If you live in a Control4 household, you’re in luck.
Control4 recently unveiled its newest operating system, X4, which brings newfound customization options to your C4 interface. Plus, if you’re an Apple fan, X4 deepens Control4’s integration with Apple products.
Here’s all you can expect when you upgrade your Control4 system to X4.
“Is Ketra really worth it?”
It’s a common question searched online and asked by our showroom visitors. Because while Ketra is regarded as the gold standard of tunable lighting control, it does have a notably higher price tag than products like Philips Hue. So, is it really the best?
To understand Ketra’s value, it’s best experienced in person. But until then, let’s explore what makes Ketra more than just another lighting product, and why it’s trusted by design professionals, homeowners, and architects alike.
While most smart lighting brands focus on retrofittable LED bulbs, Ketra offers an expansive architectural-grade line: recessed downlights, linear tape lights, and track lights, all fully color-tunable across 16 million colors. We can use Ketra alone to create complete lighting designs, from ambient and accent lighting to task-focused areas.
The technology is equally advanced: each Ketra fixture contains a 16-diode chip, giving it the precision to render the exact hues and dynamic white tuning you desire.
Today’s homes are filled with technology designed to make life easier: smart bulbs, dimmers, apps, remotes, and voice assistants. But for many homeowners, the reality feels very different.
Instead of simplicity, there’s confusion. Which app controls the kitchen lights? Why do the shades use a different remote? Why are there six switches on one wall?
What appeared ‘smart’ initially quickly becomes fragmented. And over time, that friction impacts how you experience your home, turning everyday moments into small, repeated inconveniences.
Glass-walled conference rooms are a hallmark of today’s modern, open-concept office. In urban Dallas offices—especially coworking spaces, design firms, and corporate headquarters—they offer sleek aesthetics, natural light, and a sense of transparency.
However, they come with two major acoustic challenges: echo and lack of privacy.
If your glass wall conference room in Dallas, TX, sounds more like a gymnasium than a meeting space, you’re not alone. Fortunately, solutions like acoustic treatments, sound masking, and AV integration can transform your space into a functional, private environment. Let’s explore how.
The predictable 9-to-5 office no longer defines how buildings are used. Today, employees, vendors, and guests move in and out of offices on flexible schedules, and many spaces sit partially occupied (or unoccupied) throughout the week.
That variability introduces new vulnerabilities:
As our habits change, our security should adapt alongside them. When staff members may only be in the office a few days per week or month, chasing them down to issue a new badge or replace keys is a quest that can easily fall through the cracks. But with a centralized, cloud-based platform—one that lets you access and update entry credentials from anywhere? It’s done in seconds.
Let’s take a closer look at how Dallas-Fort Worth businesses are adapting their access control security for the hybrid workplace.
Who doesn’t love a subtle, ambient glow under cabinets or bookshelves? Or gentle illumination behind a mirror and cove ceilings? In the past decade or so, tape lights have become a favorite of interior designers and design-minded homeowners.
Yet people often purchase DIY tape lights that leave much to be desired. “Best Of” lists by Wirecutter and similar publications recommend cheap, low-end models that:
If you’re looking for a high-performance, luxury experience from your tape lights, let us point you towards Lutron and Ketra, the top names in smart lighting control today. Maybe you already have a Lutron lighting control system, or perhaps you’re new to the world of whole-home smart lighting. Here’s what makes their tape lights truly the best available today.
To any homeowner who’s interested in smart home living, we tell them the best decision they can make is having a professional install a home automation system.
But this recommendation is often received with skepticism. “I don’t need a whole smart home system!” they say. “I just want some smart lights and a smart thermostat and a few other things.”
Fine, fine, fair enough. But as you begin to collect more smart home devices over the years, you may find yourself in over your head with apps and remotes. Here’s where it can go wrong.
You care about how your home looks, right? You aren’t a college kid with thumb-tacked posters and a hodgepodge of random furniture. No, you’re an adult with taste and a home you take pride in.
