-in-class service.
“This expert firm consistently delivers cutting-edge technology—and is frequently called upon to give a command performance in a celebrity's home. Industry professionals and clients both agree that Audio Command Systems (ACS) is one of the premier designers and installers in the country.”
– The Franklin Report

Working for You is Our Privilege
ACS invests in the most elite staff and their continued education for one simple reason: Because we want to be the best integrator in the U.S.A.! We actively demonstrate our customer-service integrity so each and every client becomes a partner in the life of their technology, anxious to revisit our process when the next challenge presents itself. Our solutions are never “cookie cutter,” and that alone can make all the difference in the world.

Contemplating an upgrade or preparing for a new build out? Call us today from anywhere in (or even outside) the U.S., and give ACS an opportunity to demonstrate all we can do on your behalf.

ACS & Crestron: Putting the Power in Your Hands

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As the home automation industry continues to evolve with product advancements and integration technologies, ACS is here to bring our expertise to you! (And when we say “here,” we mean with offices in New York, California and Florida, with experience in every state in between.) We want our blog to be your expert resource for products and services that will have the most impact on your projects and, for this edition, we want to present the advantages of working with an authorized Crestron Dealer.

Proudly Representing Crestron Everywhere
The new home automation systems are sometimes called “Smart Home” systems or “Integrated Systems.” 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 interface, such as a touch panel, 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.

ACS is an authorized Crestron dealer and installer serving Metro NY (with a location in Westbury and offices in Manhattan), Southern California (from their Los Angeles location), South Florida (in Boca Raton, serving the Palm Beach, Broward & Miami/Dade counties) and anywhere else we’re needed. Our skilled engineers and technicians have Crestron certifications and are experts in installing and servicing Crestron home automation solutions, which means we can offer you Total Home Technology.

What is “Total Home Technology?”
Total Home Technology from Crestron streamlines and simplifies all the technology in your home, offering the ultimate lifestyle of comfort and convenience. Total control is always at your fingertips, whether from a user-friendly touch panel, remote or a customized keypad.

Crestron's Total Home Technology Solutions offer integrated lighting control and automation. Create the perfect mood for every event, be it movie night or a backyard dance party, with the touch of a button. Traveling? The lights can execute pre-programmed scenes so it appears as if someone is home.

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Smart Home Integrations, Servicing: NYC, Hamptons, CT, FL, and CA

Client Testimonials:
Exceptional Smart Home Solutions

Exceptional Service for Luxury Home Integration

"It was a pleasure working with ACS. To be quite honest (as I always am…) working with ACS was the best experience working with any AV/Home Automation company in my entire tenure here at Hobbs. "

- Jerry Cobaugh, Hobbs Inc.

Seamless Smart Home Transformation in the Hamptons

"In today’s world, with frequent technology changes and the need or desire to integrate a number of functions, I loved working with ACS because they made the time to explain the options, price them appropriately, install them right, educate us to the proper use and follow-up as needed."

- Bob Hurst

Personalized Smart Home Solutions That Exceed Expectations

"I more than whole-heartedly endorse Audio Command Systems and its technicians and especially Michael Pittman without whose invaluable design suggestions our system would not be as individualized and easily operable as it is. The entire installation experience and subsequent enjoyment was and is immeasurable.

- Marc Desiderio

Making Technology Simple since 1976      |      New York      |      Connecticut      |      California      |      Florida      


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