Custom built electronic systems encompassing multiple brands and types of electronic components are never going to be maintenance free, no matter how good they are and how good your electronic system designer is.

The fact is that these systems are built out of multiple brands and are dependent upon each other to work correctly all the time in order to provide the clever options that consumers are demanding in a modern home.

Power supply units get hot during regular usage, eventually, the parts ware out and replacement is required, fans that are constantly spinning extracting heat will eventually cease to operate causing the equipment they are cooling to shut down, requiring replacements. Maintenance may not be regular but when it happens the best way to reduce costs is to ensure that the installation team you select are building and installing systems with maintenance in mind.

This includes correctly labelling cables, looming cables so that paths and direction are clear, ensuring equipment is well spaced and accessible enough to be serviced and replaced easily, ensuring that there are plenty of well-fitted power distribution units so that the power supply units can be removed and replaced easily, allowing for equipment spacing so that air can move around the equipment and dissipate heat.

It's certainly a more costly exercise initially getting it right so when you do go down the path of hiring an installation team to create your electronics system ask if cable looming is included, ask about labelling and final documentation.

When a system is designed and installed with maintenance in mind the costs for maintenance can be reduced simply because the maintenance technician does not need to expend a great deal of time figuring out how your system went together and how to service an exploding box of equipment. A poorly laid out system can often have the unwanted side effect where a technician sorts out one issue but in doing that he inadvertently causes another issue because your system has not been set up for easy maintenance.

The images included are a recent installation that Surrounds was involved with, the system itself was not large and if we were to speed up the installation process we could have mounted the equipment in a tightly fitted box and closed the thing up and call it job done!! However, with maintenance in mind, this system had its cables loomed, equipment spaced, star run and interconnecting cables are labelled for accuracy.

This type of installation is typically more time intensive, however, what you have is a system set up to be maintained and usable for years to come. So next time you have a chat with an expert about electronic design for systems installed in your home, when you have the important discussion about future proofing make sure to ask about how they intend to install for maintenance.

As is the case with most if not the majority of heavily publicised events or product, there are always devious or unscrupulous sorts looking to take advantage or make a buck out of the unsuspecting.

And the NBN's continued roll out comes with its own set of scams however the goal is largely the same, either to get hold of your money or extract from you your personal information.

These days personal information, or at least enough of it, is money in the bank!!

According to the ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard, Australians over 65 are particularly vulnerable to this brand of scam, so it's important to take note of the following and if you have elderly parents, relatives or even friends that are potentially susceptible to this sort of thing, to be aware.

NBN is a wholesale service provider, and does not sell to consumers!! - This means that you will never get a phone call from NBNco out of the blue trying to sign you up to a service over its network.

Some of the most common types of NBN scams are:

- Attempting to sign victims up to fake accounts - The scam includes ringing victims to "connect" them to the NBN network for a low price. They will often demand payment be made through iTunes gift cards.

Important Note: If someone calls you and tries to get you to use iTunes gift cards to pay for a recognised or well publicised legitimate service, its a SCAM!!!! No legitimate business uses iTunes gift cards as a method of currency!

- Scammers may call you pretending to be an NBNco representative and claim you have a problem with your computer, this ruse attempts to get you to give them access remotely to your computer to steal valuable information or to plant malicious software.

- Phishing scams are when someone calls and impersonates an NBNco representative and requests personal information such as drivers licence number, name, date of birth or even a healthcare membership number. You may be offered new hardware or some other incentive that requires your ID for "verification".

It is only possible to connect to the NBN by signing up for a plan through an authorised service provider such as iiNet, Telstra or others.

If you think you may have given out personal financial details to a scammer, alert your bank or financial institution as quickly as possible.

You can go to NBNco website to check if your home or business address is able to connect to the NBN network and see which phone and internet providers are available in your area. If you have questions about the NBN and how it will work in your home or installation with your existing hardware please don't hesitate to contact us.

A smaller project in Bicton has recently come together with a well constructed and organised 19" rack designed for holding equipment securely with space for heat to disperse and room to grow as technology demands.

This rack supports up to 24 powered data points throughout the home, at Surrounds we put a lot of importance in ensuring capacity is there for future options. If you have a data point in the home you can be assured it will be live, not sitting wrapped up waiting to be installed correctly.

All cables labelled correctly so that the homeowner can get a grip on what is what and make appropriate changes without needing to consult with us on a Saturday night when he or she gets adventurous.

All our systems come with a quick sheet on rack layout and numbering plans show what goes where just in case people start to doze off halfway through our handover meeting.

This project has 2 x home run SONOS audio zones to the Balcony and Dining areas with shelving options hidden behind the blanking panels to allow for the option of adding Foxtel or other media players for home distribution.

A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) protects the networking hardware and remote gateway appliance from power spikes or total power failure.

For quality installations like the one pictured below come talk to us, we don't have to have wired your home and are accustomed to coming in after wiring is complete.

The rack units we use come in multiple heights but are always 600mm wide (19" Standard) and either 600mm or 800mm deep depending on the application. They can be wall mounted like the one pictured or free standing.

Samsung has developed a new display panel called "The Frame" which attempts to emulate a framed image on your wall when it is not used traditionally for movies, shows or general entertainment. Essentially the worlds largest digital photo frame and included are pre-installed images or you can purchase additional images through the on board app, you will need to connect your TV to the internet in order to access additional photo content.

Because it's a 4K HDR screen the image display is really quite stunning, so if you are looking for a display panel that doubles as a picture frame with dynamic images then this is a fantastic option.

A few neat bits of tech include auto light level adjustments so that regardless of the light in the room the frame will always display the art or photo image brilliantly, in addition, it also has an onboard motion sensor that can be used to shut down the screen when no one is in the room.

