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The Evolution Of Home Theater -- From Color TVs And VCRs To Digital Television And DVDs
In the past several years there has been a dramatic movement by average homeowners to make their dens, basements, attics, bonus rooms and great rooms into movie theaters, media rooms, and/or high-end entertainment centers. Whatever you choose to call them, and whatever the décor, equipment and level of expense, home theaters are here, and they're here to stay. According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), as of January 2003, 30% of US households had home theater systems, up from 25% in 2002, 23% in 2001 and 21% in 2000.
Here's how it all happened:
The earliest home theaters were installed as plush screening rooms for motion picture directors, producers and film stars in the 1920s, and beyond. These special auditoriums provided a space for the ultra rich and powerful in Hollywood to entertain their family, friends and business associates.
At the same time, the grand movie palaces that were erected as monuments to motion picture art became the gathering places for families all over this country, from the earliest days of the silent cinema to the mid- 1960s.
Four Factors Why Home Theater Has Come Of Age:
Color Television
In the 1960s, television came into its own. Not only was there an explosion of television ownership, but also color television made its mark, drawing more and more viewers to the small screen and away from the big screen. As a result, the great movie palaces could no longer sell out from week to week and the trend towards closing these architectural gems began. Smaller, streamlined, screening-room style movie theaters were constructed and movie theater attendance fell to all-time lows
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A New Entertainment Form Is Born -- The VCR
Then came the 1970s; home theater was in its infancy. Video technology moved into the home with the advent of SONY's Betamax VCR, which allowed consumers to videotape television programs while away from home, and view commercially produced copies of Hollywood movies. Later came the much higher quality, and much more expensive, Laser Disc system.
DVDs Deliver On The Dream
Laser Disc, while carving out a high-end user niche for itself, could not compete with the mass-market penetration of the lower cost, lower quality Beta and VHS VCR formats. However, it did inspire the development of the DVD. With its exceptional picture and sound quality, compact size, large title availability, backwards compatibility and low price points, the DVD format has delivered on the promise that VCR's and Laser Discs tried but could not keep, becoming the dominant home video format. Indeed, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), about 45 million people have bought DVD's in the 6 short years since their introduction in the U.S., making it the most successful consumer electronic product of all time.
Enter Digital Television and HDTV - The Mother Of All Picture Quality
Digital TV is the new television transmission system that broadcasts pictures in 100% digital information. Digital televisions must be able to receive those digital transmissions and display them in 100% digital resolution.
The FCC has approved 18 different ATSC (Advanced Television Standards Committee) digital television image formats. The most common are 480p, 540p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p. Like progressive scan DVD images, EDTV (Enhanced Definition Television) delivers a 480p digital picture. Next up on the rung of digital picture quality is 540p (also EDTV).
To be High Definition, or HDTV (the top of the digital food chain), a picture must be broadcast and resolved by your TV in wide screen (16 x 9) and in either 720p (1280 x 720), 1080i (1920 x 1080 interlaced) or 1080p (1920 x 1080 progressive) lines of resolution. HDTV is an image format of unparalleled picture quality. New HD capable televisions are able to deliver picture quality that is the equal of 35mm motion picture film; a picture so lifelike, so 3-dimensional you feel as though you're looking through a window, not at a television screen. And, HDTV must also transmit and receive audio in Dolby Digital 2.2 stereo and 5.1 discrete surround sound - in other words, movie-quality picture AND sound right in your own living room!
Initially, High Definition was developed as a broadcast format that will eventually replace the NTSC standard TV format we've all been living with for over 60 years. But, HD is a format that is also about to be applied to the DVD system. Two consortiums of electronics companies are competing with each other and with Microsoft to develop a practical HD quality DVD system. Within the next year or two one or all of these HD-DVD formats will come to market, priced at around the same cost of the original DVD products launched in 1996: between $300 and $500 for the players and between $19.99 and $25.99 for the discs.
Imagine picture quality that is somewhere between 2 to 3 times better than the best DVD images available today. That's what HD-DVD promises and it's on its way. Hopefully HD-DVDs will also be backwards compatible with current DVD players.
HDTV is the brave new world, the zeitgeist of future filmmakers and audiences alike. It is the window on a universe of imaging possibilities once thought only presentable in science fiction movies. But in today's reality we are crossing the Rubicund; the boundaries to our viewing potential is only dwarfed by the size of the screens that will carry HD pictures into our home theaters. And because both EDTV and HDTV deliver exceptionally high quality pictures, ultra large screens can be used without image degradation whatsoever.
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Two More Reasons That Home Theater Is Taking Off
Aside from the widespread popularity of DVDs and HDTV, there are two other factors that have played a significant role in growing the home theater industry:
Cocooning
In recent years, there seems to be an understandable and almost universal desire to stay closer to home, "nesting" with spouses, children and other loved ones. Knowing that family members are together and relatively safe from harm is reassuring. And, what better way to nest than by watching movies with your family in your own home?