So, if you’re reading this, you probably understand the clash between interior design and setting up an attractive entertainment system. You could have the most beautifully cultivated furniture, artwork, and lighting—and then a clunky TV setup disturbs the entire aesthetic.
Thankfully, many technology manufacturers are catching on and offering solutions to make TVs appear more aesthetically pleasing. Samsung’s The Frame television resembles a real piece of art when powered off, and fits ultra-slim to your wall.
And now, audio manufacturer Leon has released a soundbar to perfectly fit the width and dimensions of any Frame AV. Meet the Leon FrameBar, the soundbar built for audio and design enthusiasts alike.
Leon’s FrameBar is custom-built to match the precise dimensions and frame color of any Samsung Frame TV, creating a unified, polished look. With its ultra-thin cabinet (as slim as 2.375 inches), the FrameBar installs flush to the wall using Leon’s exclusive mounting brackets.
If you’ve been in business for twenty, ten, or even five years, you know that the technology that served you yesterday may not suffice tomorrow. And as a company grows and scales, it often falls victim to technology sprawl—a fragmented collection of devices added piece-by-piece, location by location.
Managing randomly assorted hardware is a logistical headache for everyone. If one room offers wireless content sharing while another requires a tangled mess of adapters—or if one boardroom is locked into a legacy system while the others utilize Microsoft Teams—that’s hindering your growth.
Fortunately, integrators like Texadia Systems are here to straighten out your AV and conferencing solutions. We’ve discussed how standardizing audiovisual systems turns chaos into a repeatable business platform. But the true advantage of standardization isn't just a smarter decision for today. It’s an investment in your business’s future and longevity.
Did you know 52 percent of interior designers and architects believe proper lighting design can enhance even the most modest homes? Meanwhile, 47 percent believe the wrong lighting design hinders even the most luxurious spaces.
We certainly agree. We’ve met homeowners who spent millions on their properties, only to leave rooms with “four cans and a fan” lighting that cast a dull light and harsh shadows. On the windows, people leave lopsided blinds with tangled cords, unintentionally hindering their home’s appearance.
That’s why lighting design is gaining momentum in new builds and renovations. And thankfully, more high-end lighting and shading brands are offering design-centric options, making it easier to create a beautiful ambiance while reducing tech clutter.
We’re all familiar with “popcorn” or “cottage cheese” ceilings, the lumpy design trend that’s now ubiquitous with the 1980s and ‘90s. Another trend that’s reached its expiration date? “Swiss cheese ceilings.”
You’ve seen them: ceilings that look hole-punched with large recessed lights, some as large as 6 inches wide. These grids of circles cast an unflattering glare, often making rooms feel more like a dentist’s office than a luxury home.
We love hybrid work. It’s incredibly convenient, widens talent pools, and helps people live their best lives without the stress of long commutes and finding local housing.
But have we lost something without seeing each other in person? Face-to-face interactions lead to fewer misunderstandings, more effective communication, and stronger bonds. So, when your teams aren’t in person together, it’s critical to replicate the face-to-face experience the best way possible.
A well-designed video conferencing system not only ensures effective communication but also creates an inclusive environment where every team member feels equally valued. Let’s explore how advanced conferencing technology can improve hybrid communication and create a more welcoming company culture.
How is your conference room’s lighting?
While it may not seem like the most urgent concern, your office’s environment can have a direct impact on employee performance, productivity, and morale. If people dislike being in your office, even if only a few days a week, they’ll be more likely to look elsewhere for work.
Texadia Systems works with businesses across Dallas-Fort Worth, and we’ve seen our fair share of poor meeting room lighting. After we come in and update the lighting design, people are amazed at how much more enjoyable it is to meet and collaborate in their meeting spaces.
So, whether you’re moving into a new unit or upgrading your current workspace, consider the following updates to your conference room lighting.
