OTHER TECH

After we installed the upgrades, the owners added even more bits of gear, including a Nintendo Wii game console and a central XM satellite-radio feed for the house, and the system accommodated the additions without a fight. For instance, we'd anticipated possible videogame systems in the living-room/recreation-room when we spec'd out the receiver. We always try to leave at least one input of each type (HDMI, component, and composite) so the receiver can handle an HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc player, a videogame console, or whatever might be next on the upgrade list.

One of the nice features of the Control 4 system is its Composer software, which enables you to program changes quickly on the fly.

When the owners asked us to customize one of the buttons on the remote to jump immediately to a specific DirecTV menu item, it took us only about a minute to make the change and copy it to all the other video zones in the house. Gone are the days of the multiday programming change (and the $500 charge that went with it).

The next level of support is already here with Control 4's 4Sight service, which lets an installer access the customer's system remotely via the Internet. (Access is password-protected, of course.) I can now make any programming changes the owners might want without having to go out to their house for a service call. You might think this means we're giving up a reliable revenue stream, but it's worth it just for the customer's enhanced appreciation. I must say that it's nice to be sitting in the office with a cold drink instead of being on the road for a stressful 3-hour round trip to custom-program somebody's remote.

Staying on the cutting edge of technology and offering easily upgradable systems gives us a big advantage over the local competition. Among other things, we're lowering the overall costs for our customers, while also eliminating the trauma of an installation. One odd benefit of all this new technology is that there's now time to escape it all with a few company fishing days in the lakes and rivers of Western Colorado. Overall stress levels are down, customer satisfaction is up, and the fish are always biting.