The world has not gone entirely 4K yet, and here we are talking about 8K already! You know that 4K resolution was an important step in improving picture quality. Today, there is no reason to buy a new TV or projector with only 1080p resolution, as 4K technology can improve high-definition content as well as give you a vivid and realistic picture with content mastered for the newer format. 

In the consumer technology world, technology doesn’t stand still. 8K TVs are already for sale from leading manufacturers such as Sony. Should you buy one? It may well depend on your predilections. If you are a late adopter that prefers to invest in new technology after it's been out in the market and mainstream, you may not be interested at this point. But if you like having the latest technology and capabilities, and you genuinely enjoy buying the best you can get, then there are compelling reasons to dip into the world of 8K viewing today.

Keep reading to see why a Sony 8K TV could be smart investment right now for your Atlanta, GA media or living room. 

SEE ALSO: Sony Master Series Z9G: Raising the Bar to 8K

The current pandemic impacted so much in 2020, and cinemas were not excepted. Major commercial cinema operators like Regal, AMC, and Cinemark have been forced to shutter locations either temporarily or permanently due to local ordinances or health concerns. At the same time, at-home video entertainment consumption increased tremendously in 2020.

As a result of these events, home theaters and media rooms have become more popular than ever. GHT Group has been Atlanta’s go-to home theater company for over 30 years, and we've seen a significant uptick in demand for upgraded home entertainment spaces. We've always kept a keen eye on the latest trends in home theater and audio-visual entertainment (it’s what we do), and we’d like to share with you some of the most significant ones we see going into 2021. Keep reading below!

SEE ALSO: Answers to Your Biggest Home Theater Questions

Home theaters were once a place to recreate the cinematic experience at home. While you may have watched TV in a living room, the theater was for something more memorable. The advent of digital streaming video and an explosion of content has made that notion a bit passé; the home theater is simply the best place for any audio-video experience in your Florida or Atlanta, GA, home. So how are home theater designers reimagining home cinemas to adjust to today’s trends? Let’s explore four ways the modern home theater is shaping up in 2023.

Some of you reading this may be wondering – what is HDR? We're glad you asked because this blog is for you. HDR is the acronym for high dynamic range, the feature that most differentiates the latest TV displays and projectors from models of just a few years ago. 

Recently Regal Cinemas announced the closing of all their theaters in the U.S. due to the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasingly, home is the place to be for a great movie experience. If you are a cinephile, why not take all the money saved from expensive tickets and overpriced concessions and upgrade to the latest technology? HDR can make a tremendous difference in your picture quality, whether you use a flat panel or a projector in your media room or home theater. 

As the leading home theater company in Roswell and metro Atlanta for over 30 years, you can trust GHT Group to know everything about home audio and video. Keep reading to learn more about HDR and some movies that will make the picture pop off the screen. 

SEE ALSO: 3 Movies to Flex the Sound Muscles in Your Home Theater

First, do you need a home theater designer at all? We'll argue that it's a great idea unless you really like to run projects like a general contractor. Home theaters have a lot of things in them, from technology to electrical to finishes, and they are serious projects. Like building a house in Milton, GA, it’s wise to have someone that puts it all together and knows how to manage the process from start to finish.

Now that we have that established, what should you ask a home theater designer or company when interviewing them? We could write multiple blogs about this, but here are three questions you can ask so they'll know you're an informed home theater buyer!

Are you still on the fence about home theater? Did you buy a house with the perfect bonus room for it but can’t decide between converting it into an exercise room or home theater? We’re not going to dissuade you from exercising more, but we can make the case that you will get a lot of use from your home theater. 

There may have been a time when home theaters made more sense for movies than anything else. But that was long ago, when TV was low resolution, surround sound wasn’t common, and the only content that really took advantage of big screens and great audio was movies. Today, we have 4K streaming, Dolby Atmos surround sound, and incredible video processing that makes older content look like it’s ultra-high definition too. 

A home theater can be your entertainment central for everything related to audio and video. And summer is a great time to enjoy it, with kids on vacation and families kicking back to enjoy more fun together. All you need is a knowledgeable home theater company like GHT Group to design and build it! To help you get off the fence and get started, here are three ways you and your family can enjoy your home cinema in Sandy Springs, GA.

