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Home theaters have become increasingly popular in recent years, and for good reason. With the advancement of technology, creating a cinema-like experience in the comfort of your own home is now more feasible and affordable than ever before.
People love home theaters because they offer convenience, privacy, and flexibility in terms of scheduling and movie selection. Additionally, with the ongoing pandemic, many people have turned to home theaters as a safe and enjoyable alternative to traditional movie theaters.
Having a dedicated space in your home for entertainment also adds value to your property, making it a worthwhile investment for many homeowners. Overall, a home theater allows you to enjoy your favorite movies and TV shows in a way that is tailored to your personal preferences and provides an unparalleled viewing experience.
Creating a perfect home theater experience requires careful consideration of several important factors, one of which is acoustics. The sound quality can make or break the movie-watching experience, regardless of how impressive the visual effects are. Therefore, it is crucial to optimize your home theater’s acoustics to create a truly immersive experience.
In this article, we’ll explore some essential tips for setting up the acoustics in your home theater, to help you maximize the magic of every movie you watch.
Setting up the right acoustics in a home theater is essential to creating an optimum quality of sound. Sound travels in waves and is able to absorb, reflect, or diffuse when it encounters different surfaces. Proper acoustics can enhance the depth, clarity, and realism of the sound waves, allowing you to completely immerse yourself in the movie experience.
To have the proper acoustics, you need to consider the size and shape of the room, the location of speakers and seating, and the materials that were used in the construction of the room. A larger room can create a spacious sound, while a smaller room can make the sound feel more tight and concentrated. Irregularly shaped rooms can create challenges, such as standing waves or dead spots. Ideally, your seating should be located in the sweet spot, where the sound is the most balanced.
Correct speaker placement is essential to sound quality. Your front speakers should be placed at ear level and an equal distance from your seating. The center channel should be directly above or below the screen, while surround speakers should be placed to the sides and just above ear level. Ambient lighting can change the acoustics of your home theater by reflecting or absorbing the sound waves. Choose lighting that is directed away from the screen and seating area, and consider installing dimmer switches and using blackout curtains to lessen the amount of light in the room.
The furniture and decor in your home theater can impact the acoustics. Hard surfaces, such as tile and hardwood, can reflect sound, while soft surfaces, such as curtains or soft furniture, can absorb sound. Find a balance between hard and soft surfaces to create the best quality of sound in your home theater.
When choosing equipment for a home theater, select speakers that are specifically designed for home theaters and look at the size of your room when selecting speaker sizes. A subwoofer is a necessary component of any home theater system, as it reproduces low-frequency sounds, such as explosions or bass notes. When selecting a receiver, think about the number of speakers you have and the inputs you might need to connect all of your devices.
To achieve the best possible sound quality, look for speakers that have a frequency response of at least 20 Hz to 20 kHz, a subwoofer that has a frequency response of at least 20 Hz to 200 Hz, and a receiver that supports the latest audio and video formats.
When setting up a home theater, good acoustics can make a significant impact on the quality of your home theater experience. By carefully planning your home theater setup and considering factors such as room size and shape, seating arrangement, speaker placement, ambient lighting, and furniture and decor, you can optimize the acoustics of your space and achieve the best sound quality possible.
By selecting the right equipment, such as speakers, subwoofers, and receivers, you can enhance your home theater experience even more.
We design and install home theaters on the Grand Strand, in Horry County and Georgetown County and in Myrtle Beach.
Give us a call to get started. We always answer the phone.
If this is the first time you’ve come to our website or blog, welcome!
We are excited to share Strand Security Services with you. Strand Security is a locally owned and locally operated small business, serving both Horry County and Georgetown County.
What services do we offer? Keep reading!
Let’s look at the full list of services first. Strand Security of Murrells Inlet offers:
Home Security Systems and Commercial Security Systems is what we are best known for.
We work with C.O.P.S. monitoring to keep our customers save in case of emergency.
Home automation is another area where we’ve been expanding. We partnered with URC and have installed several large commercial automation systems in local Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach restaurants.
Whether you want
Strand Security Services offer an affordable way to upgrade your current home!
Strand Security in Myrtle Beach will professionally customizes a home theater solution that fits your lifestyle, room needs and desires.
We offer our 25 years of experience for you to bring your favorite movies and films to life in the comfort of your own home.
Select your choice audio, video, and projection equipment from our product catalog. We provide complete pre-wiring for new homes or a blueprint plan and wiring for your existing room. Then we custom install your sound and viewing equipment putting you in control of your state of the art home theater.
