John R. Wood Properties
Barry Dunleavy, John R. Wood PropertiesPhone: (239) 877-6445
Email: [email protected]

How to Use Smart Entertainment for Your Next Get-Together

by Barry Dunleavy 08/21/2022

No matter the size of your get-together, you may want to incorporate some sort of atmosphere. An impeccable way to do this is to use music, ambient noises and mood lighting. Some may even take it a step further and incorporate patterned screen displays or put up slideshows of their new vacations or outings.

Here are a few other ways that you can incorporate your smart technology into your home gatherings.

Smart & Musical Bulbs

Lighting and music are no longer exclusive. You can play your favorite music straight from your color-changing mood lighting. These bulbs can be hooked up to your smartphone, tablet, smart television or virtual assistant. Most only need a Wi-Fi connection or bluetooth connection, but others use both or newer connective technologies. You don’t need any special lighting setup, either. Just screw it in and connect it to your device.

The idea of these bulbs is to have the setting in an all-in-one feature that can be fine-tuned by the user. They can also coordinate with your playlist, taking the manual work out of color coordinating your favorite music. For example, if a softer jazz plays through the small speaker inside the bulb, the tempo and other musical facets are calculated and a matching color and brightness is assigned to the song, giving you an all-around relaxing experience.

Smart Plugs

Smart plugs are ideal for any size gathering. Like most connective technology, they can integrate with your device via Wi-Fi. These plugs go into the normal outlet, but can be told when to turn on whatever is plugged into it. They’re great for turning off lighting, turning on projectors or televisions for viewing, adjusting special effects machines and a host of other items.

They’re similar to outlet timers with rotaries, but instead of the manual labor, you can control your device from an accompanying smart screen (phone, tablet, television, etc.). So if you’ve cleaned up and gone to bed but forgot to turn off the karaoke machine, you don’t have to worry. Just flip the app on and turn it off from wherever you are.

Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistants are now the norm. They come standard in just about every smart device a consumer could buy. But did you know that they’re excellent for helping with your favorite shindigs? Not only can you control your smart devices from your virtual assistant, you can also use it during musical or visual party games.

All you have to do is call out to them, tell them what to play (you may even hum or tap a beat for music) and they’ll get it going for you. This is great for games such as musical charades where you may want to hear the song after your guests have given you their version.

Smart entertainment technology can help boost your home gatherings just as much as other smart home technology can boost your savings. They’re inexpensive and can be customized to meet just about any need.

About the Author
Author

Barry Dunleavy

Over 25 Years in the Real Estate Industry. Former Senior Managing Director with responsibility for oversight of real estate businesses in Canada and Latin America including CEO of Canadian-based bank; prior to that Sr. Managing Director Construction Financing to large residential builders throughout the USA. He has a BA and MBA in Finance. Memberships include the Naples Board of Realtors, Graduate Realtors Institute, Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, Florida Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors. Community activities include New Horizons of Southwest Florida volunteer teaching math and reading to at-risk 3rd to 5th graders while being Chair of their 2016-2018 Golf Event and also involved with the Christian Businessmen's Connection. 2014 Awarded the Distinguished Volunteer for Collier County. He was a former Board of Governors of Hazeltine National Golf Club, host of the upcoming 2016 Ryder Cup Championship.