A home theater should feel like a special destination in your house—the one place you can retreat for a couple of hours to escape from reality and be transported into another world. The place you like to visit frequently with friends and family to enjoy the latest blockbuster releases—but without walking out with a backache from sitting in a poorly constructed seat.
Nomenclature is a challenge when it comes to home technology. We struggle with terms that resonate with homeowners. From the “AV guy" to system integrators to custom installers to technology designers to low-voltage contractors, the home technology industry seems to have an identity crisis, even though all those terms mean essentially the same thing to an insider. The same goes for the terms that we use to define rooms in the home, which brings us to the topic du jour: What is the difference between a media room and a home theater?
Most homeowners do not know or even care about the difference.
You will hear them referring to their dedicated home theater space as a media room and vice versa. For architects, interior designers, builders, lighting designers, and other contractors, however, these distinctions can be important in defining your vision and communicating with each other. In other words, it’s good to know the difference between the two.
It's the gift-giving season again, and we all know too well what it's like to open up another pair of socks or an ugly sweater from Aunt Ida. What you really want is a massive screen with perfect picture quality and crystal-clear surround sound that you can enjoy from the comfort of your home. Well, who says you can’t? With the Sony 4K and 8K high-definition televisions or projectors and cozy theater seating from Fortress, you can give yourself the gift you really want.
As movie theaters around the country remain closed, residents in Atlanta, GA are looking to create home theaters that can replicate the true movie theater experience.
There are many things to consider when attempting to create your dream home theater. However, two of the most important aspects of a stellar home theater are the space you will be using and what speakers you will install, two elements that all too often get overlooked by clients requesting home theater projects.
Many people think that creating a state-of-the-art home theater is an easy DIY project. However, to do the job right, you want to have the help of professionals. At Atlanta Audio & Automation, our team of experts will take you seamlessly from start to finish, ensuring you have the perfect home theater for you and your loved ones.
If you’re a fan of technology, you’ve probably already had a home theater integrated in your Atlanta property. For some homeowners though, they expect limited content when it comes to 4K. After all, 4K Ultra HD was a big shift from now-standard 1080p, which requires increases in network bandwidth and upgrades to some of your home technology. But if you’ve gone through the trouble of integrating that new tech, you don’t want it to go to waste. In this blog, we’ll cover some of the ways you can enjoy 4K Ultra HD resolution right now. Read on for more.
See Also: Using Sonos for Excellent Audio in Your Georgia Home Theater Part 2
4K Physical Media and Digital Downloads
It seems like forever ago that we were talking about 4K Blu-ray first hitting shelves. Today, many of your favorite movies are getting prestigious 4K UHD re-releases on home video. And just about every major studio blockbuster of 2016 received a simultaneous HD and UHD release when they hit home video. If you’re in the market to bolster your collection with more discs featuring 4K UHD and Dolby Atmos compatibility, you won’t be shortchanged at the local video store.
However, as 4K UHD continues to grow, digital downloads are becoming more and more common. Homeowners are waving goodbye to their physical collections and replacing them with digital downloads. Companies are offering full 4K video storage servers that minimize space requirements while hosting a wide selection of full Ultra HD movies.
Last month we highlighted why Sonos makes a perfect addition to any secondary home theater, thanks in part to the wireless capabilities and compatibility with Amazon’s Alexa. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the new products and technology upgrades the wireless audio giant is releasing to take center stage in surround sound. If you’re looking for a way to enhance a second home theater in your Georgia property, or you want to begin building a small, entry-level system, this blog will show you where to start. Read more after the jump.
See Also: Using Sonos for Excellent Audio in Your Atlanta Home Theater
The Sonos Playbase
One of the big releases this year is the Sonos Playbase. The Playbase isn’t Sono’s first foray into home theater or media room tech – their Playbar remains a strong contender in the soundbar market. But the soundbase offers an added kick, particularly for homeowners with a smaller setup.
While the Playbar is designed to be mounted on the wall underneath a hanging TV screen, you’ll place your display directly on top of the Playbase. The added real-estate that the TV balances on is put to good use, with plenty of room to emphasize deeper bass notes. The result is a system that offers a lot of power in a relatively compact package.
If you know anything about us, you know that we work hard to create the perfect Atlanta home theater experience. You can enjoy the sights of stunning 4K HDR displays and immersive Dolby Atmos audio in a dedicated space. But what if you want to expand home theater tech to another space – say a room above the garage or pool house? A wireless solution by Sonos just may be the answer. In this blog, we’ll explore the ways you can craft a secondary home theater with Sonos audio.
