Hidden Connections

Just had Si Louis, of Hidden Connections come by and mount a Pioneer Elite 42″ TV, and a Polk Audio in-​wall center channel. He was extremely professional but friendly. He came with everything he needed to do the job. I have crazy spacing of studs on the wall where the TV is mounted, so this was not a straight forward job. The job was done in about 3 hrs. Everything looks great, and it was done at a reasonable price. Best of all he made sure to use a drop cloth and cleaned up when he was done. I would definitely choose this business again for any electronic installations.

I had a great experience with Hidden Connections. They were extremely prompt and friendly in their correspondence. Si came out to my place to take a look at the job; a new TV that I wanted mounted on the living room wall (bought the wall mount on Amazon). Si showed up on time and took his shoes off upon entering the house. He took a look, gave me an estimate and told me he could actually do the job then, if I wanted. I figured we’d need to set up another time for him to come out, so this was a welcomed offer. He said it would take about 45 mins. to an hour, I was on a lunch break and went to grab a burrito while he got to work. I came back about 35 — 40 mins. later, and the TV was perfectly mounted on the wall. Not only was the TV mounted, but Si had programmed our remote so that all of our devices were in sync. He had also neatly organized all of the spare parts and was all cleaned up.
Amazon has a «Home Services» section where you can put jobs such as this up to receive quotes. We did, and Si’s quote came in under all of the estimates we received through Amazon. To be clear, I found Si through Unilocal,not Amazon. I was happy to have a local Alamedan do the job, and very pleased that he was so professional, courteous and clearly talented at his work. Si even gave me a little background about his company, their history and what they specialize in.
Highly recommended!

Pete and the rest of the team were great. I needed a ethernet cable run from downstairs to upstairs (it’s been running out the window this summer, but with the rain coming…) The staff communicated quickly and clearly with text which is SO much easier that voicemail or email.
Pete did an awesome job, figuring out a way to run the cable with minimum disruption. His installation is so discrete that my husband came home and thought the job had not been done because he could not see any holes or cables. As a bonus, Pete left his work areas cleaner than when he started!
Only downside was the price. Felt a little steep. Although, to be honest, I did not get a bunch of bids, so could be totally in-​line with the competition. I called them because of the great Unilocal reviews, they responded so quickly and helpfully that I just went with it. For us, money well spent and much better than a home repair job with a million curse words, holes and trips to the hardware store. Bottomline: they act like professionals and they charge that way too.
We will be using this business for all of our future networking needs.

Long story short, but we bought a new house in Walnut Creek that had a media center pre-​installed by these guys. After we bought the house, we weren’t entirely sure how to work the equipment and wanted to use some of our own equipment as well. These guys came out and spend a full day and a half for free to help set the house up the way we wanted it and teach us how to use it. They didn’t have to do this for free, but they wanted us to have a system that they were happy with. They are a class act all the way and great service. I would highly recommend them.

Having just moved into a new home I wanted to install and mount a TV cleanly above our fireplace. I was going to do it myself but I would’ve used those ugly wire tracks and done a horrible job. I called Hidden Connections and Si came over a few days later around 4pm. After taking a look he said he could get it done in a few hours and quoted me a reasonable rate. After a few hours I had a beautiful flatscreen installation above my fireplace with no cords/​wires present and an IR extender to my garage where the cable box now stays out of site. Super clean and so professional. I would recommend this company for anyone looking to get a TV mounted or even more detailed home theatre work. I’m super pleased with the job and professionalism. Si is a true master of his craft. I recommend Hidden Connections highly! Flawless.

Si did a fast, efficient and knowledgable job hooking up our TV, explaining how it works and how to stream Net programming — even hiding the cables, etc. MAN is this an improvement! If you’re on the fence, spend the money … this guys is a pro and you’ll adore the viewing experience that results.

We’ve been struggling with our home wi-​fi network reach. I finally convinced my husband that we needed to invest in running cat-​6 wiring throughout the house. After speaking with electricians and contractors who were more than happy to quote thousands of dollars for the work, I was excited to find Hidden Connections. They not only specialized in the type of work I was looking to have done, they are local to Alameda as well.
Si was pretty booked up, but they got back to me with an appointment right away, scheduled for a week out. He arrive promptly and he listened while I explained the problem we were facing and what I had already tried. He told me that my instincts were correct and with a few configuration changes I would be all set and I wouldn’t need hard wiring.
He said, while I know this solution doesn’t really make me money, but it makes you happy so that’s the best possible outcome. WOW.
I set things up as Si and I discussed and I now have 50Mbps+ download running throughout the house.
Thank you Si and Hidden Connections.

We have had streaming and audio issues so we decided we needed expert service. We called Hidden Connections. On the same day that we called, they solved our networking problem.
I explained the issues, we discussed possible causes, and options were offered. We came up with a plan of action which was immediately implemented… no need for a return visit because he had the necessary equipment and parts with him. The service was very professional, neat and tidy, and affordable. I highly recommend Hidden Connections.
Kris Matarrese
Alameda

I want to thank the Hidden Connections Team for their being prompt and having exceptional follow through with our emails and voice mails to arrange an appointment time that worked for us both.
Yesterday, Kevin called and we connected in the afternoon.
Kevin arrived and stayed committed to finding the correct solution to have our Apple TV, work through our Samsung TV, Direct TV and the sound through our Bose Solo. His final solution was flawless and the installation sanitary, in fact he reduced a few cables/​wires in the process.
Kevin was professional, knowledgeable, dedicated, and displayed great customer service skills.
We would highly recommend Hidden Connections and are happy to be one of their satisfied customers.
Thank you!

