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Keeping Up With The Joneses

Home Theater System Trends

Keeping Up With The Joneses

Trends in home theater systems change over time for a variety of reasons. Of course, technology is constantly changing – that’s a given, but another influence on home theater trends is home size.

Median home sizes fluctuate in response to changes in the economy. Historically, the square footage of new homes shrinks just before and during recessions, as home buyers tighten budgets. According to eyeonhousing.org, After increasing and leveling off in recent years, new single-family home size continued along a general trend of decreasing size during the fourth quarter of 2016.

Creative Solutions are Key

While some homeowners are still able to dedicate the space and resources for a stand-alone media room, many more are learning to do more with less. That doesn’t necessarily signal the demise of home theater, but does mean we have to approach the problem creatively. Today’s homeowners are demanding multi-purpose spaces where they can entertain and be entertained – and we all have come to expect the latest and greatest technology.

Multi-Purpose This!

Multi-use spaces are all the rage these days! Rooms that transform: home office by day, guest room by night; dining space during the week, hobby room on the weekends; yoga space today, home theater tomorrow!

Creating a quality home theater in a mixed-use space can be challenging, but Absolute AV Consulting can make it happen. There are various strategies to creating a great home theater experience when space is limited.

Consider these options:

  • A projector mounted over a cabinet or hanging from the ceiling – we can even have it drop out of the ceiling!
  • A projector screen that drops from the ceiling and rolls back up neatly when not in use
  • Speakers installed on or even inside walls and floors
  • Noise-canceling wall panels to enhance the quality of sound in the room

We’ve used all of these strategies, often in combination, to great success.

And that’s not all, folks!

In addition to a big focus on small spaces, we’re also seeing much interest in newer technologies such as LED and Laser projectors. Did you know there are now LED projectors that can yield a 10-15 year lamp life if on full-time? It’s true!

To bring high quality sound into a home installation, 5.1 Surround Sound (“five point one”) and Dolby Atmos are two great options from opposite ends of the spectrum. 5.1 is the most commonly used layout in home cinema. It is a five-channel surround sound with a single low-frequency effects channel (the “point one”). The technology was prototyped in the 1975 film Tommy.

Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology first used publicly for the premiere of Brave in 2012. This technology works on the concept of 128 audio tracks, which can be channeled to each speaker unique feeds based on location, allowing for the precise panning of select sounds such as a helicopter or rain. Absolute AV’s expertise will guide you to selecting the optimal sound experience for your space.

And homes may be shrinking, but TV screens are larger than ever – 84” screens are pretty standard now. Don’t want a giant black screen messing up the vibe of your yoga space? Disguise it with a work of art that is more zen. Media Decor provides some beautiful solutions for this purpose, including their Illusion line, which can conceal screens over 100″!

Professional Design = Stellar Experience

At Absolute AV we take all things into consideration when designing a media space:

  • Room size and shape
  • Construction (wood, concrete, drywall, etc)
  • Ceiling height
  • Furnishings (materials, placement, etc)
  • Flooring materials (carpet, tile, hardwood, etc)
  • Ambient light (windows, skylights)
  • Mood lighting (fiber optic star fields, LED coves, sconces, etc)
  • Room design theme (vintage, themed, classic, modern, minimalist, etc).
  • And more!

All of these work together and affect the solution for the room.

Absolute AV has the expertise to guide your decisions in all areas of the design. Don’t know exactly what you want? We’ll do an assessment of your space and provide you some design options.

No matter the size of your space, we can design a home theater system that is a perfect fit! Give us a call at (615) 656-8900.

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