Safety Meets Technology: Enhancing Home Security with Automation from SCS Home Entertainment

Keeping your home safe and secure has always been a top priority for homeowners. With the
advancement of technology, home security has been taken to a whole new level. With
automation systems from SCS Home Entertainment, you can control everything from your
smartphone, making home security easier and more efficient than ever

Your Home Security is in Your Hands

Home automation from SCS Home Entertainment allows you to control every aspect of your
home security system with your smartphone. This includes arming and disarming the system,
checking on the status of sensors, and even viewing live footage from security cameras. This
puts the control of your home security directly in your hands, with the added convenience of
being able to control your system from anywhere.

Automated Sensors and Locks

SCS Home Entertainment offers a range of automated sensors and locks that are easily
integrated into your home automation system. These sensors can detect motion, sound, and
even temperature changes. This means that you can receive alerts if someone is in your home
when they shouldn’t be, or if there is a fire or flood, to name a few scenarios. The locks can also
be automated, allowing you to lock and unlock doors remotely, ensuring that your home is
always secure.

Video Surveillance

SCS Home Entertainment offers video surveillance systems that can be accessed easily from
your smartphone. This allows you to view live footage of your home, monitor suspicious activity,
and even communicate with visitors at your door. The cameras can be set up anywhere in your
home or on the exterior of your property, giving you complete visibility of your surroundings.

24/7 Professional Monitoring

Automated home security systems from SCS Home Entertainment offer 24/7 professional
monitoring, giving you the added peace of mind that your home is always being monitored, even
when you’re not there. This means that if any sensors are triggered, the monitoring center will
receive an alert, and they will contact you or your emergency contacts to determine the
appropriate course of action. If necessary, they can also contact local authorities to respond to
the situation.

Enhanced Peace of Mind

Overall, having an automated home security system from SCS Home Entertainment offers
enhanced peace of mind. You can rest easy knowing that your home is being monitored, and
you can control your system from anywhere. With features like automated sensors, video
surveillance, and 24/7 professional monitoring, your home will be safer and more secure than
ever before.

Home security is an important aspect of homeownership. With the advancement of technology,
home security has become easier and more efficient than ever. With automation systems from
SCS Home Entertainment, you can take control of your home security and keep your home safe
and secure. From automated sensors and locks to video surveillance and 24/7 professional
monitoring, SCS Home Entertainment offers a complete home security solution that gives you
enhanced peace of mind. Contact SCS Home Entertainment today to learn how you can get
started with an automated home security system.

October 4, 2023 Larry Batson Smart Homeexpertise, informative, smart home

How smart features can benefit your home

Having a great layout and lots of storage are home features that can improve the convenience of your daily life. In reality, smart home features are no different. Smart home technology is designed to make your life easier by giving you greater control over your home and simplifying tasks that may otherwise take time or be inconvenient to manage.

But, exactly what is smart home technology and how can it benefit you? Today we are going to be talking about just that. Here are just a few of the ways that smart home technology can change your life and benefit your household.

What are smart home features?

Smart home features are slowly finding their way into houses across America, with studies showing that nearly 70% of homes have at least one smart device. Smart devices like your home’s thermostat, lighting system and security cameras all create a network that you can access from your phone. By connecting and synchronizing the features of your home, smart home technology can turn daily tasks into the most convenient version of themselves.

Improve security

Home is a precious place and keeping an eye on it can get tough when life gets busy. Smart home features allow you to connect with your home from anywhere in the world all from the convenience of your smartphone. These features allow you to access your home remotely and check your security cameras throughout your property. You can use this feature to check in on your children, pets or elderly loved ones while you’re in the other room or if you’re away from home altogether.

Save on energy costs

The savings that smart home technology can give you comes from the ability to control the different aspects of your home remotely whenever you need to. Smart home technology allows you to access your home’s thermostat or other smart home devices on a network linked with your smartphone through an application. This means you can control your home’s lighting and change the thermostat whether you are at work for the day or out of town for the weekend.

Convenient hosting

Being a good host means being able to always provide a welcoming and comfortable environment for your guests. Smart home features make this easier by giving you access and control over your home from the convenience of your smartphone. Change the climate or lighting throughout different areas of your home with the touch of a button without interrupting the party or even leaving the room.

