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Why should I use Coastal Carolina Audio Video?
There are two ways to have technology systems built into your home. You can either do it yourself using parts you purchased at a chain electronics store or have a company like Coastal Carolina Audio Video do it for you.
When you do it yourself, you're on your own. You have to decide what you think you want, which may be based primarily on the system you saw at your brother-in-law's house that you thought was really cool. Then you have to pick out the equipment, going through the aisles of electronics and accessories and hoping that the college-aged salesman was right when he pointed out the equipment that HE would buy if it were HIS system, swearing it would all work together. And finally you have to install all the parts and hook them up, keeping your fingers crossed the whole time that you put each wire in the right place so it will all work as you expect.
Or you can call us. You spend an hour in your home at your convenience with a home technology expert who will find out what you're looking for and explain to you about all the options. A few days later, he comes back with a complete system design for you to approve that comes with a firm price and guaranteed performance, backed by Coastal Carolina Audio Video's premier service. We install it and make sure it works to your expectations, and if something goes wrong or doesn't work the way you think it should, all you do is call us and we'll come fix it.
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Are your prices competitive with the larger chain stores?
It's a common misconception that home technology specialists like us charge higher prices for the same equipment than the chain electronics stores.
It's just not true. For the same item, it's the same price. The difference is that we typically offer higher performing products than the big stores. People who come to us want better home technology than what they can buy off the shelf, and that's what we give them.
In addition to providing better products, we provide personal service that, for the big stores, is impossible. They are in the business of selling electronic pieces and parts. We are in the business of selling complete home technology systems and making sure that our customers get exactly what they need.
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Why not have my electrician run the wiring?
When it comes to installing the wiring for a home electronics system, we prefer to do it ourselves.
We work with electricians every day and we each do our own jobs. There are many great electricians out there, who excel at installing the high voltage wiring that carries the current and are licensed to do so.
But they aren't always trained to work with the wiring required by high tech electronics systems. The wiring we use is much more delicate, designed to carry analog and digital signals from your control device to your equipment. Bandwidth, frequency, noise, and impedance are important considerations in home electronics systems but don't matter in a typical home's electrical wiring.
If you're still set on giving the job to your electrician, we won't stop you, but we suggest you make sure he's certified by the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA).
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Do I have to spend a fortune to have a good system?
The amount of money you invest in your home electronics system really depends on what you want your system to do and the components involved. We spend time with our customers to help them define exactly what they want their system to do, how they will use it, and how it needs to fit into their living space. Part of this involves helping you understand what the different technologies do and how they can improve your life. Once you know what's out there, we'll help you create a wish list of everything you'd LIKE to have, then we'll narrow that down to what will truly fit into your budget. Sometimes it's everything, sometimes it's a starter system that you can add to over the years. At the end of the process, regardless of how much your system costs, you will have a great system to make your life at home that much more enjoyable.
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Will it take a long time to have my system designed and installed?
The time it takes for the whole process from design to installation depends on the complexity of your system and whether you have an existing home or are building a new one. It may be a week, it may be a year, it's probably going to fall somewhere in between.
What we can tell you for sure is how our process works. We have an initial meeting at your home that lasts about an hour, maybe two. We'll get an initial idea of what you're looking for, talk about the different technology options available to meet your needs, then walk though your home to get a better understanding of what you want and how we would best integrate it into your home and lifestyle.
Next, we will spend a day or so on the basic system design, which includes the design layout, the components list, and the cost. We'll present that to you, and usually give you about a week to think about it, giving you the chance to make changes or decisions on components.
Once you make a final decision, we can start wiring. That process generally takes between one and three days. After that, we'll install the equipment and do any programming and calibrating that's required. This process can take the longest. For simple systems, it takes about one to three days. But if we have to integrate the new system with existing systems such as lighting, security, and HVAC, it will take longer than that, depending on the number of systems and how the new system will work with the old.
And when the system is all installed, we meet with you back at your house to train you on how to use the equipment and controls, and make sure everything works like it should. This generally takes a few hours.
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