Learn more:
10 reasons to love a home theater
How to get the most for your ideal home theater price?
Will you need expert help with home theater setup?
How to choose the right home theater design
Who installs home theaters on the Grand Strand in South Carolina?
When you contact us at Strand Security, you will talk to a real human! Most likely you’ll get Chuck on the line and he’ll be able to set up a meeting, or answer any questions you may have.
If you visit the shop, you’ll most likely meet Heather.
We are a family owned business: we live and work right here in Murrells Inlet.
For a quote, or with a question, call us anytime!
Did you know that we, Strand Security of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, design, install and service home theaters?
We sure do and have been for many years. We recently celebrated 12 years in business right here on the Grand Strand. We have many more years of experience! We started this business in Maryland and move south 12+ years ago.
Between our technicians we have 25+ years of experience installing home theaters for our customers.
Having a home theater is a dream for many homeowners. We at Strand Security will be happy to help you make that dream come true. Home theaters come in all shapes, sies and fit within many budgets.
It’s important to note and answer the following questions.
Once you know what you want and can afford, it’s time to start asking around for referrals.
If you have friends with home theaters, a nice surround sound system, or if you know of a business with an awesome system, ask them who did the work! Chances are you are going to be most happy and comfortable with a direct referral!
Next, search for and read online reviews.
We highly recommend you use Google to your advantage and read a much as you can about the (local) businesses you want to hire for your home theaters installation. Not all companies are created equal…
Once you’ve chosen one or two installers to work with, you will want to set up an initial consult to find out more about them! Ask questions like:
Smart homeowners do their homework. Here are several resources for you as you start your home theater install journey!
10 reasons to love a home theater
How to get the most for your ideal home theater price
Will you need expert help with home theater setup?
How to choose the right home theater design
If you’ve had a home security system for years, you might be curious about making your home into a smarthome. Technology has changed so much over the last few years and so much more is possible now, more than ever before!
The good news? You do not have to start from scratch. Systems and brands can communicate and work together to create a smarthome.
The best news? We have the best way, the best solution for you to get started on this project. Keep reading for the best way to effortlessly connect Google Home, Alexa, Ring or Nest to your home security system!
Home security systems can be added to other technology to create smarthomes.
What if you could just TELL (by voice) your home to
and more!
How amazing would that be?
That is what smarthome technology can do: your current system can be updated to link up with other systems on your home.
Google Home offers many apps to connect to.
Control Appliances and Fixtures
Control Home Security (including Alarm.com)
Got a Google Home System? Connect your home security system to use voice command.
Alexa is a Amazon product.
“You can build smart home and other products that customers can control from millions of Alexa devices with just their voice. Expand your device’s capabilities with Alexa to create delightful experiences for lights, switches, thermostats, cameras, locks, and more.”
Alexa can be linked to your entertainment center and control the TV. Alexa can be linked to a microwave and used with vioce command and much, much more!
Got an Alexa system? Connect your home security system to use voice command.
New for Ring.com is an integration with home security systems. Known as the “DIY home security camera system”, Ring has branched out and can be integrated with home security systems as well as other smart systems.
Another Google product, Google Nest also lets you connect devices in your home for a fully integrated smarthome system. Their tag line?
“Build your helpful home!”
Here is the easiest way to do connect a home security system for another smarthome system, like Google Home, Alexa, Ring or Nest, just to name a few:
Reach out to Strand Security, or your own home security experts! They are trained to do this for a living: effortlessly and without much trouble.
If you value your own time, hear this: this is one DIY job you really don’t want! Let the professionals handle the integration. You’ll be glad you did!
Happy Holiday season 2021!
It’s December and holiday music is everywhere.
and at home?!
We hope you are getting a feel for the season with beautiful holiday sounds.
We at Strand Security here in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina love getting into the holiday spirit by playing holiday music on our Sonos speakers.
We do not just sell and install Sonos, we use these speakers in our office and home daily. We just love Sonos for ourselves, and our customers.
Let’s look at the three top reason Sonos will make your holiday music sound better!
There is no comparison, at least that we’ve found. Sonos speakers offer incredible sound, and as there are an array of Sonos speakers to choose from, they offer size-defying sound in any room you install or place your speaker.
Be the sound hero of the season. Play the best music with the best-quality speaker at your next holiday party.
From Sonos:
Enjoy a more immersive listening experience when you place speakers in different rooms around your home. Use the app to pair your speakers together in the same room on WiFi for detailed stereo separation and a wider soundstage.
If you are planning a holiday get together with friends, family or your office, enjoying music as you move from room to room is quite an amazing experience.