See Also: Home Theater Trends to Watch Out for in 2017
Perfect for Surround Sound
When building a secondary home theater for guests, space is always a major consideration. Often the same area will have to accommodate sleeping arrangements as well as entertainment options. That’s where Sonos shines, by offering unobtrusive audio equipment that can be placed just about anywhere.
The best part? Your guests can still enjoy full 5.1 surround sound. By combining a Sonos sound bar – which offers three distinct channels – a sub and two satellite speakers, your secondary home theater can sound great without cluttering up the limited space. You can even select between the substantial Play:3 or the top-of-the-line Play:5 for a fully customizable sonic experience.
With the New Year now in full swing, it’s time to start looking ahead at the new technology you’ll soon be able to enjoy in your Georgia home theater. Everything from advanced display technology to top of the line audio gear means you’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more in your private cinema this year. In this blog, we’ll highlight some of our favorite trends to look out for in 2017. Read on for more.
See Also: Is iTunes Gearing up to Replace the Movie Theater?
Displays
High-dynamic range and 4K Ultra HD have taken the world by storm in 2016, so what’s next on the horizon? There’s plenty to look forward to in the coming months. Here are some of our favorites:
OLED: While OLED technology has been around for a while, it’s been a bit slow to catch on in the mainstream market. For a long time LG was the only major manufacturer producing TV displays with the backlighting technology, but with big announcements from Samsung and Sony that they would be jumping on the OLED bandwagon soon, it looks like this year may be its time to shine.
Remember the days when “direct-to-video” was synonymous with “low-quality”? Today that’s no longer the case with being able to easily access streaming services like Netflix and Hulu that produce celebrated original content, and higher-end services like Prima Cinema who put Hollywood blockbusters in your home the same day they premier in theaters. Maybe that’s why Apple is starting to make waves in the day-and-date streaming market. But what does that mean for your Atlanta home theater? Find out after the jump.
See Also: The Secret to Stunning 4K UHD in Your Atlanta Home Theater
Same Day as Theaters?
As movie theaters start to wane and studios look for new ways to push out their content, your home theater stands to gain a lot. Now that Apple is entering the discussion, you may even be able to stream first run movies on iTunes. According to Bloomberg:
“21st Century Fox Inc., Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. and Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures all confirmed over the past week that they are looking to offer high-priced, home-video rentals of new movies shortly after they open in theaters.”
The autumn is the perfect time to integrate upgrades to your Atlanta home theater system. With the major holidays right around the corner – and don’t forget the Super Bowl hitting early next year – you’ll want to begin upgrading your space with full 4K UHD HDR picture quality. But not all systems are created equal, and there are some issues you’ll want to address before you can enjoy the beauty of higher resolution and color range. In this blog, we’ll show you what to look out for. Read more after the jump.
See Also: The Coolest Things Atlanta Home Theater Owners Will Love From CEDIA 2016
Cabling
The most common – and most frequently overlooked – issue with upgrading your system is ensuring the proper amount of bandwidth. Remember, 4K UHD offers four times the resolution of 1080p HD, and that means your cables need to support four times the information. Throw HDR into the mix and you could suffer from a downscaled signal or even no picture at all.
So upgrading your cables is essential. For any devices contained within the theater, say a local UHD Blu-ray player, you can connect them with HDMI 2.0 cables. For any hardware racked neatly in the basement, you’ll want to fortify your signal with fiber optic cables which, unlike HDMI 2.0, can transmit 4K signals over long distances.
With Halloween behind us, Election Day having come and gone, we now turn our attention towards the fun holidays of the year: Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, and New Year’s. The coming two months present plenty of opportunity for merriment, family gatherings, and good times all around. The increasingly cold temperatures outside make indoor activities more fun, and encourage family and friends to gather round, enjoy a drink or two and take it easy. It’s the perfect time to bust out some festive music, sing along, and get into the holiday spirit. Doing just that has never been easier than with Atlanta Audio & Automation. Our home automation allows you to easily crank your favorite tunes or simply create some nice background music while you catch up and create memories to last a lifetime. Plus, with the recent addition of security systems to our arsenal of products you can now outfit your home with everything you need – home automation for lighting, heating, and audio, plus home security and security surveillance capabilities to ensure the safety of you, your family, and anyone you invite into your home.
Everyone approaches their home entertainment a little differently. With so many great ways to watch TV and movies, people have become accustomed to carving out their own unique way to settle down and watch in the comfort of their own home. One of the best ways to enjoy your home entertainment is by establishing your very own media room. With our help, it’s a cinch – we can have your media up and running with impeccable audio in no time. Our expert installation team is well experienced and can ensure your experience is unlike any other. A well-equipped media room engenders excitement, because everyone who clambers in knows they are going there for a treat.
