It’s hard to ignore the fact that Americans are watching television and movies differently from how they did fifty, twenty, or even ten years ago. Movie rental storefronts — ubiquitous in the ’80s, ’90s, and early ’00s — have been replaced by services like RedBox and Netflix. Increases in movie ticket prices mean that only about thirty percent of the population goes to a movie in a given week, forcing theaters to offer discount ticket nights to get people in the door on weeknights. More and more people are choosing the comfortable, convenient, and cost-effective option of simply watching movies at home.
Sales in flat-screen, plasma, and LCD televisions confirm that people worldwide have been upgrading their TVs in order to achieve a more optimal home viewing experience. And with 29.2 million Netflix subscribers, 30 million HBO subscribers, 4 million paid Hulu subscribers, and 9.5 million RedBox rentals per week, it’s clear that people are putting those newly upgraded televisions to work
But movie theaters do have a big advantage over home movie viewing, and that’s not a reference to overpriced popcorn. Audio is a crucial component of the movie watching experience, and it’s significantly impeded when you are only using the speakers that are connected to your television. Fortunately, there are home audio solutions that don’t involve cluttering up your house with a bunch of speakers. Home theater and home audio professionals can work within your budget to create an arrangement that is seamlessly integrated into your lifestyle and your decor — that means no cluttered cables or clunky speakers.
Before you commit to a home theater or audio installation, there are a few things you’ll need to consider. First, how do you plan to use it? Are you creating the ideal home theater for movie watching? Do you want a gamer’s paradise in the den? Do you want to integrate the system throughout your home so that you can hear — and even watch — movies when moving from room to room? Where do you want your home theater to be set up? What architectural obstacles may complicate the installation process? Do you want to mount your TV on a wall as part of your home theater setup?
It’s also important to consider your budget. While an elaborate home theater installation comes with a price tag, think about how much time you’ll spend watching movies and TV shows at home rather than going out to the movies. With the national average of movie ticket prices around ten dollars per person and many concessions also being expensive, it may be worth the upfront cost so that you spend less money going out to movies every weekend.
Home theater construction and audio capabilities have come a long way. You can create an immersive audio environment for video games, arrange a surround sound system that will integrate seamlessly into your living room, or choose a whole-home audio setup that is integrated throughout your house so that you can still enjoy your movie when you get up and go to the kitchen for a snack. If you’re already following the national trend of watching more movies at home, making some upgrades to your setup could help you further enhance your audio, visuals, and overall movie-watching experience.