Using the Sonos app, enjoy an immersive listening experience!
At Strand Security, we install and service smarthome systems daily for our customers. We are able to add your new Sonos speakers to an existing home theater setup, or adding it to Zwave or URC smarthome system, too!
Why not upgrade this holiday season and add some Sonos in your home of office?
If you are looking for a smaller investment with big payout, we suggest grabbing a nice mid sized portable Sonos speaker. The engineers at Sonos have developed an amazing and unique effortless charging system and the sound will go on and on and on!
Whether you are hosting a holiday recital, party or movie night, Sonos will wow your guests!
In the mood for fun? Sonos is a must-have for those who like to entertain.
Not technically inclined? We offer installation to our customers! Come and visit us in Murrells Inlet to learn more about Sonos.
If you live on the Grand Strand, you might have seen our ad in Sasee Magazine this past summer or this fall!
We are spreading the word of our services to homeowners new to the area, to those who want better services, and to those who want to switch and save money!
In case you missed the magazine ad, here it is.
What you are not seeing is the brands we work with here at Strand Security!
If you are looking for the latest technology, the best service, the best brands and technology, Strand Security has you covered.
Here are the best security and technology brands we recommend to our customers in 2021.
We install and service Honeywell Security Systems. Whether you live in Georgetown County or Horry County, we’ve got you covered. This is a trusted brand with many options for both home owners as well as commercial use.
Smarthomes and smart business owners use URC total control! We love the technology of URC and we have many happy customers who can attest to this effectiveness of these systems!
When installing security cameras, we look to Dahua for a wide range of options to offer our customers! They are a one-stop-shop for all things video!
Abiding by the philosophy of “Innovation for All”, Dahua offers a wide portfolio of security-related products, ranging from IPC, NVR, HDCVI cameras, HCVR, PTZ cameras, thermal cameras, Access Control, Video Intercom, Alarms, Mobile & Traffic products, display & control, VMS and so on. Dahua products are based on an open platform that features easy integration with third party partners through a standard SDK.
Ubiquiti is a multi-application network operating system. It connects all your networks, locations and gives you “Simple IT that just works”. Ask us about ubiquiti if you are a small to medium size business owner!
Home sound systems and home theaters use Sonos speakers to bring the music to the party! We love and use Sonos right here at our office. Feel free to stop by for a demo anytime. Don’t forget: we don’t just sell Sonos speakers, we also install and service them and integrate these speakers into existing smarthome systems!
No home theater is complete without an Onkyo receiver and sound system!
From their website:
(Onkyo receivers are) affordable and versatile home theater centerpiece tailored to deliver a best-in-class entertainment experience for your movies, music, and next-gen gaming systems.
Denon home sound bars are an affordable choice for a home sound system!
No matter what Denon system you chose, be confident that Strand Security can install and service your new system for years to come.
Master the art of listening with Marantz. Marantz products include
Z-Wave is the smarthome control you need when convenience and ease-of-use is paramount!
Z-Wave is the leading wireless technology behind many of the secure, trusted brands that are working to make everyone’s home smarter and safer. With Z-Wave, smart home products can communicate with each other no matter what brand or platform they are built on using a central smart hub.
The leader in security camera solutions is HikVision. We use and trust HikVision to keep our own family and business location safe and secure.
When moving to a new town or state or when you purchase a new home, it might be time to find a home security company to help you navigate the security and safety concerns of your new home.
How do you go about vetting the many choices of home security companies to find the one that is right for you?
This article will give you a few tips to get you moving in the right direction. Ultimately, it’s up to you to find and connect with the best fit and the best company to protect your home and family!
When it’s time to choose a home security company to install and maintain your security system, understand you should always focus more attention on customers service and brand quality, than on price.
Ultimately, just about anyone with a screwdriver can hang a security camera – but it’s the knowledge and years of experience that will tell a professional where to hang that camera and to what system to connect it, as well as diagnose system failures or service interruptions.
Connecting with the right security company means connecting with a company that is interested and invested in your community and will serve your community for years to come.
Here is how we would start a search to connect with the right home security company.
Before leaving your home, and don’t we all want to avoid that these days, start your research online. Google ‘local home security company’ and add your location if needed.
Look for websites, Google reviews, social media presence, online reviews and images.
Create a list of several local home security companies.
Next, ask your friends and neighbors for referrals. Don’t just ask ‘Who do you use?’ but ask them questions about WHY they picked that local business and what they love about working with them. Ask them what services they’ve contracted for and how responsive that company is when an emergency arises!