There are many options out there when it comes to smart home features, but our knowledgeable staff can help you find the best smart solutions for your home’s unique set of needs and preferences. Contact us today to learn more about what smart home technology can do for you and your household.

August 10, 2022 Larry Batson Smart Homeenergy efficiency, motorized shades

4 Benefits of Motorized Shades

September is just around the corner, and as summer turns to fall, homeowners may have difficulty navigating the alternating heat and cold. One potential solution is motorized window treatments, which allow you to extend and retract window shades with the touch of a button.

You might consider going the DIY route to upgrade your home’s shades, blinds, and drapes. However, contacting an experienced installer for motorized window treatments can provide you with valuable input from industry professionals.

The benefits of motorized shades and drapes extend beyond regulating your home’s temperature. Here’s why you should consider upgrading your window shades, and why you should contact SCS Home Entertainment for help.

Improved Safety & Security

Manual shades require you to pull on cords to open and close them. These cords can be a choking hazard for young children and animals. Motorized shades remove the need for these cords, opting for a motor system out of reach from any curious hands. You can rest easy when kids and pets are near your motorized shades.

Motorized shades can also improve your home security. While you’re out of the house, you can close smart shades with your computer or smartphone and prevent passersby from seeing inside. When combined with smart lighting, you can further deter would-be intruders by remotely toggling your shades and lights.

Proper operation of your motorized shades and drapes can improve safety inside and outside the home. SCS can teach you how to operate your new motorized window shades properly after completing the installation.

Energy-Efficient

Motorized shades can play an instrumental part in reducing energy costs. As the weather gets colder, you might look for more ways to keep your home interior warm. Presetting your motorized shades to stay open during the autumn and winter can increase heat flow to your home and reduce your need for expensive heating options.

Energy efficiency is more important than ever with rising heating and lighting costs. Rely on SCS for motorized window treatments that are easy on your energy bill.

Protection From Light & UV Rays

Your skin isn’t the only area vulnerable to sun exposure. Excessive exposure to UV rays can dull the sheen of furniture, rugs, fine art, and wood. Assigning presets to motorized shades and drapes can regulate the amount of light your interior receives. Whether you are preserving a premium home theater setup, works of fine art, or your living room furniture, motorized window shades can help you maintain your home’s interior.

Balancing natural light exposure with reasonable energy costs can be a delicate matter. SCS Home Entertainment can advise and consult on operating your window shades post-installation.

Customization & Automation Options

Thanks to technological advancements, motorization is now possible for windows of all shapes and sizes. Homeowners now have access to various wireless, battery-operated motors, allowing for an upgrade without re-wiring. Motorized shades and drapes can also fit into unorthodox window spaces. Round or oblong windows are no longer an obstacle to upgrading your home.

If you’re thinking about new motorized window treatments, consider taking them a step further with automation. Integrating window shades into an existing smart home setup can further expand your customization options. Set a room scene and save the preset to your smartphone, computer, or central touchscreen.

If motorized window treatments are an upcoming upgrade to your home, fill out a contact form on our website. SCS Home Entertainment will work with you to find smart window solutions that fit your budget.

July 18, 2022 Larry Batson home theatre, News, Smart Homehome theater

Why You Should Hire a Company For Your Home Theater

A home theater can deliver a cinematic feature directly to your own home, complete with immersive surround sound, crystal-clear resolution, and movie-grade seating. If you’re interested in upgrading your home entertainment setup in time for the upcoming blockbuster or pro sports season, a brand-new home theater system could be the solution you’re looking for.

The truth is, every aspect of a home theater room, from the speakers to the furniture to the layout itself, can affect your entertainment experience. A premier entertainment experience is the goal of a home theater, so it stands to reason that your home theater setup is as optimal as it can be.

Here are a few reasons why you should rely on a proven home theater design and installation company like SCS Home Entertainment to craft the perfect entertainment space.

Lower Overall Costs

At first glance, it may seem both cost-effective and rewarding to tackle a DIY (do it yourself) budget home theater room. While a DIY project means foregoing consulting, installation, and labor costs, you’re potentially missing out on valuable input and experience from industry veterans.

