Here you will find inspiration and advice for your security and home automation goals. We archive interesting ideas and products that you seek. This blog also serves as a forum for discussion and posing questions to our staff.  Finally, it is written with the intent to enhance your life.

2012 Electronic House Product of the Year in Remote Home Monitoring.
2011 CEDIA Manufacturer's Excellence Award for Best New Product.
Custom Retailer's Exc!te Award
What do the above accolades have in common?
RTI

A picture says a thousand words, and this one evokes the fun we had at the Electronic Security Expo in Nashville this week.  In between hanging out with R2D2, we explored the latest security technology demonstrated by the nearly 200 vendors in attendance.

Home automation systems are what a security system should be. They offer protection plus additional benefits of remote access, energy management, and lighting control. With your home automation system, you have these benefits and more:

The 2012 Olympics' connectedness will establish a tome for future games. In our app-loving world, designers are imitating athletes by competing for most useful Olympics app. Which app will take home the gold? Only time can tell, but we know which apps are forerunners. Learn more about the functionality of each, below, and judge a winner.

Feeling frustrated with your home or business Wi-Fi system? The Pakedge W6 family offers a variety of advanced wireless products that can deliver the networking solution you’ve been looking for. The W6 wall-mount desktop, W6R rack-mount, W6C in-ceiling/in-wall, and W6O outdoor wireless access points can be mixed and matched to provide endless installation options for any sized network. The W6 family provides long range stability and reliability for smartphones, laptops, tablets, and home control. Regardless of how you choose to use the Pakedge W6 wireless Wi-Fi system, rest assured that you won’t be seeing this anymore…

With so many different companies offering security systems, home automation, sound, lighting control, and custom home theaters, it can be a little overwhelming when you begin your search for an installer. You may have found someone to do the audio, but you still need someone to do security cameras. Or maybe you found a company that does media rooms, but you still need to get a fire protection system. You will probably feel like you’re getting pulled in so many directions that you’ll want to abandon your projects altogether. Fortunately, by selecting one company that is licensed and trained to do all of the above home upgrades, you’ll be saving yourself time, money, and lots of headaches for several reasons.

Want to simplify your life, but not sure how with a house full of electronic devices and countless remotes lying around? You don't have to get rid of your devices, but instead just take control of them. The RTI T2X remote control allows you to take charge of all your A/V devices, lighting, security, and more with one sleek universal remote control. The T2X remote features a flush edge-to-edge LCD touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Lithium-Ion battery, and its own personal docking station.

You may be a fan of home automation because you love technology and the idea of being able to control your entire home with the touch of a button, but did you know that it can actually save you lots of money? Many of us rush out the door in the morning and forget to adjust the thermostat or turn off all the lights. What if you could control aspects such as lighting or thermostats right from your smart phone? Or even better yet, what if your devices could learn from you? You may have heard of thermostats that learn your patterns such as when you go to work or when you're home on weekends. These are great options to save money and these types of thermostats can pay for themselves in a year.

Tis the season! Before you pack up the kids and head over the river and through the woods it's important to make sure you're leaving your home secure and out of the eyes of thieves. Almost 400,000 break-ins occur in the US during November and December, according to the FBI. The last thing you want to worry about during the holidays are burglars. Fortunately, home automation is a great tool to keep your home safe and sound while you're away enjoying the holiday season.

Ever wondered what automation can do for your home or business? I know I have wondered how a lighting system could change my space or how whole house audio would be perfect for my next get-together. Sometimes it's hard to envision things if you don't really know that much about them and exactly what they can do. That's why we decided to create a way to help you see what your space could be like with automation.

With the new year in full swing and winter beginning to melt away (finally), we are getting a better view of the top design trends on the horizon. Let's take a look at the list!

 The Secured Home, The Green Home, and The Connected Home are three packages we are introducing to homeowners as well as builders. Each option is designed to each client’s specific needs and budgets.

Summer is finally here and at iSS we would like to take a moment to give you a few ideas for some good summer fun activities.

A few fun activities around here in East Tennessee would be:

Have you ever thought that your own kitchen could alert you if the refrigerator door was left open? Or have your motorized shades or blinds be automated with the seasons? Have movie ambience with one push of a button? There are so many possibilities that home automation systems can do for you, which have not been fully recognized until now!

It is that time of the year again. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas straight ahead. This Thanksgiving you may have your family and friends over for dinner or you might be joining someone else at their table. No matter what your Thanksgiving Day plans are, it is nice to have an extra helping hand around the house on such a chaotic day. A home automation system can make it easy to take care of your home while you are focused on good times, good food, and being thankful for what you have.

Spending time with family and loved ones is what Christmas is all about. You may have to travel this holiday season and leave the comfort and security of your own home, but with a whole home automation system you do not have to worry about a thing.

 The desire to have home automation is often a complex decision for any homeowner. Some may want their home to showcase exceptional technology or to entertain guests. While others may want a powerful experience that helps to ease the actions of their everyday lives. However, most commonly, users of home automation systems want one thing: to feel safe and secure in their homes.

 "Network stability is the foundation for every smart home. It’s not just a nice to have, it’s a requirement." - Jamie Lee Corpuz, Marketing Communications Specialist with Pakedge

 Whether you spend a little or a ton on an AV system or a smart home system, its performance is only as good as the network it runs on. Would you buy a high performance Lamborghini sports car and fill it with unleaded regular gasoline? Of course not, but that is exactly what you do when you use the basic plain ol modem/router/wireless unit that your internet provider suplies you with.  Unfortunatly the only time you think about your network is when you lose connectivity, or when your system doesn’t work the way you thought it would. But this is exactly why the network matters. The more devices you connect, the smarter your home is, and the more important your network becomes.

 If you’ve ever experienced lower than expected download speeds, poor quality video  streaming, your connected devices just don’t seem to work well, etc...then you’ve likely  experienced a network break down. Ironically, most people don’t realize it’s a network  issue, and they falsely blame the AV system or the device for the problem. An enterprise  grade network is the “secret” ingredient in pro AV and smart home installations.      

 Today, when referring to wireless audio, most are referring to the ability to wirelessly deliver a song or music source from say, you’re iPhone, to the speaker.  Known as ‘streaming music’, this technology is a game changer and is now being done through numerous 'wireless' formats such as; Wi-Fi, mesh-networks, Bluetooth, as well as others. These new technologies are here to stay and have improved dramatically over the last few years.