The home entertainment industry in the US is worth nearly $3 billion.
With the developments in modern technology, it’s now possible to have a home theater set up that rivals the quality of a cinema. And it doesn’t have to cost the earth.
Innovative new products are being introduced on a regular basis. The latest home theaters are almost unrecognizable from those of just a few years ago.
So read on as we take a look at some of the hottest home theater design trends for 2019.
Multimedia Rooms
15 years ago, a typical home theater system would have been run from a DVD player with a surround sound system.
2006 saw the introduction of Blu-ray, but still, the basic set up was the same. These days, however, there is a whole range of devices that you can have linked up to your system, from games consoles to streaming boxes, to networked hard drives. The choice of content from a variety of different sources is almost overwhelming.
This is a trend that we’re going to see continue, as home theaters become multimedia rooms with an increasing array of possible inputs.
Soundbars
Surround sound systems were once a staple of any home theater, but developments in speaker technology have changed things.
Soundbars are becoming more and more popular. They are a simple way to fill your room with sound without the need for multiple speakers. They also remove the need to fix speakers to walls.
With the quality of soundbars increasing all the time, a soundbar and subwoofer combination is going to become a far more common feature of modern home theaters.
Wireless Surround Sound
If a soundbar isn’t going to cut it for you, the good news is that surround sound systems have become a lot easier to install.
No longer do you have to trail wires all over the place to connect your surround system to the peripheral speakers. Wireless surround systems mean that you can position your speakers wherever you want, without worrying about having to hide the long unsightly cables.
With receivers now capable of 13.2 channel processing, and Atmos encoding having support for up to 24 channels, a proliferation of wireless speakers for the ultimate immersive sound could be the next big trend on the horizon.
Voice Control
Voice control has been around for a while but had never really taken off until recently. All that changed with the introduction of the Amazon Echo range of products.
Voice control is now something that many of us take for granted, and it’s a trend that is sure to have a big impact on the home theater world. Being able to change inputs, pause and play media, switch lighting scenes, all with just your voice is already a possibility. Gone are the days of needing to find the right control from your collection of 17 remotes.
Expect voice control to get a lot more sophisticated and a lot more capable in the coming year.
Social Networking
Tweeting along to the big game or the latest episode of Game of Thrones has become a huge part of the experience.
Broadcasters and equipment manufacturers are more than aware of this and are baking more and more social media aspects directly into their shows and products. Many smart TVs now come with social media functionality that you can access through the TV itself.
Social media integration is only going to continue to increase in the home theater world.
Multiple Screens
The days of having the biggest screen possible are coming to an end.
With so many different sources of content available, big screens are often being replaced by multiple screen setups. Having two or more screens allows you to keep an eye on those two basketball games at the same time, or watch a movie whilst you play the latest first-person shooter. With so much content available, just watching one thing at a time could become a thing of the past.
And if you still want the big screen option, projector screens that retract when they’re not in use are the perfect solution.
Home Automation
Nowadays, almost every part of the house can be set up for home automation.
But when it comes to your home theater, the possibilities are nearly endless. You can program specific scenes for each type of content you’re going to consume so that your lighting, sound, inputs and more are all exactly how you want them.
You can program your home automation to automatically pause your media, mute the sound, or raise the lights if you get a call. You can even set it up to only do so if it’s a call from someone you really like.
With more and more home automation gadgets appearing all the time, it’s a huge trend that will shape the future of home theater.
VR
3D was predicted to be the next big thing, but never really took off. We will have to wait and see whether VR goes the same way.
Since 2017 NBA games have been broadcast in VR, as well as the Global Citizen Festival in New York. NextVR, the company who provides the broadcasts, continues to offer VR content in the sports and entertainment fields, and this could be the next big thing in home theater if it really takes off.
Whether that evolves into more than just using headsets, only time will tell.
Let Us Help You Install the Latest Home Theater Design Trends
If you’re looking to have the latest home theater design trends in your home then we’re here to help.
We love designing unique home theater system setups to suit your every need. With a lot of expertise and many satisfied customers, we can help you create the home theater experience you’ve always wanted.
We can also help you set up smart home automation. And if you’re looking for multi-room audio, then we’ve got you covered too.
If you’d like to find out more about our services or have any other questions then please do get in touch.