Without professional input, you may run the risk of buying incompatible equipment, concealing wires poorly, calibrating your A/V equipment improperly, failing to meet the electrical requirements of your new setup – the list goes on. The end result? High costs, disrupted plans, and an unsatisfactory home theater room that you’re now stuck with.

On the flip side, getting in touch with a trusted home theater installer like SCS guarantees a smooth, efficient installation process. The peace of mind that SCS can bring you during home theater design and setup can save both time and money in the long term.

Access to High-End Equipment

Consumer-grade and professional-grade home theater equipment may not always be one and the same. Brands that sell home theater speakers, furniture, projectors, and other equipment may reserve their high-end products exclusively through certified distributors.

SCS carries Ultra-HD projectors, Blu-ray players, televisions, home theater projectors, and other high-end equipment. We network with trusted brands such as Sony, B&W, and Klipsch to deliver movie-grade A/V experiences right to your home. That’s an experience you might not achieve with a DIY setup.

Valuable Industry Experience

Home theater experts can provide insight, suggestions, and efficiency that you simply can’t get anywhere else. A proven installer like SCS Home Entertainment can snake wires, calibrate equipment, and automate your setup more effectively than a DIYer. You get what you pay for when you work with an installer: an efficient, detail-oriented home theater installation.

SCS can also assess and improve upon your home theater ideas from the beginning. With our help, we’ll settle on a home theater layout that fits your goals and budget. We can also optimize your new home theater setup to make the most out of your top-of-the-line equipment.

SCS can make your home movie theater ideas a reality. Schedule a visit to our showroom and see how we can craft an immersive, engaging home entertainment space for you.

January 25, 2022 Larry Batson News, Smart Home

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TRAVIS MILLER 417 HOME OF THE YEAR

417 Magazine, a southwest Missouri lifestyle periodical, hosts a yearly Home of the Year contest for Missouri builders and architects. Homes are judged by the Home Builders Association of St. Louis and Eastern Missouri, separated into five categories based on their total value. The $2 Million or More Home of the Year winner was Travis Miller Home, LLC.

SCS Home Entertainment assisted Travis Miller in this project with smart solutions for entertainment and home security. Travis Miller also collaborated with Nathan Taylor at Obelisk Home for furnishings, material selections, and interior finishes.

Read on to find out how the creative minds, architects, builders, and designers put their heads together to create the 417 Home of the Year.

Travis Miller Home, LLC – 2021’s Home of the Year Winner

The Home of the Year’s more immediate, striking features includes an interior floating stairwell, a kitchen with a panoramic outdoor view, and a second-floor catwalk complete with LED lighting. The home interior emphasizes dark, moody colors, complemented by the large, spacious windows that let plenty of light in.

The open window design allows a large portion of the home to overlook the home’s exterior, which features a resort-style custom pool with an infinity edge. Other notable features include a serene loft for studying in solitude, bathrooms with silver waves marble walls, and a bevy of modern art.

Many of the home’s breathtaking, stunning features were made possible due to the designers and architects Travis Miller collaborated with.

Contributions From SCS Home Entertainment

SCS Home Entertainment’s contributions to the $2 Million or More Home of the Year center around smart solutions. Both indoor and outdoor spaces in the home are fitted with smart lighting, shades, and audio and video setups, smoothly integrated into each area. Displays and integrated sound allow for a customizable entertainment experience for homeowners and guests alike.

SCS’s smart solutions extend to a brand-new security system, conveniently linked to the homeowners’ smart devices. Homeowners can check on their property even when they’re away from home. The cutting-edge marriage of modern elegance and technology is courtesy of SCS.

The homeowner of the Home of the Year praised SCS as an “absolute first-class group of people.”

Smart Solutions For Your Own Home

If you are inspired by the Home of the Year’s marriage of smart solutions and sleek design, SCS has what you need. Call 417-897-9558 or visit our website to see how we can transform your home.

September 2, 2021 Larry Batson Smart Home

What Makes a Smart Home Smart 2021

Smart homes have come a long way since the first smart home device, the ECHO IV, was built by engineer James Sutherland in 1966. Though it was never sold it commercially, this system was a marvel at the time: it could create shopping lists, adjust his thermostat, turn appliances on and off, and even manage all the digital clocks in the house. Today our smart homes can do all of that and much, much more.