Last but not least, keep an eye out for service vehicles in your neighborhood. When you take your dog for a walk, try to find signs. When you take a bike ride with your family, look for those service vehicles. take note of which ones are helping your neighbors with their home security needs!
Now that you have developed a list of potential local home security companies you want to give your business to, pick up the phone and call! There is no substitute for a phone call inquiring about services!
You will know pretty quickly if you are getting what is ‘advertised’ so to speak!
Does a human answer the phone? If you got the answering service or a machine, how quickly, if at all, was your call returned? Did you get answers to your questions and a friendly human on the line? Move this company to the top of your list!
Once you have a top 3 of local home security companies you potentially want to work with, make a list of services you need now, and additional services they offer that you are interested in for a future project.
That could includes additional services like
One more point to drive home. We highly recommend asking each potential business if they are locally owned and locally operated. Supporting your local businesses in 2021 is more important than ever.
If you are in the Myrtle Beach area, in Horry County or in Georgetown County, we invite your to give us a call!
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year…holiday seasons 2020 is upon us!
What holiday are you most excited about?
No matter what holidays you may celebrate, we understand you might worry about safety, security and, in this pandemic, your health. Technology can help.
Today we will give you three smarthome security tips for a worry-free, and tech-savvy holiday season.
Ring cameras are a great way to keep an eye on your home, from wherever you are; at home in your home office, homeschooling kids, or running errands.
Ring cameras also
If you need a worry-free holiday season, start by calling Strand Security to talk to us about Ring Cameras and installation! Win – win!
We know that the holidays can create extra stress, additional work and more worries; about money, safety and security.
While you are out shopping, or at home wrapping gifts, Alarm.com will keep an eye on your home, your family and your assets. All you need to do is arm the system. When an emergency arises, help will be on their way.
Alarm.com offers the latest technology and a great smarthome system.
Last but not least – how about a germ-free, voice activated system to keep your loved ones safe and secure?
At Strand Security, we trust URC to do the job for us. URC is fully-integrated and gives your whole house automation and control!
URC can
and so much more, all without touching a button!
The holidays’ aren’t complete without shopping and gift-giving.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention a few cool gift ideas for the 2020 Holiday season.
This is the 7th article in a series of 12 articles. 2020 is the year we at Strand Security celebrate our 10th anniversary by giving you 10 reasons to love the things we love as well:
In previous articles in 2020, we gave you 10 reason to love….our community, the Grand Strand, Smarthomes, Home Theater, Living in South Carolina, security cameras and now we will give you 10 reasons to love quality speakers!
There are, of course, some recognizable brands of speakers.
Sonos is a big one and we’ve blogged about Sonos before as that’s a brand we’ve loved for a long while!
Another ‘famous’ or better worded ‘recognizable’ brand is Klipsch! And yes, we carry and install that brand of speakers as well.
What really makes a great speaker though?
Let’s count the (10) ways we love quality speakers!
We love quality speakers because they bring sound to your home or business as authentic as possible.
Advanced technology and engineering techniques allow us to hear and pick up incredible low, high, soft and loud sounds through speakers. Gone are the days of low-quality squeaky speakers, and gone are those that sounded hollow, or worse, scratchy! Long live clear audio.
Speakers can be beautiful. There, we said it! Gone are the days of over-sized larger-than-life square boxes hanging on your wall. Today’s speakers are streamlined, compact, and aesthetics play a much more important role in overall customer satisfactory than years ago.
Customers are asking and buying aesthetically pleasing products to fit into their home decor.
The reach of wireless speakers is phenomenal. No matter where your system is located in your home or business, through wireless connections, speakers can be part of a large system and reach even the furtherest corners of your home, building and property.
Functionality is key!
Speakers like Alexa connected to a home security system allow us to use voice-commands to create our very own smarthome! Not only are voice-activated systems convenient, in the days of Covid-19 this is also high desirable as there are now no germs to worry about or lingering on touch pads!
Speakers can be integrated with existing systems in your home. Home theater systems, security systems, smarthome systems – the possibilities are endless. To upgrade your systems, or make changes, changing out existing speaker can make a world of difference.
Only by the time we got to #6 am we giving you ‘music‘ as a reason to love speakers! That’s pretty funny. Of course, music plays a huge role in speaker selection. However, by moving it to the middle of this article, we are demonstrating the many ways speakers can be utilized in your home.