Once those who were safe within the cocoon realized that their home theaters could look and sound like anything they wanted -- from a biker's bar to a grand art deco movie palace to a homey media room -- out from the cocoon came the butterfly known as the private, dedicated home theater.
And in times of turmoil, what safer investment is there for a homeowner than his or her home? Many homeowners are upgrading their homes by adding a home theater. Indeed, real estate ads in the New York Times now regularly include "home theater" in their descriptions, along with the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and fireplaces a house for sale has to offer.
Even Gracie Mansion has a newly renovated living room with a home theater system in it.
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Flat Panel TV's and the "WAF" Factor
In the past 5 years, Plasma, LCD and other so-called flat panel displays have come into their own, and have significantly contributed to the concept of installing home theaters into the average home. Why? Because of a phenomenon known as the "WAF" effect, or Wife Acceptance Factor.
It's certainly no secret that guys like big TVs and shiny, high-end electronics, and women like to hide those big TVs and shiny, high-end electronics in something attractive, like an armoire.
As CEA estimates that women will be spending approximately $55 billion on consumer electronic products this year, and initiating 75% of all consumer electronic purchases, manufacturers are responding to the pressure of the "Wife Acceptance Factor" and designing products that marry a sensitivity to home décor with high performance.
Having impressed most of the women in the civilized world (that includes the US), flat panels are a home theater lover's salvation. No more bulky televisions and big box rear projectors to squeeze into the living room, cluttering up the space and turning a social area of the home into a television sales floor.
Combining practicality, picture quality, space saving, sleek, sexy styling and ultra status, flat panels are the turn-key to solving the hardware acceptance problem so many home theater enthusiasts have had nightmares about.
And it seems to me that if wives love flat panel TVs, wait until they discover front projectors!
Indeed, the November 2003 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine included a home theater article in the "Family Tech" section, featuring an HTIB (home theater in a box), a DVD player and a front projector right there among all the traditional Thanksgiving recipes and health, beauty and career articles.
Four Ingredients Every Home Theater Must Have (not including the popcorn)
Today, it is not enough to have a 27", 32" or 36" square shaped TV with stereo audio. With the emergence of DVDs and now, High Definition television broadcasting -- the two critical components of any film or video based programs - picture and sound - have become dynamically more powerful and more enveloping. Therefore, today's basic home theater/or media room audio-video system should consist of a:
-Wide screen (16 x 9, rectangular shaped) direct view, rear projector, LCD, Plasma, or front projector and screen display
-DVD player and/or Stereo VCR and/or Digital Video Recorder
-Satellite or Cable Television
-5-Channel Surround Sound A/V Receiver, 5 speakers and a subwoofer
Four Ingredients Every Home Theater Movie Palace Should Have:
Now that we have the electronics taken care of, let's look at the environs. Today's basic dedicated home theater room should also have:
-Theater-style seats
-Formal screen area (curtains, outer screen covering or furniture to house and display screen)
-Formal stage (raised at least 5" off the floor)
-Riser to create a stadium seating array
What's more, virtually all home theater designers agree that a formal theater ceiling along with framed movie posters or other film-related accessories are also important in conveying the ambiance of an actual movie theater.
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And Just in Case You're Still Not Convinced Home Theater Is Here To Stay
Item: In 2002 Wal Mart began selling DTV sets including HDTVs and other home theater products.
Item: In 2002 Mitsubishi began selling entry-level big screen TVs to Best Buy, the first non-commission retailer to carry high definition (-ready) televisions.
Item: According to hometoys.com, in 2003, SEARS began requiring all of its installation integrators to earn Home Technology Integration (HTI+) certification to support today's advanced home theater and computer systems.
Item: A website called "Home Theater Meetup" (http://hometheater.meetup.com) helps home theater buffs worldwide, meet up with each other in major cities on the 4th Tuesday of every month.
Item: Another website called "Home Theater Cruise"
(http://www.hometheatercruise.com) plans theme cruises for home theater enthusiasts, with special talks and get-togethers on the subject of (what else?) home theater that feature guest speakers from the industry during the day and Las Vegas style entertainment at night, in addition to stops at several different ports of call.
Item: Motorhomemagazine.com reports that in 2004 the Allegro Bus, a motor home manufactured by Tiffin Motor homes Inc. will include a home theater as one of its features.
Let Media Solutions Solve Your Home Theater Problems On Time, On Budget!
High Definition, Plasma, Front Projectors and big motion picture screens and state of the art electronics combined with a passion for creativity and concern for delivering what you, the customer, want to put into your cocoon, on time and on budget -- that's the bottom line at Media Solutions.
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