CE Pro May 2022 - 46

HOME ENTERTAINMENT
a home theater is six, which includes the surround sound -
whether those be architectural, floorstanding, bookshelf or
inclusive of a soundbar - and a subwoofer. Nearly eight out
of every 10 theater projects (79%) included a subwoofer. In
yet another strong indicator for the market, two out of every
three theaters (68%) installed systems supporting immersive
audio using either Dolby Atmos, Auro-3D or DTS:X.
The advent of soundbars has enabled many integrators to
use the single-chassis speakers as the LCR for their cinemas, in
combination with a sub and rear speakers in most cases. However,
with soundbar manufacturers touting the surround-sound
capabilities of their speakers, there are a small percentage of
installations that solely rely on the soundbar for all audio. According
to the data, 38% of theater projects included a soundbar,
but only 3% of those projects use ONLY a soundbar as the
sole source of audio, meaning dealers are frequently combining
soundbars with either floorstanding or architectural speakers.
Further breaking down the speaker usage, standard-bezel
architectural in-wall/in-ceiling speakers are the most popular
audio choice, deployed in 60% of home theaters. Of those,
14% of them are small-aperture or hidden speakers. Meanwhile,
freestanding speakers are used in 40% of theaters.
Home Theater Locations
Outdoor
9%
Master
Bedroom
11%
Basement
18%
Other
7%
Multipurpose
Room
30%
Dedicated
Room
25%
Multipurpose/great rooms remain the most common
location for a home theater, but there has been
a resurgence of dedicated private cinema rooms.
" Other " includes additional bedrooms, garages and
other secondary room locations.
Number of Seats in Dedicated Home Theaters
3 SEATS OR LESS
14%
4 TO 6 SEATS
61%
7 TO 10 SEATS
19%
11 SEATS OR MORE
6%
The median
number of seats per
dedicated home
theater room is five.
On the video side it is a mix or display-based vs. projector-based
solutions. Just over one in three (39%) cinemas
uses projectors, with TV displays being used for the remainder
(61%). About one in five theater projects (21%) features a motorized
screen, with 19% having a motorized TV mount.
In terms of sources and separates, AVRs and amplifiers are
deployed in well over half of all home theaters, with preamp/
processors used in more than one-third of jobs. Blu-ray disc
players are also installed in just over one-third of projects and
media servers are in one-in-four theaters.
For controls, less than half of cinema projects (47%) had an
integrated multifunction remote control, which means many
of the installations were single-room projects versus part of a
whole-home control installation. It also indicates that dealers
are letting clients rely on the out-of-the-box remote control
that comes with the display, media server, projector, etc.
When it comes to additional amenities, lighting control is the
most popular, as 43% of home theater projects included integrated
lighting control that dims the lights and sets the mood
for movie-watching. Other popular amenities that integrators installed
during the past 12 months include acoustical treatments
(30%), home theater seating (29%) and starfield ceilings (20%).
Home Theater Integration into Whole-House AV
(Percent of Home Theaters as a Multiroom AV Zone)
Every home
theater
integrated into
Multiroom AV
76% to 99%
51% to 75%
3%
6%
1% to 10%
17%
26% to 50%
14%
11% to 25%
31%
Nearly one in five home theaters (19%) installed over the
past 12 months are also integrated into a whole-house AV
distribution system as an individual zone.
100%
17%
Zero
14%
(all
standalone
home
theaters)
46 | CE Pro May 2022
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CE Pro May 2022

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