Home theaters are all about an immersive entertainment experience. Settling into a comfortable seat, dimming the lights, and watching a movie or show on the huge screen while enveloping sound draws you into that state of suspended reality the film creators love to fashion. 

Behind that immersive experience are some things that may not be front and center but are part of the infrastructure that enables it, the way that the Mid-Bay Bridge gets you across the bay to enjoy some of the Destin area's Florida Gulf beaches. It's the type of hidden tech that professional home theater companies always install but you may not always think about. So what are these unsung heroes that make a home theater tick? Please read more below. 

You might think that great surround sound is easy. Just buy the system, set it up, and presto, incredible surround sound. Admittedly, there are some soundbars and system-in-a-box solutions that will give you decent surround sound from movies and shows. On the other hand, you’re not likely to get that visceral, blown away feeling from any of them. 

For truly stellar, immersive, “OMG, that's so incredible!” sound like you’ve only experienced at the best movie theaters, you need a real, full surround sound system with separate components and speakers. Even then, you still won't be blown away unless it's properly set up. Keep reading to learn more about three areas that merit special attention when setting up a surround sound system. 

Why do you love your home cinema? Is it the luxury of having a huge screen at home, or the lack of sticky floors and overpriced concessions? Most likely you would rank both of those benefits highly. There’s nothing like being able to settle in to watch a movie or a show in your very own space with incredible sight and sound, with all the comforts of home.

If you already have a custom home theater, you may be lacking one thing. You might have a 1080P HD projector, but you’d really like to upgrade to 4K to take advantage of the new 4K streaming shows on Netflix and Ultra HD Blu-ray movies, with their much higher contrast and detail. Perhaps you have also been wondering why 4K flat-panel TVs are now very affordable, but 4K projectors prices have stayed in the stratosphere. The answer to the pricing is that projectors don’t sell in nearly the same volumes as TVs, so the cost curve of new technology diminishes more slowly for projectors.

If you’ve been waiting to pull the trigger on a 4K projector to complete your theater, or you were waiting for an affordable 4K model to build a new one, we have good news for you. As a longtime Sony Diamond dealer, we partner with Sony for projectors because of their leadership in projection technology. In 2003, they were the first to introduce a full HD projector for home use. In 2011, they launched the first 4K projector for home use. And now, with the VPL-VW295ES, they are introducing a truly affordable 4K home theater projector that doesn’t skimp on features or performance.

Read on to learn more about the VPL-VW295ES to see if it’s the right fit for the custom home theater in your Vinings residence.

What is room correction? No, we’re not talking here about moving walls around to fix your room. We are talking about how your home theater audio system sounds in your room. For those of you that are audio aficionados of either the two-channel or multichannel type (or both), you may already be familiar with this. It’s the use of calibration software and methods for adjusting a sound system for even, natural sound in a media room or theater. 

Why is room correction important for your home theater installation in Buckhead? Because every room is different, and even the best equipment and speakers may not sound quite like you expect without a little corrective help. Keep reading for a quick view of room correction and how it can help your sound quality. Or, skip the rest of the blog and call us; as metro Atlanta’s premier home theater company for over 30 years, we can expertly calibrate your home theater or media room for superb sound!

SEE ALSO: Want to Get the Most Out of Your Home Theater Installation?

A home theater can be a significant investment. Like a bathroom or kitchen remodel, it can also be a big job. There's a lot that can go into a home theater. There's the screen, the projector, the speakers, the audio receiver, processor or amplifier, control capability, lighting, seating, décor, and more to think about.

Of course, your home theater area might be a setup designed around a living or family room, or it can be a full-boat dedicated home theater in an extra or purpose-built room in your house. Either way, the details must be sweated to make it into a theater experience that feels special. Those details involve the right size and scale for sound and picture, the acoustics, the methods of control, and perhaps how the home theater ties into other smart home features.