You can also get interchangeable frames or bezels, options include light wood, dark wood, and white wood.

However, if you have reviewed the Samsung advertisements they refer to the cabling to the TV as "invisible" cabling - which it really isn't unless of course, you are half blind or really don't care about cables dangling from your amazing new "seamless" photo frame display.

To get a seamless installation you need to allow for professional installation or some serious before thought, a general power outlet, for example, will not work in with the purpose installation bracket and the cabling will need to be allowed within the wall for that amazing looking installation.

After all, if it's meant to be a picture frame you don't want it to look like a poorly installed wall mount TV.

Important installation tips:

1. You will need recessed wall boxes (power + cable feeds) behind the screen.

2. Don't use a sound bar for sound!! It looks awful, our installation here is 5.1 sound using custom flush mounted ceiling speakers with a proper amplifier for quality sound to match the quality image.

3. This type of panel we don't recommend for brick wall installation due to the proprietary cables and the type of connectors used with this panel, if you are building ensure you have your builder build a stud framed wall for this type of panel installation.

There are a number of exciting new technology advancements in the residential space, with the introduction of really smart phones about 10 years ago the usability factor for the end user has increased quite dramatically.

Many devices nowadays support wireless interaction and this makes using new technology really convenient.

WIFI has gotten much better over time, it's estimated that most homes on average have at least 10 WIFI connected devices, these could be TVs, Watches, Phones or even a coffee machine.

A lot of the data signal burden that used to run over hard-wired data cables has moved over into the WIFI space, which makes it extremely important to WIRE DATA CABLES to WIFI access antennas located strategically around the home to send the wired signal throughout the home over the WIFI channel.

Because of the above, data wiring can be reduced, it used to be a common practice to wire multiple data points to different locations within bedrooms for plugging a laptop in, this is now no longer required for most installations.

Wiring data however to entertainment spaces like Family, Games or Cinema rooms is very important. Video streaming technology, for example, is getting better and better with 4K (incredible image definition) and even talk of 8K (unbelievable image definition) and beyond. This type of signal uses a huge amount of data and WIFI is simply not able to handle multiple streams reliably yet.

Design Tip - Include data cable to ceiling installed Wireless Access Points (WAPS) throughout the home (consider discrete locations like walk in robes, pantry areas etc.). Include data cable to entertainment areas for enhanced video quality transmission.

Alarm and Access control hardware like keypads and proximity readers should still be hardwired, this affords greater security for these types of services.

Switching of lighting circuits within a home or space is a fundamental activity of modern day living. They attach to walls throughout our homes and are considered vital to our everyday lives as we move throughout our homes.

They are even considered by some to be a necessary evil.

Before electronic lighting control systems, these were often one button one circuit systems where you had to interface with multiple switches to get from A to B in a darkened environment.

Two-way and three-way switching came about that allowed for multiple switches to control multiple circuits, adding a level of practical convenience. Multiple button switches made this possible but there was always a limitation - every additionally switched lighting circuit meant more and more cables had to wire to the back of the switch plate.

Lighting control systems allowed for far greater flexibility, you didn't need to consider limitations based on congested wiring back to the particular switch. Every lighting circuit could then run back to a controller and every light switch was able to talk to every other light switch in one big light switch network, this effectively meant that any light switch within the home could control as many lighting circuits as was required.

You could then add logic programming allowing for scenes, schedules, timers and many more automated options.

Even with the above advancements, most switch plate layouts are still one room or one wall one light switch design. The theory, of course, is that when you walk into a particular space you would physically reach for a switching plate to select the lights you required.

Take the following scenario - You arrive home at dusk, your house is dark you trigger your garage door you drive into a darkened garage. You step out of your car and fumble for the light switch, your lights trigger on you grab your essentials and walk through the garage access door into your darkened home, you reach for another switch to activate a hallway light, you move forward open a cupboard door and reach for another light switch, you close the door move forward toward your kitchen accessing switches and activating lights till you get to your kitchen and set up your living space using more switches.

When considering the effort taken with the above multiple times a day you can start to appreciate the following scenario.

You arrive home at dusk, your external lighting is already on (scheduled), you drive into your garage and a sensor activates the lights, you step out of your car and your motion activated light switch powers up upon approach, you select the welcome button setting your home up with a pre-configured lighting scene. You step through the garage access door into your well-lit home, you open the cupboard door the light activates via a sensor, you close the door behind you knowing that in 30 seconds the light will turn itself off.

The above scenario means light switches are no longer about turning on individual lighting circuits but activating pre-configured scenes or modes.

Consider that Walk-In-Robes, WC's, Pantry's and Laundry areas may not need light switches, motion sensors with intuitive programming can detect, activate and maintain lighting based on room activity.

Hot Tip - When a lighting control system is deployed throughout the home it offers the flexibility of upgrading switches later on, for example, if you wanted to change a single button switch to a 4 button switch, there is no rewiring required.

DALI or Digital Addressable Lighting Interface is one of the newer lighting control technologies that have been popular in the commercial lighting space and is starting to gain traction in the residential space. DALI is an internationally recognised standard that allows for two-way communications between lumiere (light fitting) ballasts, essentially similar to how a computer network functions. Each ballast has a unique address and signals commands can be individually routed enabling individual fitting control. This allows for commands like fittings 2, 8 and 12 turn off - commercially this is great for large office spaces where you may have sections shut down based on time of the day and/or to provide energy saving benefits. The DALI Standard also enables dimmable ballasts, transformers, relay modules, emergency fittings and controllers from different manufacturers to be mixed and matched into a single control system. Traditional lighting control methods are based on circuit design, where circuits are designed or nominated by a designer in advance and then wired during the construction phase. Following this, there is no flexibility post construction as you are controlling a bank or circuit of lights at the same time. One of the key benefits of DALI is the ability to control lights individually or group them into software defined switch groups circuits long after wiring has been completed. Another advantage and depending on overhead allowances, the ability to add fittings to a particular space after wiring has been completed. This gives an incredible amount of flexibility across the project that can also add future proofing value. Not all fittings designed for a residential space will be DALI compatible, however, a number of downlights, strip lights, and external light fitting manufacturers offer a DALI control option. Advantages for Designers

Increased energy savings.Control of individual lights and dynamic creation of groups (circuits). Ability to configure & reconfiguration for changing scenarios.Enhanced dimming control. Simple interface with control and building management systems.

