GROWING WITH THE DEMAND AUDIO INNOVATIONS
LEADS THE HOME INTEGRATION MARCH
“THERE IS NOTHING SO STABLE AS CHANGE” BOB DYLAN
Home electronic integration is a new field and a transfiguring business. The role of electronic integration firms is to grow with advances in technology and consumer demand, and change is just part of business as usual.
The nerve center for today’s home is electronic integration. It provides people what they expect in a smart home: comfort, safety, efficiency, and entertainment. As electronic complexity grows, so do the capabilities and services of Audio Innovations, a local Wood River Valley home integration firm. This year, Audio Innovations again expands its offerings to meet new technologies and to provide new products.
NEW SERVICES, PERSONNEL, AND SHOWROOM
When Jess Goitiandia first opened the door of his businesses, Audio Innovations and TJ’s Electronics, in 1992, Jess had a hunch that things were changing. “I had just completed my university studies in robotics and came home to the Wood River Valley. Then, my business was primarily electronic repair and two-channel high-end audio systems for cars and homes and some home theaters and televisions, but I saw more was to come when my wife Terri and I selected the name, Audio Innovations.”
“A SMART HOME IS ESSENTIALLY A CAREFULLY ELECTRONICALLY INTEGRATED HOME, AND GOOD PLANNING IS ESSENTIAL”
And change has indeed come. Now, when speaking of home electronics, the realm of systems covered by this term has substantially broadened. “A smart home is essentially a carefully electronically integrated home, and good planning is essential. Our designs are in place before framing. We have pages and pages of detailed schematics for cables and wiring. Electronics only work simply if they are well planned, designed, and controlled,” explains Jess.
“In addition to what you would expect in the past like flat screen televisions, home audio, home theaters, and telephones, home electronics now include lighting, controls for shades and draperies, network wiring, IT, and security in many forms—alarms, cameras, water leak detection, back-up generators, and fire protection. Also, our systems manage a home’s efficient performance like heating and cooling, snow melt, and sensors.”
New experienced personnel support the firm’s expanded services for engineering, design, wiring, programming, installation, and electrical. Last year, it opened an experience center in Hailey at the Alturas Plaza. Audio Innovation’s experience center features a Crestron controlled home environment and high-end McIntosh gear, and it carries premiere products (some exclusive to the area) and hard-to-find connectors and cables.
STREAMING IS HERE
It’s always interesting to ask Jess what’s new. “We are moving away from tangible media like CDs and DVDs and away from cable and satellite providers. Streaming is here,” Jess answers. “Smart TVs and smart apps for TVs are the future for streaming media from the Internet. All the manufacturers are moving new devices to market, and there are emerging fights as to who will be content provider. This change has the potential to create a serious generation gap among users because of the learning curve required.” He continues, “Blue Ray is going away, and there are new curved televisions, as well as ultra-high definition and 4K sets on the market, and 8K sets are coming. Hidden speakers are a definite trend, as people prefer a more aesthetic look with just the panel and nothing else.”
Audio Innovations is on top of the change. “For streaming, it is important to invest in a robust network that can handle the quantity of content the client wants to stream and a good platform based on what works best for the client with forethought for easily upgrading it in the future. As we proceed into the future, we will be utilizing fiber optic cable (which we have been installing as part of future-proofing our designs) to control and stream the 4K and 8K content around the home. In fact, in many states fiber is being run directly to the home from the Internet provider. Of course we are concerned about ease of operation, and we anticipate that many users will continue to prefer a tablet or smart phone for the control device.”
“FOR STREAMING, IT IS IMPORTANT TO INVEST IN A ROBUST NETWORK THAT CAN HANDLE THE QUANTITY OF CONTENT ONE WANTS TO STREAM.”
NEW SUPER ELITE PRODUCTS
Audio Innovations just announced that it is a dealer for The Finest Brands (thefinestbrands.com), a marketing firm that represents specific models of high-end home products offered exclusively through its dealers. Manufacturers of these super elite home products include Cornilleau, Darafeev, Donnelly Artworks, Firetainment, Inada, Inada, Lifeform, Memphis, Olhausen, Positive Posture, Signature Royale, Stern, TEC, and Wise. These extremely original and distinctive products consist of gaming tables, home theater seating, massage chairs, foosball, pool, pinball, table tennis, and air hockey, as well as anything for the outdoors,” Jess explains. “We are always trying to reinvent ourselves and always trying to provide a service. There is nothing like The Finest Brands in the Valley.”
In addition to The Finest Brands, Audio Innovations is now offering High Definition Golf simulators. The high-definition golf simulators seem like an especially good fit for Audio Innovations. “We can install, and as new golf courses become available, we can assist with the software downloads,” notes Jess. “We are really pleased to be able to provide all the recreation equipment for a game room, and I believe people will prefer to stay in the Wood River Valley for shopping and product support.”
ONE STOP
Providing products and services at one stop has been a consistent theme for guiding the growth of Audio Innovations. “Yes, that’s true,” Jess agrees. “We are a firm that works with anything electrical where craftsmanship, pride, and installation matters. We design and engineer systems, install them, do the wiring ourselves, and program and integrate the operations with a single controller that’s easy to use and reliable. Audio Innovations backs up the products’ warranty, makes service calls, and when a homeowner is ready to add another great piece of the latest equipment, Audio Innovations will be there to smoothly incorporate it into the system.”
He adds, “As we grow, this is how we will do business.”
Through 20 years, home automation has changed. It has grown, expanded, and extended its reach, and Audio Innovations has been there to meet the changes and to provide the services that people want. It is a local business committed to meet the needs of the people in the Wood River Valley.
