CE Pro May 2022 - 44

HOME ENTERTAINMENT
the pandemic, home theaters migrated from being " nice to
have " luxuries to almost necessities for consumers trapped in
their homes seeking some solace for their mental health. Perhaps
for the fi rst time ever, the desire for a home theater was
not merely a luxury amenity sought after only by the affl uent
crowd, but a fundamental imperative that helped consumers
maintain some semblance of sanity in an insane situation. And
that thirst for home entertainment was further assisted by the
available income that many consumers suddenly had as they
could no longer spend money on travel and dining out.
The resurgence of home theaters represents quite a comeHome
Theater Equipment/Component Usage
(Percentage of Home Theaters That Include:)
AUDIO ELEMENTS
Subwoofer
Immersive Audio
Architectural In-Wall/In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
(standard bezel)
Freestanding Loudspeakers
Soundbar
Hidden/Small Aperture In-Ceiling Speakers
VIDEO ELEMENTS
4K Display
Blu-ray Disc Player
Media Server
Projector
Motorized Screen
Motorized TV Mount
CONTROL ELEMENTS
Integrated Remote/Touchpanel
Integrated Lighting Control
ELECTRONICS SEPARATES
AV Receiver
Amplifi er
Preamp/Processor
AMENITIES
Acoustical Wall Treatments
Home Theater Seating
Acoustical Ceiling/Starfi eld Ceiling
79%
67%
59%
39%
38%
14%
61%
41%
39%
39%
21%
19%
47%
43%
59%
58%
41%
30%
29%
20%
The types of equipment installed in both dedicated and
multipurpose-room theaters is quite diverse, which is why
the home theater category has been especially hurt by the
supply chain situation.
HDR10+: Seek Out Suppliers
Supporting Migration to Ultra HD
The expanding migration of the creative community and
distribution platforms to Ultra HD holds a number of implications
for the custom integration industry. In addition
to 4K and 8K resolution, higher frame rates, deeper color
and wider color gamut, there has been an emphasis on
HDR10+ high dynamic range applications. This has had a
major impact on leading streaming services like Amazon
Prime Video, Hulu. and YouTube.
The HDR10+ Technologies LLC is focused on promoting
the many benefi ts that HDR10+ provides, including not
only improved video quality, but robust standardization,
global certifi cation and seamless compatibility with the
established HDR10 ecosystem.
All of this is why HDR10+ is supported by a growing
number of AV companies, many of whom play a key role in
CI. These include Denon, Epson, JVC, Marantz, Panasonic,
Samsung, TCL and others. -Bill Mandel, Co-Manager,
HDR10+ Technologies LLC
back for a category that was once thought a remnant of a
bygone era. But what will the future hold? For 2022, integrators
predict a 7.25% increase in the business. That is even
higher than the modest 5.3% median increase they anticipated
heading into 2021.
For some integrators, 4K TVs and ultra-short-throw (UST)
projectors have off ered the opportunity to sell and install
dozens of home theater systems. According to the data, 8% of
dealers expect their home theater business in 2022 will be more
than 50% higher than last year. On the fl ip side, 14% of dealers
expect the number of home theater they install to drop in 2022
compared with 2021. More than one in four (28%) expect their
home theater business to be fl at. Only 6% of integrators say
they did not install a single home theater over the past year.
Home Theaters Require Amalgam of Equipment
As every integrator knows, a home theater is not simply a TV,
speakers and some wire and cable. The number of product
categories that integrators incorporate into a home theater
is highly diverse, which is what makes the category such a
compelling one.
In terms of audio, the median number of loudspeakers in
44 | CE Pro May 2022
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CE Pro May 2022

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