With the ubiquity of Netflix and other streaming content, the option to stay in for a quality home theater experience continues to grow in popularity in 2019.
Trends such as home automation, soundbars, multiple screens in place of projectors, and virtual reality make now the perfect time to upgrade your home theater setup.
Multiscreen
Having a wall lined with multiple screens is no longer an option just for sports bars. More people are moving away from a projector or a single large screen television and towards multiple screen setup. Having multiple screens allows for more flexibility with a larger family and a more immersive experience reminiscent of an IMAX theater.
For sports fans, the benefit of having multiple screens in place of a single large screen are obvious. Being able to watch multiple games at the same time can certainly be a boon during playoff season.
When setting up several televisions, an HDMI matrix can help to seamlessly control the multimedia cables associated with multiple screens.
Soundbars
Soundbars continue to be a popular addition to home theater setups in 2019 because they provide good audio quality while eliminating some of the setup hassle and making multimedia cables easier to manage. Soundbars also look nice aesthetically and lend themselves to elegant interior design.
Additionally, soundbars are great for apartments or smaller spaces where full-sized speakers may take up too much room. Many soundbars now come with subwoofers built in to further improve audio quality.
A soundbar may come with a number of different AV connection options for multimedia wires. The digital coaxial connection on a soundbar can be used for a DVD or Blu-Ray player, or any other audio source with a digital coaxial connection.
A 3.5mm mini jack analog stereo input can be used for connecting to portable music players. A soundbar may also have an HDMI connection for a Blu-Ray, DVD player, or cable box.
The variety of options for home theater wires and multimedia cables makes the soundbar a very flexible choice.
Voice Control and Home Automation
Other rapidly growing trends in 2019 are voice control and home automation. With modern automation technology it is possible to turn on a TV, control volume on speakers, adjust lighting, window shades and perform many other tasks for your home theater with a single touch screen or spoken command.
Products such as URC Total Control and smart speakers from Amazon make home automation and voice control a breeze to set up. A single in-wall touchscreen connected to enabled devices throughout the house can give the user the access to control numerous aspects of home entertainment and operation all in one place.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is also evolving to fit the needs of the home entertainment arena.
Gaming is currently the driving force behind virtual reality technology, but movies and other forms of multimedia also have a bright future in VR.
As former Disney executive Bernard Gershon said, “VR will be an immersive experience impacting all the senses – sight, sound, motion, touch, smell.” This is the potential of virtual reality: to experience physically being in a different time and a different place, all without ever leaving the comfort of your home theater.
The Oculus Rift is one of the most popular VR headsets available on the market currently. The Oculus Rift requires an HDMI extension cable and a USB-A extension cable to connect to a PC for gaming. It comes with a headset, two touch controllers, and home theater cables.
The immersive experience provided by the Oculus Rift has inspired many rave reviews from the virtual reality community. Wiring up a virtual reality headset could take the home entertainment experience to a completely new level as the technology develops, and this is certainly a space to watch.
In all, 2019 is an exciting time for home theater and multimedia. New technologies are changing the ways in which we control and experience entertainment, without ever having to leave the home. Some of this technology is just beginning to ramp up, and it will be exciting to see where research and development takes us in the next five years.