It might seem daunting, right? Georgia Home Theater is here to help. As our name implies, home theaters are a core competence at our company. To make it easier for customers to see and hear what a home theater setup can be like at your home, we have built one in our flagship theater demo area in our Marietta showroom.

Did you miss the Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody at the theaters? We have set the film up as a demo in our showroom, as the musical soundtrack can really show off a high-end sound system. And the visuals are equally stunning. The demo theater features some of our best brands – Anthem, Bowers and Wilkins, Sony, and more. At our Marietta showroom, you’ll get a much better sense of what to expect from a professional home theater installation in your Alpharetta-area home.

Keep reading for a brief look at what you’ll experience in the showroom – and what you could have in your own theater.

A home theater can be a significant investment. A large screen, the audio system, lighting, control, and seating can all add up. Granted, your home theater doesn’t have to be just for movie watching. It can be the place for Netflix binges, sports, gathering together to watch presidential candidates debate, and more.

However, sometimes all this content doesn’t take full advantage of everything your Marietta home theater installation can do. If you've invested in multichannel Dolby Atmos sound and the latest projector or 4K TV with HDR, you want to take advantage of it! Yet many streaming and cable TV offerings don’t use these features. Some movie and show soundtracks don’t use the surround audio channels much, and many are not mastered for the high-contrast imagery that HDR can display. 

You might be surprised at what we’ll suggest. Try video games!  Even if you’re not a gamer, you might be blown away by the storylines, cinematic presentation, and incredible use of sound that comes with the best of today’s titles. 

SEE ALSO: Do You Enjoy Netflix in Your Home Theater?

Do you need a home theater designer? You can likely cobble together a home theater; many DIY enthusiasts do just that. With no shortage of fast playback TikTok and YouTube videos to show you how to build your own theater in 20 minutes, it must be a snap.

Somehow, how-to videos notwithstanding, people still hire us to design and build home theaters. Of course, we're joking that you can build a home theater in 20 minutes, and neither can we, even though we've been at it for over 30 years. The truth is a real home theater is a complicated project. Just like building a home is a big project, a home theater is one too. People hire architects and builders to build a house in Cumming, GA, and people hire home theater designers – like GHT Group – to create home cinemas. 

So, what do home theater designers do? Keep reading below to find out the basics.

The name Dolby Atmos is often mentioned when looking at almost any audio and video system for your home. While you may know that it refers to surround sound, perhaps you don't know too much more. What do you need to know if you're interested in a Dolby Atmos system for your Freeport, FL, home?

We’re glad you asked! We’ll try to demystify Dolby Atmos in this post; what it is and what it isn’t. Let’s dive in!

This blog has now been updated; you can view this updated post here.

Multi-channel soundtracks for film have come a long, long way in the past 25 years.

In the 1980s, Dolby Laboratories developed the Dolby Surround sound format, and it began by taking stereo soundtracks and “matrixing” sound for dialog and effects to the center channel and surround speakers by some clever processing. It was followed by Dolby Pro Logic, which took that technology a step further, allowing the stereo left and right channels to have additional audio information that with the proper equipment could direct those specific sounds to center and rear speakers. 

Dolby Pro Logic was good for its time, and because most movies were still on VHS videotape, tape could only handle a certain amount of audio bandwidth.  Dolby Digital 5.1, also called AC-3, was the first digital surround format and birthed the modern era of digital audio in video soundtracks.  First used on Laserdiscs, a predecessor to the DVD that never quite went mainstream, Dolby Digital became the standard for DVD and also for high definition broadcast TV. 

Today, the original Dolby Digital has been thoroughly reworked and enhanced over time.  Each successive version – like Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD – has brought increases in audio quality and the precision of placing sounds in a sound field for more realistic and immersive entertainment.   The culmination of this development is Dolby Atmos. 

So at this point, you may have heard of Dolby Atmos (or not) and wonder what all the fuss is about.  You may be wondering why you’d want it for your home cinema in the Alpharetta area and what changes it might mean to your home theater layout. 

We thought the best way to do this would be to do a little FAQ (frequently asked questions).  Read on as we cover the basics of Dolby Atmos and to see if it’s right for your home theater.