The first home automation system was born in 1966. A little over a decade before personal computers started revolutionizing homes and businesses, the Echo IV was a device ahead of its time.

Though never available commercially, and cobbled together from surplus Westinghouse circuit modules, the Echo IV could control appliances and the thermostat. It also featured a very early version of a word processor and was used to format an entire 516-page book at one point. 

Despite its incredible power, though, it failed to generate interest from most. It was used as the butt of plenty of jokes. And it was almost 30 years before connected technology systems began to take off in a significant way.

In 1994, Universal Remote Control (URC) -- a company whose name is synonymous with easy-to-use, single-interface technology -- changed the way we interact with our home theater devices, thanks to their Complete Control System.

Today, URC offers the more advanced Total Control 2.0 system, which makes using your smart devices easy thanks to customizable user interfaces, graphics control, and compatibility with the most popular smart home devices on the market.

How can your Dallas, TX home benefit from URC control? Find out more below.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of building a home automation system for your Dallas property.

After all, many smart devices are marketed as expensive toys. Have you seen the latest commercials for Amazon Alexa or Sonos? They almost exclusively highlight how fun automation is.

But it can also help simplify your lifestyle in practical ways. In fact, it may be a smarter idea to find those pain points and invest in the technology that will help alleviate them.

In this blog, we’ll help you identify some common issues and show you how integrated technology can help. To find out more just keep reading.

Installing a smart home automation system in your Wiley, TX home is ideal for adding convenience and simplicity to your lifestyle, but there are a number of other reasons a smart home is so useful. The benefit of working with 21st Century is that you can tailor your smart home to achieve any type of goal or experience you want. Are you concerned with saving the environment and want your home to be energy efficient? Or maybe you enjoy watching a new film once a week in a custom home theater. Either way, your system will be able to create the right environment for any activity or purpose you choose. Keep reading this blog to learn more

Perhaps the simplest way to explain a home automation system is to refer to it as a universal remote for all your technology. From the same user interface, you can manage lights, AV, climate, and security. But the beauty of a smart home isn’t just consolidating all your technology, but also being able to choose how you control it. 21st Century AV partners with URC to offer a variety of control solutions ranging from mobile apps to voice commands. Below we highlight each of them so you can see which make the most sense for your Frisco, TX home.