Home theaters are the best way to enjoy movies, TV shows, documentaries, sports games, and even video games from the comfort of your own home. There’s no more need to drive to the theaters to watch something on a large screen with crisp detail and immersive surround sound — that can now be achieved right at home.

One of the best things about owning a home theater is customizing the design, layout, and technology. With the help of a professional and experienced home theater company, you can build an excellent home theater. Here are four benefits of having a custom home theater in your Sandy Springs, GA, home.

We’ve written before in our blog about how there is no shortage of intelligent home devices and technology available wherever you look. For that matter, there is no shortage of smart home companies and integrators in the home technology space right here in the Atlanta area.

What distinguishes one company from another? How do you choose a smart home partner that understands all aspects of home technology? In this blog, we'll seek to answer those questions and to tell you why GHT Group should be top of mind for your next home technology project.

SEE ALSO: How Do You Choose a Smart Home Company?

With warmer weather just ahead, it's time to get outside. As the days get warmer, the nights become even more pleasant in Georgia. Chances are you invest quite a bit of time, effort, and money into making your outdoor spaces in Buckhead and the Atlanta, GA area an inviting place to spend time in the warmer months. But in the evening, do you retreat to the comforts of your indoor audio and video entertainment?

If you do, we have a way to get you to make the most of your time outside. How about an outdoor home theater? Yes, it's possible. Read on for three options to get you enjoying your favorite movies and series al fresco, all day and all night.

A media room is a home space where you can enjoy your audio and video entertainment in high quality, both for casual TV show viewing and more immersive movie watching. Unlike a home theater, the space may pull double duty – as a living room, family room, game room, or some other multipurpose area in modern homes with more open designs.

When it comes to the technology that delivers the visual and audio experience, some people may not want the equipment to intrude. Bookshelf and tower speakers may overwhelm the room, or their placement doesn’t fit the aesthetics of the room. Aside from speakers, TVs often become the focal point of a space. When they’re not in use, design-minded people might chuff at looking at a large black rectangle mounted on the wall.

The leading makers of audio and video equipment also understand the importance of design. A whole range of products exists that marry exemplary audio and video performance with subdued design that blends well with the rest of the room. In this blog, we’ll cover two of those options for a media room design in your Atlanta, GA home that is as visually appealing as the rest of your home.

Keep reading below!

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

Metro Atlanta ranks as the ninth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. You can find almost anything here, and there is no shortage of audio-video companies like GHT Group that offer home theater design and installation services.

When it comes to home theater, you should know that it is a focus that’s in our DNA. We recently rebranded our company to GHT Group from Georgia Home Theater to reflect the broader scope of our company, yet high-performance audio and video solutions like home theater remain central to our mission. 

Since we know you have many choices for your next home theater project, we’d like to recap why you should choose GHT Group. Read on for more!

SEE ALSO: Want to Gain Inspiration for Your Home Theater Installation?

Does your home theater suffer from the “black bar syndrome?” Fortunately, it’s a curable video malady. We are joking here a little, but let us explain.

Without a doubt, if you watch movies at all, you have noticed the black bars that often appear on the top and bottom of the screen. The reason for this is that the majority of flat panel and most projector screens are in 16:9 format, which refers to the ratio of the screen width to its height. Over 70% of Hollywood films made for theatrical release are shot in widescreen format, which is a 2.4:1 aspect ratio. This format, sometimes referred to as anamorphic, is wider than it is high. To fit the film on your screen without skewing it (distorting the image by making it taller), you get the black bars to fill the unused space on your screen. 

What is the problem with that? If you have a 120-inch screen, for example, in your Atlanta theater or media room, you are not getting 120 inches of picture. And if you’ve recently invested in a superb Sony projector with native 4K resolution, you are effectively getting 3K instead of 4K.

3K is not what you bargained for, especially if you like to watch cinematic films. Fortunately, as we mentioned, there is a cure. Special lenses from Panamorph, compatible with Sony projectors and all of the best theater screen brands, can cure the black bar syndrome.

Read on to see how Panamorph lenses help get the most from your Sony 4K projector image.

If you happen to be old enough, you might remember a different time in electronic products. In the 1950s and 1960s, when they began exploding in popularity, many TVs and audio products looked like pieces of furniture instead of technology. You may remember the all-in-one turntable, AM-FM radio, and speakers that were all housed in an elegant wood credenza back in the day. Even separate components were encased in wood housing, and far more speakers had natural wood finishes that were not just black.

Today, technology looks like…technology. It is a rare product that incorporates unique design flair. Don't get us wrong; it does exist – in beautifully finished audio gear from McIntosh and Klipsch, to name but two examples. But many otherwise superb products don't always jive with the interior design visions of many of our customers.

We have solutions to that issue. If you don't like to see flat panel screens when they're not in use, you don't have to. On our blog, we've discussed many architectural speakers that deliver incredible sound without taking up any real estate in your room – including subwoofers.

This month, we want to tell you about a company that makes exceptional solutions to hide the technology bits you don't wish to be visible until they're called upon. Future Automation is an engineering company highly skilled at making equipment that looks custom-built for your home. So if you want a media room design that features more design than media equipment in your Buckhead home, there' likely a Future Automation solution.

Read on to learn more about innovative Future Automation products to hide your technology.

Just when you thought it was safe to replace all your TVs with 4K models, along comes the next level in resolution – 8K. The truth is, the consumer electronics industry is always moving forward. Digital technology has hastened the pace of change in electronics, with ever more bits of information elevating the quality of audio and video entertainment.

