Archive for June, 2014

CCTV Cameras for Maryland Businesses

Thursday, June 26th, 2014

security cameraThe highest priority of most companies is the safety and happiness of their employees. People want to work in an environment that they know is safe, comfortable, and easy to work in. Sometimes extra security measures and precautions are necessary to make a business a comfortable place to work, especially if there’s a lot of expensive equipment or sensitive information.  Installing CCTV cameras for your Maryland business allows you to monitor what’s going on at and around your place of business 24/7. They also provide other advantages to help you have better control over your business.

  • Prevent crime – Not only can you see what’s going on and have the chance to report crime if it actually happens, but CCTV cameras will also help you prevent crime altogether. When people see CCTV cameras, they know that you’re serious about your security and that there are likely other security measures in place that will be difficult to get through. Plus, would be criminals know that it’s a lot harder to get away with a crime if their face is pictured quite clearly on video.
  • Monitor Visitors – Even when the people who are coming to your office are sanctioned to be there, you want to have an idea of how long they’re around your business and what they’re doing. Having security cameras placed strategically around your business will help you keep an eye on employees and employee guests to make sure that there isn’t any illicit activity going on. If you run a business that isn’t an office, it gives you the ability to see who is coming and going and get an idea of whether or not a person’s presence is reason for suspicion.
  • Evidence – If something is stolen from your business or you suspect that employees aren’t behaving in an appropriate manner, CCTV cameras can give you the evidence you need to back you up. CCTV videos can be very useful in a court of law if your pressing charges for theft, vandalism, or other crimes against your company. It’s also good evidence for any insurance claims you may have. Insurance companies like to see that the money that they’re shelling out is for the purpose that you say it is.

CCTV cameras are great for Maryland small businesses. They give you the comfort of knowing that if anything does happen on your property, you’ll have a record of it and be able to seek justice. Down to Earth Communications provides CCTV installation for the Baltimore area. To get started with an estimate, give us a call at 410.242.0000 or feel free to contact us via the website so we can help you with all of your home audio/visual needs!

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn for more audio/visual info!

 

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Why You Should Have a Home Theatre System

Friday, June 20th, 2014

Luxury home theater roomPicture it: the lights begin to dim as the picture on the screen flares to life, bright and vivid. The smell of freshly popped popcorn permeates the air, tickling your nose. Your home theatre is cool and dark – the best place to be to beat the summer heat. Soft leather seats envelop you and then the movie begins, wrapping you up in a world of immersive sound and picture, all because you decided to put a home theatre system in your unfinished basement. You weren’t doing much with it anyway. A home theatre system can completely transform the way that you watch movies, TV, and play video games.

  • Immersive Sound – Video games are fun to play no matter how you’re playing them, but having surround sound for games that tell stories or put you as a first person player can really make you feel like you’re in the game. You’re liable to find yourself ducking out of the way only to remember that you’re sitting in your home theatre instead of in a foreign land. Movies also come to life and allow you to be your own hero with surround sound. Imagine watching the 007 movies and being a part of the action!
  • Life Like Visuals – This depends on the type of screen you get and the size, but if you really go all out in your theatre system with an LED backlit screen or a high quality projection system, the big screen can come to life for you. You have many different options when it comes to choosing a television or projection system for your home theatre system and it all depends on what you think will work best for you. Regardless of what you choose, having a nice screen for your home theatre system is a great advantage of installing it.
  • Get the Theatre Experience at Home – Let’s face it, nobody likes the sticky floors and screaming children that you’ll almost undoubtedly come into contact with at an actual movie theatre. Watching a movie at home on your big screen, in a comfortable chair, with only your kids around is the better of the two experiences. Add a standalone popcorn machine to the room and you’ve got everything you could ever ask for out of a theatre experience without ever having to make the trip to your local movie theatre.

If you have an unfinished basement or a room that you’ve been considering putting a home theatre in, there’s no better time to do it than right now. Give yourself a cool space to hang out during the Maryland summer heat while watching your favorite movies and playing your favorite games. To learn more about your different audio/visual options for your new (or revamped) home theatre system, give us a call at 410.242.0000 or feel free to contact us via the website so we can help you with all of your home audio/visual needs!