Advantages for Builders and Electrical Contractors.

Easy 5-core wiring (Cost Affective).Mains voltage switching handled internally by the ballasts.Less time adjusting for dimming issues. Ability to add emergency lighting into the lighting scheme (where required)

DALI is compatible with the C-bus lighting control system using the 5502DAL gateway along with many other lighting and building management systems, allowing flexible choices for switching, movement detection sensors, touch panel and wireless control interfaces (iPad and more).

We often find it curious when called out to perform a technology rescue, at the heart of an extensive cabling installation we typically discover the smallest possible cable hub or cable termination point.

It's usually so stuffed with hardware that at the moment we unlock the cabinet it explodes due to pressurisation of hardware within.

The door is used to jam the hardware and cable patch leads in so that the unsightly mess is hidden. In these sorts of installations, we find the hardware that is required at installation and into the future to drive signal through the cables is compromised.

What you have is cable future proofing but without the means for correct hardware securing, cooling, fixing or even appropriate power provisions you are completely limited and have a cabinet where if ever you need to access it you an explosive mess on your hands.

This, of course, is fixable, core business at Surrounds these days is getting involved in electronic systems renovations or rescues. All cables are pulled back, labelled, re-terminated and a new hub is installed allowing for correct terminations, power management, shelving for appropriate hardware and with plenty of space around for cooling purposes.

Fixing these exploding racks or cable hubs is not something you want to plan for as it's not exactly cheap!!!The best way to ensure the image attached is not going to end up in your home is to get advice on planning the installation correctly, make sure your consultant or installation team understand your requirements and responsibly allow overhead for the future and consider adequate upgrade space.

Technology provisions within the home now more than ever before have to be considered with future upgrades in mind and part of the planning provisions. We are all accustomed to changing our phones every couple of years to take advantage of new features and options offered by newer tech, this in some ways should be considered for the technology going into your home.

Surround's has a number of cable hub options available plus live demonstrations to give you an idea of the type of layout you are likely to need for your new home.

This article while specific to C-Bus (by Schneider Electric) lighting control can be applied to most wired lighting control systems as they are generally quite similar.

We do appreciate that there are a number of lighting control solutions or systems on the market that use wireless communication technologies, these are still considered by most to be second rate to a wired system when considering lighting control for a new construction project.

Going wireless for a retrofit style implementation has its cost advantages, however we suggest that if you have the ability to run cables and the luxury of time for good design and approach then wiring for a complete solution is the way to go.

So if you are building a home and are thinking about a controlled lighting system as a part of your smart home requirement, this article will assist you with prioritising some aspects of your design to focus on what is necessary during construction and what can be upgraded later on after completion.

A few key points:

Light Switches (also called input units as they take input from the user) - In a lighting control installation these devices may look and feel like ordinary switches however they are wired quite differently. All switches within a lighting control system generally wire to the nearest switch, called daisy chaining and never wire directly to your light circuits.

C-Bus switches wire onto what is called a BUS (the Bus in C-Bus), a BUS is simply a communication system that transfers data between components, in this case, data is transferred between the light switches and the control hardware that drives your lighting circuits.

There are some limitations as to how many devices you can add to this BUS, but let's just say unless it's an especially large home there is ample capacity. The only consideration that a designer has to make is ensuring there is enough power or current on the BUS to power all the switches.

This allows switches to be changed much later down the track, say you allowed for a single button switch in your bedroom for controlling the bedroom light, later on, you could change it to a 2 button switch and with a little software programming have it control the ensuite light.

Savings Tip - Limit the number of individual light switches in your home!! With 2, 4, 6 and up to 32 functions on a single switch, a smart home is about automation, things doing things on their own and you as the home owner doing much more with less.

Motion Sensors - YES, these are input units as well, treated much like a light switch, except your movements are the trigger. Areas like the Pantry, WC, WIR, Garage and even Hallways and Stairwells are places where you can remove light switches altogether.

Savings Tip - Motion sensors are cheaper than wall switches, they also have a slim profile and can be flushed into drop ceilings for a neat look and are key for managing energy costs.

Dimming and Relay (on/off) circuits - We often have potential clients make sweeping statements like "I want to dim everything", all we see when we hear that is a whole lot of costs. The truth is you can get by without dimming everything and you will often find having dimming everywhere is a simply something you will not ever use.

External, pool, strip, stair, garage and WC areas are places where dimming is not essential if you are not concerned about the costs you can pretty much do anything but given the title of this article we are focusing on cost savings.

Savings Tip - Allocate dimming to entertainment spaces, entry lights and hallways, alfresco, dining and even master bedroom areas only. It's not totally impossible to change circuits from relay (on/off) to dimming later.

Quantities - Relay (on/off) and Dimming lighting circuit control hardware (C-Bus specific) come in even quantities, typically 4, 8, 12 (number of channels controlled per unit). So say you have three lighting circuits you want to dim remember that with that quantity you will have a fourth spare so adding a fourth dimming circuit to that particular area is not going to cost you.