Whether you are throwing a big holiday bash or a small family gathering, we at Atlanta Audio & Automation wish you a safe, fun-filled holiday season. Be sure to browse our complete collection of services and products, from our delightful home automation products to our reliable security systems. We are happy to help make your holiday season better, safer, and more memorable than ever before.
Sports fans rejoice! Football season is almost here and you’re in for a memorable season. But the one thing that would make it even more perfect is watching the game in the comfort of your very own Georgia home theater. As the season draws near, it’s time to start planning how you’re going to catch every second of the game. In this blog, we’ll take you through some of the smartest solutions for upgrading your system with smart AV. Read on for more.
See Also: Set up for Spring Championships With a Smart Home Theater
Choose an Aesthetic
Ok, so you know you want a man cave, but you don’t know how you want it to look. Well, that’s perfectly fine, but you’re going to want to get an idea before your designer breaks ground. Whether you want a warm and cozy den, or the ultimate sports bar feel, you just have to keep in mind that the materials and textures you use will ultimately affect the way your AV gear looks and sounds.
For instance, you can integrate rocky textured walls for a nice, modernist throwback facade, but that may disperse your audio more than you would prefer. On the other hand, you can choose a sleek, metallic sheen for the walls, but the flat, reflective surfaces could bounce sound and light right back at you.
Over the past few years, Dolby Atmos has been taking over home theater audio systems. The reason is simple: it sounds better than anything you’ve ever heard before. And it didn’t just improve movie soundtracks – it made music sound incredible as well. The only problem was that it couldn’t reproduce live music with the same impact. If you wanted to experience a live concert in your home, you’d have to settle for stereo. But recently, Dolby devised a way to improve live sound mixing, giving you a more immersive experience when listening to your favorite bands.
See Also: Get the Most Out of Your Dolby Atmos Home Theater
While movie buffs have enjoyed the detailed sound mixing of Dolby Atmos for a couple of years now, live music has remained behind the curve. Why? Because of the complexity of mixing multiple sounds at once as individual “objects” – the method that Atmos uses to create the immersive effect – was simply too difficult.
Earlier this year, however, Dolby figured out a solution. And it turns out the translation was easier than expected. According to Ian Morris at Forbes, “The files [used to record live music] contain key parts of the track separated out, so vocals, bassline, melody and drums are all given their own tracks. This is much like a multitrack sound system in a recording studio, but greatly simplified.” Ultimately, Dolby realized the technology already existed, and they improved on it.
That means you can hear live music with the same directional sphere of sound reproduced in your home theater. Venues like London’s Ministry of Sound now offer better-than-ever listening experiences. It also means that live concert streams and broadcasts can now air in the format. So if you’re a music buff who loves concerts, you’ll potentially be able to stream concerts with full Dolby Atmos on services like Vimeo.
The holiday season is all about family, and there’s no better place to bring everyone together than a custom home theater in your Atlanta, Georgia home. Gather around a festive film favorite while enjoying each other’s company – an incredible AV display doesn’t hurt either. Now that Halloween is over, it’s time to start thinking about the perfect gifts to give this year. Make your family’s winter special with a unique, custom home theater.
Whether you want to listen to the latest installment of your favorite podcast or pull up a playlist from your music library, Sonos wireless speakers let you fill your home with sound at the press of a button. As part of your whole house audio solution, these offer reliable, versatile sound for any activity. Unlike the wireless speakers of the past that only let you listen to a select list of songs or stations, Sonos offers thousands of listening options and an intuitive user interface.
SEE MORE:What Speakers Are Right for Your Whole House Audio System?
Pull Up the Right Song in a Matter of Seconds
If you have a song stuck in your head, or the urge hits for an impromptu dance party, you don't have to scour through CDS or different media servers to find the song you want. The Sonos app lets you combine all your different media servers into one central user interface for easy access.
Once you find the song you want, whole house audio is just a button away. For personal enjoyment, play music on the nearest Play:1 speaker. If you're hosting a party, use multiple Play:5 speakers simultaneously so everyone can hear.
Listen to Your Favorite Podcasts
If you’ve been following our blog, you know we’ve told you about how home lighting control can enhance your home security and make your home entertainment more functional. Now it’s time to break down how smart lighting can give your media and game room more personality. Automated lighting does more than simply make it easier to see in your spaces – it defines the tone and sets the scene for any situation. That goes for everything from October’s Halloween horror-movie marathons to Sunday afternoon football, to late-night gaming between your kids and their friends. Read on to find out how smart lighting can make your media room more fun and exciting.
