Want to Get the Most Out of Your Home Theater Installation?
If You Haven’t Tried Video Games, You May Be Missing Out
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.
Hollywood vs. Video Games
Today’s TVs and projectors are capable of a very high range of contrast and color gamut. The technology is impressive, but sometimes every scene doesn't call for especially saturated color and contrast. Some esteemed directors, like Barry Sonnenfeld of Men in Black fame, are not fond of HDR for most movie shooting.
He feels that if the technology enhances what he's trying to achieve, he'll use it. But he won’t just because it’s there. The reality is that many Hollywood movies use only a small percentage of the color and contrast capabilities of the latest display equipment. Some directors feel that these capabilities do not add to the realism or ambiance of the scene they are trying to create.
On the audio front, if you have surround sound, you may notice that many movies don't use much more than the front three channels – left, center, and right. Action movies typically exercise the most in audio, including overhead effects with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks. But if you watch other dramas, you may not hear much in the surround channels other than subtle ambient sound in some scenes.
Instead, these technologies are finding new homes in unexpected environment where three-dimensional sound and vast color detail are vital to the storytelling: video games.
Video Games – Your Own Epic
If you grew up on Nintendo and haven't tried video games lately, you may be in for a big surprise. Games can cost as much or more to produce than a Hollywood film. Some of the biggest games, like Star Wars Old Republic and Grand Theft Auto V, both cost over $200 million to produce!
That money does not go into big-name star salaries; it goes into incredibly high production values. The latest games have "cut scenes" that are startlingly realistic, with laser-scanned faces and fluid movement that you'd swear was filmed, but it's not. The storylines in the latest big-budget video games are like Hollywood blockbusters; only you get to affect how it ends!
Famed games like the latest Call of Duty Modern Warfare take full advantage of the newest video and audio technology in your home theater. Unlike Hollywood movies, video games are not based on reality – they can take full advantage of technology for effects.
In Call of Duty, being bombed from overhead with Atmos sound is frighteningly realistic. Taking full advantage of contrast and color makes for exciting effects that might be difficult to reproduce in film. For fantastic use of dark scenes with HDR, check out the apocalyptic Metro Exodus, set in a post-nuclear Russian wasteland. It’s just one example of how gaming is taking full advantage of the latest audio and video home theater technology.
Let GHT Group show you how to get the most out of your home theater in Atlanta with the latest in audio, video, acoustics, and more. Contact us here to get started or click below to connect with one of our home theater experts quickly. We look forward to working with you!