Savings tip - If your quantities of lighting circuits are odd it can mean you have some spare capacity, filling spare capacity or managing what is or isn't on a dimming device can offer savings.

There are additional design tips that can be used to allow you to implement a wired lighting control system on a budget that gets you the essentials while allowing an upgrade path as you go.

Your integration designer or supplier should be presenting you with a set of drawings showing you how your system is going to be implemented. This information is key for getting the most out of your dollar when considering a lighting control system.

Surrounds has many years experience with lighting control and we display our solutions throughout our display centre in Nedlands - come have a chat with us about effective design and implementation.

You get that NBNco letter drop or email letting you know that you now have superfreakingfast internet speeds on your street just waiting for you to connect to and that all you have to do is get onto your service provider to make the switch and ditch your old connection.

If your new connection is over your existing copper (Bigpond Cable or ADSL) you will need to apply for the NBN through an Internet Service Provider (ISP), as NBN is a wholesale company and won't sell you the internet directly.

If you are using your existing provider remember when you apply for connection to the NBN and select your package that you are not replacing your current connection with an NBN connection, what they are doing is giving you a new connection under your existing account.

As there is an overlap both services will often keep running, if you don't cancel your old internet service you are likely to run with two services (old + NBN), this means you will still be billed for your old service.

When your NBN connection is happily running it's a good idea to contact your ISP or go to your ISP web login and actively cancel your old internet connection to avoid unnecessary charges.

HOT TIP - Don't forget to select the right NBN package, most issues related to NBN speed or performance dissatisfaction are the result of not selecting a package that is suitable for your requirements.

Ask us about your existing or future requirements, we can even tell you about future technologies like ultra high definition video streaming that requires an appropriate internet package!!!

Our clever technical crew has just completed a rack system installation north of the river.

From the image you can see the building project is still concluding however in working in with building company's we find being ahead of things in that last rush to complete for client move in, certainly comes in handy.

Custom built electronic systems that we cable throughout the home take a reasonable amount of time after the owner moves in to iron out bugs, sort 3rd party conflict issues and of course so that we can customise to the owner's particular requirements. Starting from the top of the rack we have the Surrounds service hotline details. Because we know how important internet, WIFI and other services are for our clients we ensure we can be reachable during emergencies, YES, even on weekends!!!

The bright pink data cable connects the active network switches to the network gateway or router, we use bright pink so that the internet installation technicians know what cable to use when they install the ADSL modem.

The gateway or router, provides a local working network, pending ADSL installation in this non-NBN area.

Like all our other installations (great or small), we have included as standard a remote management interface, installed so that we can service the system remotely. This comes in handy when the client forgets his/her security code or needs to cancel their teenager's WIFI access.

Distributed source equipment like Foxtel and Media Players live in this rack which then sends (via AV matrix) the signal throughout the home. Note rack and cables are carefully labelled, nothing is worse than trying to service a system 2 years later without a quick reference.

You can never get enough power distribution, this allows for good initial installation plus adequate overhead for additional hardware to fill the blanks later on, plus access to it is easy. This installation has Launchport docking stations for easy iPad wall charging, Surrounds uses remote isolation modules to electronically schedule charging times - this means less wear and tear on the iPad battery (increased lifespan = improved investment returns).

This installation includes CCTV monitoring and Recording, Security and Access Control. Including an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is an essential item, it works to maintain power during a fault, cleans up the power signal and reduces the potential for damage by power spikes.

The room is cooled and rack fans are also used to keep dust away from the sensitive electronic system hardware.

For installation ideas or to see first hand an active rack installation running live at our design centre in Nedlands, please don't hesitate to get in touch!!

A huge range of products from washing machines to irrigation controllers now have jumped on the home control bandwagon and offer iPad control of their devices. A product being "app enabled" is often a highly regarded selling point, regardless of the practicality of it or even the usability.

Tech conscious consumers are starting to accumulate a large number of network or app enabled devices within their home which means that these consumers are also stacking up the individual control apps, and becoming what we call "app collectors".

Having an app per device is reasonably usable with one or two devices, but when this stacks up users find themselves app hopping.

It's almost a case of going backward technologically, take a typical Living room audio visual system as a good example of this tragedy. Before universal remote controls people used to have 3-5 different remote controls, they would hop from remote control to remote control to activate control functions with their system, with universal remotes coming onto the scene the user was able to press one button and the remote or controller would automate the tasks required to get all the devices talking together as one system.

With having a collection of apps it's like having a pile of remote controls, except that these are all sitting on one device however they are not consolidated for one touch control.

As an example say you had electronic external lighting and you wanted to activate lights to check to see if your garage door was open via the external camera. You would open an app for your camera, notice the lighting wasn't bright enough, switch over to your lighting app, turn on the lights, switch back to the camera app, notice your garage door was open then switch over to the garage motor app, then back to the lighting page to turn off the lights for the night.

What if you were able to have one app that controlled all the important features of all your devices, allowing you to do the above from a single page. For example you know that when you selected your camera selection page you would have options there that included any localised lighting, motor control, and even security options.

This is what we call iPad Control, an app that presents a customised array of control options across all your devices and systems, sort of an app to "rule them all" - allowing the user to gain a level of simplicity.

I have an iPad, where can I get this GOD APP??

Unfortunately, it's not yet that simple....most hardware manufacturers don't yet open up their hardware to be controlled easily by third party apps, there are also some devices that are not yet network based or if they are they don't yet accept control signals over the network.

To control these devices you need an automation control processor or a "black box", one that can talk the correct languages to compatible devices. These control processors receive a signal from your iPad or other portable devices when you push buttons, select options or adjust a slider - they then put the different signals together (creating macros) and send them to the appropriate destinations, creating one touch control.

