Do All Home Automation Systems Do the Same Things?

We’ve written on these pages before about smart home automation systems.  Technology that makes it easier to manage your home’s functions, like security, lighting, climate, motorized shades, and entertainment equipment.  If it seems to you that home automation vendors seem more alike than different, you would be correct in that their shared goals are to make it easier to manage your home. 

All of the major systems provide similar functionality.  But there are differences in how they do it, and those differences can matter based on your lifestyle, the size and scope of your property, and how you like do things. 

Those differences can manifest themselves in the ease of setting up and programming the system, expanding it in the future, and the ability to integrate new devices and capabilities that are emerging every year. 

Texas Custom AV partners with Savant Systems for our smart home automation projects.  We believe that Savant is an easy to use yet supremely powerful solution that scales from an updated ranch house in Preston Hollow to the most luxurious mansion in Highland Park.

Read on to learn more about the unique features of Savant home automation systems that make it perfect for your Dallas home.

See Also: Smart Home Automation Should Be Easy

Sleek Remotes and Voice Control

Voice control is the newest feature in home automation systems.  What is easier than turning on lights or arming your alarm system with just a voice command?  Voice may not be the easiest way to control something in every situation, but the option is there when your hands and eyes are otherwise occupied. 

Savant has invested in deep compatibility with the two most advanced voice assistant platforms, Google’s Home and Amazon’s Alexa.  You can use voice commands on the Savant Pro custom remote, the Savant control apps that run on the Apple iPhone and iPad, and the smart speakers. 

The Savant Pro remote is a particularly elegant piece of equipment that epitomizes the company’s eye for sleek design. It incorporates simple, intuitive buttons for AV control, and also integrates a high-resolution touchscreen that combines the best of all worlds – tactile, no-look controls for media, touch capabilities for things like lighting, shades, and automated scenes – and of course voice.

Digital Audio Distribution

In whole home audio systems, Savant takes a different approach. Using the most current technology, audio is routed in digital form around the house to amplifiers that are located close to the speakers in the room. This method employs low-cost network wiring for music distribution, as opposed to more expensive speaker wire with long runs from a central source that can affect sound quality.  It also provides for a cleaner, interference-free digital path for audio to each location, with compact amplifiers used to drive the speakers at each zone instead of mammoth centralized ones.  The upshot of this different thinking is superior sound quality, scalability to serve many zones, and design flexibility.

Powerful Processing

Savant’s home controllers – the brains that power the home automation system - span a range that can cover smaller installations to the very largest.  In their midrange and high-end systems, Savant has chosen to base their controllers on powerful and flexible Apple Macintosh computer hardware.  The Pro Host is based on the Mac Mini, and the newest Super Pro Host is based on the Apple Mac Pro.  The Mac Pro is a workstation that many engineers and designers use for complex, compute-intensive applications. 

Applying this level of computing power to home automation has some unique advantages.  First, the powerful hardware allows for unprecedented scalability.  For example, with the Pro Host, there are virtually no limits to audio and video streaming to multiple locations; the system can control up to 64 thermostats, and there are no limits on the number of security cameras.  Second, the use of powerful general-purpose computing hardware endows the system with increased longevity, as new features and functionality can be added via software updates without requiring hardware changes. 

If you want a home automation solution that is intuitive, powerful, and engineered to meet your needs now and in the future, let us show you the advantages of Savant smart home automation.  Contact us to learn more.