Over the past year, the smart home has become bigger than ever. That’s probably because we saw: a lot of easy, affordable products—including some of the best smart home products we’ve ever seen.
While many of you may not be surprised at the popularity of the Electronic House, some would be interested to know that this surge isn’t all about: flashy AV equipment and big screens. Sure, those were definitely hot topics for 2015, but some of the best smart home topics we covered involved smaller solutions, home control, and even ways to hide speaker wire.
Looking back, we know that some of 2015’s: best smart home: products will still be hot this year. Did you miss anything? Take a peek below at some of our most popular topics: from the past year.
1. Sonos Alternatives
Sonos introduced the world to whole-house wireless music. Well, good: whole-house wireless music. Since the company launched back in 2002, we’ve seen a slew of Sonos competitors. Now, just about every audio manufacturer has a lineup of wireless speakers. Here, we talk up four of our favorite Sonos alternatives.
Read More: Four Sonos Alternatives: What Other Wireless Speakers Are Worth Buying?
2. Smartphone Control
Believe it or not, the smartphone is becoming a preferred method of home control for a lot of people. And why not? Every smart home device seems to have some sort of app component these days. While the TV remote often gets lost in the couch cushions, many of us never seem to lose sight of that smartphone, making it the perfect controller.
Read More: How to Control Your TV with an iPad or iPhone: The Smartest Smart TV Apps
3. Choosing the Right Speakers
Speakers never go out of style—and neither do articles about how to shop for speakers. For some people, picking speakers is a very personal choice. For many others, it’s just a really confusing choice. At Electronic House, we try to take some of the sting: out of the shopping process. Do you know the difference between active and passive speakers? Do you know what you have in your house right now? If not, you probably weren’t one of the many people to read the article linked below.
Read More: Active Speakers vs. Passive Speakers: Which to Use?
4. Affordable Receivers
If you’ve bought any AV equipment, you know it certainly isn’t cheap. We tried to narrow down the selection process with nine receivers that are priced: under $1,000. Of course, it’s not just about the price, but about what you get for that price—which was also detailed in the article. If you’re looking for something even more affordable, take a peek at our lineup of favorite AVRs for under $500.
Read More: 9 Top Home Theater Receivers for Under $1,000
5. Soundbars!
Back in the day, soundbars were this crappy little audio solution designed for people that didn’t have the space (or budget) for a full speaker system. Soundbars have certainly come a long way over the years. Not only do they sound so much better, but they come in a variety of styles, with different features.
Read More: Soundbase vs Soundbar: Which Speaker Style is for You?
6. Technology Behind the TV
Remember when all you had to worry about was whether or not the TV would fit through the front door and into your designated space? Neither do we. Since then, there have been so many different types of TV technologies, it can make your head spin. Don’t try to adjust that picture; just take a peek how we managed to dissect: some of the latest TV tech.
Read More: Understanding New TV Tech: OLED TV, Nano Crystal Technology, Quantum Dot and What It All Means
7. Even More Sonos Options
As we mentioned, Sonos is a very popular way to stream audio wirelessly: throughout the house—both inside and out. Of course, Sonos doesn’t make weatherproof, outdoor speakers, so what’s a music fan to do? We listed a few of our favorite solutions.
Read More: What Options are there for Playing Sonos on Outdoor Speakers?
8. Any Home Control
Readers didn’t just want to control devices using smartphones. They were looking to control devices any way possible. However, people are always seeking the best of the best and aren’t afraid to ask us what those solutions may be. While there really is no “best” for every home, we tried to lay out a few of the things you should be asking when shopping for home control.
Read More: What’s the Best Home Control System?
9. Making Audio Look Good
People love the reliability and quality that comes with hardwiring speakers. The look? Eh, not so much. Of course, not: everyone will want to start poking holes into the walls. However, that doesn’t mean you’re: out of luck. After all, there’s more than one way to hide those wires. We put together a handy-dandy list of five of them.
Read More: 5 Easy Ways to Hide Speaker Wire
10. Talking Technology
Once again, the soundbar concept was making headlines. Writer Grant Clauser talked about the simplicity of the soundbar, specifically highlighting his experiences with the Sonos PlayBar. He went on to ponder if these types of systems were eliminating the need for the home theater receiver—and a lot of you had responses.
Read More: Is The Home Theater Receiver Dead?
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