Choose a Color
Over the past few years, LED lighting has begun to dominate the market. It’s a brilliant way to save energy and gain directionalcontrol over your lighting fixtures. But one feature has gotten us pretty excited: the ability to change the color of your lighting with the touch of a button.
In 2012, Philips launched a new line of light bulbs under the name Hue, giving homeowners the ability to change the colors of their lighting in any room was a hit, and it ended up spawning a whole new market for smart bulbs. But there’s one ability Hue bulbs have over the competition – they can be controlled by a Control4 home automation system.
That means simple, intuitive and integrated controls of your entire media room’s lighting with a single interface. When it’s time to begin the scary movie festivities, dim the lights around the screen and turn the ones in the back of the room blood red or ghoulish green. On game day, pick the lights that best represent team colors. With thousands of color options to choose from, there’s no limit to how you can customize your spaces.
When Can You Get Dolby Atmos Content?
For months we’ve been excited about the impending release of 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays, in part because we expect great things sonically. But the truth is, Dolby Atmos home video, unlike Ultra HD, is here already. The latest Blu-ray releases like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1 are being released with incredible soundtracks – leading many to call them the best-sounding home video releases ever.
But that’s not all. Netflix, which has begun streaming some 4K content, is delivering Atmos soundtracks as well. Similar services like Amazon Prime have also started experimenting with the sound format. Some experts are predicting that this could be the beginning of the end for disc-based home entertainment altogether (but we still love our Blu-rays!).
You’ve Got the Set-up, Now Get the Sound
Getting the best sound out of your home theater requires more than just great components – the entire room has to be tailored to create the ideal atmosphere. There are two steps you need to take for this to happen: specialized acoustic treatments and customized seating.
Are you ready for some football? For plenty of Atlanta, Georgia homeowners, football season is the perfect time of year – the pigskins are in play, the end-zones are freshly painted and the Falcons are on the field. But this year, there’s no reason to battle for space in front of the living room TV just to cheer on your favorite team. It’s time to turn that unused space in your home into the ultimate home theater. Deck it out with team colors, a full bar and, of course, top-of-the-line electronics for the perfect man cave escape. Take a look at how you can transform a room in your home into an essential game day viewing room.
Catch the Details the Refs Miss
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: 4K Ultra HD is the wave of the future. There’s no getting around it, you’ll want to invest in the latest technology for your new home theater installation. Take for instance the 75X91C by Sony. Only 15mm thick and sporting a whopping 75 inch display, the only thing clunky about this bad boy is the name. Sony’s biggest (and thinnest) television features native 4K resolution and improved handling of up-scaled HD. That’s just a fancy way of saying the display looks great, even if you’re not watching UHD content. And with a High Dynamic Range firmware update scheduled later this year that will allow the TV to reach even truer colors and deeper blacks, you can bet that the 75X91C will have you seeing details that even the refs miss.
Football in the Morning, Football in the Evening…
Summer may be blockbuster season, but that doesn’t mean you have to be cooped up in your home theater to enjoy all of the entertainment. Thanks to your home media distribution server, you can move the fun and excitement outside. Enjoy the warm weather and the hottest movies with your friends and family by setting up an outdoor home theater. Rock out to your favorite tunes with landscape audio while keeping track of your other home spaces with surveillance footage streamed to your mobile devices. Read on to find out how smart automation can bring your entertainment to all of your outdoor spaces.
Get in the Game With an Outdoor Home Theater
When you upgrade your home with smart automation, you know that you’ll have unprecedented access to entertainment throughout your house. Home entertainment system distribution is important – no matter what kind of 4K television you have and what kind of surround sound system you install. It’s what puts all of your favorite entertainment at your fingertips. Read on to find out how you can have access to nearly endless entertainment throughout your home.
Endless Entertainment in Your Home Theater
You’ve got all of the right components in your home theater. You have a beautiful 4K projector with a screen that produces some of the deepest blacks available. You have an excellent in-wall and in-ceiling surround sound system that envelops you in auditory bliss. You even have integrated floor lighting that comes on as the overhead lighting is dimmed, so you can see where you’re going without disrupting the picture. So now all you have to do is choose the right movie.
Stream content directly from online services like Netflix or Amazon Prime, or choose from a vast digital library of your favorite films – all from a central hub in an unused closet or basement. You can even keep a Blu-Ray player in the room, so you won’t have to leave the room to pop a disc in. And if you’re enjoying a midnight movie but decide you’d rather finish it in the comfort of your bed, pause it and pick it up exactly where you left off on your bedroom TV. Home media distribution makes accessing your movies and television fast, fun and easy in every room of your house.
Music Throughout Your House With Whole Home Audio