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How Home Cinema Rooms Have Evolved Over The Years
October 13th, 2021
In history, home cinema rooms were reserved for the wealthy, but as time has gone on, they have become far more accessible. What’s more, developments in modern technology and more efficient operating systems mean they’re bigger and better than ever.
Here, we’ll take a deeper look at the history of the home cinema system, and how technology has evolved over the years.
How Dolby Stereo beefed up the home cinema scene
Up until the 1970s, movie theatre sound was mono. In 1975, Dolby® Stereo was introduced and became well known with the release of Star Wars in 1977. Dolby is an audio compression technology that takes sound like film soundtracks, which is designed for big rooms and cinema-style speakers, and compresses it for our home viewing pleasure. If you owned a state-of-the-art home cinema in the 1970s, chances are you had the latest Dolby technology installed.
The 1980s and the ‘golden decade’ of film
The 1980s is widely regarded as the ‘golden decade’ of films, with blockbusters like ET, Ghostbusters and Dirty Dancing gracing our screens. With this rise in film came an increase in the number of people looking for home cinema rooms, and served as a catalyst for technological development. While most movie playing in this era consisted of a film pre-recorded on a LaserDisc or VHS tape, the wheels were set in motion for bigger and better things.
The early 2000s – when home cinema got serious
Technological innovation was in full force in the 2000s, with big screens, high definition video, video projectors, improved sound quality, and higher resolution screens all contributing to a more immersive experience. Blu-ray films became coveted items, and audio became augmented with multi-channel power amplifiers and surround sound becoming the norm. Whether a home cinema system used a stereo set-up or a 5.1 channel amplifier and five or more surround sound speakers, the audio augmentation was of a superior quality to years gone by. Home cinemas suddenly became more like the real thing, and they became a trendy addition to the home. Newer lossless audio from Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and other premium speaker systems with more audio channels were also introduced for a more cinematic feeling.
2010 Onwards
As home cinemas became more commonplace, so too did the goal of having the most realistic home cinema experience. People started experimenting with higher quality components than used for everyday TV, including larger, high definition screens and home theatre PCs. What’s more, finessing home cinema system sound was a pastime for the connoisseur, with complex surround sound formats such as Dolby Pro-Logic and Pro-logic II becoming more commonplace.
Film enthusiasts also turned their attention to other ways to make their home cinema experience more authentic and invested in the environment to produce a more authentic experience. Suddenly, home cinemas were not just about amazing visuals and sound, but also about comfortable seating, sound insulation, sound balancing equipment, and other luxury furnishings.
Now, high-definition film is the standard, with Bluray and online video streaming systems taking over our screens. 4K TVs have become even more popular, and what would once have been considered by the masses as an unaffordable TV is now far more accessible.
Need an expert in home cinema rooms?
If you’re upgrading your home cinema or would like one installed, the team here at Veritais will be able to help. We’re pioneers in all things audio-visual, and will be able to help you press play on the home cinema of your dreams. Please call us on 01827 64688.