What is a Smart Home?

A smart home is more than just the software and hardware that make it up; it’s an idea—the idea of home automation, convenience, comfort, greener living, security, sustainability, and total control over your environment.

More technically, however, a smart home is any domicile where appliances and various devices are connected via a mobile or a networked device. Being connected through the internet allows an owner to control appliances, thermostats, lights, cameras, and other security systems through a physical medium such as a tablet or smartphone or via voice commands.

What Can a Smart Home Do For Me?

Smart home trends are all about convenience, allowing you to automate various tasks that you may not have time for in your busy life. Have you ever forgotten to water the lawn? A smart home can have your lawn sprinklers set to activate whenever you want. Do you have children in your house that forget to turn off the lights when they leave a room? You can set your lights to automatically shut themselves off when the sensors in the room detect it’s empty. Have you ever wished you could save on your energy bill by adjusting the thermostat higher and lower when you aren’t home? You can integrate your HVAC system, allowing your smart home to adjust the temperature throughout the day to save energy.

But enough about all the practical things a smart home can do; what’s the point of having all this tech if you can’t have a little fun with it? Through smart home systems like Josh.ai, you can integrate your entire home theater system to create the perfect viewing environment. In the case of your home theatre system, imagine this: you sit down in your plush theater seat and tell your smart system to “play a movie.” Suddenly your movie projector screen rolls down; your sound system powers up and automatically adjust to your preferred volume, and the lighting slowly dims and turns off as the movie begins. If you need to get up during the movie to use the bathroom or get a snack, you can tell your system “intermission,” it will pause your movie and activate soft, recessed in-wall lighting. Finally, when the credits roll, you can tell your smart system to “shut down the theater” and let it power down all of your equipment, and turn the lights back on.

What Is It Like Living In a Smart Home?

But what would your day look like if you lived in a smart home? It’s one thing to talk about all the conveniences like they were list, but it’s another thing to imagine the seamless experience it could provide.

You wake up early on a chilly November morning. Your blinds slowly open to let the sunlight in as you wake up, and your system plays a gentle tune to set your mood. You notice that it’s colder than you thought it would be, so tell your house to raise the temperature by a couple of degrees. You enjoy the comfort of your covers for a few minutes while your bedroom heats up.

You stretch and get out of bed, heading to the bathroom. Upon entering the room, the lights turn on at 75% intensity because you don’t like them to be too bright this early in the morning. You say, “tell me the weather,” and your house tells you the temperature outside, as well the expected highs and lows for the day. You leave the bathroom, and the lights turn off behind you. You enter the kitchen and whiff the fragrant aroma of freshly brewed coffee; your coffee automatically brews a fresh pot in the morning about minutes before you wake up because you hate having to wait, especially on cold mornings.

You grab your tablet and decide to sit down and watch the news on your tv. You use your smart home app to turn on the tv, browse for content, and then adjust the volume as you relax in your recliner with your morning joe. As you watch, your show is paused as you get a notification that someone is at your front door. You bring up the doorbell app on your tablet just in time to see the UPS driver getting pack into his van, a new package sitting on your doorstep.

After your relaxing morning, you decide to take care of some errands. You ask your smart home, “what’s on my grocery list?” and it reads it out loud to you. You realize you don’t need one of the items on the list because you bought it earlier in the week. You ask your home to delete it, which it does. When you leave, your house automatically locks up and goes into a “power save” mode, turning off all the lights and either raising or lowering the thermostat based on your preferences.

Later that night, you have some friends over for company. You decide you’re going to entertain them in your outdoor living room. Even outside, your smart home gives you comfort and complete control. You tell your house to “entertain guests” while you’re outside, and it automatically turns on the hanging string lights, lights the fire pit, and plays music from your outdoor speakers.

As you can see, your smart home system can be designed to be just as unique as you are. Let our knowledgeable staff here at SCS Home Entertainment listen and help guide you every step of the way to help you create the smart home of your dreams. Come by our showroom or contact us to help us bring the future of home convenience and comfort to you and your family.

