With rapid technological developments and novelties, it’s not surprising that almost every month, there’s a hot new trend sweeping the home theatre market. With more and more people looking for inexpensive ways of having home entertainment, stay-in movie nights are now a common thing and you don’t have to break the bank to have a high-quality TV watching experience.
If you’re a tech enthusiast and you won’t settle for anything less than the best and the latest, check out the following design ideas for your home theatre.
Multi-purpose media room design
A home theatre, media room or entertainment centre – whatever you call it – requires two basic things: a great sound system and an adequate display device. What has lately emerged as a design trend is the need to move away from a traditional home theatre to a room that serves multiple purposes. Instead of special home theatre seating and dark wall colours, now people opt for comfortable sofas or sectionals and chaise lounge chairs, with lighter colours on the walls.
The reason for this is the need to maximize the space and if the need arises, use the media room as a guest room or a family entertainment space. Therefore, different technology is used to allow access to various content, such as streaming media devices, Blu-ray players, Apple TVs and Roku players. Each with its own advantages, these gadgets can accommodate different needs of different viewers.
Multiple screens
One of the most prominent trends in home theatre is the use of dual or multiple screens. This means that there are two or more flat-screen TVs on one wall, where one TV screen is for every day watching and it can get covered with a larger, front-projection screen for movies or latest events. Another option is to have multiple screens on more than one wall within one room, which is a great feature at parties.
The reason for this is that people nowadays don’t want to be limited by just one viewing option, but want to have more choices at the same time. Installing a custom home theatre system of this kind requires an elaborate design that takes into account wall construction, room dimensions, the optimal size of displays, lighting and acoustics so that you can customize your watching experience and fully enjoy its advantages.
Social networking
In addition to multiple screens and high-end servers and players, smartphones and tablets are being increasingly used not only to change channels and control the volume, but also as alternative viewing screens. This is mostly a social media-driven trend as younger generations of viewers enjoy posting or tweeting while watching shows or movies. A lot of new smart TV brands include social networking features such as Twitter and Facebook.
Networking media
The internet has become the most important source for most of the entertainment that people look for so home networks are now a crucial element in your home theatre. By the end of the year, about 25% of homes will have an Internet-connected Blu-ray player, crucial for high-quality streaming content.
But there’s also an increase in installation of Apple TVs, smart TVs and gaming consoles. Also, as wireless connections are not always fast enough for streaming high-quality videos, putting in an Ethernet connection has become a standard as well.
Choice of speakers
The choice of speakers for home theatres is also experiencing a lot of changes. More people are now using bookshelf speakers or floor-standing ones instead of in-wall speakers, as they give a better sound quality and clearer audio.
Another option is soundbar/subwoofer systems that are easily integrated into any home and have come very close in quality to full-range speakers. They have built-in audio processing, Bluetooth and remote operation, which makes them an attractive option for people looking to upgrade their existing poor-sounding TV speakers.
Cost-effective design
While it may not be considered a trend per se, the fact remains that the price of home theatre products has fallen significantly while their performance continues to improve. Projectors by many famous brands are now available at half the price compared to only two years ago. Moreover, some companies are even offering technologies that do not incur additional expenses for anamorphic lenses for watching super wide movie formats.
With these hot new design trends, you’ll be able to upgrade your home theatre in no time and for less money, and give yourself, your family and friends a space where you can enjoy a full cinematic experience. By investing in functionality, high-quality technology and comfort, you’ll have a media room so amazing and inviting, you won’t be able to stay away.