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Automation Blog

Case Study: Luxury Home System Takeover Part 1

Over the last few months, I and the rest of the #DoneRightNotEasyCrew have been working tirelessly on one of most ambitious endeavors yet. The complete overhaul and repair of a Crestron control system in our client’s luxury New Jersey home. Now we are no stranger to system takeovers, especially ones of this scale, but little

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Working Together to Master the Job Site

GMI and the #DoneRightNotEasy crew have decades of combined experience managing projects and solving problems on the job site, but the most important factor in our success is the way our team works together with one another, as well as with other vendors on site. Any integrator can tackle a low end job, but when

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Turning Crestron Detractors into Crestron Promoters

Crestron automation systems, while extremely powerful, are also incredibly complicated. This complexity can lead to frustrations, especially if the system doesn’t live up to the expectations of the end user. The #DoneRightNotEasy crew understand this, which is why we’ve made it our mission to show that through proper installation, programming and management, we can turn

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The Myth of “Out of the Box” Automation

Brands and products advertising “smart home” and home automation solutions are a dime a dozen nowadays, and it seems every week you see a report about how more and more American’s are automating their home in some way shape or form. Tech giants such as Apple, Amazon and Google are all dipping their toes into

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Common Crestron Issues: Equipment Placement

Having been hired by clients to take over and repair low or no- functioning Crestron control systems for many years, myself and the rest of the #DoneRightNotEasy crew have seen it all. Poor wiring jobs and the failure to maintain a clean and manageable system is unfortunately par for the course for many other integrators

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The Importance of End User Experience

With social media dominating our eyeballs every second of the day, it is easy for an integrator or technologist to show off a flashy new theater or even an impressive wiring job. Unfortunately for some, it is much more difficult to convey the behind the scenes work that goes into making Crestron control systems so

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Three Things I’ve Learned my First Month at GMI

Joining a company with such a reputation for consistency and quality as GMI has been an honor, but daunting at the same time. I’ve been working with technology and networking systems since I was a teenager, but in my first 30 days with the #DoneRightNotEasy crew they’ve taught me more about the automation industry than

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Networks & Automation Part 2: Network Reliability

There has been a lot made in the news lately about hacking, cyber security and the so-called internet of things. As automation and smart home technology become more and more ubiquitous, and more of our devices become connected, the threat of an outside agent gaining access to your home through these technological back doors becomes

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Networks & Automation Part 1: Network Reliability

As readers of this blog have already learned, there are many components involved in building and designing a functioning Crestron control system. Proper power supply, clean installations, and well written code begin to build the foundation of our simple, intuitive and reliable automation systems. Perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle however, is the

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