June 28, 2021 Larry Batson Smart Home

Building the Smart Home of Your Dreams from the Ground Up

The future of home innovation is here! Like something out of a science fiction film, the ability to integrate a house by voice command and other digital features that control endless assets of a building, the future is now for many homeowners out there.

The most natural way to set up a smart home system is to start during construction. However, by natively integrating your smart home devices like Josh.ai, you can create custom spaces tailored to your needs and comfort as soon as you move in.

System Wiring

Perhaps the most crucial component to consider of all high-tech home features is planning the type of systems you wish to integrate into your building, and in turn, the network or hardwiring setup for them to function correctly. Having a robust and reliable network setup is crucial to ensuring your systems are operational 24/7. Assessing which smart home features are most important will help you choose how best to wiring your new home. From smart home portal systems that to energy-efficient light switches, outlets, panels, and more, an early plan for your home network is the key to an effective smart home system that offers flexibility for future installations. Be sure to assess your current and future automation needs, preferred monitoring methods, and installation preferences as you consider your options.

Smart Thermostats Simplify Heating and Cooling

Smart thermostats are incredibly easy to use and customizable for a homeowner’s preferences and go beyond simple temperature regulation. These systems can monitor your electricity usage to save you money, reduce your carbon footprint, and keep different zones of your home heated or cooled to your ideal temperature.

Smart vents are another addition that can easily integrate with your thermostat. These unique vents can detect changes in temperature throughout the home, automatically regulating those specific areas to the programmed temperature.

Smart ceiling fans use motion detectors to cool rooms as individuals enter or leave and regulate a preset temperature space. For the best results, integrate these fans with a smart lighting system to customize your space.

Smart Lighting for Ambience and Energy Saving

Both interior and exterior lighting can be programmed into your smart home system’s management capabilities. Automated smart lights can be voice-activated, timed, or triggered by motion sensor, recognizing activity (or lack thereof) in a certain part of the home.

Integrated lighting provides homeowners with endless energy-saving solutions, as well as security measures, whether a resident is sound asleep or away on vacation. In addition, lighting systems can be programmed to periodically turn on or off, offering the illusion that the owner is home, even when they’re miles away.

Protect Your Investment with Smart Security

Automated home security systems allow for an added sense of protection when a homeowner turns in for the night and grants easy accessibility for admitting an approved person into a residence when the homeowner is away. From something as simple as accessing a front door, garage, or windows, to video doorbells, security cameras, and motion sensors detecting even the slightest movements in a house or just outside, these exceptional features can grant homeowners a sense of comfort and reliability when they are away from home sweet home.

Emergency and disaster detection is another crucial feature when it comes to automated safety systems. Devices can sense everything from fires, uncommon moisture and dampness or flooding to dangers less detectable, such as risks of carbon monoxide poisoning or gas leaks, all of which are vital facets of safety and peace of mind.

Home Theater and Entertainment

Whether you’re a music aficionado, dream about having your very own backyard drive-in, or long to be the go-to host for parties, assessing your entertainment needs is an exciting part of planning your smart home build. With endless options from speakers, screens, and more, there’ll be no question who hosts game night from here on out. Home speaker systems can be integrated throughout the interior and exterior, allowing for great tunes no matter where you find yourself and your guests. With the ability to have a home theater setup nearly wherever you’d like, your toughest decisions will be which movie to watch and who’s on snack-making duty.

Your unique needs and interests are an essential part of your path to smart homeownership, allowing for an ultimate experience of comfort, security, and fun. Come visit our showroom or contact us at SCS Home Entertainment, and we will be delighted to help you explore options to make your new home a dream come true.

May 25, 2021 Larry Batson Smart Home

Smart Homes Without the Privacy Risk: Meet Josh.ai

There’s a huge hurdle to jump for a lot of us when it comes to adding some smart automation to our homes: we like our privacy! Google and Amazon have both decked out their smart home offerings in recent years, with assistant speakers, smart thermostats, and control hubs that make everyday life tasks effortless.