Wherever there is innovation in consumer electronics, you will find Sony. The company has pioneered too many technologies to mention, and the fact that they own major content companies in music and movies underscores their deep understanding of audio and video content, from creation to what you hear and see on your equipment.

One of Sony’s latest innovations is in 8K televisions. You might ask, what can I do with that today? 8K content may be scarce at the moment, but Sony’s technological magic with video processing makes any content look better on their 8K TVs. We just installed one in our brand-new Crestron Experience center, and it’s a revelation.

Is a Sony 8K TV right for your favorite watching room in Smyrna? Read on to see why Georgia Home Theater thinks it’s a smart investment in your visual entertainment.

We hear it all the time. Our customers want the latest and greatest in sight and sound for their media rooms - whether it’s a home theater, a master bedroom, a game room - they want it. But they don’t always want to see it when it’s not in use.

After all, bedrooms are for relaxing and sleeping. Living and family rooms are for gathering and conversation. Game rooms are for… games. We get it. Screens have invaded our work, our cars, our pockets and purses, and every part of our lives. We understand that you don’t always want screens to demand your attention, especially when they’re turned off.

If your media room pulls double duty in your Alpharetta home – as many do – you may get just as excited as we are about the latest screen design from Screen Innovations. We love technology at Georgia Home Theater, and we love hiding it as much as some of you do, as we do with architectural surround sound speakers in many installations.

Read on to learn more about the Screen Innovations Zero-G - the floating screen that you see only when you need it

Sony is a pioneer in consumer electronics, with a long list of inventions and technology firsts. While they have more competition today than ever from Korean and Chinese electronics giants, the company is still out in front, continuing to invest in research and development to make something more than me-too products. Sony's founder, Akio Morita, once said, "curiosity is the key to creativity;" the company is still driven by the curiosity to invent new things today.

As with all of their products, Sony brings their creativity, innovation, and design expertise to projectors. Sony launched the first 4K home projector in 2011 when 4K TVs were still nascent. Today the Sony 4K projector line is bigger and better than ever.

When it comes to projectors for your Dunwoody home theater or media room, Georgia Home Theater recommends Sony.  Read on to learn more about the special features of Sony projectors that make them the right choice for you.

We still have cable, satellite, and good old fashioned over-the-air TV, but it’s hard to ignore the incredible convenience of streaming video. There’s no major content network worth its well-deserved Emmys that doesn’t have a streaming video offering. HBO, Showtime, ESPN, CNN - they and countless others offer almost all content via on-demand streaming; some networks even offer streaming-only premium content.

You have likely heard of one or more of the most popular streaming devices. While smart TV capabilities are built into practically every new TV set, some are better than others. If you don't like the smart system that's native to your 4K TV, you can choose to use an external streaming device.

Since most TVs sold today are 4K-enabled, Georgia Home Theater believes you should only consider a 4K streaming device. They cost only a few dollars more than HD varieties and are far more future-proof. The leading devices in media streaming are those you’ve probably already heard of from Apple, Amazon, Roku, and Google.

These all offer a plethora of 4K streaming apps with a massive variety of content. What are the differences and which one is a better fit for your 4K televisions in Atlanta? Read on find out.

Dolby Atmos was introduced to much fanfare for home theaters in 2014. The new format was trumpeted as one of the biggest advances in multi-channel audio in years. Indeed, it brought a more immersive 3D sound to home theater. Consumer electronics partners jumped on the bandwagon early, and products like speakers, receivers, and UHD Blu-ray players started appearing in the market over the next two years.

While new technology is great, you need things that take advantage of it. For Dolby Atmos, the content was slow in coming. The first movie for home viewing released in Atmos on Blu-ray was Transformers, Age of Extinction. Video games like Star Wars: Battlefront followed as Dolby worked with content makers to make full use of the new format. While these titles were excellent showcases for the format, others were slow in coming.

Fast forward to 2019, and all that has changed dramatically. For one, there are over 4400 theaters in the U.S. with immersive Dolby Atmos sound, exposing millions of theatergoers to new levels in cinema audio. Almost every new AV receiver and surround processor now sports support for the format, with most supporting its competitor DTS:X as well. Apple recently announced Dolby Atmos support for the 4K Apple TV and is upgrading its iTunes movie rental offerings to Atmos as well. Amazon's latest streaming stick also supports the sound format. Speakers from respected brands like Bowers and Wilkins and Klipsch are available, both in surface mount or architectural styles designed expressly for delivering those three-dimensional height and positional overhead effects.

You may be thinking: What can I watch with a Dolby Atmos surround sound system in my Roswell or Metro Atlanta home’s media room? The answer is plenty - read on to learn more.

When you think about home theater, your thoughts may turn to the big things that make it a home cinema experience. The screen, the projector, and the surround sound system provide the picture and sound that recreates the immersive experience.

The décor is important too. Whether your taste runs to recreating the classic décor of the Fox theater or to a modern and clean aesthetic, where the room transports you is an important part of the experience.

Then there are the little details that, when done well, just delight. Small details can also annoy if not done well. Do you have a car with poorly placed cupholders? Does a cup placed in one of them block your radio or HVAC control? That's an example of a detail that can irritate.

The same consideration can be given to home theater seating. Some of the big concerns are: Are the seats comfortable for a long movie? Does every position have a great view of the screen?

Then there are the small considerations. Where do I put my drink or snack? What if I need a little light in the dark? It is these small - but essential - aspects that we will cover in this short blog, and how home theater seating from Octane Seating makes the most of those considerations. Ready to review the little seating accessories that help make your Atlanta home theater the perfect entertainment space? Just keep reading.