The most chauvinistic service person I ever met. At the end of his installation, he said to the lady of the house, «If you don’t understand how to operate, just ask your husband.»
The system he installed for us is cumbersome and often does not perform as per our commands. Very stupid and not user-​friendly.

Si is the best. He couldn’t have been more helpful after we moved in to our new place. He got a wired home network working properly, along with surround sound and multiple TV locations. Plus his prices were WAY lower than everyone else. I have forwarded his info along to several friends that have also had great experiences.

Si came promptly and installed a custom entertainment center for us as well as clock that mounts above it.
He did a terrific job and everything is centered perfectly and looks great!
He used extra strong mounts so our plus-​sized cat that likes to jump up on the unit can do so safely.

I needed to mount a 60 inch television over my fireplace. After seeing the Geek Squad reviews and calling local «installers» who sounded like when they’re not mounting tvs, they’re tossing pizza dough, I finally decided to call Hidden Connections.
At first I was intimidated. I thought «High end home theater installers are not going to want to take my puny little job» and «they are going to cost a small fortune.»
I was wrong. I called to get an estimate. They came over, quoted me a price LESS than the Geek Squad, and did the installation on the same day.
The level of professionalism was unnerving. This is not the random installer. These were professional installers that did more than you knew you wanted or needed. I wanted them to mount my tv above the fireplace and hide the wires. They mounted my tv, extended all the connections to an accessible area, included all the cables, and even set me up in anticipation of newer technologies. They also covered all the floors where they were working. When was the last time your contractor did that?
They guarantee their work for a year. Call them.

I’m so happy to review Si Lewis and his team from Hidden Connections! My husband and I are big audio fans, but unfortunately a little techno-​challenged. OK, a LOT techno-​challenged. So we contacted Hidden Connection and they responded to our queries promptly and without judgement. Si arrived and quickly got us all hooked up and even walked us through a step by step procedure to follow. Additionally, he scheduled a follow-​up appointment because he wanted us to have an extra component which he threw in for free! And the way coolest thing is they’re from ALAMEDA and they offered we fellow ALAMEDIANS an island discount. Oh yeah! We’re SO rockin’ out now!

Si Lewis of Hidden Connections is a wizard when it comes to quick technical connection and set-​up. We recently added a BOSE speaker to our television components. Si had it hooked up in 9 minutes! (For the sake of comparison, it took friends of ours with the same equipment an entire day — including many calls to technical support — to achieve what Si managed almost instantly.)
We used Si’s services a few years ago when we first purchased a flat screen tv and wanted our tv components hooked up. He built a custom cabinet to house everything at exactly the height we wanted. (And he’s very skilled at hiding tv/​stereo components that clutter up the room — check out his website:
) He also set up our universal remote.
He’s pleasant and professional. Highly recommended!

Si Lewis of Hidden Connections really knows his business. I have had a flat screen and home theater system for weeks, trying what felt like every connection possible with no luck. I called Hidden Connections, Si called me back when he was freed up on another job and was at my front door in 15 minutes. What had taken me weeks as I mentioned above Si fixed in 15 minutes. Si has this electronic wizardry down to perfection. I can’t thank him enough. I highly recommend his services to anyone!

This review is really late. About 9 months ago Si and his crew wired and set up my home theater after I had purchased a 65″ plasma. He was very professional and very very nice. He knows his stuff and is a pleasure to work with. I purchased my speakers, new Blu ray and reciever through him also. I told him my budget and he stayed within it. I recommend him highly with no resevation. Also, his wife who works in the office is very organized and a pleasure also.

Si and his crew are great. They prepared and wired our whole house for sound, video and internet. They helped us find and purchase all components at what proved to be a resonable cost. They are very well organized and do a great job explaining how to use and enjoy your system. We continue to enjoy our system throughout the home, out in our yard, in our garage and even the garden shed. The invisible speaker system ia fantastic. We have recomended them to other friends and they are all very pleased as well. You can’t go wrong here.

This place is incredible! They do the most amazing things with stereos, tvs and everything audio-​video! We had them program a whole house remote and now we can finally use all our stereo equipment easily. It has been great for listening to CDs, IPODs, radio and even vinyl. They were so great that we had them fix speakers on our main TV as well. We will use them again to do a full surround sound system built in with bookshelves. Highly recommended!

Music is probably my greatest interest. I love it and always want it around. So, a couple of years ago I scratched an itch I’d had for years. Whole House Audio. You know — a little keypad in every room. Press a button and music comes out of speakers in the wall. Press another button and different music comes out. The only problem was expense and the fact that my house is 80 years old, and they didn’t have the presence of mind in 1928 to build houses pre-​wired for sound.
Si, from Hidden Connections came to my house, looked around, drew up a proposal for speakers, keypads and the central distribution equipment. He wanted to know where I wanted the keypads, and practically dared me to pick spots that would be inaccessible.
His installers ran wire through my entire house without cutting a single hole. I had an electrician working at the same time who was completely amazed at how these guys expertly fished wire through my walls. The electrician of course was happily cutting holes in my plaster walls every freakin’ 3 feet for the wiring HE was doing. The installers did get stumped a couple of times near the end of the project, at which point Si, who owns the company, came and personally finished the job.
The end result is great sound in every room, and we couldn’t be happier. I am pretty sure that he lost money on my job since it took them considerably longer than he originally predicted, but he honored his bid and didn’t say a word about it.
I have also had them install a flat screen tv on the wall in my den with the electronics hidden away in a closet, and they did a nice job on that as well, at a fair price.