Theater experience easier to re-create at home
Movie. Big screen. Surround sound. Plush seating. All from the comfort of your living room. The only thing that’s missing is the buttered popcorn and you can get that from the microwave in just minutes.
While there’s still nothing that can compare to the experience of going to a theater to see the latest action flick, today’s home theater systems are coming closer.
Entertainment consoles that replicate the multiple-speaker surround sound and high-performance televisions that can withstand the elements or double as a mirror are a few of the recent innovations offered to homeowners. And, as they struggle with economic issues, more people are staying home and focusing their energies on duplicating the movie experience in their own living rooms.
“It’s the way of the world. People want that full theater experience at home,” said Rob Nygard, manager of the Bassett Furniture store on West Sahara Avenue. “We sell more sectionals to more families than before. It’s cheaper than going to the movies and, with prices going up, more people are turning to home theater.”
“Home entertainment today is one of the strongest markets,” agreed Ron Crouch, director of sales and marketing for Furniture Origins, which recently unveiled it’s Surround Made Simple for the Walt Disney Signature line at the Las Vegas Market.
Both Bassett and Furniture Origins are now offering entertainment consoles that simplify creating the home theater experience by eliminating the need for multiple speakers and requiring minimal connections.
Bassett Furniture just debuted its new Nvelop home theater system that integrates today’s technology with its popular furniture designs. The Virginia-based manufacturer joined forces with Boston Acoustics to develop an entertainment console with a built-in virtual surround sound system.
Nygard said the speakers are installed at a 22-degree angle, duplicating the sound you get from a traditional, multispeaker home theater experience.
“It envelops you and surrounds you. The sound bounces off the walls of your family room or living room,” he said.
Features include a 6-inch wireless subwoofer, dual hyperbolic high-ridgidity speakers and Dolby digital processing. Bassett’s Nvelop works with any television set manufactured within the past five years.
Nvelop is easy to use, too. “Basically three wires are all you need,” Nygard said. “You hook up your VCR and TV to the console and your DVD player to the TV.
“I think it’s the greatest thing,” said Nygard. “Bassett Furniture comes out with new furniture all the time, but nothing like this.”
In addition to concealed speakers, the entertainment consoles have a built-in mp3 jack and interior power strip.
The system is available in two of the company’s most popular furniture collections: Redin Park, which has a contemporary look, and Louis-Phillipe, which is more traditional.
Furniture Origin’s new home entertainment line, Theo Kalomirakis for Walt Disney Signature, was inspired by Disney’s pioneering use of sound and visual technology. For the line, Kalomirakis created six collections of coordinated upholstered furniture and entertainment consoles that emphasize plug-and-play connectivity.
“Hidden high-quality speakers, subwoofers and smart phone docking stations built right into each of the units provides superb sound quality along with easy and turnkey multimedia connectivity,” Kalomirakis said. “Coordinated sofas, sectionals, arm chairs, cocktail tables and side tables complete the picture – seamlessly blending form and function in stylish and comfortable roomscapes the entire family will love.”
Kalomirakis, who has been called the father of home theater, is an expert in creating custom home theaters, having designed more than 300 for an elite clientele throughout the world since he installed the first one in his home in 1988. He is a nine-time winner of the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association award for best home theater design and recipient of CEDIA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
In addition to the technological advances that provide a comparable experience, manufacturers are cleverly disguising their true functions so that you can maintain a peaceful home environment without an industrial look.
Bassett’s Nvelop, for example, looks like a traditional console and the doors on the larger models swing 180 degrees so that the entertainment components are hidden when not in use.
Walt Disney Signature’s Surround Made Simple also defies the notion of what home theater furniture should look like. Consoles and upholstery are chic and stylish.
“In designing the upholstered furniture for these collections, which span the design spectrum from traditional to mid-century modern and transitional, we set out to change any preconceived notions about what home theater seating looks like,” Kalomirakis said. “While motion furniture features like ratcheted headrests and power recline are included in a number of key pieces throughout the six collections, my goal was that no one would immediately peg these silhouettes as motion furniture.”
With Ciil Technologies’ new mirror television, even the TV is disguised. Functioning as a mirror when not in use, the 2-inch-deep HD television has a touch screen sensor panel and can be connected to all your favorite entertainment components, said Jack McKeague, general manager of Ciil Technologies.
“In today’s world people want to have a unique item the serves multiuses. The new mirror TV offers security with a hidden camera, if needed. It offers a nice decorative piece that then can be used as a functional piece.”
He said the television also is good for executive conference rooms because it allows presentations to be shown without the need for an overhead project or pull-down screens.