There are some DIY control processors that you can get online or from retail outlets, these are inexpensive options but they are often limited. Great if you want to tinker or experiment with your audio visual system or operate a light or two but generally lack the ability to be customised for specific installations making them seem unreliable.

For reliable iPad control, you need to work out what you want to control, select hardware that allows other systems to talk to said hardware and then have a chat with a home technology solution provider to ensure all the dots can be joined.

For example, electric underfloor heating is a lot easier to control then hydronic underfloor heating.

A good technology consultant or provider will be able to walk you through the options, discuss your requirements and then present an overall solution. In going through the hardware selection you can save automation control costs just with a bit of planning.

If you already have a home with hardware installed and you want a reliable solution for control, there are options available but it all starts with knowing what hardware you want to control and getting good advice. Additions can be added depending on the size of home and build style.

Click on Building or Renovating for details or contact us for more information.

A router or gateway is typically a hardware device that regulates traffic between different networks, in a home this device regulates traffic between the internet (WAN or Wide Area Network) and your home network (LAN or Local Area Network).

Most people recognise that they have a modem in their home somewhere, either cable or ADSL. This Modem typically always comes with a router on board and often is referred to as a modem/router and provides the internet connection but also manages the internet signal distribution to the different wired or wireless devices within the home.

Having a combined modem/router is convenient because it is a one box device, often with wireless on board as well and typically has 4 or more connection points for wired devices. These devices are generally meant to be affordable for mass sales and work well with minimal expectation.

These days, however, the network is becoming a busy place, if you were to walk around your home and count the devices connecting to your network you might be surprised. This is taxing for your modem/router that is trying to operate as an internet signal provider, signal distribution point and a WIFI signal transceiver, and with lower quality hardware your signals can become congested resulting in slow or stalled speeds.

This can present itself particular to services we all enjoy like Netflix and music streaming, we can suffer a few seconds of lag when loading a web page but when in the middle of a tune or an episode of Game of Thrones a few seconds or more of pause can quickly become frustrating.

In many cases the cause will be the total internet speed available to your residence, however often you can give your network a boost by installing a dedicated router or gateway to accelerate your internal home network traffic.

At Surrounds we offer router solutions designed and built to handle audio and video traffic, we can also augment that with dedicated switching and WIFI options that will support all devices within the home plus remote logging of your network to ensure efficient coverage.

Ask usalso about our WIFI enabled plug packs, these are great for devices that need to be restarted every now and again like Foxtel boxes, using an app on your phone you can restart the device manually or set it up as such so that it restarts the device automatically via a schedule.

Residential security alarm systems are often broken down to serve two main purposes, to protect property and/or alert the occupants of an unauthorised intrusion.

Typically an internal motion detection based system is considered as a cost effective way to protect property. Several motion detectors, commonly known as PIR's (Passive InfraRed) can be placed throughout the residence in strategic locations such as the Master Bedroom, Garage and Family areas.

The owner would arm the system when he/she exits and disarm the system when he/she returns.

A hybrid example using internal motion detection for unauthorised intrusion or personal protection is if you had upper and lower levels, you could arm the lower level of the property while sleeping and any intrusion would activate the alarm. This activation would occur after the intrusion took place.

The above internal motion detection type system should be considered a reactive system, as the intrusion or break-in has already taken place.

An alarm system designed to protect property and persons is also known as a perimeter security system. Generally, impact and contact sensors are added to door and window frames throughout for impact/opening detection and to the ceilings for glass break detection.

This type of enhanced system when armed allows the occupant to move about the house freely. If an assault to the perimeter is detected the system will go into an alarm state and alert the homeowner.

This type of system should also be considered a reactive security system, as impact and often damage to the property likely has to occur before the occupant is alerted.

A proactive security alarm system is a system that pushes the area of intrusion detection beyond the perimeter of the building. Using targeted infrared to accurately cover all opening sections of the property and any passageways required for moving around the property.

This type of system is not only designed to protect person and property but also actions the alert before the intruder is able to cause damage.

Such a system is enhanced further when an electronic lighting control system is added, typically as part of a home automation or integrated systems installation. With strategic placement of external light fittings around the property. These lights would react to human movement beyond the intrusion detection zone.

In addition, upon security alarm activation a signal can then be sent to the electronic lighting control system which can trigger external light activation, creating an added layer of protection using "shock and awe" with sirens and lights to discourage further intrusion.

If you need further advice on security detection for your existing home or new building project, come speak to us. Surrounds is a licenced security agent, consultant and installation service provider with many years of experience in security installation but also integration with other systems like electronic keypad access, CCTV cameras and entry intercoms.

We here at Surrounds get a lot of enquiries about cable hub sizes, locations and where in the house these sometimes industrial-looking boxes need to be placed. Generally it's a case of knowing that these boxes are a necessary evil however the task of placing them becomes somewhat of a debate issue.

Consideration, however, is incredibly important. Working out what hardware you are going to place within the hub (other than cable terminations) is essential. We often come across installations where the cable hub is an afterthought and far too small and compact to be of any particular use.

This particular image shown (right) houses terminations for TV and Data however the ability to add say a network switch, modem or even a Foxtel splitter can present some difficulty.

This is not necessarily to say that the installation of this particular sized cable hub is wrong or the fault of the installer, more so the owners may not have known enough about how they were planning on using the home or what options they may have needed once they moved in.

When it comes time to add hardware and they find that space is just not adequate one of the only options is to be creative about how you use the space.

This often results in a jammed packed cabinet where equipment is compressed against cable fittings, heat can increase to where your equipment becomes unusable and sometimes the only way to close the door is to be particularly forceful.

Shown here is a classic example where even though a slightly larger cabinet was used, space still came at a premium and had to be shoehorned into place.

