Summer Entertaining

When you think of "entertaining" with your AV system, chances are the first thing that comes to mind is your home theater or media room. And while having friends over for dinner and a movie is a great use of your system, it's really just the tip of the iceberg.

- JOHN SCIACCA

While distributed audio and video systems, along with killer automation can make for a fun and entertaining home, it's important to remember the spaces outside your walls, and that when it comes to summer entertaining, the outdoors often sees the most action.

Nowhere is outdoor entertaining more prevalent than the backyard. This is where barbecues happen, where lounging by the pool happens, where hanging out with some cold ones around the grille happens. If there's gonna be a summertime party, chances are it's going down in the backyard, and that means you'll need some A/V gear that's up to the task.

But beyond just the vague "backyard," now we have gazebos, outdoor kitchens, fire pits, outdoor dining areas, and other elaborate spaces that make entertaining in the great outdoors even greater.

And while there are a ton of great options available for making these spaces more fun, adding A/V to the outdoors is a different animal. First, you are dealing with elements like sun, water, humidity, wind which can affect system performance and longevity. You also have much larger and open spaces that don't do so well at containing the sound and concerns like bothering neighbors are far more real.

With that in mind, here are some things you need to consider to make sure your outdoor audio system not only performs up to expectations, but that it will last more than a single season!

AUDIO