Home theaters are familiar, as they have been around since the late 1980s. Over the years, however, a sea of changes in the technologies that power home cinemas has created many opportunities for customization, from automation to lighting to audio. The basic home cinema of decades ago has transitioned from an analog to a digital affair for sight and sound technology. 

Technologies like 13-channel immersive surround sound, light-absorbing screens, projectors that automatically adjust to multiple screen formats, and LED lighting have created new opportunities for home theater designers to stretch their creativity. Yet, in the end, a great home theater is all about attention to small details. Here are three ways home theater professionals deliver exceptional entertainment experiences by sweating the details, large and small.

The audio receiver is the do-it-all hub for many home audio setups. It is the anchor in most multi-channel home audio-video installations, deftly managing video switching, decoding all audio formats, amplification, room correction, and more.  

Yet the receiver is sometimes not entirely appreciated by some audio enthusiasts. While the receiver is a convenient one-box solution, some think only separate components will deliver the sound quality that will satisfy them. 

Anthem begs to differ with that notion. Anthem is part of Paradigm, the Canadian speaker company that is well-regarded in audio circles for delivering excellent sound quality at prices that won’t break the bank. Anthem also makes separate processors and amplifiers, so they know how to make high-quality components that prioritize sound quality. 

The majority of today's receivers from mass-market brands tend to load up on features at the expense of quality. Today's receivers feature Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, built-in audio apps, multiple surround modes, web and app-based control, and many more features that are all convenient – but they do not necessarily improve sound quality. 

Anthem receivers eschew “feature bloat” for delivering what a receiver should first and foremost: excellent sound from any source. That doesn’t mean that their receivers are missing key features; they focus on the ones that matter and building the best quality product for the price point. 

So if you’re an audio enthusiast looking for a new receiver for your media room, home theater, or listening room in your Atlanta home, read on to see why Anthem should be on your list. 

In consumer electronics, it is easier than ever to build a new product. But some companies sweat all the details, pouring money into research and development to bring innovations to market first. They don’t settle for off-the-shelf components; they build their own to bring that extra edge to their products.

In the consumer electronics world, that company is Sony. The long list of firsts they have developed is much too long to discuss here. Their expertise in audio and video technology is unparalleled. They are also unique in that the company also owns significant pieces of the content side of the business. They have the most holistic view of what it takes to deliver an exceptional aural and visual experience from the creative side all the way to a cinema, your home theater, or your TV.

Why does that matter? Because it’s all in the details.

Sony understands the challenges of recreating the experience that the movie producers envisioned in your own living room. So if you are looking for a new projector – or an upgrade – to your home theater or media room in the Sandy Springs area, we’re going to explain why it should be a Sony.

Ready to learn more about the Sony projectors difference? Let’s continue.

It’s rare to have the perfect acoustic environment during a home theater installation. Every installation will have a few acoustic issues to address, whether it has to do with the shape of the room or the wall material. Two primary things will affect the sonic performance in your home: speaker placement and acoustic treatments. 

Here, we’ll focus primarily on the latter and how acoustic treatments help to create a more immersive viewing experience in your Metro Atlanta home theater, whether you live in Dunwoody or beyond. Eliminating acoustic issues shouldn’t come at the expense of your theater aesthetics, though. Which is why we partner with Acoustic Innovations. Their WallScapes come in various shapes, sizes, and colors to fit your unique interior design preferences.

Audio enthusiasts know the Bowers & Wilkins brand (B&W) as one of the finest names in loudspeakers. For over half a century, the company has produced transducers of uncompromised quality, starting with the first hand-built units in the back of an electrical shop in West Sussex, England. Bowers & Wilkins speakers are known for reproducing accurate, natural sound – the type that music lovers here in Metro Atlanta appreciate because it does not color the audio, presenting the music in the way the artist intended.

The 800 Series Diamond line is part of B&W’s flagship range that is a full line of speakers, from bookshelf to center-channel to floor standing models, addressing any audio application with aplomb. Unlike other manufacturers, B&W doesn’t believe that speakers are designed specifically for music or movies. Any speaker should be able to handle the dynamic range of both, and the 800 Series Diamond is right at home in a high-end custom home theater as well as a dedicated 2-channel listening room. The 800 Series can deliver the thundering, low-end bass needed for movie effects, while also making Nora Jones' sultry voice float in the room as if she was live.

Read on to learn more about some of the B&W 800 Series Diamond speakers, the perfect upgrade for your Metro Atlanta home cinema or listening room.

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.

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.