For electronic systems this tight installation can be an utter disaster, all hardware will be operating outside of its perimeters and the consequence of that is a completely unreliable system that will annoy the homeowner to no end for years to come.

The other drawback is that the system is generally resistant to future upgrades, a poorly thought of cable hub really lives for the moment and that moment is typically frozen at the design stage.

What you then have is a whole bunch of "future proof" cabling in place but limited means to harness the technology available when you move in and years into the future, simply because the cable hub was not given due consideration.

When is a tiny Cable Hub suitable?

In our opinion, the answer is, hardly ever!! A VDSL modem (NBN using Fibre To The Node technology) as an example, will fill the first cable hub (shown above) and you will have little room for much else. If you had three to four data cables running a small network within the home with no plans to upgrade then you could manage to get away with it with minimal interruptions.

Adding any sort of video distribution, centralised control system or even Foxtel box sharing later down the track suddenly becomes quite difficult. In those circumstances, you then have to start getting clever about where you can house additional equipment and it suddenly makes your new smart home look rather dumb.

We offer rescue services for these sorts of installations, however when the house is complete and all the cables are run this can quickly get expensive. It's much more effective to plan this in advance and it's certainly better on the hip pocket later down the track.

How can I plan for the most suitable Cable Hub?

Discuss your requirements with a reputable technology consultant/contractor, preferably one that has a display centre and can visibly walk you through the options and can offer technical design documentation.

They should ask you some important questions such as the following:

Where will your entertainment spaces be? What sort of video or audio content are you interested in? Will your entertainment joinery be sufficient for housing equipment? Or are you looking to centrally distribute? What automation control options are you considering? Do you want to link the security system with lights? What sort of WIFI coverage and speeds are you looking for? Are you likely to have Foxtel or interested in making provisions for Foxtel?

Answers to the above or a similar line of questioning will help to establish a benchmark for your cable hub size requirements, to suit the technology expectations. As your requirements build your rack size will increase.

Once it reaches a size that is adequate, any good integration company will then allow for overhead, this overhead is how your installation is made future resistant.

After you have established your size requirements this then needs to be discussed with your architect, interior designer and possibly even your builder. In many instances with a properly sized rack, there is cooling and dust minimisation requirements that need to be considered, in some cases active cooling is a definite requirement.

When you reach a certain amount of cables you will also need to ensure you have sufficient space behind your cabinet, correct cable support and enough cable extension length to allow the system to be built, moved and easily maintained.

Most architects understand that electronic management requirements exist however they may not be fully aware of the details, it's important that consideration is made as this critical element will present itself as a problem further down the track if not addressed.

Surrounds runs its display centre on Stirling Highway in Nedlands using the 38RU/19" rack system below, this is a working system designed to allow people the ability to inspect, understand the practical installation aspects and appreciate the requirements.

If you are building or renovating and looking at a comprehensive system with upgrade potential come through and check out your options. We also have two other rack systems on display - smaller options to suite a lighter application but without compromising the ability to expand and grow as technology changes and evolves.

TIVO launched its exceptionally reliable digital HD receiver or set top box in 2008.

With an exceptional EPG (Electronic Programming Guide) service and with few returns most of these have been running well since startup and have enjoyed excellent customer satisfaction over the years.

To everyone's surprise, TIVO exited the Australian market in 2013 around the same time their new box with streaming capabilities was released in the US, there were no plans to bring that box to Australia.

Since then the electronic programming guide service has continued to run, this service allows for viewing of programming information and the ability to accurately record shows.

Without an EPG to detail program start and stop times your TIVO device wont record shows precisely as they start, due to programming data changing often you cant simply rely on advertised or listed start times, a consequence of this will be recording shows up to 15 minutes after start times or even not at all.

This effectively is the final nail in the coffin, with the service being terminated on October 31st, 2017 it is important to consider an upgrade solution for your HD free to air channel viewing and recording.

We have listed three options below for review:

Foxtel IQ3 Option

Most are aware of the latest Foxtel IQ3 box and most would have read some of the negative coverage about the reliability issues when this box was launched. There have been some substantial updates and the box is now running better, this is typical with the launch of any new hardware these days as they all rush to market.

The key feature with the new IQ3 box is that it has a digital HD tuner installed, this means you can order the box and connect it to your aerial/antenna cable and you get all your HD channels with your Foxtel Pay-TV channels, so one interface bringing all the signals together removing the need to jump to another hardware source for Free TV signals.

If you have IQ2 you simply need to contact Foxtel and order the replacement IQ3 box, if you have an IQ3 chances are you simply need to connect up the antenna cable and re-tune.

If you have a universal remote control this may need to be adjusted to suit the new setup and removal of the TIVO interface, contact us at support@surrounds.com.au to talk about this upgrade.

Fetch TV Option

Fetch TV is more or less a Foxtel competitor, they build a box that can handle streaming services for premium channels and you can have Netflix and others along with digital HD free to air signals. It's important to note that it's almost a requirement to have a FAST internet connection if you are going to go with Fetch as a Foxtel replacement, unlike Foxtel Fetch doesn't have access to satellite or cable channels so without good internet the box is limited, much like an Apple TV box.

The good thing about Fetch is that if you go through the TIVO website for a limited amount of time they are offering $100 credit against the purchase of the Fetch Mighty, you can find all that information here at the TIVO swap-out website.

If you go the Fetch TV option simply order your new box through the link above, when your box arrives it will need to be activated ($1 activation cost) and installed where your TIVO box is currently, you will require an HDMI, RF and data connection.

Contact us at support@surrounds.com.au to talk about this upgrade.

