Stereo Types

So, first and foremost, they actually responded to us promptly and were on time (meaning 10 minutes early) for the 1st appointment. The 1st Appointment: Upon the technicians arrival, he got right to it with no doddling around. I reviewed the various issues with him and he explained to me some of the issues they might experience in some of the diagnostics of the systems. He told me; since he didn?t want for this to turn into an unexpectedly-expensive service call, he was going to focus first on what he knew he could do and save the Crestron system for last, because without the Crestron program that was doe by the now-out-of-business company, was required to make any changes; if any were required. He also explained to me, much to my surprise, my lighting control system may not be repairable because the manufacturer recently went out of business. Following about a half hour to running him through the systems and discussing his action plan for this visit; he commenced his service. He quickly; in far less time than he had estimated; solved the problems I was experiencing with my Control4 system and Wi-Fi. He also identified the problem with my Lutron shades; which required parts that needed to be ordered; identified the problem with the Lite-Touch lighting controls and managed to provide a temporary resolution for it ('til it could be permanently fixed), and identified the problem with the Crestron system. He also explained to me some things that could be done to the power and grounding of the home, that would result in providing a more reliable system (which was not terribly unreliable but certainly has had it?s share of ghosts). Resolutions to remaining problems To resolve the remaining issues with my Lite-Touch and Crestron system, required some hardware changes. For the Lite-Touch, since the company had gone out of business, Stereo Types presented us with 2 options. One option was they had located some used parts that could be installed to get us back up and running. The other was to replace the system; in which case they provided us options from 3 different manufacturers and explained the benefits and negatives about each of the 3; thus we were given the opportunity to actually chose what system made the most sense for us (something that on our other homes, no one has ever done because it seems most companies only offer 1 system). For the Crestron system, they attempted to obtain the Crestron program from the old company, but were unsuccessful in reaching the person they knew might have the program. Once it was determined our whole Crestron system would need to be reprogrammed form scratch, like with the lighting control system, they again gave us 3 options (Reprogramming our existing system and adding the replacement part that had failed, replace the Crestron with Savant or replace it with Control4) I have to say, this part of the process seemed overly complicated because they provided us a lot of technical info, but in all fairness to them, I did ask for options, so perhaps it was my fault. The R eplacement Systems Process: For the Lighting, after going back and forth between the used Lite-Touch, Lutron and Vantage lighting control options, we ended up replacing the whole Lite-Touch system with a Vantage lighting control system because they have a drop-in method of using some of the old Lite-Touch hardware. We also preferred the Vantage light switch keypads over the Lutron because Vantage has buttons that are quite big as an option, that look more like a rocker-style light switch. For the Crestron issues, after considering the 3 options we had, we elected to stick with Crestron and just have it all reprogrammed with the new control processor. The reason we stayed with Crestron was not so much because of our existing investment (as replacing the system with one of the other options would have been less expensive), but rather because they took the time to review the differences in the systems. Functionally, it became clear that while it would have been nice to save some money by using the Control4 or Savant, because of the limitation presented by Control4 and Savant on their touch-screens not being easily customized to the way we like to use the system, Crestron?s flexibility just made more sense for us. Service and scheduling of the system replacement: Because we have some level of home automation in a boat and another home, we?ve had a lot of experience with companies that do these systems. These guys really have their stuff together when it comes to servicing their clients compared to the other 5 companies we?ve worked. They use a system that gives you access to how they track the status of the project from the time they begin placing orders to tracking punch list issues. As far as getting the job done, if you?ve had a home automation system done before, you know these things never go off without some level of issues and back and forth to get just right... but I have to say, following my past experience, I was shocked at how smoothly this went. They took care not to leave us with less functionality at the end of each day than we had in the morning (because they had to replace things in stages so as not to cause too much disturbance since we were here at the time). Additionally, and this would be the first time I?ve ever had a someone do a job for me that this happened on... they even managed to come in under budget by about 12% Post Install: Since the completion of the install, they?ve been attentive and great to work with. They installed a number of devices that allows them to proactively know when there might be a problem; at which point they automatically log into the system and check it or if possible, will perform various tasks to resolve the problem before we even know about it. In fact, we only know about it because they send us a report once a month. We?ve been so impressed with them, we?ve decided to have them help with our boat in FL and house in NY. Value: Value is a term that seems to be relative to who you ask but I like to think of myself as a purest, and basing my idea of the word Value on one of the actual the dictionary meanings, ?Being worth the investment of money", than Stereo Types offers excellent value for what they deliver. They have proven to deliver a level of service and professionalism I?ve never experienced from a home technology company. If your idea of value is ?Cheap? or "Least Expensive", this they are not.. based on what other companies charge in the C-Ville area, they are on the higher end of the scale. Anything to complain about: Honestly, I really can?t complain about much, but I can say, their back office processing of invoicing could use some help. They are very detailed and thorough; which for me, makes their invoices a bit overwhelming to review. That thoroughness also (may) be why they are a bit slow in getting invoices out.

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The Universal Remote has been working without any problems.

The owner/estimator came to the house twice to measure and review his recommendations; sent his installer to cut and prep the installation; and completed the installation.

This group was fabulous to work with. First, they are experts on the technology, and represent a broad line of products. And if the right thing for our house wasn't something they stocked, they were fine with just getting it for us. Their system specification was on-target, they found the most cost-effective components, they were great at installing the system (which involved coordinating with the general contractor), and they provided great follow-on support to make sure everything worked well. We couldn't be happier with our experience with StereoTypes. By way of contrast, our architect recommended a different group in Charlottesville, and that didn't work out. They wanted us to buy a $6,000 television monitor and a $700 DVD player. Ouch! StereoTypes provided great components at market prices, and weren't all about selling us over-priced stuff just because of the profit margins.

Went on a Tuesday with a diagram of what I wanted and owner made some recommendations about the best way to install system. They came out the next day and did the installation. Their team even made some suggestions that saved me some money on the installation. System works beautifully and they made sure it sounded great before leaving. This was an installation on an existing system, not one that I purchased there, but they said that made no difference. Other local companies (Best Buy, Crutchfield) refused to do the installation unless I bought the system from them. I did not like that attitude. I heartily recommend their services.