Theaters are well-loved not only for showing the movies on ‘the big screen’ but movie buffs love hearing the sounds and audio of the movies in that same larger-room setting. Getting the right speakers and installing them in your home theater, you can recreate that same sound and feeling, that same experience you’d have when watching a move in a real theater.
Have you ever played back home movies? Listening to grandpa’s voice when he was young, hearing the teenager speak as a child, listening to grandma read a book – she who’s just passed away. Speakers can bring back the sounds of memories. How powerful is that?
If you love to listen to stories, audiobooks, podcasts and yes, the news, having the right type of speaker will help you enjoy these daily habits even more! When selecting speakers, be sure to note the reason and use of your speakers to your trusted dealer so they can help you select the right speakers for the right type of use.
Last but not least, when watching TV shows on the big screen – your home theater screen, or your large smart TV – sound is most important to make that experience a memorable one. Bring characters to life by having the best speakers to broadcast your favorite shows.
We are a locally owned and operated small business. We have three children and we love home movies, music, TV shows and more. We also have an integrated security system and understand the value of good speakers. Come talk to us and we will share our experience with you! Our showroom in Murrells Inlet is open we will be more than happy to have you listen to some of your favorite tunes on our favorite speakers!
As we write and publish this, South Carolina’s Governor McMaster has extended a state of emergency declaration and lockdown order until April 27, 2020.
South Carolinians are expected to stay home, quarantined, and only leave their homes to go out for essential services.
While this order is in effect in South Carolina, 97% of the USA in under the same or similar order, essentially keeping 80+ million kids at home instead of in school.
Home is where we are quarantined. How are you staying entertained?
We just saw a scary meme on Facebook!
While this is sort of funny, aren’t you at least glad it 2020 and we have home computers, smartphones, unlimited data plans, the internet and streaming services, right?!
While this article is the 4th in a series of 12 articles*, this title struck a cord this month, as we are reliant on home entertainment as we are ‘stuck’ at home.
Don’t you wish you had a home theater already?
Here are…
Old home movies will provide hours of entertainment. Why watch them on a small tv, or worse, on your hand-held devices? Instead, watch them on the big screen, with your family! Project them, use a smartTV or HTMI cable to watch your old movies in your own home theater!
Sights and sounds; we Americans like everything big! Movie theaters are well-loved in this country and those who can, love to watch streaming services on the big screen as well. A home theater allows you to do just that; it’s an excellent way to show tv shows and movies on the big screen, with surround sound!
Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine? YouTube videos are watched my millions of people per hour; watching YouTube videos on a big screen is an amazing experience. What is your favorite channel?
Classic movies like Mary Poppins, the Lion King or The Princes Bride; they are bigger, better and offer more family fun when watched in a home theater! Invite the cousins (after the lockdown is over, of course), friends or host a sleepover birthday party in your own home theater.
Not all parents with babies or small children want to hire babysitters for a date night. If you have your own home theater, you can stay in while going on a date, any time the mood strikes! BYOPopcorn and have that glass of wine or a beer; no need to drive home.
Wii, PS4, Xbox – no matter your choice of gaming system, a home theater makes the gaming experience more real and life-like. A home theater also affords you more room to spread out and play – and offers a dedicated space for gaming where you could keep an eye on the kids!
Challenge your kids to a Karaoke sing off! It’s a great way to expend some energy for the whole family and you’ll likely be surprised by the song choices your family member make. A home theater will make everyone sound better!
While there are no live sporting events to watch during this pandemic, rewatching some classic games, some of the best finals, races and events can be a fun way to spend an evening. Once sports are back... you’ll be glad for that home theater! Trust us when we ay that with the right speakers, it will sound like the sports commentator is sitting next to you!
If you love concerts; whether it is pop concerts, country music or The Boston Pops, concerts sound and look better with surround sound on a big screen. Bonus; you can belt out the songs as loud as you want, without bothering anyone.
Seeing grandma or Uncle Harry on the big screen is the next best thing to hugging them in real life! Instead of facetiming on your small device, bring them into your home theater!
While this is a completely new phenomenon, we did want to mention it here as were are on a continued lockdown and stay home order! Almost all churches have gone virtual with their church services. Why not watch church in your home theater! What a beautiful experience that might turn out to be.
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Serious Side Note:
We are well aware that some people do have to work during this time! Strand Security is in fact, deemed an essential business, we are here, ready to serve our customers! We also want to thank medical staff, support staff and all other essential workers for their sacrifice to keeping our country running.
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* Other articles in this 12-Part Year-Long Anniversary series include
10 Reasons to Love the Grand Strand
10 Reasons to Love Smarthomes
10 Reasons to Love our Community