Other Options

There are plenty of other companies and brands releasing digital HD tuner boxes, STRONG is an example of this and they all come with smarts like the ability to install apps, share content and larger hard drives for greater storage potential. The differences between these and the Fetch or Foxtel option is largely to do with the content available.

If all you want is a no nonsense box for receiving Free TV digital channels then come talk to us or contact sales@surrounds.com.au so we can discuss your options.

Private security activities within Western Australia are governed by the Security and Related Activities (Control) Act 1996 and the Security and Related Activities (Control) Regulations 1997.

For a private company to advertise or in any way hold out that they are willing to supply security services by licensed consultants and installers must hold a valid Security Agent Licence.

This license is authorised by the WA Police Licensing Services and authorises a private company to advertise and supply the services of Security Officers, Security Bodyguards, Security Consultants or Security Installers.

A Security Agent Licence does not authorise anyone to work as a Security Officer, Security Bodyguard, Security Consultant or Security Installer. Any employee of a licensed security company involved in security related work such as Alarms or CCTV requires the appropriate licence (see below).

Heavy fines apply for operating without the appropriate license, your consultant or installer holds a valid identification card that must be carried at all times whilst performing licensed duties.

Security Consultant Licence

This licence authorises a person to investigate and advise on matters relating to the watching, guarding and protection of property as well as going from place to place seeking out persons who may be prepared to enter into contracts for the supply of security equipment or services.

For consulting on Alarms and CCTV for security purposes the consultant will have a Class 2 licence.

This applies also to electrical consultants, architects or building designers that may be showing detection devices or CCTV coverage plans as part of their designs, they must hold a Security Agent License and a Security Consultant License themselves or consult the services of a licensed security company in order to provide this type of service.

Security Installer Licence

This licence authorises you to install, maintain and repair security equipment controlled by the Act. One thing to note is that this licence does not apply to installers of security equipment in vehicles, vessels or aircraft.

For consulting on Alarms and CCTV for security purposes the installer will have a Class 2 licence.

A full list of current WA license holders can be found at the WA Police website.

Surrounds and other reputable home technology companies who offer Alarm and CCTV systems as part of their suite of services invest heavily in the appropriate initial and ongoing training required for holding these licenses.

We also have the required indemnity and other insurances and are subject to regular audits by compliance officers from the WA Police Department.

Smart home technology is not just limited to city projects. Country residences benefit from energy management and smart home control not to mention security and must have items like a video intercom station at a gate that is often a remarkable distance from the main residence.

In this project a 500 meter single mode fibre run for video and voice communications was required, this ran from the hub room (build images below) underground to a weatherproof enclosure near the gate for signal and gate trigger control.

Other aspects of this build include implementing C-Bus lighting control throughout, not just for the residences but also for the external sections including roads, paddocks and outer buildings. This will allow for management of the lighting and other system integrated power consumption devices to be controlled by the owner or occupant directly or by engaging powerful scene or macro functions that run on their own.

Security for living areas and the perimeter is also implemented and integrated with other systems in this project enabling trigger commands from the security system to activate lighting plans and scenes.

As an example, security alarm activation can trigger lights increasing the warning element.

Three touch panels will be installed throughout for easy control, with monitoring of the different systems also available via portable devices like iPads, iPhones and others.

A home's video intercom main entry station can be fitted into a gate plate design with a little bit of thought and planning, the IP2N door station supports power, video, audio and a keypad all over a single data cable.

This unit in particular is selected for its ability to withstand the weather, sun and a fair amount of abuse. With infrared assisting with night mode capabilities allowing enhanced vision at night or in low light scenarios.

This two way intercom station can talk to touch panels (Crestron/RTI), IP Phone handsets and to iPhone/iPad or android devices for when you are out and about or prefer to manage everything on your portable device.

Surrounds and crew worked with the architect and interior designer on this Smart Home to install this station into a letter box plate for a seamless and neat installation.

SONOS EOFY discounts are now available for the Play 1's and Subwoofers but get in quick as this special pricing is for a very limited amount of time only!!!!

There are three ways to save on Sonos speakers designed for both home theatre and music listening. Take $70 off two PLAY:1s and use them to fill two more rooms with different music. Or group them together with any other Sonos speakers and play the same song, party-style, all through the house. You can even pair two PLAY:1s up for instant stereo sound. Take $150 off the SUB and add it to their Sonos home theatre. SUB’s deep, soul-shaking booms and rumbles will enhance all their favourite movies, TV shows and video games. The best option – Take the full $220 off all three speakers and add them to a PLAYBAR or PLAYBASE for a complete wireless surround sound system.

Contact us at sales@surrounds.com.au to take advantage of this special offer, all items are on display so come on down and see it LIVE. Ensure your home has fast WIFI Networking to support high resolution audio streaming!!

A number of ADSL2 sites throughout Perth are converting to VDSL2 or what is known as Fibre To The Node (FTTN) technology in the next few months. For more details go to www.nbnco.com.au and enter your site address, leave your email for updates if your area is not yet ready.

FTTN technology utilises "nodes" which are green coloured cabinets connected to fibre that are sprouting up along streets in certain connected suburbs, the distance between the node and your house ultimately determines the highest possible speed.

This installation took place south of the river in a newly enabled NBN area, you get the usual notification from NBN and then your letterbox starts filling with offers from the internet service providers. In this case the existing provider (iinet) was used. A self installation service was ordered and the VDSL2 modem arrived, the installation to activate the site was booked for the next week.

Notification was issued that the connection was done, the new modem connected up to the existing phone connection (no filter required), after a few config details the connection synced up.