We can’t stress this enough. While most of us know intuitively that natural light makes us happier, there’s science to back it up. A 2018 study by the World Green Building Council found that workers in offices with natural light reported up to 15 percent higher levels of well-being, productivity, and creativity. A study by Cornell University also found that workers in daylit offices experience 84 percent less eye strain, headaches, and blurred vision compared to artificially-lit spaces.
Walk into three different conference rooms, and you may find three different experiences. One room’s tech connects instantly to the meeting. Another needs adapters. A third requires a call to IT before the meeting can even begin.
For many modern businesses, this inconsistency has become a major operational friction point, especially in hybrid environments. That’s why more organizations are standardizing AV systems across all spaces. Not to make every room identical, but to make every experience predictable, reliable, and easy to support.
Is your company building new conference rooms or renovating your existing ones?
What an exciting opportunity! You have the chance to create a dynamic, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing space that makes it easy to collaborate—even with remote team members.
To prepare your business for a future of successful meetings, make sure the following features are on your conference room checklist.
When a leading financial institution in Dallas/Ft. Worth expanded its office with a new floor, they knew they would need new AV technology. But after evaluating their existing systems, they realized it may not be as simple as adding on new tech.
The problem? Their previous technology stack was anything but simple. Frequent reboots, inconsistent room experiences, and disjointed systems created barriers to productivity, and eroded their confidence in the technology.
That’s where Texadia Systems stepped in with a plan: simplify, standardize, and stabilize.
What happens when your facility’s entry points aren’t as secure as you think?
In just the last year, several Texas-based businesses and organizations have suffered devastating breaches, each incident underscoring the need for proactive, intelligent access control.
While motives vary, these incidents share one common thread: a lack of sufficient physical access control. A damaged keypad, an unmonitored entry point, or a power outage shouldn’t be a free pass for criminals.
Does your outdoor living space disappear the moment the sun sets?
Many luxury homes in Dallas–Fort Worth feature stunning architecture and manicured landscapes. But they retreat into the shadows at night. People want to entertain their friends and family outdoors, but may unintentionally leave their backyard vacant after dark.
That’s why outdoor lighting is increasingly moving beyond the harsh, utilitarian floodlight of the past. Today, landscape lighting is an essential component of a home’s design, extending your property’s usable, livable square footage.
If you’re still relying on a single porch light at home, get inspired by the following outdoor architectural lighting possibilities.
If you’ve been tasked with managing your company’s conference rooms, you may be wondering if there are any industry standards you should follow before installing an audio-video system.
The truth is, there are so many variables that can affect a meeting space and its specific AV needs. For instance, do you have glass walls or hardwood floors? That can influence the acoustics of a space. Prefer a projector or video display? Have long tables, round tables, or hollow-squared tables?
And then there are your users to think about. Is your staff tech-savvy and able to handle “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD)? Or will this be an executive suite where people are too busy to figure out what kind of connector they have?
Some meeting rooms are just used for small collaborations, while others have professional-grade broadcast gear. So how do you know what solutions to get?
Are you someone who prefers to purchase high-quality, long-lasting items rather than quick and convenient products that quickly fall apart?
If that sounds like you, we’re willing to bet you’re a little nervous about investing in new outdoor audio or lighting equipment. Speakers that stay outside permanently—how long can they really last?
While it may sound hard to believe, Coastal Source’s outdoor hardware is the real deal. We’ve had a very long partnership with Coastal Source and trust that their outdoor audio and lighting can endure even the harshest Texas weather, year after year.
Does this sound like your home?
You have a single, consumer-grade Wi-Fi router that’s used on every floor and in every room, serving sometimes dozens of devices at once. Your entertainment, home office, and smart devices all rely on this router alone—and sometimes your technology stalls or becomes unresponsive.
On top of that, every IoT device has its own app, cloud account, and even sometimes its own physical remote. You’re left juggling three or four apps for the smart bulbs, another for the security cameras, and a pile of remotes to control your TV and soundbar setup. It’s madness!
This was the old way. Thankfully, there is now a smarter, simpler approach to living with home technology, with help from your local integrator.