Unfortunately, these inexpensive systems have a couple of major caveats. First, they’re owned by huge corporations that profit extensively off the information they glean from user actions. Second, their systems still struggle with basic usability, like natural language processing, making the smart home experience feel more like a chore than an upgrade.

What is Josh.ai?

Josh.ai is a professionally installed smart home system meant to integrate with systems across your residence. It works well with an extensive body of smart home products, smart TVs, and control systems for your garage, yard, and outdoors. The system is designed to be intuitive, natural to use, and operate with the utmost respect for your privacy.

Josh Micro

This room microphone was designed to fit into any space. It features the intelligence of Josh.ai with a capacitive touch dial for volume control. One Josh micro can power an entire home, with its powerful array able to easily hear your voice even from long distances.

Josh Nano

The Josh Nano is the newest device in the series. This tiny microphone sits nearly flush with the wall and features an unintrusive design that will easily meld with any space. The Josh Nano is designed to be placed in each room throughout the home, giving you a seamless smart home experience from the kitchen to your home theatre.

Josh Core

Josh core is the brains of the system. The team at Josh.ai custom-designed this processing unit to locally control all aspects of the smart home without the need to access an information cloud. It is scalable, powerful, and built to protect your sensitive information.

Privacy & Security

In the comfort of your own home, the last thing you want to worry about is your data being compromised. Josh is designed to create a luxurious smart home experience while simultaneously preventing leaks of your private information.

In fact, data processing for your spoken requests to Josh is all done locally—they’re never sent over the internet or to a cloud. If a topic you’re talking about requires even further discretion, the Josh nano even features a privacy switch, which will altogether disable the microphone when activated.

Natural Voice Control

The voice commands in Josh aren’t clunky like other smart home systems. Most smart speakers only respond to highly specific requests, with many questions ending in confusion. Once you say the wake-up phrase to Josh, which is a straightforward “OK Josh,” “OK Home,” or “Hey Micro,” your smart commands can be strung together in natural language.

In fact, the technology in Josh is so advanced and well-tested that even English speakers with a heavy accent have no problem issuing commands.

AI-Powered Improvement

Many smart home systems, and Josh is undoubtedly included in this, offer simple ways to automate your home through scenes or routines. However, where Josh diverges is its ability to learn your preferences and utilize contextual awareness.

As you interact with Josh, the system will learn your preferences for all sorts of things like music, light levels, or how high you prefer your shades drawn at certain times of the day. This information helps Josh more readily answer your requests without requiring a detailed level of specificity.

Josh can understand a complex level of context clues, including types of devices that can be controlled, what room they are in, and aspects of the environment like if it is hot, dark, raining, or if there is music playing.

This context comes into play in several ways. First, Josh can provide suggestions based on your learned preferences and environmental data in the mobile app. For example, the app may suggest you lower the shades in sunny rooms if it is particularly hot outside.

Second, if you a command like, “Josh, dim the lights to 50%” but determine it is too dark, you can later say, “Josh, brighten the room” or “Josh, turn them up,” and the system will understand based on the room you are in and your previous command that you mean the lights.

Intuitive Mobile App

The mobile app for Josh.ai is beautiful, user-friendly, and highly functional. Within the app, you can define scenes, manage devices within any room in your house, and even check on your home while you’re away.

Another great feature is the ability to assign user roles. If you have a house guest, for example, you can set their permissions to certain rooms and devices with ease and easily disable this access once they’re gone.

If you own multiple properties, the Josh app can even manage devices at your other homes and allow you to switch between them easily. This lets you check in on your devices and security systems in different locations easily, even if you’re far away.

Why should I want a smart home?

A smart home setup is more than being able to issue voice commands to turn on the lights. When you integrate a system like Josh.ai into your home, it becomes the brains of your home. Smart home systems can effortlessly create comfortable spaces for you to relax or entertain, manage your utility use while you’re away, and help keep your home both monitored and secure.

Your smart home system should be as unique as your home and well-integrated for a natural experience. If you’re interested in designing a custom automation solution for your home that seamlessly integrates with your home theatre, home security, and other IoT (internet of things) capable devices, let us know! The staff at SCS Home Entertainment are ready to help you design the perfect setup utilizing Josh.ai. Visit our showroom or contact us to get started.

Category: Smart Home