Results:

Old ADSL 2 Speeds (Telstra Server Test)

12 Mbps Download Speed, 0.8 Mbps Upload Speed @ 27 ping rate

New VDSL2 Speeds (Telstra Server Test)

52 Mbps Download Speed, 27 Mbps Upload Speed @ 6 ping rate

Contact is at support@surrounds.com.au if you would like to know more about the NBN speed boost advantages and also to ensure you have quality WIFI networking installed.

The roll out of the NBN in the western suburbs has been accelerated with the use of HFC or Hybrid Fibre Coaxial technology, NBNco has been acquiring HFC assets such as the cable infrastructure previously used to deliver Foxtel and cable internet services. Chances are if you have had cable internet and Foxtel services you are likely to make the switch to the NBN using this same cable, simply requiring a modem upgrade.

By now NBNco and most service providers (Telstra, iiNet etc) would have been in contact via letterbox drops announcing the change and asking you to start the process of making the switch. Its important to note that this IS NOT an opt in service, you will sooner then latter need to make the switch to the NBN as the existing services will be switched off.

If you are not sure if your home is ready to make the switch go to www.nbnco.com.au and enter your address, if work is still progressing simply leave your email so that you can get notified when ready. If your home is ready to connect you will need to contact your service provider and arrange the switch.

If your home has copper line based security monitoring or an emergency lift phone you will need to contact your home security company and have them switch you over to 3G/4G wireless technology. Contact your lift manufacturer to arrange this service upgrade, Surrounds can assist with switching your monitored alarm system over to wireless monitoring if required.

Contact us at support@surrounds.com.au to arrange for this upgrade to occur.

Once the NBN upgrade has occurred you may want to review your local wired and WIFI networking hardware as well as your entertainment options. NBN speeds allow for HD and 4K streaming services like Netflix, Foxtel Play and Apple TV for video on demand content.

Remember that if you require a home phone connection ensure you discuss this with your internet service provider, as the copper phone service will eventually be disconnected.

Go to our NBN assistance page if you require further assistance.

Foxtel has had streaming on the IQ boxes for a while now however the news of the month is that Foxtel is opening up its content to the wider selection of streaming devices allowing more viewing choice and taking advantage of the new high speed NBN (national broadband network) that is slowly but surely making its way to streets and suburbs using a variety of transmission technologies.

This further enhances the need to ensure your home has adequate infrastructure per area as all things considered the direction for home entertainment delivery is IP delivery technology over your local network, this requires not only a fat pipe for data coming into your home but also robust internal (LAN) hardware and infrastructure cabling and and a quality WIFI networking.

A terribly sounding room can make even the finest speaker perform poorly, a well treated room can make an average speaker sound surprisingly brilliant!!

You can purchase off the shelf acoustic tiles and arrange them carefully to create a space that is suited to your listening requirements, and for those that prefer a built in solution or design that compliments the room from an aesthetic as well as an acoustic perspective Surrounds can assist with custom designed acoustic solutions.

See below some recent acoustic panelling additions to our Focal and Bowers and Wilkins sound spaces!

WIFI Networking

There was recently a research report put together by the Alarm Industry Research & Educational Foundation that analyses survey data from 422 incarcerated male and female burglars. Part of the analysis focuses on the value of integrated solutions including alarms and security surveillance cameras.

Included below are some interesting snippets from that report:

- Approximately 83 percent of the offenders said they would attempt to determine if a home security alarm was present before attempting a burglary and 60 percent said they would seek an alternative target.

- Even during impulsive, unplanned burglaries, more than half of the intruders said they would discontinue the burglary if they discovered an alarm. Another 31 percent said they would consider discontinuing the burglary, while only 13 percent said they would continue regardless.

- Nearly 60 percent of the burglars said they would consider the presence of cameras or other surveillance equipment when selecting a target, and more than 40 percent said that would be a factor in prompting them to choose another target.

- About half of the respondents reported engaging in residential burglary, while 31 percent said they preferred commercial targets.

- Nearly 90 percent of the respondents indicated their top reason for committing burglaries was related to the need to acquire drugs (51 percent) or money (37 percent), which was often used to support drug habits.

- Slightly less than a third of the offenders reported they collected information about a potential target prior to initiating a burglary attempt, suggesting most burglars are impulsive to some degree. About 12 percent indicated they typically planned the burglary, 41 percent suggested it was most often a “spur of the moment” event/offence, and the other 37 percent reported that it varied.

- Male burglars often plan their burglaries more deliberately and carefully and were more likely to gather intelligence about a potential target ahead of time. Female burglars appear to be more impulsive overall, engaging in “spur-of-the-moment” burglaries.

Most people know about the new Sonos Playbar, for those who don’t this is Sonos’s answer to the TV sound bar, not only does it do almost everything a traditional sound bar was meant to do in fine quality but it adds the Sonos streaming audio aspect to the mix.

You might have the TV running in the living room but you want to hear it while making a cup of tea in the kitchen, relates more then anything to sports, news, cooking programs etc.

The problem with digital to analogue conversion is sometimes between speakers there is a delay, so the speakers you hear at the TV end produce sound slightly faster then the ones in your kitchen creating an uneasy delay that is as uncomfortable as it is annoying.

With a Sonos Playbar connected to your TV all you do is pick up your controller (iPad/iPhone/Android) select your TV zone then add your kitchen making a group (Kitchen/Living), the TV sound is then linked in to your kitchen area. All the tests we’ve done have shown no audio delay so you have seamless synced sound going to all areas in the group. Works like magic!!!

So if you are thinking of a Sound Bar to enhance the audio from your TV set, think about the Sonos experience. You can use your existing remote control and you can add the Sonos wireless sub-woofer to the mix further enhancing the experience.

And at $999 it is similar in pricing to any other quality sound bar around and with the Sonos audio streaming aspect it brings even greater value!!! Ensure your home has a fast WIFI networking system installed for an enhanced experience.