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What Television Screen Options are Available for my Home Theatre?

Wednesday, June 11th, 2014

television optionsThe options out there for technology are nearly endless today. The advancements of the past 20 years put us in a great spot technologically for many different things, including home theatre systems. The fact that home theatre systems have become popular at all is a testament to today’s technology. To see a high quality movie, you used to have to make your way to a movie theatre. Now you can relax in your own home and watch your favorite movies whenever you want. Choosing the TV screen that you want for your home theatre system means sifting through all of the new technological information to figure out what the best product for your home is. You can learn about some of these options below.

Plasma TVs
Plasma screens were really popular a few years ago. They’re still good televisions and do the job well, but they’re not top of the line technology. The nice part about them is that they’re still great TVs  and the price has reduced with the introduction of LED and LCD TVs. They have good lifespans and you can usually get a big plasma TV for less than some of the newer technology. One of the only drawbacks of plasma is the “screen burn” effect caused by the burning of phosphor to display the picture.

LED Backlit TVs
If you pay attention to environmentally and economically efficient products, you’ve probably heard of LED lighting. LED lights use very little energy compared to other light sources and can save you money over time. Plus, LED backlighting is fairly even and bright. The picture will be bright and vivid, but keep in mind that you’re generally going to pay more for this type of lighting. It’s a great option if you’re looking to splurge on your home theatre system and want one of the best products on the market.

LCD Panels
Most LED backlit TVs are LCD, but many of them are also lit by cold cathode lights. These are the most common type of TVs used today. The biggest benefit that they offer over plasma screens is that they don’t suffer from screen burn since the lights are cold rather than hot. They’re not quite as bright as LED backlit panels, but they’ll still give you decent contrast. One of the advantages that LCD TVs have actually applies to all of these televisions – they’re light, especially compared to most TVs from the 80s and 90s.

These are just a few of the options that you have when choosing a TV screen for your new home theatre system. To learn more about your different audio/visual options for your new (or revamped) home theatre system, give us a call at 410.242.0000 or feel free to contact us via the website so we can help you with all of your home audio/visual needs!

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Why You Should Have A Professional Work on Your Computer

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

computer problemsWe’ve all had those “OH NO!” moments when our computers decide to do something that we didn’t tell them to – like crash or suddenly decide that the Word document we’d been typing wasn’t important enough to save. Most people in the 21st century have a basic knowledge of computers and recovery, but sometimes it goes deeper than that. Computers are complicated machines that frequently require a professional touch. Calling someone who knows computers will help you avoid small issues becoming really big problems. One wrong click could cause your whole computer to freak out and make a problem much worse.

  • Time – Something that takes you an hour or more might take someone who knows computers 10 minutes to fix.  Certain problems may seem like a big deal, but in the end have simple solutions. Rather than wasting a lot of time searching the Internet on your phone for a solution to fixing your computer, call someone who already knows the solution.
  • Professional Knowledge – If someone is fixing one problem, they’ll likely be able to find others and help you get your computer into top shape. Computers are finicky things and small changes can make them work much better. Something as simple as cleaning out your cookies or defragging your computer can make it run faster and give you more space, but it’s probably not something that you think about often. A professional will see these problems and remedy them for you.
  • Recovery – If you’re an average computer user, you probably have no idea how to recover important documents that your computer decides to eat. Those in the IT industry have spent a lot of time learning how to recover documents and are skilled at backups – most will even be able to tell you the best way to back up your information. Not everything works for everyone. Every computer is a little different and having someone who can assess the individual situation is very useful!

Computer problems can be really frustrating, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience with fixing computers or diagnosing issues. Calling someone to take care of your computer issues or help you set up a new computer can help you take the headache out of IT. For more information about how we can help you with computer or audio/visual issues, give us a call at 410.242.0000 or feel free to contact us via the website so we can help you with all of your computer needs!

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